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• 160 projects and events (2009 - 2019) are fully described below.
• See also infrastructure and capital projects and painting and repairs
  
• In addition, voting events (2009 - 2021) are reported here.

Annual Meeting Report

The Annual Meeting of the Association was held on February 22, 2021. The meeting was held in the open-air pavilion adjacent to the South Irving Library at 601 Schulze Drive as CoViD-19 restrictions prohibited meeting in the main building.

It was a beautiful 67˚night that was accompanied by the sound of ducks and geese in the pond. Discussions were led by Randy Ranew (President), Natalie Brink (Vice President), and Shedrick Jackson (Secretary).

Randy Ranew opened the meeting with a brief history of the how he was asked by a struggling 2020 board to step in as president to get the Association back on track and how he was learning the role, which he described as “a lot more time-consuming and complex than most would think”.

Financial Overview – Randy Ranew reported the long term financial condition of the Association as healthy and the short term situation as bumpy.

Beverly Oaks has $100,000 in its capital reserves to fund future replacement of aging water mains and roadway repairs which will be $200,000+ in future years. Randy thanked the last 12 boards for identifying these needs, having amendments passed to insure the funds would be set aside and protected, and for setting aside the funds each year according to the reserve plan.

Randy was also reported that the Emergency Reserve was at its required $17,000 level. $1,000 needed to be replenished (as required by the CC&R) to replace funds spent in 2019 to repair a water main break in the southeast section of the community.

Randy shared his frustration with the $21,000 in uncollected accounts he inherited. The problem emerged in 2019 and continued forward. As a result, the Association struggled to pay its bills in November and December 2020 and has had to raise dues to cover expenses. "Nobody wanted this type of dues increase. I certainly don't".

The DealyBlend law firm has been retained to collect delinquent dues, most of which predated CoViD-19. The Association will begin credit reporting on delinquencies starting in 2021.

Robert Bauer - Randy thanked Robert Bauer for being a reliable technical consultant to the board since Robert stepped down from board leadership at the end of his 2018 term. Robert has served as a consulting board member for 2 years and has been an invaluable resource for explaining how things work.

In addition to being an consultant, Robert agreed to manage the Association’s brokerage account for one year (2020) and earned $14,000 for the reserve in the stock market.

Robert also agreed, at my request, to come out of retirement to host one last election (2021) after efforts to run the 2019/2020 election with a Canadian company failed.

Capital Projects – Natalie Brink explained that there are three funded and approved projects planned for 2021; an exit gate, security cameras, and traffic spikes.

The security camera system is on order. It will have two state of the art high resolution cameras (significantly higher than Ring cameras) that can read license plates in many situations. It will also have a Ring camera (or similar) for alerting the board of suspicious activity.

An exit gate design will be circulated in April for owner feedback. There was discussion of the pro and cons of a "pivot arm" vs a "swing gate" vs a "sliding gate". There was also discussion about "direct drive" vs "chain drive".

The traffic spikes are tentatively scheduled to be replaced in late summer. The 2017 board had owner approval and purchased a new set of spikes in 2017 to install when the roadwork was complete. We are still waiting for the installation of new water/sewer lines to be completed

Management Company – Randy explained that Beverly Oaks and Guardian Management will end their working agreement at the end of February. Guardian has changed its business model and its relationship with Beverly Oaks is no longer a good fit for either party. “It’s a big job making this transition. Losing a week in February has made it harder.”

Owners are encouraged to pay assessments by debit/credit during the transition and over the next 3-4 weeks.

Mandatory Services – Randy gave an update on the status of Landscaping/ Tree/ Trimming/ Fertilization/ and Painting and the plans to continue with the same service contractors that have been proving services in recent years. It's a contractor's market right now with a shortage of workers. The existing contracts are at or below market prices. New contractors require a lot of supervisory time.

He explained that the Association is continuing its practice of purchasing “B” level quality services, for the lowest prices possible.

“My goal is to negotiate the best prices we can get for “B” services. I know money can be saved by if we switch to cheap paints or hire the landscapers that cut the grass at McDonalds or lower our insurance coverage. The community did that years ago and it did not work out well . It took up to eight years to recover in some areas."

