Hi Steve:
We received the Weatherstone Budget and bill for the year and we had a few questions and comments. First off, it appears to be due almost one month earlier than last year, without the option of splitting the bill in two. The option was nice to split this bill, especially when it was expected a month later. We realize that many didn’t pay the second round but speaking for us, we were expecting a second bill as the first didn’t say to mark the calendar and it was an oversight on our part and we suspect the part of others. We recognize perhaps the effort to save postage, which is commendable, but that letter should’ve been marked appropriately and that would’ve most likely alleviated the problem. Also, on the line item regarding Administration and supplies, it increased by $1500 from last year’s budget and almost $1800 from the previous year. What is the cause of this huge increase? Services have not increased, at least not that we can tell. Now the landscape fee has gone down, and quite frankly the entry remains looking lousy. There are weeds as far as the eye can see along 48 and throughout the entry way, a huge dead tree laying down in the front empty lot, and of course the poor landscaping with the limp bushes/trees at the entryway. On the front island divider when entering, there are white posts sticking out. They are in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint or removal as this is just another detail that makes the neighborhood appear unkempt. Also, no where on the statement did we note the expenditure to fix the lighting in the front entry. We think some of the line items could use further description and we personally, would like to know how much was spent having those lights repaired this year and the name of the company that fixed them. In these tough economic times, it would be nice to see the benefits of a building boom again in our neighborhood. Obviously things have picked up slowly, but the look of the neighborhood in it’s current state would be a huge detractor for me and we would not purchase in Weatherstone based alone on the maintenance of the entryway. We wish we could say we are sorry for bothering you again, but our home is one of our largest assets and it’s value is based on the appearance and quality of our neighborhood. Steve and I have a large stake in how this neighborhood appears and quite frankly, it’s not making the grade. We think many people in this neighborhood still do not know who to contact in case of “issues” and as you mentioned earlier, a Weatherstone newsletter periodically with your name and contact information would be helpful. I know from our meeting with the park district last evening, many others have concerns and really don’t know who to contact. We think this should be strongly considered. In the meantime, we will continue to contact you with our issues.
Many thanks for your assistance. Your response via email (reply to all) in a timely fashion regarding these issues would be greatly appreciated as always.
Sincerely,
Taryn and Steve Wagenfeld
Taryn:
Thanks for your questions/comments. I probably won’t have a chance to get a response back to you until Monday, but I will try to address all your issues.
Thank you,
Steve N. Lisle, PE
The Reinke Group
959 Congress Park Drive
Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 434-4810 Phone
(937) 434-3978 Fax
(937) 478-7397 Cell
Hi Steve,
It will be nice to have a neighborhood meeting with you for residents at weatherstone estates to put a face to the name, and also discuss per Taryn’s email the budget line items and vendors you currently hire to maintain our neighborhood.
I’m sure there are other neighbors who are not on these email communications, who might bring forth more concerns/comments at the meeting, that we don’t know of yet.
Thanks,
Jenny & Suresh Balachandran
Steve-
Have you had a chance to review the concerns that have been presented?
In addition to the laundry list Taryn has listed, I would like to get
some grass see out along route 48 as soon as possible. We went from
having a beautiful lawn out front to very spotty looking lawn. This
was a result of Generation3 having to install the sidewalk. In my
opinion, the expense to repair this should fall on Generation3, not
the Home Owners Association. Can you give me an idea of when we
should expect this to completed?
What is Generation3’s plan to hand over the HOA to our neighborhood?
I know in talking to you in the past, you wanted to turn it over. I
think we have a very engaged neighborhood and we are ready to take it
off of your hands. I am sure you have better things to do than deal
with us. Maybe we should plan on doing this sooner rather than later?
Thanks,
Rob
I met out there with Andrew Ziehler to talk about options for the front. He is going to give me some pricing on options along the sidewalk. I should hear from him tomorrow, then I will respond to all. I agree that it would be a good time to turn over the association. I will address the other concerns, too.
Thanks,
Steve N. Lisle, PE
The Reinke Group
959 Congress Park Drive
Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 434-4810 Phone
(937) 434-3978 Fax
(937) 478-7397 Cell
All:
I will try to address your issues:
1. You can split your bill into two monthly payments if you prefer. We had a difficult time collecting the second payment last year, which is why I decided to issue one bill this year. I don’t really care, as long as the dues get paid in a couple of months. We will send out a letter to the HOA confirming this.
2. Administration is mainly my billed time. I spent more time last year, mainly due to collection and repair issues. Quite frankly, I bill fewer hours than I spend on the development, which is another reason I would like to turn it over to you all this summer. My time is spent largely writing letters, getting bids, preparing budgets, arranging insurance, going over bills, inspections, arguing with the County Water Department about their new backflow prevention rules – I’m sure I am missing a few other things. While we still had development issues with Ryan and/or the County, I would conduct site visits and not bill the Association. Since we are done with getting the plat accepted by the County and Township, that option is not available anymore. While the cost to the Association has gone up, I would like to point out that in 2005, when we set up the HOA, we got bids for an outside management company to run the Association. At that time the administration and management fee would have been $6,075.
3. We (Generation 3) are going to treat the weeds and seed where the Township required us to install the “sidewalk to nowhere”.
4. The limp trees at the entrance are actually fairly expensive weeping pines. I guess they were trendy landscaping items a few years ago. Since they are kind of expensive, and they were installed by Fullmer’s Landscaping – a highly respected firm, I will leave them in place for now. When the Association is turned over to you this summer you can go ahead and get them ripped out if everyone agrees.
5. Lighting expenses and expenses that were outside the scope of the landscaping contract are shown below. All work was performed by Ziehler.
· Replaced 1 ½” backflow prevention (new County regulation) $510 6/15/09
· Repaired burnt wire and replaced 1 MR bulb $58 6/29/09
· Irrigation repair after backflow installation $390 8/31/09
· Replace 2 spot lights on the south side &
replace one 3t bulb $358 9/9/09
· Remove corroded wires and spliced in new
wires and reattached $50 11/13/09
· Lighting
1. Remove all bulbs from the well lights
2. Replace all connectors on wires running to well lights
3. Apply Di-electric grease to each connector and connect each wire to a new bulb
4. Re-install bulbs into well lights
5. Replace old spot lights on south sign with new bullets and bulbs
$200 12/3/09 (This also included removing dead perennials and cutting down ornmental
grasses)
These amounts do not include taxes (add 7% more)
6. We will remove the white posts.
We will set up a meeting in July to have a meeting and turn the HOA over. I know everyone wants the open space to look good and I understand your concerns. I hope this has helped answer your questions. Have a nice weekend.
Steve N. Lisle, PE
The Reinke Group
959 Congress Park Drive
Centerville, OH 45459
(937) 434-4810 Phone
(937) 434-3978 Fax
(937) 478-7397 Cell