Neglected in Southern Walk - Unruly Grass

I would vote for this! Oh wait, I already did once.

 

That's fair. I agree...

 

That's fair. I agree...

 

The plugging was a waste.. like putting a band-aid on a 6 inch laceration...they never came back to water any of it, so it all died. Also, the plugs were laid so lackadasically, there are still huge gaps and you could actually twist an ankle...

The tot lot behind Larchmont / Broxton Terr and the common area that abutts Larchmont Broxton and Village are 2 good examples.

The trees that were planted along Larchmont and never watered.

Half a$$ed work gets you half-a$$ed results.

 

Howdy Neighbor-
Glad you're back and you still have the boulder on your shoulder!!!!
My solution was to contact the HOA office, where the paid management staff is that does things such as listen to residents, find out about problems, look into problems for solutions, etc.
But no! Anonymous posts about non-specific areas, with rather snotty comments is the way to get things done! Maybe in your world, but not mine.
I GAVE the solution! But no, the snippy, anonymous comments continue.
And no, there are about 2800 members of Broadlands. I hardly think even a very, very small percentage of the HOA is here.
And no, the complaints won't stop. It happens every spring.
Lastly, I got the National Weather Service data for the last 26 days for Dulles. It has rained 16 out of 26. And some of the days it didn't rain, the grass still couldn't be mowed due to saturation..
Holy cow! Maybe THAT's the reason they're a little behind.

 

Cost of water is probably prohibitive to watering new plantings. It is probably also cheaper to simply replace dead plugs and/or trees.

And if some of the plantings were in residence's yards, then they are responsible for watering.

 

It has rained 16 of the last 26 days (according to National Weather service data.) Hardly a "dry" season.

 

Grasor-
Maureen answered the question about HOA staff and the Forums. It is best to call them directly with these issues. They can find out if/when the area is scheduled to be mowed or if it might have been missed by mistake.
I (and other Board members) don't work for the HOA, nor are we in the office daily, nor are we generally in contact with our contractors.....that's what our staff is for. Nor do I think it is reasonable to expect a Board member to be responsible for every anonymous complaint post put up here.

Also, one could interpret that 750 views and only 4-5 complaints would mean there isn't a problem. And two complaints are from the same household.

Also, you are right about the HOA responsibility for Common Area. But we have lots and lots of small pieces of Common Area scattered across almost 2000 acres. It IS NOT going to be maintained to the standards of someone's personal lawn. It would be cost prohibitive.
So, if someone wants to let that three foot strip of grass between their property line and the street go to pot, then that's what will be left to see.
Personally, I would like to see our residents take more ownership of the Common Areas near and dear to them. We've had many groups of residents work with the HOA to beautify and maintain Common Areas near them.
Yes, we all pay fees, but that's for general maintenance.

 

Then how about a disclaimer that any and all "official" HOA complaints/issues MUST go through the HOA Management Office?

 

Eric-
You miss my point. The "whole HOA", as was insinuated, is not on our Forums.
If you want to personally follow up on every post on the Forums, feel free.
I was in no way belittling the importance of the Forums.....just that it is not the best conduit for action required by HOA staff. That's why we have an office, paid staff, etc.

 

As already stated in the things you're supposed to read before posting:

Please recognize the forum is not an official way to contact the BHOA office or its committees. While members of the BHOA and committees may frequent the forum, they do so on their own merit and do not read all postings. Any official business involving the BHOA should be conducted using the contact information posted on the BHOA website

 

I never left. I completely agree that people should contact the HOA (most already know this), but that does not take away from the importance of the forum and its purpose. It is the tone of your reply that really turns me off. The "belly-aching" and "happy now" comments to the original poster are completely uncalled for. The poster had a legitimate concern (complaint) and that is no way to reply, especially as a representative of our community. Maureen has never replied in this manner.

I'm in no way questioning the weather, maintenance, or anything about the facts (don't live there and don't know anything about the service). I'm simply making a point that the forum is the correct place to comment on community issues AND the President should show some respect to the residents.

Perhaps you should expand the scope of your disclaimer. I'd be happy to draft one for you, if needed.

 

You are correct that it has rained 16 out of 26 days based on the weatherunderground site:
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KIAD/2009/4/21/MonthlyHistory.html#calendar

However before today the area still have a negative delta amount of 1.17" of considered normal rainfall.

 

Eric-
First, I never commented on how many people peruse the Forums. I said, and stick by, the comment that not the "whole HOA" is on the Forums. If you have data that shows otherwise, I would be interested in that!
Reread the first post on this topic. That post was, in my humble opinion, nasty, over-the top, and not deserving of serious attention. I responded somewhat in kind. I do it to demonstrate the tone of the original post. Usually works....even if some people don't like it.

Of course I think there Forums are important! Why else would I have 3480 posts! And I never said they weren't a good place to share information.

I'll say it again .....specific areas of concern are best addressed directly with the HOA Staff. That's the way to handle it. Somebody posted a concern and I answered it that way.

Regarding your trash example, you might be surprised how many "mine wasn't picked up" is the fault of the homeowner, not the trash company. And no, if there is an anonymous post about trash not being picked up, with no specific address, I wouldn't expect our staff to be calling the trash company.

And, if our staff reads these, decides to look into it, and post here, I'm fine with that.
Where did I imply they shouldn't? Now if staff tried to imply that putting something on the Forums constitutes official communication from the HOA to the residents, I would have issue with that. (Although the HOA Main Page would be sufficient.)

 

I know I'm correct...that's why I posted it!
And, as I listen to the rumbles of thunder, make that 17 out of 27 days. And I'm looking at a beautiful double rainbow out the back!

Wet grass really doesn't care about Negative Deltas. It's either wet or dry.

 

Neighbor-
That first comment on the Forum was not deserving of respect. If you think so, we will just have to disagree. If you think that because of my position on the HOA that that type of comment should be tolerated or treated "with respect", I guess I'm not your type of person.
I am also confident that anyone who knows me does not question my love or commitment to this community.

My response was intentionally intended to be of similar tone. I did it for effect. It usually gets the point across to the original post-er about their tone. It doesn't always work, but I have found that it usually does.

 

Interesting concept.....in essence you would be fining yourself since your dues will be paying the fine!