Randy thanked Natalie Brink for her management of the mail/package room and for overseeing quick recoveries when the door/keypads needed repair.

Capital Land Sale – Shedrick Jackson reported that the City of Irving is looking to purchase a 471 square foot easement at the far northeast corner of the property to install sewer lines. The construction is currently planned to cut through the area where the electric service, traffic spikes, and wall are currently located.

Board Candidates/Election – Anyone interested in serving the community may declare their candidacy for the Board of Directors here: https://beverly-oaks.org/forms/board-candidates.htm

Voting Results 2021

67% of the owners (62% of the units owned) turned out for this year's vote. This is the eleventh consecutive vote with 60%+ owner participation.  The results are as follows. The annual meeting will be held on February 22, 2021 at the South Irving Library.

Is the community on the right path:  64% of this years voters provided "Not sure" or negative ratings, moving the needle just below the mid-point. This is the first time the rating has not been in the dark green "yes" segment.

Assessments for 2021: Assessments will be $354 a quarter which includes:

• $354.00 to cover mandatory expenditures and reserves (a 12% increase over last year) - approved by 67% of voters,
• $0.00 for the lamppost hanger - the initiative was not approved with 78% of respondents saying "leave things as they are".
  
• $0.00 for community wide security camera initiative - while the initiative was not approved, there was strong interest as 30% of voters were willing to pay an additional $26.00 per quarter (an additional 8% increase over last year) for this security improvement. 
  
• $0.00  for a block party - this initiative was not approved, as only 19% of respondents were supportive of a 2021 event. 
  

 

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Long term capital saving and spending plan

The 2018 long term capital saving/spending plan was re-affirmed by a vote of 87%. This was a second vote on the same plan that was approved in 2019 by 84% of voters.

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Owners' Preferences

Notice media: 93% of owners prefer email over paper notices on their door.

Frequency of community newsletters: 53% of owners say communication is too infrequent

Response time on inquiries: 46% of owners say response time is too slow.

Using on-line account  60% are using their online account. 17% don't know how. 22% were not interested.

Shipping from mail room: 39% of the community is shipping mail/UPS/FedEx/DHL from the mail center. Others are using the mail room only for the receiving mail/packages.

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Write in comments

27% of voters offered write in comments, an unusually high number. Since the number is high and there was no annual meeting, they are being shared here.

Caveat: The comments are from 16 voters.  43 voters did not provide a comment. To help keep the bias in perspective, the chart to the right compares the "community path" ratings of the 16 who commented vs the 43 who did not. Please keep this limitation in mind when reviewing the following.

• Thank you for volunteering your time and talent. I appreciate it. God bless you.
• I appreciate the volunteers. Thank you for your service.
• The unpaid assessments are concerning. What happened in 2019? Why no improvement in 2020? Progress updates would be appreciated.
• How does one progress when dues are behind? Or did I misunderstand? Thanks
• I like the idea of the security gates and camera systems. Will we have service contracts?
• Having very hard time to get in touch with someone with the association... very poor progress and annual amount is increasing not good.. sorry to say we are disappointed. 
• I'm not getting enough information from the HOA to know anything going on with the community or what progress has been done.
• I'm sorry to see that another board president has resigned.
• We need to mend the divisiveness in the community. It serves no one.
• More communication would be good.
• past 2 years has been horrible with no action being taken to control HOA business. The people that live here have no appreciation to board members and the people who volunteer there work to keep the HOA going. WHY DO I SAY THAT. I was on the board many years ago got the place back in running order then got my butt chewed. It's been that way ever since. Be on the board then get your butt chewed for not doing the job.
• How about enforcing the current by laws to control the parking in the street, abuse of visitor parking, holding home owners responsible when the renters are in violation of by laws, community rules and regulations and use all means necessary in collecting unpaid dues. Why is there even consideration of installing cameras to try and discover more violations when we can't even take care of the current issues that we are aware of???? Let's consider clearing our plates before we start piling more onto them.
• A gate for the back exit is the most redundant thing we've ever done. We'’ve had more crime in the past 3 years than we've ever had and the back gate installation will only discourage dealerships from using our community as a test drive route. [Editors note: The gate was voted on in 2019 and an entry gate was one option - click here for results]
  
