WBNA Town Hall: TCSO Safety Meeting

Thursday, November 16 | 7-8 pm
WB Community Center | 2106 Klattenhoff

Travis County Sheriff’s Office reached out to the WBNA and offered to host a neighborhood forum to discuss our local area safety concerns. The team of officers from TCSO wants to meet with the Wells Branch community to better understand current issues, address your questions and have a dialogue with the residents.

The WBNA put together a short survey to help canvas data and questions from the entire community. The initial survey results highlighted a few insightful data points.

• Top 2 areas of concern are increased vandalism and home security
• 60% of residents are unclear on  how to correctly report a crime, and only 2% have used the online tools for emergent issues
• 87% of homes have not had any type of safety inspection
• 30% of homes have no security tools in place, and 35% only have the bare minimum of motion lighting in place
• 87% reported that there is no active neighborhood watch program in place
• 88% of the residents expressed support for a security monitoring system at key access points in/out of the community

These data points from the community’s response suggest that there is an opportunity to work together to improve these figures.  The key is working together to help make Wells Branch a safer place to live and raise a family. The WBNA is going to focus on rebuilding the local neighborhood watch program and develop a step by step guide to report a crime.

Make plans to attend this town hall meeting with the team from TCSO to learn more about keeping the neighborhood safe.

WB MUD & WBNA Extreme Clean Fall

Saturday, October 14 | 8am-2pm
WB MUD Parks & Facilities Yard | 13905 Thermal Drive

It’s that time of year again! We are proud to partner with the Wells Branch MUD to
provide neighbors an opportunity to repurpose gently used goods and properly dispose unwanted items. Drug take-back and Shredding included.  Gates open at 8am and will close promptly at 2pm.

WBNA Donations Tent: Working with local area service groups, we provide a central collection point for neighborhood donations. These groups work in turn to service the needs of the community. Please sort and bag your donations as volunteers will have limited resources to sort all the goods donated.

Austin Creative Reuse: arts/craft supplies, puzzles, playing cards, and
acrylic/craft paint, and blue painters’ tape. No building supplies

NEW: All Things Wild: Food is critical: unexpired/unopened dry and wet food, mixed wild bird or black-oil sunflower seeds, hand feeding formula, Pedialyte or generic equivalent, rabbit and duck pellets, Fine Premium Pine Animal Shavings, baby shampoo. Please NO crates, bedding, blankets or towels.

Easter Seals: clean and gently used clothing & shoes (all ages & sizes), linens and household items. Pet crates can be donated here.

St. Andrews Shelter: hygiene & toiletries (soap, shampoo, lotion, tooth paste, tooth brushes, deodorant) disposable razors, insect repellant, sunscreen, bottled water, new-packaged underwear & socks. Hats, gloves, coats. Can and dry goods will also be accepted.

Household Waste: latex/water-based paint and primer, batteries and
antifreeze in sealed and labeled container. No oil based products.

Drug Take-Back: pill form only (creams, liquids, ointments and pet meds
will not be accepted).

On-Site Shredding: all types of paper accepted for on-site service.

Electronic Recycling: TVs (no CRTs), DVD players, DVRs, cable boxes,
routers, lamps, small kitchen appliances, computers, laptops, monitors
(no CRTs), printers, tablets, cell phones, etc.

Styrofoam: egg cartons, food packaging, meat trays, to-go containers,
disposable plates and coffee cups, large packing pieces and foam ice
chests. Styrofoam must be CLEAN and free of food, tape, glue, paper and
cardboard. Packing peanuts and soft cell packing inserts are NOT accepted.

Please visit http://www.wellsbranchmud.com/bulk-items/bulk-trash-household-waste-2 for a complete list of acceptable items.

WBNA National Night Out | Please join us!

You and your family are invited to a FREE supper to visit with your neighbors and local area first responders. The WBNA will be serving up hotdogs, sausage wraps, chips and drinks! Enjoy FREE Culver’s frozen custard provided by the Friends of Wells Branch Community Library.

