April-May 2022 Edition
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With the arrival of spring, our Association’s activities are back in full swing. The landscapers have been busy preparing common areas for new growth, azaleas are in full bloom—a brief but delightful treat—and the Board’s committees have resumed their work after the winter hiatus. Among other things, we are engaging with various contractors to get repair work done deemed essential to maintaining a viable community.
As usual, this newsletter covers the latest in current Association activities and other news of interest. This reflects our commitment to full transparency. In short, we tell you what we are working on and what we hope to accomplish---even if it shines a light on our failures.
Despite this, I was startled recently by an owner who claimed that “the Board doesn’t do anything but collect dues.” I accepted the challenge, did my research and wrote back to this unhappy owner with the following selected expense items: We spent $32,590 last year on landscaping; $34,973 on selected sidewalk repairs; $16,495 on tree removal and trimming; and-- in early 2022--$3,900 to quickly remove snow from our roads and sidewalks after a storm.
I thought I had made a good case for where most
of the assessment dollars go. But this particular owner was undeterred, arguing
that the City will pay for our sidewalks and the other items I mentioned.
If only it were so! We are on private property, and must pay our own way. The lesson I learned from that exchange is that the Board must continually look for ways to better inform all owners of what we are doing to help the community. Related to that incident, I also heard from an owner who said we don’t remind them enough about what rules they should be following as owners in Stratford Manor. He has a point. Beginning with this issue, we will be tackling this concern with a feature called “Know Your HOA Rules”.
Enjoy your sprin --John Gullett, President
Safe trees make good neighbors; a tale with a
happy ending:
“The first thing we had to do was determine who owned the property,” said Ms. Allen. “It sits across the street from the United Methodist Church, but it is undeveloped.” A few phone calls revealed that the Masonic Transportation Lodge No. 337 owns it but doesn’t use it. “I spoke with a representative of the Lodge (Mr. William Gorman) who asked for photos of the trees in question,” said Mr. Gullett, “since they never go into those woods. We sent photos to him and he said he would forward our concern to the appropriate leaders of the organization. The next thing we knew, the trees—plus a third one they identified as also dead—were being toppled by an arborist they promptly hired.”
“The Lodge people were very neighborly,” said Ms. Allen, “and did the right thing without hesitation. We offered them many thanks for their quick action.”
Mr. Gullett added that he was glad that a
Stratford Manor owner alerted him to the situation. “This was a nasty accident
waiting to happen. We are grateful for the heads up from a caring resident.”<
‘Rally’ Event Brings in More Votes for New Declaration:
The Governing Documents Committee resumed its campaign to get two-thirds of Stratford Manor owners to support the Association’s proposed new Declaration on March 26, holding a “Rally for Votes” that produced ten additional votes. “We were excited to get so many votes after a long, winter pause,” said Donna Groller, Committee Chair. “It proved that there are still many owners who are in favor of this resolution but just haven’t taken the time to get their forms notarized.”
Ms. Groller noted that the Association now has 84 owner votes—just 17 shy of the 101 needed to adopt the new governing document. “We are now in the homestretch, “ she said, “but the remaining votes are the most challenging. Among other things, when owners sell, their votes are null and void. So the longer the campaign is extended, the tougher it becomes to reach our goal.”<
Trash pickup Schedule*
April 19—Trash only; April 26-- Recycling,
bulk pickup & trash.
May
3—Trash only; May 10— Recycling, bulk pickup & trash; May 17--Trash only.
May
24— Recycling, bulk pickup & trash; June 1—Trash only (Wednesday pickup due
to holiday).
June 7—Trash only; June 14— Recycling, bulk pickup & trash.
*Trash
and recycling receptacles should be curbside no earlier than 3 p.m. the day
before the scheduled pickup. Bulk trash may be put out the weekend before the
scheduled collection. If your container is missed,
call
757-933-2311 within 24 hours.
Know Your HOA Rules: New roof requires approval:
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Thinking about putting a new roof on your town home? It’s a major but inevitable expense, if you live in Stratford Manor long enough. What’s the first thing you do? You should check your Association’s regulations, which you can find at our website at stratfordmanornn.blogspot.com, under “Architectural Compliance”. There, you will be reminded that all exterior structural work must be pre-approved. This may come as a shock to some new residents, but any HOA community is governed by a Board of Directors charged by its owner-members with enforcing standards designed to make the community look its best and help all owners’ property values.