• They should put a security gate at the entrance of the property
• Lights are out on front entry, flowers not planted, wrecked vehicles in two different driveways makes our neighborhood trashy.
• We have received virtually no information on what we are voting for.  I received no information on the illegal billing of dues in 2020 for an assessment that lasted a year - cameras for mail room.  Were the services - lawn mowing, tree trimming, sprinkler system submitted for bid - if not how did you determine "market price.  Since we have had no meeting for two years why was detailed information posted and ideas from property owners solicited? [Ed note: There was no meeting/budget vote in 2020 because of CoViD-19 meeting restrictions.]
  

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Ballots: 59 
Quorum: 62% (50% required)
First ballot: January 13, 2021 2:44 PM
Last ballot: January 23, 2021 1:39 PM
Budget: 37 approve, 18 do not approve 
Reserve study: 48 approve, 7 no
Security camera: 17 approve, 40 no
Lamppost Hanger: 11 get new, 2 remove, 45 leave as is
Block party: 11 approve, 47 no
Send USPS: 15 yes
Send UPS: 12 yes
Send FedEx DHL 6 yes
Send Mail: 23 yes
Send Nothing: 37
Board notices: 55 email, 4 note/door, 0 mail
Communication-frequency: 28 satisfactory, 31 too infrequent
Response-time: 1 fast, 30 satisfactory, 26 too slow
On-line-account: 35 use it, 10 don't know how, 13 don't
Right path:
    Yes: 7
    For the most part: 14
    Not sure: 17
    Not so much: 13
    No: 8
Election monitoring and counting: Two vote monitors/counters independently collected, verified ballots and counted the votes separately of each other. After the polls closed, the monitors/counters compared results, performed recounts where they deemed appropriate, certificated the tally and edited/approved this report. The ballots (in a signed and sealed envelope as per state law) will be delivered to the President, Randy Ranew, for archiving. A recount by a Justice of the Peace may be requested in a small claims court as per procedures outlined in Texas state law.

Voting Results 2019

Sixty percent of the owners turned out in this year's election and budget vote. This is the tenth consecutive vote above 60% participation. By comparison, voter turnout was 54% for the 2016 presidential election and is 10% - 20% for most HOA's.

Is the community on the right path:  The association scored in the green/yes segment for the third year in a row (see chart). Only three owners voted in the "not so much" or "no" categories.

Assessments for 2019: Assessments will be $316 a quarter, comprised of

• $283.00 to cover mandatory expenses and reserves (a 4% increase over last year),
• $10.57, a one year bump to cover the costs for the installation of security cameras in the mail room, and 
• $22.86, a two year bump of to cover the cost of an automated traffic gate. 

67% of voters approved the mandatory budget, 64% approved the costs for a security camera, and 77% approved the cost of the security gate. 

Mandatory engineering and reserve study: The 2018 long term capital spending plan (2019 - 2040) was approved by a vote of 84%, with 16% voting for the hiring of an outside engineering firm to redo the study. 

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Board of Director's initiatives
Amendment 1: Towing anyone who street parks (without notice) was approved with a 69% majority of the voters, but represented only 38% of all owners. This is a fire safety initiative. No action will be taken until the board circulates the protocol to owners.

Security Camera. Owners approved security cameras for the mail room in a vote, 64% to 36%. This is a security initiative.

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Owner's initiatives 
Amendment 2: Violation Fines were approved with a 71% majority of those voting, but represented only 39% of all owner. The fine protocol that was approved is outlined here:

Gate: An exit gate was approved 62% to 38%. The gate will block foot and vehicle traffic and owners will open it from a device in our cars. This would end walk-through and drive-through traffic in the community. This is final resolution on a 4 year discussion on "gate or no gate" and "entry or exit" gate with 69% agreeing that we should accept the decision of the majority.  The entry "gate arms" will remain in place to make it clear that the subdivision is private roadway (not public).