Distinguished members from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Pflugerville Fire Dept./Travis County ESD2 and Precinct 2 Constable’s Office will be on hand to meet with residents and answer your questions.  Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion and Representative James Talarico are hoping to make a special appearance.

National Night Out’s purpose is to heighten crime awareness, generate support for and participation in local anti-crime efforts, build neighborhood spirit and strengthen our law enforcement-community partnership. There will be several information booths set up, special topics from Get Ready Central Texas, Austin Community College, RRISD and more. Don’t forget your donations to the St. Andrew’s food bank (optional).

Activities include: Prize drawings for home safety products, new interactive safety activities, a fire truck, and an ambulance hosted by Pflugerville Fire Department / ESD2. The Wells Branch MUD will have representatives there with information on upcoming events and safety on the trails. Plus, we’ll have folks on hand to register voters and share ballot information.

Take a stand against crime. If you have a local Neighborhood Watch group on your block, set a date after the event to meet your neighbors and discuss how you can
make your homes and our community safer. If you don’t have a group yet we’d like to encourage you to make plans to set one up. The WBNA is here to help!

We hope to see you at NNO!

Wells Branch Wild –
A Community Wildlife Habitat

by Jill Douglass

Wells Branch Wild is dedicated to connecting the human community to the natural world.  We invite all residents to participate in this journey by creating personal wildlife habitats.  One of the best changes we can make to support wildlife in our yards is to install native plants.  This is because native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plants disappear, the insects disappear, greatly reducing the food source for birds, lizards, toads, and even larger animals like foxes.  Foxes love to eat grasshoppers!  Traditional gardening methods often encourage us to eliminate insects that eat our plants, so supporting wildlife gardening really turns things upside down because we actually are inviting all those insects to eat!

The easiest way to welcome native plants into your yard is to identify “weeds” before you pull them.  They may be native plants that have naturally sprouted in their home environment.  Horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis) is a common native groundcover that often volunteers in our lawns.  Similarly, Prairie Tea (Croton monanthogynus), Pepper Grass (Lepidium virginicum), and Chili Pequin (Capsicum annuum) show up as volunteers in our flower beds.   The seeds of these plants were deposited by the birds who ate them. Helpful phone apps such as iNaturalist can help you identify plants to determine if they are native or not.

As we come into the fall planting season, when purchasing new plants, buy native plants for your landscape.  If you are not sure what to plant, the city of Austin has a great website to help, https://www.austintexas.gov/department/grow-green.  Green ‘n Growing, a local Pflugerville nursery, regularly stocks Texas native plants, as does Round Rock Gardens.  Both are a short drive from Wells Branch.  The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in south Austin hosts a native plant sale every fall and spring.  Check out their website for dates.  In addition, TreeFolks has regularly scheduled tree giveaways all year long.

By changing a few gardening habits over time, we can convert our yards from food deserts to a full buffet for our wildlife, and a healthier, beautiful environment for us.

WBNA Arts at the Library

Saturday, September 23 | 10:00am – 3:00pm
WB Community Library Parking Lot | 15001 Wells Port Drive

We are excited to launch the NEW Arts at the Library event. This event will target hand-crafted goods, services and artwork. We are offering a “farmer’s market” format for local artisans and crafters. If you hand craft something wonderfully unique and you want to sell it—and you want to grow your business in the Wells Branch area, this event is for YOU and the Wells Branch community.

Variety is the spice of life! Do you make jewelry or work in wood, glass, clay, textiles or resin? How about painting, photography or home goods? Do you craft personal care products like soaps, honey, candles or natural beauty products?
Do you bake, cook, write or create music? Apply today to reserve a space.

WBNA is organizing this event for the community to help promote the wide variety of locally hand-crafted goods, original artwork, photography, literature, music and culinary creations. We will also host a small area for “Kids Crafts” for young entrepreneurs looking to learn how to market their work.

