I'm new just this week to the blog, so pardon my playing catchup. We were in the first 5 to move in, way back when, but I don't remember hearing about it before a few months ago. Anyway - what a great place to meet up on these cold cold evenings!
Anyway, I was reading some of the older posts and a couple piqued my interest:
- Fences - did we ever figure out who really prohibits these, and whether any standards have been established? Our way around this was to have the association approve a string of cedar bushes or tall grasses. We'll be in a position to plant them this spring. :)
- Dog poop - this summer was much better than last, so I'm not going to complain about it being in my yard... but on several occasions, we've noticed poop inside the playground area. This seems like the one spot where it absolutely shouldn't be. Can we get a "no dogs" sign on the gate there?
- Snow removal - I don't remember it being particularly bad in past years, but I don't think they're doing a particularly great job this year. Could we find out what conditions are supposed to trigger them into action (a certain number of inches)? Also, on a few occasions they didn't clear the turn lanes on the south side of Jackson road. And does the association have the authority to declare a "snow emergency" like cities do (ie, no street parking 4-8 am on snowy mornings)?
- Speed - I agree that there are key areas that seem particularly dangerous (and usually the same key people doing the speeding). How far have we gotten on discussions about stop signs or speed bumps?
- Community meetings - I hate to ask (because I haven't been paying much attention this year), but when was the last community meeting? The last one I saw mentioned in the blog was over a year ago.
Ok, enough for now!
Thanks,
Chris
9 comments:
I agree, the snow plowing has NOT been good this year. I think it has been the worst year so far.
I also agree about dogs in the playground. The playground should be just for humans.
Hi Chris,
I was not here last year really (moved in May 2008) but I actually had wondered about the snow removal myself. I thought it was left sitting there and not removed when it should have been on many occasions. I will say however, the plow guy was very nice about turning his plow towards the huge pile at the end of my driveway during the last large snow we had (without asking him to do it). I was shoveling and he helped me out by getting all of that excess that their plows tend to push near the foot of the driveways. I was much appreciative for that. I would not mind hearing what guidelines they use for plowing so we can hold them accountable if they are not doing it when they should be. I imagine some of it may be due to the budget (???).
Anyway that was my 2 cents for what its worth :)
As fas as dogs go: I would have to agree that they shouldnt be in the playground area. I think that if someone is going to do it anyway that they should at least be courteous enough to clean the fecal matter up. I however would prefer no dogs in there as it is not sanitary.
The fence thing I am curious about as well. I would like to know if anyone has more info on that as well as the next Assoc Meeting.
Thanks for the post Chris. Yes I believe the last Association meeting was probably a year ago. I really hope they are planning to have another one again soon. It would be much appreciated if the community board members could introduce themselves again on the blog for new residents or folks that are new to the blog.
Your topics are all worth discussing again as I believe most of them are not necessarily resolved.
I am interested in the fence issue as I have two young children and live on Redwood Trail, the street as we all now know has the most traffic in the subdivision. The speed issue is a huge concern for me also. I would love to see speed bumps on Redwood Trail in particular. Yes definitely more stop signs are in order, specifically on Redwood. I believe the one at Beechwood and Redwood in not sufficient in slowing people down.
I agree there was a lot of dog poop at the playground last summer. I think it's reasonable to have a "no dogs" rule as the playground area is small and it would be nice to keep it as clean as possible. Also another issue with the playground is the garbage can. I think it was overflowing with garbage for months before it was finally emptied.
Snow removal was frustrating at times. My husband would shovel so we could get out and then we'd come home to find a huge shelf of snow at the end of our driveway. I'd get stuck trying to drive up and into my garage. I don't know if it's possible for the plows to remove the snow without creating the shelf?
Thanks again Chris and hopefully we'll here something about another meeting very soon. =)
Hi all. I can answer a few issues above and can't help with a few, but can try to find some answers. For those of you that don't know...
My name is Scott Hummel.
