4th of July Parade

Working together with the City, we successfully had the parade route go right through our neighborhood for a festive and COVID-19 friendly parade experience. 

Halloween Event

Working together, our Board and our neighborhood came together to enjoy Trick-or-Treating while also following the CDC guidelines. It was great fun! 

Supported and Assisted our Neighbors

When COVID hit, we all had to make adjustments of our expectations moving forward. For some, there was an opportunity for the Board to serve them with caring, open hearts. We first sent our letters to everyone in the community, encouraging them to reach out to us if they had any need, big or small. We want to remind all neighbors that is still true today and always. If you just need someone to run a errand for you or have a larger ask, please let us know. We are here for you. 

We also helped one family coordinate a congratulatory event at our Park to honor the marriage of their daughter. In the wake of a reception, they set up a drive by experience to honor the event. We were happy to help make this possible for their family to remember.

Website Upgrades: Neighborhood Spotlight and Garden News

We believe everyone has a story to tell and created ways to learn these stories through our focus page Neighborhood Spotlight. Here you can learn more about your fellow neighbors, what brought them to Overdale and why they love it here. Our website got some new focus pages! Your Board member Sarah Bergdahl was the visionary behind this effort.

Sarah also developed the page Garden News! Any Gardner out there that would like to share their experiences in our wonderfully large, wooded lots are welcome!

Lowering Taxes to the Park

Working together with Janet Wall, we have applied to lower our taxes to the park through the Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS). We will hear back about our application at the end of this year and these lower taxes will go into effect in 2022. We thank Janet for pursuing this endeavor with us.

Beautifying our Monuments

We were able to weed and plant to keep our entrances a good first point view as you enter our neighborhood. After damaging our lower monument, PSE compensated us for the impact caused which allowed us to purchase and plant 3 dwarf blue spruce plants and some lavender.

Goals and Goal Updates

The list below are the goals stated in our 2020 Annual Meeting. We are still working to make progress on these endeavors. You can see the 2020 Notes and 2021 Updates below.

2020 Goals

1. Support Play Structure Committee

2. Have the city put in Speed Humps on 53rd St.

3. Pilot a Neighborhood Watch on 229th Avenue

2021 Goals

1. Continue exploring all 2020 Goals

2. Continue discovering ways to lower expenses through competitive contracts, streamlined processes and lower taxation.

3. Continue researching endeavors to increase HOA membership.

4. Review our covenants as they are outdated.

1.Support the Play Structure Committee

2021 Update: In May of 2020, we were only $9,000 shy of our goal of $25,000 to put in a play structure. There is still a lot of interest in this endeavor. The Board really needs a group of dedicated people with the skill set to fundraise to make this goal a reality. If you are have this skill or have interest in volunteering your time please, email the Board or Amber Malmgren directly.

If you are interested in investing to make a Play Structure at the Park possible, please fill out the 2020 Notes:

Benefits of having a neighborhood play structure:

• Develops a strong sense of community

• Creates social opportunities between parents and kids

• Increases property values

• Liability insurance and the finances needed to cover the structure will be covered by paying your HOA dues each quarter without any increase to your $70/quarter payment.

The Structure:

• We are looking at structures designed for children ages 2-12

• Maintenance is around $1500 every 4 years (the HOA will plan this into our budget)

• Our current insurance policy has the coverage recommended to protect the neighborhood.

2. Have the city put in Speed Humps on 53rd St.

2021 Update: We know this needs to happen to keep our neighborhood safe. We have contacted to city and are in talks about how to get this accomplished.

2020 Notes: It has come to the Board’s attention that many have been driving recklessly up and down the hill on 53rd street. We strive to prevent any further accident or injury.

3. Pilot a Neighborhood Watch Program

2021 Update: A group spearheaded by the Scholz and Tjosvold families are working with Commander Paula Schwan at the Issaquah Police Department to get this off the ground. They are in communication with the Board and we are lending our support, connections and knowledge in their effort. We so appreciate them taking this on. If you have questions about how to move forward with this idea on your specific street, don’t hesitate to reach out the Board or directly to Commander Schwan at 425-837-3208.

2020 notes: Getting together a neighborhood watch is not as easy as it once was. The city of Issaquah has set up specific guidelines in order to obtain status and post signs for a Neighborhood Watch. We are working with Officer Ryan Smith to accomplish this goal. We plan to start the pilot on 229th Ave, but would like to support any others that are interested in the endeavor.