11-23-2016, 07:55 AM
IMO, what we see around the park today after close observation over the past 2+ yrs is bc of the following:
(I can't help it, I was on the Road Traffic Safety Committee for 4 yrs and it was our job to assess safety on our roads and easements for the membership and board)
1) Flora doesn't stop growing. It needs to be maintained regularly or you get what we all see around the park overtaking all of our roads horizontally and vertically, dirt and paved.
2) Road "maintenance" is maintaining/replacing what was already there, which includes road striping and reflectors. Asphalt roads also require maintenance as needed, and currently there's a pothole issue on a paved road. Monies budgeted for road maintenance is supposed to be used for that ONLY per our bylaws. If they're not putting $ into road material, which is physically evident around the park, then where's the $ going? I suspect chip seal...
3) When the road crew is pulled off their normal duties for weeks at a time, then the road and easement maintenance will obviously suffer. The 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 board made the decision last year to do chip seal in house, which includes all the prep work before chip seal is finally laid down. They were already behind on our road and easement maintenance. I asked the board a year ago how they planned to keep up with road and easement maintenance if our road crew is chip sealing. No response. The board decided around Sep 2015 to outsource the maintenance of our main drags to do catch up. The contractor's contract has been renewed this year, so it's not temporary as was intended in Sep 2015. What about all the crossroads that need maintenance?
4) Dirt roads need to have quality bonding mixture of road material replaced as needed and applied by experienced road crew who know how to properly roll, compact and grade. I think the last time material was laid down on my entire road was over 5 yrs ago. Most of the roads in the park look like they're in the same condition as mine - no road material just powder. The massive amt of pot holes on many of our roads are due to lack of road material, lack of maintenance, and weather and traffic conditions.
5) The board exists to manage our roads and will depend on a qualified GM with road knowledge and experience they won't have as volunteers. The GM's job is to manage our roads and easements professionally and on schedule. Since Jul 2014, we've had inexperienced people in charge as is evident when you look around the park. Those who have knowledge and kindly offered assistance are arrogantly turned away.
6) Dist 2 as a short term Pres last year but still currently on the board, made a public statement that we had $350,000 and we should use it for chip seal or it would "go to waste". Last year spring, a Dist 2 lot owner asked his rep for road material. She and Dist 5 rep who was interim GM at the time, told him they weren't dropping any road material bc they are saving $ for chip seal. Dist 5 rep also stated at a board mtg that the chip seal $ would come from road "maintenance". Chip sealing roads is not road "maintenance". It appears road maintenance funds were diverted to the chip seal project and they need more $ to do more chip sealed roads, hence the hike in road maint fees.
With lack of transparency, no checks and balances, no one knows exactly how much of our $ has been spent on the 3 chip sealed roads and 4th in progress. Rental of equipment costs, the emulsion, base coarse, road crew labor, and add to that the outsourcing of main drag easement maintenance. No engineer involvement, no proper permits etc.
7) Distraction to what the board should be focusing on has been convoluted with the lawsuit since 2014. The lawsuit is ongoing and causing internal damage to the association. What came out at a recent mtg is that our insurance rates skyrocketed because of the lawsuit.
The chip seal project has stalled due to the number of member complaints the GM has to tend to. I'm sure they will try and get back to chip sealing as soon as they can. Question: How do we maintain the weeds that are growing through the existing chip sealed roads? Poison? Think of that on a massive scale if all our dirt roads get chip sealed.
(I can't help it, I was on the Road Traffic Safety Committee for 4 yrs and it was our job to assess safety on our roads and easements for the membership and board)
1) Flora doesn't stop growing. It needs to be maintained regularly or you get what we all see around the park overtaking all of our roads horizontally and vertically, dirt and paved.
2) Road "maintenance" is maintaining/replacing what was already there, which includes road striping and reflectors. Asphalt roads also require maintenance as needed, and currently there's a pothole issue on a paved road. Monies budgeted for road maintenance is supposed to be used for that ONLY per our bylaws. If they're not putting $ into road material, which is physically evident around the park, then where's the $ going? I suspect chip seal...
3) When the road crew is pulled off their normal duties for weeks at a time, then the road and easement maintenance will obviously suffer. The 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 board made the decision last year to do chip seal in house, which includes all the prep work before chip seal is finally laid down. They were already behind on our road and easement maintenance. I asked the board a year ago how they planned to keep up with road and easement maintenance if our road crew is chip sealing. No response. The board decided around Sep 2015 to outsource the maintenance of our main drags to do catch up. The contractor's contract has been renewed this year, so it's not temporary as was intended in Sep 2015. What about all the crossroads that need maintenance?
4) Dirt roads need to have quality bonding mixture of road material replaced as needed and applied by experienced road crew who know how to properly roll, compact and grade. I think the last time material was laid down on my entire road was over 5 yrs ago. Most of the roads in the park look like they're in the same condition as mine - no road material just powder. The massive amt of pot holes on many of our roads are due to lack of road material, lack of maintenance, and weather and traffic conditions.
5) The board exists to manage our roads and will depend on a qualified GM with road knowledge and experience they won't have as volunteers. The GM's job is to manage our roads and easements professionally and on schedule. Since Jul 2014, we've had inexperienced people in charge as is evident when you look around the park. Those who have knowledge and kindly offered assistance are arrogantly turned away.
6) Dist 2 as a short term Pres last year but still currently on the board, made a public statement that we had $350,000 and we should use it for chip seal or it would "go to waste". Last year spring, a Dist 2 lot owner asked his rep for road material. She and Dist 5 rep who was interim GM at the time, told him they weren't dropping any road material bc they are saving $ for chip seal. Dist 5 rep also stated at a board mtg that the chip seal $ would come from road "maintenance". Chip sealing roads is not road "maintenance". It appears road maintenance funds were diverted to the chip seal project and they need more $ to do more chip sealed roads, hence the hike in road maint fees.
With lack of transparency, no checks and balances, no one knows exactly how much of our $ has been spent on the 3 chip sealed roads and 4th in progress. Rental of equipment costs, the emulsion, base coarse, road crew labor, and add to that the outsourcing of main drag easement maintenance. No engineer involvement, no proper permits etc.
7) Distraction to what the board should be focusing on has been convoluted with the lawsuit since 2014. The lawsuit is ongoing and causing internal damage to the association. What came out at a recent mtg is that our insurance rates skyrocketed because of the lawsuit.
The chip seal project has stalled due to the number of member complaints the GM has to tend to. I'm sure they will try and get back to chip sealing as soon as they can. Question: How do we maintain the weeds that are growing through the existing chip sealed roads? Poison? Think of that on a massive scale if all our dirt roads get chip sealed.