“Thank you” to the 10 households who took the time to attend our subdivision meeting. We appreciate that everyone has a busy life, but this is YOUR subdivision.
Expenses from the 2013 fiscal year were discussed and, if anyone wanted to see a more detailed breakdown, a paper copy was available on request.
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The past winter had been extremely brutal (according to reports, you would need to go back over 30 years to find a worse winter in our area), with lots of snow and extremely low temperatures, all of which added up to some difficult (and costly) snow removal.
While our street may not have always been 100% perfect for vehicle travel, it was generally felt it was nearly always in good, to very good, condition. More salting and more snow removal may seem obvious, but as a subdivision we have to operate under a limited budget (we simply don’t have unlimited funds available to spend as we please), plus more winter weather street clean-up, generally translates into more actual street repair work needed once we’re clear of the winter weather.
Our 2013-2014 annual budget had just under $3,000 allocated for Snow Removal/Salting. We ended up spending $4,350 which meant taking money from elsewhere in the budget to cover this overage.
Annual Snow Removal Costs (PDF)
So that our subdivision is better prepared in the future, the trustees feel we should be aiming to reach at least $4,000 allocated for Snow Removal/Salting per annual budget.
And finally! In the future, to ensure more effective (and safer) snow removal, we ask all residents (and their guests), please do not leave cars parked on the street when there is snow on the ground.
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Last year (2013) we spent $500 on street asphalt patching. This year (2014) we will look to replace as many concrete slabs as our budget will allow, plus get some asphalt patching undertaken. Then next year (2015) we plan to only undertake asphalt patching.
The above is in line with our subdivision street repair policy, which was put into place in 2008, ie Even years – replacing concrete slabs and asphalt patching. Odd years – asphalt patching only.
Goes without saying, our subdivision street repair policy can only continue if subdivision funds allow.
Annual Street Maintenance – Repair Costs (PDF)
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To help keep our street expenses as low as possible, a few residents went above and beyond this past year and volunteered for the following projects (and others):
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Once again, we would like to remind everyone of the 20mph SPEED LIMIT on our street. The speed limit is there for the safety of everyone on our street and should be observed at all times.
Likewise, people walking, standing around, kids playing, in the street, need to be continuously mindful and respectful of cars going up and down the street.
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If at all possible, please park your vehicle(s) in your driveway, or alternatively directly outside your own home and facing the correct way, don’t park outside someone else’s home.
Vehicles aren’t to be driven or parked on any grass (lawn) areas or common ground areas.
Additionally, do not park ‘Within 8 feet of a Private Mailbox’ it is against the law, while also making the delivery of mail that much more difficult and potentially dangerous for the mail carrier (as they are unable to keep their delivery truck tight and parallel to the curb).
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Please remember that, per our bylaws (refer to https://greenjade63026.wordpress.com/bylaws/), trash cans should go out to the curb NO EARLIER THAN 8pm the night prior to pick up and removed from the curb NO LATER THAN 8pm the day of pick up.
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Excessive trash and noise; eg cigarette butts, food wrappers, soda containers, etc thrown in the street. Car stereos, over-revving of engines, kids/teenagers/young adults out playing after dark (eg basketball outside #269) or generally hanging around the street and common ground areas.
All such activities are un-neighborly, rude and generally show a lack of respect for those around them and our subdivision.
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Please remember when dumping your GARDEN WASTE ONLY at the end of the fence line in the main common ground area (this is the only acceptable area to dump), it is necessary to push it DOWN the hill as far as possible (this is much easier if it is broken down into smaller pieces). This will help keep our main common ground looking good.
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Our street has 4 common ground areas, they are there for the benefit and enjoyment of all residents. They offer a safe place for the kids living on the street (and their friends) to play. When leaving a common ground area, it is your responsibility to clean up after yourself eg pick up cigarette butts, empty cigarette packets, soda cans and bottles, etc.’
Also, please remember, it is your responsibility to clean up after your own pet while walking them (on a leash) and disposing of their waste properly.
