Glenbrooke News

The number one concern of the standing room only crow at the Communication Committee meeting was Problems with the landscape services.

Complaints consisted of dead or dying trees and plants,  over or under watering,  weeds,  noisy equipment lacking mufflers,  blowing dust onto the houses, replacing plants that didn't survive in a particular location numerous times with the same plant  and mowing with dull blades- making the lawns look like they got a bad haircut.

Mina stated that there is a complaint form in the Lodge to use and she follows up on every complaint.  She has tried to cut the response time down from 60 to 30 days.   She reviews all work orders with the Landscape supervisor once a week.    Homeowners wanted to know why THEY even needed to complain yet along be the one too go through filing paperwork.   Isn't that a supervisor's job to check for quality control?   Isn't it the Associations job to make sure their contractors are performing up to standards?

A board member pointed out that the landscaping company is paid $24.00 per month per yard and it is basically a 'mow and blow' service.   Obviously  the more services provided the higher the cost of the contract.      Some owners said they would be willing to pay more for better service and questioned the specifics of the contact.

Some conversions following  the meeting provided interesting suggestions.    One person said that since Riverside Management patrols the neighborhood twice a month looking for HOMEOWNER violations tot he CCR's why not have them also look for LANDSCAPING violations and send them the complaints.

Another person question the Communication Committee involvement in this issue once the message it passed on to the Board of Director's that Landscaping is the number one concern of homeowners.    It is a big issue and obviously a 'hot button' with the residents.   It  would be much more appropriate to appoint a Landscaping committee to address the many issue that arise.

We hope the board look at the attendance at the Communication Committee's first informational meeting and agree that appointing committees will facilitate communication with homeowners and save time at Board meetings by having  someone available to listen and take care of small problems  and at the same time reporting prioritized concerns  to the Board.

Editor's note:  This is the fourth in a series on the First Communication Committee Informational Meeting