Enforcing rule about mowing lawns

What a disappointment to learn that the water trucks are operated by the developer and that the trucks will stop watering when they stop building new homes in the area! I think it should be continued indefinitely even if it means higher HOA fees. Feedback anyone?

As for the common area "care" issue - if you live near it give the grass some water and care once in awhile. I do it all the time in addition to picking up garbage that continually blows around the community because people do not know how to secure a garbage bag properly.

Stop bellyaching and take responsibility for the community in which you live.

 

Mr. Linux -- your apology is appreciated and also I agree that comments on the forums can be taken out of context. It is a tough balance!

KTdid -- you cannot reach some of the common grounds with a normal hose, not to mention this: Why should any home owner utilize their own water and expense of that water to maintain an area that we are already paying to keep up through our HOA fees?

I agree with you that we should do our part to pick up some trash, keep things in order, but going and lugging a hose 500 yards to a common area isn't the answer.

I think the overall issue here is that some of these common areas weren't properly setup to begin with. For example the areas near Sunderleigh and Fieldthorn just look bad. The grass never properly took hold and it is more of a patchy mess of grass and weeds and dirt then actual lawn. Do I expect it to be like a golf course? Of course not. But it would be a good start to make it attractive to begin with.

I'm not blaming the HOA on this nor do I believe other homeowners are. I do believe that we are concerned of what will happen when the little maintenance that is done now by the builder goes away.

And we should all be happy that people are expressing any sentiment at all about this, it shows that homeowners do care, whether they make it to HOA meetings or not. The worst thing that could happen is that nobody speaks their mind, cares or makes ‘noise’ and the place goes to hell.

Chris

 

By the sound of the discussion on the forum it has already gone to heck in a hand basket. Perhaps the HOA could use something other than grass for a ground cover or maybe artificial turf? There aren't many sound suggestions being offered.

 

My advice ... attend a HOA board meeting, or one of the quarterly updates sponsored by the HOA, and bring these ideas up to the board.

They are willing to listen, and will gratefully accept any assistance or volunteer time that you would want to give to the Open Spaces Committee to figure out what should be done.

 

Steve ... love your new avatar ... been down to Florida lately ??

 

I'll try to summarize the many points raised on this thread.....
When a new section is opened up for development, all of the common area grounds that will eventually be turned over to the HOA are maintained by the Developer until such time that section is complete. The grounds are reviewed by the county prior to the Developer getting their bond release and then the property is turned over to the HOA. Unfortunately, the county's standard as to what is acceptable is far lower than what most of us would like to see.

If a resident calls about a particular area that is still in a section that has some development going on, Wes has to determine whether it is ours or the Developer's. If it is the Developer's, we will forward the complaint to Van Metre to resolve. If it is the HOA's, we will work the issue.

As many have noticed, the Developer pays much more care to the common areas along the major roadways. They're still trying to sell homes, so they want the major streetscapes looking nice. That is why they are paying for the big water trucks to water Waxpool/Truro Parish/Claiborne/Broadlands Blvd., even though these areas have been turned over to the HOA.
I think the cost is somewhere around $50,000/yr for this. I, as a Board member, do not support continuing this once Van Metre stops.

Common Areas that are turned over to the HOA that are deficient will continue to be worked on by the HOA's landscapers. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time to establish an area that has been neglected, nor wil all common areas look like groomed lawns. Once again, the cost to get instant results and to maintain a lawn-like quality in all common areas would be a huge additional expense.

Lastly, do not expect any responses from our HOA management from the forums. Unfortunately, we have found numerous false stories started and they do not have the time to be reading all of the forums and trying to respond to things that may or may not be an issue. Also, as you know, the forums are anonymous and there's no guarantee that a resident is making the post. As most of you know, Staci and I are Board members and we are on here a lot and will try to work some issues.

If you have any issues, please contact the HOA Office's main number 703-729-9704. By all means continue to use the forums, but the only way to ensure the issue will be looked into is to contact the HOA directly....by phone, email, or stopping in.

Hope this answers/clarifies many of the issues raised.