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Directors: Robert Bauer (re-elected), Joeddie Cotledge (elected to first term), Brenda Madison (board member in the past), Jesse Mitchell (re-elected), and Ron Olson (elected to first term). The directors will meet and elect who will serve as officers on April 30th.

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Owners opinion questions
Community security camera network: 75% of voters were interested in exploring this idea.  A discussion blog has been opened here: 
BBQ and/or Christmas Party:  60% of voters were interested in doing this this year.  A discussion blog has been opened here:
Bookkeeper Performance: 77% had no opinion or were favorable of Guardian Management. Twelve rated the bookkeeper as "not good".

Parking penalty: 37 approve, 17 no 
Violations fines: 36 approve, 15 no 
Budget: 34 ratify, 17 abstain 
Security camera: 27 approve, 15 no
Gate
    Install a gate in 2019 - add $2.63 per week in 2018 , 15
    Install a gate in 2020 - add $1.32 per week in 2018, 2019, 12
    Install a gate in 2021 - add $0.88 per week in 2018, 2019, 2020,  3 
    Install a gate in 2022 - add $0.66 per week in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 1
    Install a gate in 2023 - add $0.53 per week in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 1
    No gate, please,  20
Gate location:  
    Gate at the entry, 17
    Gate at the exit, 28
Gate dislikes:
    I am prepared to go with the majority choice, 33 
    Strong feelings against an entry gate, 10 
    Strong feelings against an exit gate,  5
Help with surveillance cameras 
    I will help, 11 
   Agree, 26 
   Not great, 12
Summer BBQ and/or Christmas Party 
   I will help, 10
   Agree, 29
   Not great, 10
Bookkeeper review   
   No opinion , 13
   Good, 27 
   Not great, 12
Directors:  Only winners announced per Community Associations Institute standards
Community on right path: 24 yes, 16 for the most part, 10 not sure, 2 not so much, 1 no 
Election monitoring and counting: Joe Sandifer of Precision Management and Candi Gianuzzi (retired board member) independently monitored the election and counted the votes separately of each other. After the polls closed, the monitors/counters compared results, performed recounts where they deemed appropriate, certificated the tally and edited/approved a draft of this report. The ballots (in a signed and sealed envelope as per state law) will be delivered to the acting-President, Jesse Mitchell, for archiving.

Annual Meeting Report

The Annual Meeting of the Association was held on March 25, 2019. The meeting was hosted by the Christ Church 1750 E Airport Fwy. The meeting opened with an invocation from Pastor Greg Beauchamp.

Much of the meeting dealt with a serious issue facing the community. It was announced that the third (3) board president in a row stepped down at the beginning of 2018 due to harassment by a small numbers of owners in the community (3%).

Jesse Mitchell (Vice President) reported that harassment has been a serious problem for years and it effected board members, other volunteers, and contractors. Volunteer manpower has been seriously depleted over the years because of it.

Five of the six most active board members who have performed most of the work over the last 10 years have been systematically driven from the board.

In one case, the person left the community entirely.

Jesse quoted a 2017 letter to the community from past president David Schneider warning of this impending crisis and explaining that board members and contractors were being attacked, "not for doing a bad job or doing something wrong, but to drive them out of office." Jesse further explained the many false accusations of impropriety and the personal threats. In some cases family members of board members were also harassed.

This is a serious problem as the number of people in the community with the time and skills to serve on the board is limited.

The board has bounced back year after year and performed at a very favorable levels as rated by the owners in the annual survey, but each year it has been harder.  In 2018, the board was far short of manpower needed to complete all the tasks of the association and operated in crisis mode for the year.
Jesse made a plea to the community as a whole to stand up against these practices and asked for "working" volunteers - owners who can supervise work on projects like landscaping, painting, road work, and infrastructure repair to step forward and help.

The community budget vote and election will begin on April 4th. Attached is a pdf of the meeting slides.

Annual Meeting

Twenty-three owners attended this evenings annual meeting at the Irving Library, South. It was a recap of the many accomplishments of the last 10 years and the exploration of solutions for a chronic community problem - scarce volunteerism that threatens the continuity of community services. The meeting was a call for the community to shift from its 35-year-old management model to one of a co-op with many owners making small contributions of management time and skills consistent with their capabilities and lifestyle. A comparison was made to an old-fashioned barn raising.

