President’s Corner: Cash reserves are key to financial stability
By most everyone’s
standards, Stratford Manor is a beautiful, well-maintained community—but it is
also aging. How we deal with that inescapable fact is the topic of this
message.
Many of us are too busy to
think about how the Association (SMA) is going to pay for repairing a sagging
section of our perimeter fence, or what it might cost to repave our roads and
parking lots. That’s probably best, since the projected cost of some of these
things is a staggering amount that could keep you awake at night.
Proper maintenance of our
infrastructure is such an important contributor to our community that without
it, we would not be able to maintain and preserve property values of individual
and common property. Mortgage lenders would be reluctant to approve mortgages
for people who want to buy into our community. According to a Gallup survey,
overall community appearance—which translates directly into property values—is
the leading reason for residents’ general satisfaction with their communities.
Thankfully, the SMA Board
has been responsibly following a plan to afford maintaining a positive
community appearance for several years. The SMA’s governing documents, as well
as state law, require that homeowner associations conduct a reserve study every
five years to determine how much cash will be needed to pay for future capital
repairs and improvements. Each association can choose how to generate these
needed funds for future repairs, including special assessments, borrowing from
the banks, or setting aside monies monthly in what is commonly called reserve
funds or replacement reserves.
Your Board decided years
ago that the latter option—setting aside monies monthly-- was the least painful
and most responsible way to ensure that adequate funds would be available for
future capital expenditures. Studies done by an outside architectural firm in
2010 and then again in 2015 identified the likely lifespan of our roads, curbs,
sidewalks and several other common-area components that make up our community.
The firm then projected
cost estimates for repairing or replacing those components over a multi-year
period, and estimated how much cash we needed to raise each year to ensure the
plan’s solvency. The current amount being set aside annually is $18,000, or
about $12 per month per homeowner. As a result of this multi-year savings plan,
our replacement reserves are well in excess of $200,000.
A current project to be
paid out of our reserves is the drainage/trenching project affecting several
sections of our community. In addition, the Board is now reviewing estimates
from paving contractors to launch a multi-year plan to repave our parking lots
and roads. We hope to get Phase One under way later this year.
While there are no guarantees with any approach to
financing future capital expenditures, we are hopeful that this pay-as-you-go
approach will continue to serve us well for years to come.
John Gullett, President
Mid-Year Assessment Payments Due
Invoices
for the mid-year 2018 SMA assessment were mailed to homeowners in early June by
AAMG, our property management firm. Payment is due July 1, but there is a
30-day grace period. If payment isn’t made by July 31, a late fee will be
imposed.
And don’t forget, you
can enjoy the convenience of paying your invoice online. If you need
information on how to do this, call Robbi Henry at AAMG, at 757-873-0111. If
mailing your check, send it to the AAMG address on the invoice.
Residents spruce up exteriors
after inspections
AAMG’s architectural inspections in April—the
first since last year-- identified some 40 violations of our community’s
standards, a relatively low number compared to one year ago. “We think the
advance notice we gave everyone that we were coming prompted a lot of residents
to go ahead and spruce up their homes after a fairly rough winter,” said Robbi
Henry, AAMG’s property manager.
Violations consisted
mostly of minor items, such as shutters or rake boards needing repairs, or dirty
siding needing power washing. By early June nearly all of the cited violations
were corrected or scheduled for repairs by contractors. “Residents were very
understanding and cooperative,” said Henry. “The most frequent question was,
‘What’s a rake board?’”
Satori Gregorakis, the Stratford Manor Homeowners
Association’s architectural compliance officer, accompanied Henry on the
inspections. “What really struck me, aside from how well most homes are being
maintained,” said Gregorakis, “is how beautiful most homeowners’ gardens and
flower beds are. It really was a pleasant surprise to see that the majority of
homeowners obviously take great pride in the appearance of their homes.”
Entrance Signs Getting
Much-Needed Lighting
Ever have nighttime
visitors who complain that they can’t see the Stratford Manor entrance signs in
the dark? Relief is on the way.
Responding to a plea from
a Sloane Place resident who said she couldn’t see where to turn off of
Wellesley when driving home at night, the Board asked AAMG, our property
management firm, to get estimates on lighting the three “entrance” signs
leading into Stratford Manor.
As a result, the Board on June 7 approved awarding a
contract to one of two electrical firms bidding on the job of installing
permanent lighting for the three signs. The work is expected to be done in the
near future.
Kenilworth Landscaping
Committee: ‘We Have a Plan!’
A residents’ ad hoc
committee formed early this year to develop a plan for beautifying the
Kenilworth Drive medians, or islands, has settled on an approach designed to
give new life to the highly visible gateway to our community.
The plan, approved by the
Board of Directors at its June 7 meeting, involves trimming lower limbs of the trees
at each island’s ends to allow grassy areas;
adding topsoil and mulch; and planting grasses, flowering plants and
hardy shrubs.
