September 10, 2022
Dear Ashley Estates Neighbor:
A movement has begun to try and invigorate our neighborhood community. Pages can be filled on advantages of a strong subdivision: Better security, better safety of children playing or walking back and forth to school, community activities, increased home values, shared experiences with service providers, children’s programs, community garage sales, etc., etc. Compared to the subdivisions around us, Ashley Estates lacks a community organization to address these issues. This subdivision has been in existence for half a century with a loosely knit HOA which fell dysfunctional a few years ago. COVID and prohibition of group gatherings helped in the process. This letter is an effort to re-organize our community with volunteers from amongst the owners to make Ashley Estates the popular and warm subdivision that it once was and can be again.
In the old system we had dues of $20 A YEAR, which was entirely voluntary and still is. From those meagre payments we were able to maintain the entrance signage, install and maintain our entrance landscape, hold neighborhood picnics, arrange children’s programs and neighborhood garage sales, provide a neighborhood directory, create an Ashley Estates website, deliver care packages for neighbors in distress, announce new baby arrivals, and arrange other social activities. We still have a bank account with over $5,000 in our account. To summarize, the aim is to preserve our home values by creating a subdivision that is enjoyable to live in.
This is where every owner in Ashley Estates comes in. We made an effort to hold a neighborhood gathering in April of this year, but attendance was poor. Difficulties with communication and propagation of announcements among owners was clear at that meeting. The most certain means of communicating and propagating with the owners remains a physical letter delivered to each address, which is what you are reading. A group of volunteers at the April meeting accepted the job of organizing the Ashley Estates Community, but cannot function without input from the owners, as well as volunteers for different functions that this Community Organization can and should undertake. Here are the action items we have identified, and will refine with further input from you:
- Please send your contact information such as names, email addresses, home address (in case you are not currently living at your home) to ashleyestatesclemson.com. We need to have a central location for this information and creation of a neighborhood directory.
- We would like for all new owners to gather at a (Potluck) picnic Clemson Elementary School at 5:00 p.m. on October 9th, to meet with all the owners and plan for the future of our Community.
Meg and Joey Williamson
Ray Myers
Karl Dieter