It’s important that more people have a greater understanding of the community systems so that we can vote wisely. Historically, as owners, we have depended on one or two people to understand and run the Associations each year. In the last 10 years, six people did 99% of management work and four of them quit because of the lack of appreciation for the hours they invested. Very few people fully understand how to plan and run this community - it wasn’t even common knowledge that we owned our streets until 2009 (25 years after the community was built). Eighty-nine percent of owners, collectively, contributed to less than 1% to the volunteer effort in the last decade.

Additionally, there were discussions about the following initiatives: a security camera, a security gate, a package management computer or lockers, and porter/trash service.

Security Gate: A polite and respectful controversy - there are simply some honest and legitimately differing opinions on this matter. Some owners have strong feelings about having a conventional entry gate (we have the infrastructure in place already). Some have strong feelings against this. Some would like a rear gate to stop the drive through traffic and that wouldn’t create traffic problems when the gate is broken (all gates have some down time). Some don't want to invest in a gate and its ongoing costs/service. There have been 2 surveys and 1 vote on the matter which have not brought the community to solution, but have better characterized the diversity of opinion. The board agreed to re-vote this item in 2018 in a way that would sort out the diversity of community interests and determine a majority backed direction.

• In community interest surveys, interest in a community entry gate was high; 60% were for it in 2015, 61% in 2013.
• An exit gate (an owner based initiative from 2017) was defeated 40%/60% on the 2017 ballot
• 20% voted for a $11.00 a month dues increase and installation after 1 year, 
• 20% voted for a $2.85 a month dues increase and installation after 3 years.

Sanitary Sewer:  The meeting had a guest speaker from the City of Irving, Elijah Dorminy, addressing to the owners on how to maintain the sanitary sewer system. There is reasonably clear evidence that there is a developing problem in the line on under Wilshire Dr. (between 1910-1916) that needs evaluation. There are no main blockages or backups at this time, but the City has encouraged us, in general, to consider proactive measures such as water-jetting the lines to break up grease or particulate matter that may be narrowing the lines or camera inspections for possible breaches. This work would require a commercial contractor.

The meeting slide presentations are available here:

Reserve Analysis Report Available for Review

A reserve study was completed and approved by the board in 2010 and approved by a vote of owners in January 2011 (96% to 4%).

The Association board has updated the plan based on new information gathered since 2010 and it is available for review and comment prior to finalization and vote.

In accordance with the bylaws and deed restrictions, the Capital Reserve allocations shall be based on a reserve study made of all the major capital systems in the association that may require repair or replacement within 30 years.

The major capital systems includes the 2023 Wilshire building lots and fences, Brentwood and Wilshire roadways, water mains and valves under the street and fire hydrants, entryway gates and gardens, treadle and warning lights at the community exit, concrete screening fence separating the subdivision from the multifamily property to the west, storm drains running under the subdivision, concrete screening fences on either side of the exit alley, sewer mains, cul-de-sac gardens, and the community mailboxes collectively known as The Freeman Irving Heights Addition Block A /Lot 23 and Split A ACS 2.0804, as conveyed in Volume 83030, Page 2277, Dallas County Records. 

Thereafter the Association shall include as part of its Annual Assessment an amount which is reasonably necessary to achieve an adequate reserve fund for the periodic maintenance, repair and replacement of improvements to the Common Properties and any other area which the Association may be obligated to maintain and as scheduled in the Capital Reserve Study. The Capital Reserve shall be maintained in a dedicated bank account, separate from the Associations operating accounts and emergency reserves accounts, and used only to fund capital repairs and replacements approved by a vote of the Owners. ~ ARTICLE VII: COVENANT FOR ASSESSMENTS Section 7: Capital Reserve Fund

Roadway Repairs Completed

The Association poured 4,000 cubic feet of concrete in its first major roadway reconstruction project in the communities 34 year history. 6% of the 64,000 square foot road surface has been replaced. 11 of 16 worst problem areas and a storm water flume were repaired.

