Letter from the President | November 2020

Hello neighbors! I hope you all had a good and safe Thanksgiving. We spent it at home here in Highland for the first time ever, which was actually awesome. We hadn't made a Thanksgiving meal in 10 years–my mother in law up in Tyler excels at preparing Thanksgiving (her cornbread stuffing is ridiculous), so up until now we've just let her handle it. But we made turkey with all the trimmings and had a nice Beaujolais Nouveau to round things out. It was really nice. And the neighborhood was so quiet—we biked all over the area and enjoyed the fantastic weather.

Holiday lights contest: December 19

The HNA is once again sponsoring the Highland holiday lights contest. Have your lights ready by December 19. Then, Susan Sellers and her daughter will tour the neighborhood and pick the winners. Prizes are cash: $40 for 1st place, $30 for 2nd, and $20 for third.

You can also nominate a neighbor if you see a great lights display. Email Susan at sksellars@sbcglobal.net, or suggest someone on the Highland Facebook Group page. Photos will be posted on the Facebook page and the HNA website.

Ryan Drive development

Though Ryan Dr. is not technically in Highland, the development of the Austin Energy site on Ryan will have a big impact on our neighborhood. Currently the city is accepting proposals to develop the site. One person owns the properties on either side of the Ryan Dr. site, bordering Lamar and Justin. He's seeking to develop the whole site as one package. A representative of his will be at our next meeting on December 8 to discuss their proposal and how Highland can benefit from it. We will hopefully also have other representatives discussing their proposals.

St Johns and I35

Since the last update on the situation at St Johns and I35, the HNA, St. Johns NA, and others have created a document for Greg Casar's office in which we express what we'd like to see happen at that corner. APD officers and others have also contributed to it, and it will hopefully serve as a template for ongoing work at that intersection. There's already markedly lower activity at that corner than there was three months ago. Officer Hyatt will join us at the next HNA meeting on December 8 to answer any questions.

Rain catcher pilot program for Highland

Select homes in our neighborhood are eligible for the Rain Catcher Pilot Program. The Rain Catcher Pilot Program offers incentives like rebates to eligible property owners to install rain gardens, trees, and/or cisterns that capture and slow down stormwater. Read more.