If an owner violates those restrictions, the Association is required to ask them to correct the violation. Perhaps the most expensive violation to correct is a new roof of the wrong color. Yes, that’s right: all roofs in Stratford Manor are supposed to be comprised of shingles—either three-tab or architectural asphalt—that are “Weathered Wood” in color. There have been a few cases over the years where the homeowner mistakenly used a different–color shingle, and had to deal with correcting it at their own expense.
Why “weathered wood”? The original reason has been lost over time, but an educated guess is that the founders of the HOA wanted a color that fit in with their desire for a colonial look, which also dictates the approved exterior paint colors. Regardless, the approved shingle color is an essential part of the overall look of our community.
That’s why Board members will sometimes stop and ask a homeowner who is having a new roof installed about its color, and whether it has been approved. It may seem like a control freak is interfering with your project, but they are really trying to protect you against a costly mistake. And that’s why it’s so important to fill out an Architectural Review Application (downloadable on our website), specifying the kind and color of shingles you need to use.
That application, which must be submitted to Abbitt Management, is
your safety net. If Abbitt and/or the Association’s Board approves, you are
safe to do the work as described on your form.<
Home inspections about to take place. Get ready!
A reminder to Stratford Manor owners: late April is the time for
Abbitt Management to conduct spring inspections of the exterior of your town
home. The inspector, accompanied by members of the Association’s Board, will be
looking for peeling paint, loose shingles, sagging gutters, and anything else
that might detract from the beauty of your home and our community. For
details, check the Architectural Compliance checklist found at our website,
stratfordmanornn.blogspot.com.
Stratford Manor News Briefs :
Paving plans put on hold—The Association’s plan to repave the entire Stratford Manor community suffered another setback recently when the paving contractor, Basic Construction, concluded that all of the roads and parking lots not yet paved will require expensive soil stabilization. “We received a revised quote from Basic for the Sloane Place neighborhood,” said Bob Lucas, chairman of the Infrastructure Committee, “and the soil stabilization part doubled the expected cost.”
After giving the bad news to the Board at its April 13th meeting, Mr. Lucas was authorized to hire a geotechnical engineer to provide guidance in deciding how to proceed with the project. Until that recommendation is received, work on Sloane and other areas with aging asphalt has been put on hold. Meanwhile, previously scheduled concrete repairs on Sloane and Kenilworth will be done within a few weeks, and remedial paving work and restriping on Kenilworth will be done in the near future.
Reminder: Some items can’t go in bulk waste—The City of Newport News cited the Association recently because a resident put out a large fish tank for curbside pickup—the second time our HOA has been cited in the past few months. “When a Stratford Manor resident puts anything out for bulk-waste pickup that doesn’t qualify,” said President John Gullett, “the City sends us a notice that we have to remove it within so many days or we will be fined. To avoid that, we have to pay someone to remove it and take it to the landfill.”
He added that it is difficult to find out who put out the illegal
item, so the Association is cited as the culprit. “Since it costs us to have
the material hauled away,” he said, “I want to remind readers that the truck
will not pick up dark trash bags, tires, automotive parts, glass, drywall and
paint, among other items.” For a full list of taboo materials, visit the Bulk
Waste section of the City’s website.
Social Media presence delayed—Social Media Committee Chairperson Fran Hodges told the Board at its April 13th meeting that plans to create a Stratford Manor group on Facebook were delayed by the lack of volunteers to help develop and manage it. “We know this will be beneficial in our Board’s overall communications efforts with owners,” said Ms. Hodges, “but it takes a huge commitment of time, and all of us on the Board are currently working on more compelling and timely issues.”
She said the search for additional volunteers, especially those
familiar with Facebook or other social media, will continue. If you are
interested, send an email to Ms. Hodges at dhodges452@yahoo.com.
Landscaping work pays off—The common areas around Stratford Manor are looking great these days, said Landscaping Chairperson Nancy Allen. That’s because the landscaping service, YRL, has been devoting time to preparing for spring by putting down mulch, spraying for weeds, putting down grass seed and fertilizing. “We asked them to get everything looking its best by Easter,” said Ms. Allen, “and they came through like gangbusters. The grassy areas are bright green and the azaleas are blooming beautifully. ” She also admitted that the plentiful rainfall was a big help.<
2022 BOARD MEETING DATES:
June 8, 2022 August 10, 2022 October 12, 2022 December 14, 2022
Meetings are on Wednesdays, and start at 5:30 p.m. Currently, meetings are held virtually via Zoom. The link for the meetings is emailed to owners prior to the meeting date, if Abbitt has their email address. To add your email address, email it to associations@abbitt.com.
Everyone is welcome to attend the Board Meetings. We need your support to ensure that Stratford Manor continues to be a beautiful community.