All repairs were made with 6 inches or more of concrete and with 12 foot stress joints. The cement used was a "high early" mixture with a 5,000 pound PSI - a much stronger pour.

Beverly Oaks has 190 panels of concrete roadway and 49 of them are in various stages of deterioration (25%). This first repair project will be the first in a series. In the natural aging of the community, concrete repair will be on ongoing process as these 49 panels continue to deteriorate and other start the deterioration process.

Fence Repaired by 2023 Garage

This initiative was to patch the 45 foot fence at the exit to keep it from falling down and allow the shrubs grow and block the view of the home behind the community.

 The plan was to avoid full replacement ($2,500.) by salvaging fence parts from an older fence; to replace the rotted and termite damaged runners and pickets and then paint the fence FoxBlack to match the adjoining section. 

After taking the fence down, the pickets were too fragile to reassemble and had to be replaced.

Blockage and Odor in Storm Sewer is a Car Hood

The Association ran a robot through 600 feet of the storm drain last night to see if the sinkhole in the street at 107 Brentwood Court was related to a collapse or fracturing of the drains.

The good news is that the storm sewer, with two minor exceptions, is in great condition. There is no costly underground line replacement facing the Association right now. There are other possible causes of the sink hole, but they will not be the magnitude of a storm sewer repair which would be $20,000 or more.

The sewer camera did find the source of the smell in the community. There is a car hood that is jammed 26 ft in from the 2023 garage and it is creating a stagnant water condition. We have contacted the Clay Cooley Kia dealership and the City or Irving Environmental control.  We are asking the dealer ship to crawl down into the 42 inch pipe and retrieve the debris before it is forced deeper into the system.

The second problem area is the storm drain is near 108 Wilshire Court. There is household debris in that section of the pipe. We will work to clear it.

Otherwise the sewer looks great. You can view it in the above video short. We have recorded the entire system for future use.

As an interesting aside: 300 feet in (the length of a football field), we found graffiti inside the sewer pipe wall.

Storm Drain Analysis

The Association will be running a robot through the storm drain next week in an effort to locate the cause of the sinkhole in the street at 107 Brentwood Court.

The sewer camera is attached to a crawler vehicle so that it can run over debris and through the effluent in the sewer. The device transmits live video back to a viewing station and onto a flash drive for later review by engineers.

This technology is an inexpensive alternative to digging up the storm drain to find blockages and breaks in sewer and drainage lines.

Resident Survey Results

A mail and traffic survey was completed in November. The results are as follows:

Mail

83% of residents collect their mail between 6-9 AM and 4-8 PM.
Comment: So these are our “open door” hours. Our mailman comes between 1:30 - 2:30 PM. His name is Ron. He is new to our route this year.

36% of residents report receiving mis-delivered mail in their mailbox multiple times a month.
Comment: Surprised? There is a pen on the sorting table to table mark “no longer lives here” or "delivered to wrong box” before putting in the mail collection box.

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Packages 

27 packages were stolen from the doorsteps of 12 homes last year. 33 mailboxes were also broken into last year.
Comment: This is a growing national problem. The mail room was built and wired to have additional security added in the years to come including package lockers and remote monitoring.

Residents anticipate receiving more than 1,000 postal packages and 1,300 carrier packages in 2018, or 10 parcels a day community wide.
Comment: More than most thought! 5. 8 resident have used a remote locker like an Amazon locker at a gas station, and 27 residents report are receiving some packages at work.

32 residents are considering having their packages delivered to the mail center at some point in 2018 instead of their doorstep.
Comment: Stores purchase those lockers from Amazon in order to bring traffic to their stores. Some malls are doing it too.

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Security Gate

51% of the residents would like to see an active security gate on the property
Comment: Interest is a security gate has been consistently above the 50% mark in three surveys over the last 4 years. And many of the people who want it, really want it and can’t understand why we aren’t doing it. But wait a minute! Many people don’t think it worth the cost and many of them have strong feelings about it. A security gate was 8 votes short of being approved in the 2017 election (42% voted for it). This is a tough one. Continuation of Traffic Management & Blocking of the Exit

83% of respondents wanted to continue with the current traffic management including blocking the alley periodically. 50% of them felt that we needed to do even more. 17% felt we should do nothing - let the traffic flow.

