Update on Common Area Maintenance
Update on Common Area Maintenance (as of May 27, 2016)
Maintenance on the common areas has begun for 2016. A summary of work that has been completed thus far is as follows:
McCloud Aquatics has treated all three ponds for submerged weeds twice this year, with the most recent treatment completed on May 18th. They have provided water quality reports that we will post to the community site for those who are interested. Testing and treating of the ponds helps prevent the infestation of mosquitoes, etc, and our ponds are in good condition in that regard.
McCloud is also contracted to reinstall the fountain pumps at the front two ponds. They were behind schedule on the install due to a worker having been injured on a previous job. We have been in contact with the field manager twice a week to get a status update for when they will be reinstalling the fountain pumps. They have committed to installing them as soon as possible and we will continue to press them for a date.
Basic Irrigation was onsite and the irrigation system has been "turned on" for the season. We have been notified of five sprinkler heads on the southeast corner of Misty Ridge and Sunrise that are in the parkway of the newly constructed home on that site. The sprinkler heads have been marked, and will be removed from the system so the Association is not watering a homeowner's lawn, nor do we risk damage of the system on personal property. Presently that zone has been turned off for watering, but we are still awaiting removal of the sprinkler heads. That work should be completed May 26th or 27th.
We have also been provided access to the irrigation system control box, so that we can control our watering schedule and make changes as we see fit.
Beary Landscaping, who manages our landscaping and lawn maintenance, has been out approximately five times (once per week). We will have 26 visits during the season. The first fertilization and weed treatment were also completed recently. We have been in contact with Beary to discuss the overall quality of the work they are performing as there seem to be many missed spots, lack of trimming and poor edge work being completed. We hope to have a response from them on that shortly. One thing that was not included in our contract is the mulching of the tree bases and landscape beds. They should be cultivating the areas that have not been completed thus far, and then we will receive a quote for the mulch. This should improve the overall look of the entryway.
The main entryway plantings were installed on May 19th. We have since had some issues with our irrigation system not providing adequate coverage to all areas of the flower beds; specifically the southeast entrance. Basic Irrigation is coming to address those issues as well. You may have noticed several green flags in the ground near the entryway; these flags mark the sprinkler heads in need of attention. It was also discovered that signs near the southeast entry way had been blocking the sprinkler heads, and impacting the watering of the flower bed; these signs have since been relocated.
On May 26th, McCloud Aquatics installed pumps in the east pond. The underwater motor power cable on the west pond was damaged, so McCloud has ordered the parts to repair the pump. As our ponds are nearing 10 years of service, such repairs will be part of the ongoing maintenance; the pump in the East pond required similar repairs last year.
McCloud has assured us that the ecosystem of our ponds are in great shape based on their water testing analysis. Our fountains are primarily decorative, and no damage will be caused to the pond while we await repairs to the pump.