Southern Walk Lawn Maintenance

Neilz;

I'm aware that they are negotiated separately. My point is the Lawn maintenance has gone up bc of raised cost and mowing backyards(which im thankful that they do). Altho my lawn is somewhat patchy and my mulch looks horrible im still glad someone mows the lawn. For openband, costs should stay the same or go down w/ better technology always coming out. Well seems that way w MCI at least. Husband works in sales and he renews customer contracts w lower rates. Off topic but i think if we pay more somewhere we should get it back elsewhere.

 

Unfortunately .. they are two entirely separate areas.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

Neilz

Do u always feel the need to get the last word in. I think its pretty clear what i said, u reiterating it is exasperating.

 

Yes ...

However, while you agreed that they are two separate areas, you still say that when something goes up in one, the other should go down.

Ain't going to happen that way !! However, please come ot the June 7th meeting as your opinion will count on what the HOA does with the lawn contract.




Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

My question is really more about the contract, and why are we paying so much for so little. I would imagine that the advantage, at least to the landscaping company, would be that they can service the entire contract in one shot, without wasting time transporting equipment.

I would have thought that they would try to keep us happy, and prevent a situation as we currently have. My vote would be to put out bids to other firms, and see what the results are. If these guys are the best, then maybe we should contact some of the local schools .

Another concern I have is with the common areas. If we dump the service, will they continue to service the easement areas, like between the property lines and woods or other common areas.

ooo000 WoooHoooo 000ooo

 

Just a reminder that for those to whom the lawn service is a key issue, don't miss the HOA meeting for Courtyard SFH homeowners tomorrow!

 

I have to point out the irony that I and perhaps others face, in that one reason I like the lawn service - and chose to live here because of the lawn service - was because I work long hours in DC and am rarely home weekdays between the hours of 9AM to 9PM, prefer my weekends for relaxing instead of lawn care, and now can't even attend a forum to present my views in favor of keeping the lawn services because it happens when I can't realistically attend!

Just once, I would like a community meeting here that started at 8PM or 9PM so everyone has a legitimate chance to attend and air their views. Not everyone in Broadlands has children and is home for dinner by 6 or 7!

 

I fully expect that the meeting will not last just 1 hour. I would swing by the Nature Center to see if the meeting is still going on.

And you are free to send a letter to the HOA that contains your views on the subject.

FWIW ... as has been pointed out in other messages in this thread, you can also contract with a lawn service privately.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I agree with you completely on all counts!

 

I did the due diligence and research....contracting with a lawn service privately rather than through the group contract will cost 6 times more than what one is now paying through HOA dues. The cheapest rate I found which did not include all of the services we now receive is $240 month.

I agree that if this issue is important enough and one cannot attend the meeting, then write a letter to the HOA to express your views.




[/quote]

I fully expect that the meeting will not last just 1 hour. I would swing by the Nature Center to see if the meeting is still going on.

And you are free to send a letter to the HOA that contains your views on the subject.

FWIW ... as has been pointed out in other messages in this thread, you can also contract with a lawn service privately.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999
[/quote]

 

And don't forget to cut your figure in about half over the course of a year, since you wouldn't have to pay a lawn service for the fall/winter months that you are not having anything done to your lawn. We currently pay for our lawn care 12 months out of the year, even though they don't do anything for us for about half of the year.

Not to mention that just having the lawn mowed would be enough for most of us. Even if I were going to contract for lawn care, I would be happy with having my lawn mowed and wouldn't pay premium prices for mulching, fertilization, aeration, etc. Based on the previous quotes you have posted, this would significantly reduce the monthly cost figure you have quoted above.

 

Exactly. Is the HOA shopping around for the best quote or are we locked in to HLS?

In my personal opinion HLS provides terrible service. They destroy my lawn with their large mowers, didn't edge my beds in the spring, burn my grass with their weeder wacker, and leave grass clippings all over the place. I'm constantly out in my yard patching/repairing my lawn and cleaning up their mess. Giving them more money for that kind of service is crazy.

 

While I live in Southern Walk, I do not live in the Courtyard homes.

I would like to remind people of one thing about th eprices being mentioned. Everyone is stating monthly costs. While the increase in homeowner dues is for every month, the monthly costs for the maintenece contracts are only for the summer months.

What you need to do is look at the yearly totals.

 

This is one of the points I was trying to convey in my previous post. When you consider that we pay lawn maintenance fees as part of our HOA dues every</u> month, even for months that we get no lawn service, there is not such a great disparity between what we pay annually under the HOA contract vs. what you would pay during only the spring/summer months, if you were to hire someone on your own.

 

1. We put bids out for the work every two years before the current contract ends.

2. If you are having issues with HLS, just don't stew about it. Call the HOA office and let Wes know that you are disatisfied.

3. If you have the time, come to the meeting tonight and speak directly with HLS representatives about your issues.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I'm not stewing, I've called and complained to Wes in the past. HLS has tried to fix my problems by throwing some grass seed on the bare spots they created and even used push mowers on my backyard. After severval weeks they returned with the big mowers (right after a significant rain event) and tore my lawn up again.

I will certainly be there tonight.

 

It was good to attend the meeting last night and hear firsthand the various views of Courtyard residents as well as comments and responses to questions from HLS representatives in attendance. Not suprisingly no firm decision was made last night and more information about lawn care options will be forthcoming to Courtyard residents. It is my understanding that those of us in Courtyard homes will be receiving a survey in the future from which the HOA will use towards making future decisions. I would suggest for those of you in Courtyard homes who attended the meeting to sensitize your neighbors who were not in attendance as well as encourage them to submit the survey once received. This is our opportunity as residents to voice our views and have our requests/wishes made known to the HOA. Bottom line...if one does not actively participate and make their views known, then they'll simply have to accept whatever decision is ultimately made by the HOA on this issue.

 

Thanks for the summary Carol! Thanks to everyone that came out to the meeting last night.
The HOA will be sending out a letter/survey to all Courtyard/Overland Park homes that the HOA has yard maintenance included in HOA fees. The letter will outline the current services provided, current cost and expected increase in cost for next year.

The survey will include a breakdown of the costs associated with each current service provided so you can get an idea what the cost would be for each service. For example, the bed edging/mulching alone is $236/yr of the $550/yr propsed cost for next year. Eliminating the mulching alone would reduce the cost from the current $420/yr to $314/yr.

Please take the time to fill out and return the survey!! The HOA will use this information to determine what services you will receive in the future.
Cliff

 

$230 for twice-yearly mulching and edging seems a bit steep to me. I hope that if this contract is to be maintained that at least this service can be eliminated.

If it were, our HOA fees may actually - [:0] (GASP!) - go down next year!

 

highly unlikely as we will probably have to pay for more of the common area stuff as Van Metre is turning over more stuff to us.