Mailbox Switchover Plan

On November 4, the USPS will switch service from the old mailbox clusters to the new mail and package delivery center.  The center will be open from 4PM - 8PM and accessible after hours via touch pad.

Our thanks to the 48 owners who commented on the design and layout of the package delivery center.

62% of owners pick up mail between 4-8 PM on weekdays
47% of owners pick up mail between 5-9 AM on weekdays
42 packages a year (17 USPS, 25 other) is the average
27 packages were stolen from doorsteps in the last year
27 owners have received some packages at work
9 owners have used an Amazon locker at a remote location
92% are considering receiving packages at the central mailroom

For information of the conversion, please click this link:

For information video on these "Amazon style" package lockers, please click this link:

Fall Tree Trimming Complete

The Post Oaks overhanging Wilshire Drive was trimmed to reduce the weight of the overhanging branch.

While on site, Maya Tree Service removed a dead limb at 121 Brentwood.

They also cut down a tree trunk at 2003 Wilshire (at the owners expense).

Garage Sale

Three homes participated in the garage sale this Fall making this the 6th, less than community-wide, garage sale. 😋

Over the years the participation in the community garage sale has steadily dwindled down to only a couple of home as owners have found this less and less productive use of their time.  Fewer than 18% of owners support having garage sales in the community (March 2013 survey). The reason is the associated traffic problems and crime/ safety concerns. As a compromise, the Association dedicates one weekend a year to garage sales.

The board will discontinue its metroplex wide Internet promotion of a community garage sale and its traffic management after this year (2017). Neither apply anymore. This is no longer the 20 home events we have in 2009 - 2011.

Fall Planting Completed

Fall planting this year adding seasonal color flowers to the front entry, replacing the shrubs that were damaged during the 2023 garage foundation repair, replacing the ailing box roses in the Brentwood Court cul-de-sac with Kaleidoscope Abelia, and planting an oak tree, and replacing dead / missing bushes for homeowners who purchased them.

Thank you to all those who have positively contributed to the community and to the community aesthetics by replacing dead or missing shrubs. Your neighbors appreciate it!

Fall Fertilization

Fertilization and weed control was completed on October 31st.  This is the 37th consecutive fertilization and weed treatment.

The mixture was adjusted this cycle to better control spring grassy weeds which was a problem in spring 2017.

2017 Paint Program Completed

The Association successfully completed the first year of the new 8 year paint cycle which included 1901, 1903, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1917, 1919 Wilshire Drive.

After experimenting with different paint grades over the last 8 year cycle, the Sherman Williams A-100 series has held up much better  than the other grades. For this eight year cycle, homes will be painted with the A-100 paint series.

As a reminder the Association performs annual painting and exterior siding repairs according to the maintenance obligations established in the bylaws and deed restrictions (Covenants & Restrictions Article X). All homes are on an 8 year cycle which was determined by homeowner vote in 2010, and amended to the Covenants & Restrictions in 2012.

The 2018 paint cycle is already drawing near. It will cover the odd numbered homes on the 1600 block of Brentwood: 1601, 1603, 1605, 1607, 1609, 1611, 1613, 1615, 1617, 1619, 1621, 1623 Brentwood Drive, and the 2023 Wilshire community center. The Association perform annual painting and exterior siding repairs according to the maintenance obligations established in the bylaws and deed restriction (see Article X: Exterior Maintenance).

If you are curious to see when your home is scheduled for painting and carpentry repairs, see "more information" :  

Eight Foundation Piers Installed at 2023

In April 2017 the community voted to repair the 2023 foundation and brick facade. The community garage had significant and visible foundation issues on the West and North side. Inside the large garage the floor sloped downward in the Northwest corner where the foundation slab had dropped 4.1 inches (see diagram).

The foundation repair was invasive, especially on the West side of the garage. The shrubs did not survive, and the interior drywall was damaged.

Repairs to the foundation, landscape and interior drywall were completed.