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While no one likes to see prices increase, the simple fact is, prices associated with the upkeep of our subdivision either stay put for another year (if we are lucky) or increase, they unfortunately never seem to decrease. Therefore, not raising subdivision dues isn’t an option if we wish to maintain current levels or look to increase the levels of upkeep associated with our subdivision.
2014 – 2015 Annual Budget (PDF)
With reference to “2014 – 2015 Annual Budget (PDF)” (above), you can see we looked at a number of different annual subdivision fees. An increase of $5 kept us near enough at the same level as the previous year. Having just gone through such a bad winter, we felt it highlighted the need to increase expenditures associated with line items, “Snow Removal/Salting” and “Street Maintenance/Repair”. With those two items identified as needing increased funds, we then decided a $15 increase in annual subdivision fees would represent an amount that would begin to have a positive effect on those couple of items.
Residents in attendance were asked if they “approved” the proposed $15 increase to our annual subdivision fees. All those in attendance voted in favor of the proposed $15 increase. Subdivision dues have therefore gone up from $255 to $270 annually.
APPROVED! 2014 – 2015 Annual Budget $270 (PDF)
This past year, the trustees have contacted all home owners who have outstanding subdivision dues and encouraged them to either pay up in full (if at all possible), or at minimum set-up a monthly payment scheme that works for their household budget. Of the few houses who do owe, 3 houses owe a significant amount and if we received that money, it would help us perform even more street repairs this coming year.
Once subdivision dues reach $300 per year we could probably look at offering something like a 10% reduction, if paid in full within a specified date range.
Without these dues, our street would not be able to be maintained and improved for all living in the street. Subdivision dues enable us to cover the cost of utilities, grass cutting of our 4 common ground areas, snow removal and salting, street repairs (replacement of concrete slabs, asphalt patching, etc), and other expenses the neighborhood incurs.
Residents are more than welcome to contact “City & Village” directly: http://cityandvillage.com/contactus.asp — and arrange a payment scheme that fits their budget, when paying the annual dues.
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Open discussion, the main points raised by residents were:
- Excessive noise, especially after 9pm, it’s un-neighborly and can easily become a nuisance. Ideally most would like to see noise turned down (kept to a minimum) after 7pm, as they look to settle in for the evening and relax after a hard day at work.
- Unwanted activities (eg groups of teenagers/young adults, hanging around, especially late at night; some of them smoking pot; underage drinking…) outside homes #228, #269 and #272 were specifically identified and considered problems our street could do without. All residents are encouraged to report any such problems to the police immediately if they happen to witness such behavior, and request they come into our subdivision to deal with the reported problem.
- Keeping street and common ground areas clean and free of trash. Each individual is responsible for cleaning up after themselves – it’s not your neighbor’s job to do so.
- Riding of non-licensed vehicles on our street and common ground areas is against our subdivision bylaws and represents a real danger to every resident in our street.
Please remember, it is our street and every resident has a responsibility for the upkeep and well-being of our street.
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Mike Perry announced that after 4½ years as a trustee (the past year as President) he was stepping down. Everyone in attendance thanked Mike for his service and agreed he had done a good job serving our street.
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Residents in attendance were asked if any of them would like to put their name forward for the vacant positions on the board. Tim Pieper (#301) stepped forward to volunteer. All those in attendance voted in favor of appointing Tim to the board of trustees, where he joins Evan Egley (#265) and Matt Kane (#330).
Finally, we encourage all residents to please visit our subdivision website: https://greenjade63026.wordpress.com/ — it contains information, news, updates, etc that directly relates to YOUR subdivision. It offers an effective means of communication to all residents and we have been working hard to keep this site updated for the benefit of everyone.
As a reminder, please feel free to address any of your concerns directly with the individual they relate to. If you are uncomfortable, or get no results with this, please do not hesitate to contact any one of the board members. This is our neighborhood, and we should all work to make it a better place to live.
Date and Time: Saturday June 16th 2018 at 07:00am to 12:00pm.
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