Issues List

Vandalism

During the last few months, we've experienced a surge in vandalism and criminal mischief. Per the police, there has been an increase city-wide. Some neighbors discovered that overnight windows in their homes and/or vehicles were broken; others reported items were stolen and a high school student’s dance team yard sign was defaced with spray paint. And at least one stop sign was defaced with paint. Another neighbor found their mail scattered on the ground; the next day their neighbor gave them their credit card bill which had checks attached; it had been opened and checks were missing. They canceled that card.

If you are aware or or suspect vandalism, please call the police at 311. It is important to do this even if the event happened several weeks ago as the police look for patterns and use this in part to decide how often to patrol a neighborhood.

The dangers of feeding deer in an urban neighborhood

A biologist from the Wildlife Services section of the Texas Cooperative Extension spoke to attendees at the March 2nd Neighborhood Association. His discussion was about living with deer, implications of feeding deer, and also discuss coyotes, which are all over the Austin area, including Northwood. Further discussion concerning this topic can be found on the NorthwoodAustin Discussion Group.

Oak Wilt

As mentioned in several of the past year's bi-monthly newsletters, Oak Wilt is a real concern for the homeowners here in Northwood.

Northwood has developed an Assistance Program to help homeowners with tree and brush projects twice a year in conjunction with the City of Austin's large brush removal.

For more on Oak Wilt prevention, please read the following from the Texas Forestry Service.

Public Safety

Whether it is traffic, noise, construction or crime, public safety is an important topic that we all share a concern about. Any time you see a suspicious person or vehicle that does not belong, get as detailed of a description as possible and notify the police. Call 3-1-1 for non emergency needs, 9-1-1 for all emergency needs.

Officer Joe Maciel is our new neighborhood police contact. You can reach him by phone at 974-4289 or by emailing him at joe.maciel@ci.austin.tx.us.

To find more information on crime here in Northwood, goto the City of Austin Crime Information Page hosted by the Austin Police Department.

Fix your cats!

Many Northwood families have - and enjoy - pets. However, large numbers of them that stay outside can be rather frustrating to neighbors. Cats, especially ones that have not been neutered, can get rather noisy at all hours (including at 3 a.m.) and don't understand about property lines. They roam the nearby area and claim it for their own.

If you have outside cats, please neuter them - and be sure they stay current on rabies shots! Two local organizations offer low (and sometimes free) neutering:

• Emancipet - 587-SPAY (7729) - http://www.emancipet.org/
• Animal Trustees of Austin - 450-1504 - http://www.animaltrustees.org/

Other Issues

If you have suggestions or comments regarding these issues, please consider posting them through our newly created discussion group - NorthwoodAustin.

Contacts

Updated January 9, 2011