Fees collected for the stall space will serve as a donation to the WBNA organization, which in turn benefits the entire Wells Branch neighborhood.

Format: Open air parking lot with assigned spaces, Canopies
recommended (10×10’).

10 x 10’ space for $25
10 x 20’ double space for $40
4×6’ open table space (breezeway)  for $15
6’ tables for $10 (limited supply)

There will be an open stage area available for live performances, such as music, readings or story telling. Call to schedule a slot.

Apply today to have a space assigned:
https://tinyurl.com/Artsatlibrary
Questions? Contact Margaret Sufke:
info@wbna.us or call 512-341-0824 (msg).

2024 Wells Branch
Community Calendar Photo Contest

Give us your BEST shot! The annual WBNA Community Calendar Photo Contest is coming up. Our 2023 calendar was a huge success and the images are amazing. As a reminder, anyone who lives Wells Branch can submit a photo (or up to six photos). The image format MUST be an 8×10 landscape for the calendar. The only real “rules” are that images must be taken within Wells Branch by Wells Branch residents.

The 2024 theme is “Window into Wells Branch”. This year’s contest will take place both live at the WB MUD Recreation Center as well as online via the WBNA Facebook gallery for viewing and voting. The WB MUD Rec Center main lobby will host the contest gallery and “live” votes will be collected in a drop box.

Important Dates to Remember:

May 15: Start date! Use the online form and drop photo entry at the WB MUD Rec Center
Sept. 2: Contest closes and voting ends
Sept. 4: Winners announced
Sept. 23: Early sales begin at the WBNA Arts at the Library event
Oct. 3: The new 2024 Calendars will be available at National Night Out

Voting will take place online via the WBNA Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/WBNA.WellsBranchNeighborhoodAssociation/

Photos will be featured for voting in the “2024 Calendar Contest” facebook album and onsite at the Rec Center Gallery. NOTE: Please plan to provide a printed image for display at the Rec Center.

Please visit:  https://wbna.us/community/calendar-contest/  for rules and entry information. Questions? Contact Margaret Sufke, Calendar Contest Coordinator, at mmsufke@gmail.com or 512-341-0428.

The 2023 WBNA Silent Auction is LIVE!

Ready, Set… and Start Bidding!  The 2023 Silent Auction will open on Friday, June 23, at 9:00am. You will be dazzled by this year’s amazing donations! Our team worked very hard to bring the community a wide range of items and some wonderful surprises. Be sure to check the site often, there will be ongoing updates as we receive any final donations. Below are a few bidding tips and if you have questions please contact us: slientauction@wbna.us

Celebrate with Red, White, BOOM!:  https://www.32auctions.com/WBNA4thFest2023

Have fun and thank you for your support! We truly appreciate every donation. See you on the 4^th!

2023 WBNA Silent Auction: Bidding Tips:

Once you find that “special” item, what’s the best way to bid or buy? Carefully consider what the item is worth and how much are you willing to spend. Look at the starting (or current) bid and then bid up to the next increment. If bidding online you will need to register.

If you REALLY want the item, you can exercise the “buy now” option and simply buy the item out right at the set “buy now” price. This price is usually set just below the full item price. Or if you want to fully support the WBNA you may choose pay full price for the item and enter a custom bid amount.

The online auction site has some helpful features to make choosing and bidding on an item easier. Once you a place bid on an item, simply click the “” option to mark as a favorite, then select the “” option to track bids on your item. To narrow your search, select from the categories menu (next to search) to quickly filter items by group. Use the search option and type in a key word to find a specific item.

We have had a few folks ask “Why can’t I just pay online?”  We have chosen not to pay the additional processing fee to the 32auction service company (fee is nearly 10%). All the proceeds are returned into the community. If you really need the item before the July 4th checkout, please contact Margaret Sufke, 512-341-0428 (msg) or via mmsufke@gmail.com and we will work hard to make the purchase happen.