Re: Some ideas for the community
Don Mills
adpi...@hotmail.com wrote:
Hello all.
I'm a somewhat new resident to the Townes at Meredith Creek, and I
want to say how good a community it is to live in. However, I feel
that it can be more by implementing a few ideas to make it a great
community.
First and foremost, I think that it is a wonderful idea to provide a
tot lot for the communityâEURO(tm)s young people. And, I love the speed limit
signs recently installed.
A little food for thought:
âEURO¢ Why not provide roll-able trash cans for the community residents?
o We have a private trash company service the community on Tuesdays
and Fridays, and on these respective days, I see loose trash and bags
line the streets. This is very unattractive. Furthermore, when these
trash bags are not tied off properly, loose trash blows out on to
neighboring lawns.
o By not having cans give a poor community appearance. Uniformity
seems to be a resounding theme in the community; trash cans should be
no exception to the rule. Trash cans, albeit a device designed for
function over form, have a necessary purpose, and more importantly,
would rid the streets of trash overflow.
o We pay enough every month in HOA dues to provide private service, et
cetera; why not the cans to coincide?
âEURO¢ We should, as a community, encourage or enforce recycling.
o Going back to what was stated earlier by providing trash cans;
individual recycle bins should be provided as well. Furthermore, a
service company should be hired to provide pickup of the reusable
refuse. I feel that it is important to do our part by conserving our
environment by prevention.
o There are several overflow parking areas in the community which are
rarely used. This would be a good spot for a 'green' recycling
canister for community use.
âEURO¢ The community landscaper could use a little more direction
o When the landscaper comes through the community, the work that he
provides is mediocre at best. I have found many spots in my own lawn
that remain un-mowed. Some examples:
ï,§ Large unmowed patches of grass
ï,§ The area surrounding our A/C units never gets mowed. This is
especially important; otherwise the A/C units will fail prematurely.
The grass can cause the unit not to perform as it needs an air space
to function properly.
ï,§ The grass at the common fences is almost always never cut, leaving
tall and unsightly grass.
o It is obvious to me that he is on a time constraint and our lawns
and common areas are subject to sub par work.
o After mowing our lawns, the landscaper should rake the fresh cut
grass clippings from the yards. Otherwise it will eventually kill the
lawn below, leaving the overall community looking terrible.
o With a community that emphasizes the overall appearance, I should
think that better exterior attention to detail by our landscaper is
necessary. I understand that the community is not small, and mowing
individual lawns is no small feat; however, I think that he needs to
be aware of this importance.
o I have reason to believe that the mulch that was recently spread
throughout the community was diseased. This was brought to my
attention by a colleague with a long background in landscaping. He
explained that it is why a few of my plants had died in our yard.
âEURO¢ It would be wise to provide for a dog bag and refuse stations
throughout the community.
o This would encourage those pet owners to clean up.
âEURO¢ Other than the already provided speed limit signs in the community,
speed bumps and marked cross walks are another form of traffic calming
that would be of good use in the community.
o These would not only slow traffic, but make motorists more aware of
the surrounding environment.
o Furthermore, âEUROOESlow. Children PlayingâEURO signage is important to slow
the offending traffic.
âEURO¢ Our community mailboxes should have signage and pavement markings
for no parking
o To provide access for the residents (especially handicapped) to
access their mailboxes.
o Walking in-between and around parked vehicles is cumbersome.
o Furthermore, our mail has been refused delivery in the past due to
vehicles blocking access for our postman.
âEURO¢ Free or low priced wireless broadband and or FiOS should be
provided.
o In such a tight-knit community, why not provide a service that could
be used by all, for a small fee, or tied into our HOA dues. It would
make our community stand out among the best in the west end, and raise
home values!
o FiOS would be an even more tremendous mechanism to provide state-of-
the-art internet, television and telephone service, utilizing fiber-
optic technologies.
o The HOA meetings could then be conducted in our homes.
ï,§ This would encourage more homeowners to be involved in the decision
making process.
ï,§ Morale in the community would be raised.
âEURO¢ The HOA should encourage more community outings and festivals.
o This would provide opportunity to meet new and old residents/
neighbors.
o A greater community awareness can be promoted by offering these
parties.
o It is a great opportunity for residents to speak amongst themselves
about community issues and concerns.
o Morale in the community is boosted.
o This can be easily done by following national holidays.
I want to thank those of you who have taken the time to give attention
to these issues, large or small. I think that it is important to have
a look at the community overall and provide the best possible services
for the neighborhood as a whole.
Please feel free to contact me via email or stop by my home to discuss
any of these items. My best wishes to all of you, and I look forward
to speaking with all of you soon.
Adam Pillsbury
9310 Meredith Creek Lane
Contact me via email at adpi...@hotmail.com
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WILLIAM HAMIC
Don Mills
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adpi...@hotmail.com
Likewise it was nice to meet you and your wife. We would be
happy to contribute our services to the community, if it is needed.
Please keep us informed of anything in the community that we may be of
help.
In order to get the community involved as a whole, it is
important to really meet with the homeowners face to face, and really
promote involvement. Those who choose not to participate is their
prerogative, and vice versa. On a personal basis, I can offer my
services to do little 'punch-out' items in the community.
To Navjot,
I would be happy to help price out a tot lot in the community. I know
that Lowe's has products available. Otherwise, we can explore other
options.