Engineering Study Conducted on 2023 Wilshire

The Association solicited estimates for the 2023 garage repair. Different foundation companies suggested 3, 5, 8, or 10 piers. Given that piers can cost as much as $500, the Association opted for a third party study to find the most effective and economical solution for the building.

The study was conducted by Crosstown Engineering. To properly stabilize the foundation it was recommended to install 8 piers on the west and north side.

The study was $400.

Mail Center Approved by US Postal Services

The Post Office approved the project on July 5, 2017.

Our thanks to everyone who commented on the layout of the central mail station during the June review period. All suggestions were added to the plan.

The station will be housed in the center garage of the 2023 Wilshire building. There are five parking places; four 16-foot spaces (at the large garage driveway and the visitor parking across the street), one compact car spot, and street parking for five more vehicles. The driveway will serve as a wheelchair ramp. The door will be closed at night for security (owners can gain access after hours using a touch-pad). This project was approved by a vote of owners; 74% voted for new, more secure mailboxes of which 58% voted for relocating the mailboxes to a more secure location in the 2023 garages.

Lamppost Repairs Completed Today

The Association had an electrician working on lamp posts repairs today. Electric eyes were repaired and the lamps at 111, 123, 1602, 1614, and 1609 Brentwood and 2011, 2017 and 2023 Wilshire. The lamp posts are 94% fully operational. A summary of the 7% nonoperational lamps is as follows:

Work was done at 115, 1603, and 1617 Brentwood, but these lights are still not operating as the issues are inside the house. Additionally, there are internal wiring issues at 118 Wilshire Court. The Association is working with the owners to resolve.

Lampposts are physically down at 1500 Brentwood (the Association has sent a second letter asking for replacement of missing lamp post) and 1520 Brentwood Drive which fell in a recent storm. The owner at 1520 is actively working to repair the light.

Two of the light fixtures at the entry were rewired and the ground boxes replaced.

The new LED lights (0.25 failures a month) have been far more reliable than the fluorescent bulbs (4 failures a month) previously installed.

High Tree Trimming

This week and next the Association is pruning tall trees. We have had significant growth this spring with the heavy rains. We also have weather damage to several trees that struggled through two false blooming periods (warm periods followed by cold periods).

Trees are being trimmed at the following address to get them off of the roofing. Most of these trims are 20+ feet up and minor: 1901 Wilshire, 1501, 1616 Brentwood and 2015, 2023 Wilshire

Several trees are being trimmed to get light to the tuff: 1504 Brentwood, and 1915 Wilshire.

Several trees suffered weather damage this spring and are being pruned to remove dead material: 1611, 1623 Brentwood and 2003 Wilshire.

One ally tree is being pruned to provide better clearance for cars.

Four homeowners paid the Association (reimbursed cost) for backyard tree services: 1908, 1910, 1912, and 1922 Wilshire for a total of $875.

Two trees, a 100 year-old Live Oak at 101 Wilshire and a youpon at 115 Brentwood are in shock or dead. The homeowners are evaluating the situation. Tree removal is not covered by the Association.

100% irrigation sprinkler head inspection

We completed a 100% irrigation sprinkler head inspection and repair on May 17. The City mandated system safety inspection is scheduled for later this month.

The system was currently 89% operational on May 17. 11 homes on Wilshire Court were without irrigation as the irrigation contractor could not repair a blown circuit board because of electrical issues.

The Association worked through that problem and the system was 100% operational on June 12th.

60% of all owners making payments online

More owner are using the website payments portal and they are using it more often.

The amount of payments collected tripled in 2016 over 2015.

The number of owners using the system more than doubled with 60% of all owners making some or all of their payments online.

Since going to online payment in 2010, the Association has not had a single credit card/debit card problem (mischarges, etc.)

The Association has processed over $100,000K online since 2009.

Fertlization and Weed Control

On April 4th we completed the 36th consecutive fertilization and weed treatment. Chemlawn is this years fertilization contractor.

We adjusted the treatment mix in 2015 and we are seeing significant improvement in weed kill, and the end of the grub worm infestations. The lawn is the best it’s ever looked.

There is still room for improvement and we are still working on optimizing water, tree trimming (sunlight), and fertilization.