“We looked at several
possibilities over the past three or four months,” said Nancy Allen, chairman
of the committee. “But this is the first one everyone agreed would be the right
approach.” Other committee members
included fellow residents Satori Gregorakis, Ann Turner, Linda White and Judith
Gullett.
The plan, which will be implemented in the fall, was
enthusiastically endorsed by the Board.
“We counted on the creativity of a group of residents to come up with
the ideal solution to a challenging problem,” said SMA President John Gullett,
“and we weren’t disappointed.”
Landscapers now coming
weekly
Year Round Landscaping
(YRL), the association’s landscaping firm, is keeping busy with Stratford Manor
these days, mowing and edging weekly and continually spraying for weeds.
“They have finished
spreading mulch and applying fertilizer,” said Nancy Allen, SMA landscaping
chair, “but there’s still plenty to do to keep our grounds looking nice.” She
said the azalea bushes will not be trimmed this year, but they will be cleaned
out.
Annuals have been planted
in beds in front of two of our Stratford Manor signs, adding a touch of color
to the landscape. Allen said residents living near the flower beds have
volunteered to keep them watered. Additional plants will soon be added to
sections of Sloane.
In addition, the Board has
approved removing several diseased bushes on the property line behind
Kenilworth Drive units near Deep Creek Road. “We will be cleaning up that area
pretty extensively,” said Allen. “It’s been neglected for quite some time.”
Also, several trees with
limbs hanging over roofs will be removed by Squirrely Jack Tree Service this
summer, to make it more difficult for squirrels. Plus, a diseased tree near 143
Sloane Place will be removed.
“There is a lot going on
outside right now”, said Allen. “The residents can help by weeding and cleaning
up their yards, and by promptly returning trash cans to their proper locations
so that the landscaping crew doesn’t have to move them for mowing and edging.
It’s also important to keep the areas behind their homes clear of pots, rakes
and other items that block the mowers.”
She also reminded residents to empty any vessels holding
rain water, to avoid adding to the mosquito problems this summer.
Sidewalk Repairs Behind
Sloan units under way
A stretch of old sidewalk
behind units 131-139 on Sloan Place had unknown origins, but one thing was
certain: It had deteriorated to the point of being dangerous for pedestrians.
After one resident suffered facial injuries from tripping on the sidewalk, the
Board investigated and concluded that there were tripping hazards that had to
be eliminated.
Excel Paving Corp. was
awarded a contract to replace damaged sections of the sidewalk. The work was
scheduled to be completed sometime in June.
Mailboxes to get a
facelift
Several of Stratford
Manor’s 11 mailboxes are showing some
age, so the Board decided at its June 7
meeting to spruce them up with a fresh coat of paint.
Warner Maintenance was awarded a contract to refurbish
several of the boxes. No specific date
was established by press time, but AAMG property manager Robbi Henry stressed
that the work will not interrupt mail service.
Remember: Setting off fireworks could be costly
With
the Fourth of July just around the corner, it may be tempting to light up those
sparklers you picked up on your last road trip. Think again.
The
City of Newport News strictly enforces a city code that makes it unlawful to
possess or explode any fireworks, including sparklers—unless you can afford a
$250 permit from the fire marshal. And good luck with getting that permit.
Some
unknown parties exploded fireworks on a recent Saturday night near Kenilworth
Drive and Deep Creek Road, at the expense of everyone’s quiet evening at home.
And it wasn’t even July 4th.
If you see someone
exploding fireworks in Stratford Manor, call the police. We don’t need that
kind of dangerous and noisy activity in our community.
City of Newport News launches new alert system
The
City of Newport News has launched a new emergency notification system for
residents.
NNALERT
allows the city to send out alerts and notifications on work, school, weather,
police, fire and other city department announcements.
Residents
can sign up to receive emergency notifications and other important alerts that
you choose to receive. You will receive time-sensitive messages however you
specify—home, mobile or business phones, email, text messages and more.
Newport
News residents can sign up through the link on the front page of the City's
website at www.nnva.gov.
Trash Pickup Schedule
June
19—Trash only
June
26—Trash, recycling & bulk
July
3—Trash only
July
10—Trash, recycling & bulk
July
17—Trash only
July
24—Trash, recycling & bulk
July
31—Trash only
August
7—Trash, recycling & bulk
August
14—Trash only
August
21—Trash, recycling & bulk
August
28—Trash only
Sept.
5—Weds. Pickup due to holiday, Trash, recycling & bulk
Sept.
11—Trash only
If
your container was missed during collection, call 757-933-2311.
Remember: Trash
receptacles should be curbside for collection no earlier than 3pm on Monday for
collection on Tuesday and removed from the street
by
6pm on Wednesday.