My email address is: scottdhummel@yahoo.com
My phone number is: 313-443-0655
I have done my best to keep all of my info on this blog so anyone that has an issue or question can get a hold of me. I am here to help you with any issues you have...I do have one request however - when an issue does arise, please understand that I am on YOUR side! I have been berated by a few people for issues that I do not control. With that said, I have responded to some of the issues listed on the blog. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me. I am here to represent everyone at Thornton Farms.
1. The snow removal service is supposed to come out when it's 2-3 inches or more. They have been good about coming when they are supposed to. They have also been good about changing plowing patterns and working with people to move snow to particular locations. There isn't much they can do about the snow in the driveways...there isn't anywhere else for it to go. Not fun for any of us, but that's where it goes.
2. Fences - ah those darn fences. I know no one wants to hear this, but we are waiting for Lombardo to meet with us to take up some issues...this being a major one. Centex said the township would allow them and the township said Centex wouldn't allow them. As soon as we can get Lombardo to meet, we can move forward. They have not been exactly accommodating when it comes to meeting with the homeowners board.
3. Dog poop in the playground. I have no idea why in the world there are dogs in there anyway. I'll see what we can do about getting a sign posted. If there are dogs there, for goodness sake - PICK UP AFTER THEM! Being a dog owner, I'm not real happy when people don't clean up after their pets...gives us all a bad name!
4. Community meetings - as I mentioned before, we are waiting for Lombardo to meet with us. There isn't much we can do or approve until they actually sit down with us. They still have the controlling votes (3 votes to our 2). So, they aren't in much of a hurry to meet with us apparently. Nothing is scheduled, but if people want, I can probably arrange a time to open the clubhouse for a meeting...granted, it would not be the entire board but your issues could be aired - if that would help.
5. Speed - Signs should either be up or be up soon. We are not going to install speed bumps due to the ineffectiveness of the bumps to control speed levels at places other than where the bumps actually are. I know this is a major issue on most streets. I live right by a 90 degree curve and still have people speeding by my house. I'm sure the long, straight roads are not good either.
Thanks again and please remember, if you have any issues feel free to email me.
Scott Hummel
scottdhummel@yahoo.com
Hi Scott, thank you so much for your post. As usual you have done an excellent job of being thorough and answering our questions the best you can. I appreciate it. Thank you also for reintroducing yourself and posting your contact info again. I suggested it only because I wasn't sure new folks would necessarily have the time to go through the older posts.
I am looking forward to more stop signs going up. Do we know where they will be? Will there be more on Redwood Trail?
It is disconcerting that people would berate you. I really think as neighbors we should be supportive and friendly - we all do have to live in the same community.
Thanks again and I look forward to hearing about any future meetings.
No problem - you are welcome. As I stated before, I'm happy to post my info - as I am here to help everyone. If there are specific streets that people would like speed limit signs posted on, please let me know. Dean has been out of town...but when he returns we can look into how many signs and where as well as the other issues we have visited above.
Thanks again!
Scott
Scott,
Thanks for chiming in.
To be clear...
1/5 - Are we completely at the mercy of Lombardo, or is there anything we can do legally to encourage them to pick up the pace?
2 - I think the best solution would be to prohibit dogs in the playground altogether. Your post mentioned putting up a sign, but you weren't clear on whether it might be a "no dogs" or a "pick up after your dogs" sign.
4 - Again, your post mentioned there would be signs posted, but there seems to be some ambiguity as to whether they would be just speed limit signs or stop signs, or both. I agree with AWM in that stop signs would be preferred - I think speed limit signs alone would do little to deter speeders.
Frankly, I think we should have stop signs at every intersection and speed limit signs only at the community entrances and at the start of longer straight stretches - maybe about 6 altogether.
By the way, could you remind me what the speed limit is? :)
I will check on stop signs. I didn't look into those, only speed limit signs. The speed limit is 25 m.p.h.
I am looking at "NO PETS ALLOWED" signs. I do not think there is any reason to have pets running around in an area specifically for children.
Are we at the mercy of Lombardo for what? I'm not exactly sure what you are asking on this one...sorry!!
Scott
Heh, I'm not sure what I was thinking, actually... as you can see that was posted at 1 am... :)
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