Another thought:
I was thinking about our community common building. What is its
official use other than community meetings? I see the large room as
going unused otherwise... Would it be at all possible to expand the
work-out facilities to the larger room? Can we have a television/
satellite provider install service to the building? I'm sure that we
can prompt the community to receive donations of fitness equipment,
and even I could donate a television and/or furniture.
Thanks again. Adam
On May 23, 10:14 pm, Don Mills <dmil...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Adam,
>
> It was very nice meeting you, Bridgette, Charlotte, and Piglet last night. As we discussed, there are many important issues facing this community. I applaud your interest in wanting to get involved. My wish is that others would follow suit. The Board of Directors is comprised of 5 volunteers with full time careers that sacrifice their spare time in an attempt to make a difference. There is a tremendous amount of work that takes place behind the scenes. Contrary to what some may think the board labors over decisions that need to be made in what they feel is in the best interest of all homeowners. And regardless of the decisions rendered, they will not always be popular with all homeowners. What this neighborhood needs is for MANY volunteers to step up to the plate and get involved. We need to create committees to share the load. Those not willing to share the load should not complain. My fear is that if this does not happen you will see this neighborhood suffer
> to the detriment of each and everyone of us. I have personally made the decision that if we do not soon get a good number of volunteers to help out I will strongly reconsider my position on the board. I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Don Mills
>
> Contact me via email at adpil...@hotmail.com
>
> ---------------------------------
dmi...@yahoo.com
The clubhouse is rented for baby showers, retirement parties, birthday
parties, wedding showers, and many other celebrations. For these
reasons the layout will need to remain the same. I have thought for
quite sometime that a flat screen TV with satellite service and some
music would be a great idea for the clubhouse. It would cost a little
but in the long haul it would most likely pay for itself in aditional
clubhouse rentals. It would also be nice to hold community functions
like a Super Bowl Party, Kentucky Derby Party and so on. This way
people could meet and get to know one another. By the way, the
interior of the clubhouse is being painted as we speak. Regarding
some of the other issues you recently brought up:
1. Tot Lot/playground: Feel free to put together a committie to
determine where you would actally put it, cost to prepare the site,
cost to purchase and erect the playground equipment, cost for
additional liability insurance if needed, and the cost for ongoing
maintenance, etc. Once this is done the committie can make a
presentation to the BOD for consideration.
2. Trash/recycling: The trash situation in the community has been an
issue of concern of mine from day one. Our current provider does a
great job and is very reasonable. However he does not provide cans.
We went out for bids whereby providers supplied cans. The cost almost
tripled in most cases. The Rules and Reg's that will be in the mail
this week state that trash must be placed in appropriate outdoor style
trash cans with tops. If homeowner's don't comply they will receive
warning letters. If they still do not comply more severe measures can
and will be taken by the BOD. In my opinion it looks like a trailer
park in this community on trash pick up day. I think recyling is a
great thing but I am personally opposed to it in this community. It
looks bad enough with trash cans all over the place (particularly on
windy days). I cannot begin to imagine what it would look like if
every homeowner had two recycling bins. 116 units x 2 bins = 332
recycling bins strewn all over the place. I think a large green
recycling container would be an eyesore. Again, please understand
that this is my personal opinion. If the majority of the BOD thinks
this is something we should consider that is fine by me.
3. Landscaping: I have a meeting this coming Wednesday morning with
TruGreen to discuss the work they perform. I agree that their work
has been subpar this year.
4. Community mailboxes/parking spaces/speed bumps: The BOD recently
went out for bids on sealcoating the parking lot. Bids are being
reviewed at the present time. I agree that there should be no parking
spaces in front of these mailboxes. After the parking lot is
sealcoated new lines will be painted. I will suggest that the spaces
in front of the mailboxes be removed and marked "no parking." I am
personally opposed to speed bumps. The idea of signs stating "slow,
children playing" is not a bad idea and one that can be considered.
However, I think we need to be careful if we have too many signs.
They too could become an eyesore.
5. FIOS: Individual homeowners can get FIOS if they would like. For
this to be provided to every home and be included in the fees would be
cost prohibitive. We need to do our best to keep fees as low as
possible.
Thanks again for all of the suggestions. I would ask that you
continue to stay involved. It would be great if you would be willing
to chair a committie. We have a need for many committies to be
formed.
Thanks,
Don
On May 23, 9:14 pm, Don Mills <dmil...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Adam,
>
> It was very nice meeting you, Bridgette, Charlotte, and Piglet last night. As we discussed, there are many important issues facing this community. I applaud your interest in wanting to get involved. My wish is that others would follow suit. The Board of Directors is comprised of 5 volunteers with full time careers that sacrifice their spare time in an attempt to make a difference. There is a tremendous amount of work that takes place behind the scenes. Contrary to what some may think the board labors over decisions that need to be made in what they feel is in the best interest of all homeowners. And regardless of the decisions rendered, they will not always be popular with all homeowners. What this neighborhood needs is for MANY volunteers to step up to the plate and get involved. We need to create committees to share the load. Those not willing to share the load should not complain. My fear is that if this does not happen you will see this neighborhood suffer
> to the detriment of each and everyone of us. I have personally made the decision that if we do not soon get a good number of volunteers to help out I will strongly reconsider my position on the board. I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Don Mills
>
> Contact me via email at adpil...@hotmail.com
>
> ---------------------------------
WILLIAM HAMIC
adpi...@hotmail.com
FiOS is much like telephone or cable, however it requires the fiber-
optic "back bone" installed by verizon before becoming available to
us. It strictly would be an option to individual homeowners who are
interested in the subscription, much like DirecTV or Comcast.
Thanks,
Adam