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972-874-9541● P.O. Box 271061 ● Flower Mound, Texas ● 75027-1061 ● www.srshoa.org |
June 28, 2006: Volume4 Issue 3Information meeting on the brick walls will be held July 12th. @ the Police/Courts Bldg. 7:00pm |
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MORE ON THE BRICK WALL REPAIRS
Here is a little more information for you about the history of our brick wall on Spinks Road. The development plan for Shadow Ridge South from 1993 specified that this brick wall be built and dedicated to the HOA along with the 50’ landscape area along Spinks Road. It was built around 1994 along with the streets and utilities before any homes were built in Shadow Ridge South by the real estate developer FM-SR, LTD. This wall has 130 columns and is nearly 1500 feet in length along Spinks Road on both sides of Lexington. Ryland and DR Horton came in later to build our houses and had nothing to do with it. After it was built the Town of Flower Mound required a maintenance bond of three years to repair it if it failed, and this has long ago expired. The Town said that there is nothing they can do to help us in going back to the developer for repairs, as too much time has passed. When we fired Principal Management Group and became self managed in 2001, we found that Principal had done nothing to maintain this wall and it was in poor condition. Unfortunately, they also left us with a negative balance in our HOA bank account, so we had very little money to work with for repairs. After meeting with several repair companies and even trying to file an insurance claim, we decided that the best solution was to repair the worst damage every year as our budget allowed. The reason the wall is falling apart is because of poor workmanship and a flawed design. The worst areas have panels with mortar falling out from between brick rows because they used too much sand in the mortar mix. There is steel wire between each row that is rusting from exposure to moisture and expanding upward causing damage to the column tops and loose bricks at tops of columns and panels that could fall if disturbed. The bricks at the top of the wall have no mortar cap and fill with water when it rains, which soaks down into the rest of the wall. The design did not include steel under the panels so they have been sagging and falling in at the bottom. The repairs we have been doing since 2001 have been just to fix the loose bricks at the top and install steel under panels that have sagged. Unfortunately, this has not been enough as the mortar joints have been popping out and whole rows of brick move together making the wall unstable. We hired a small repair company called Brick Fix to repair the worst damage every year. We developed a system where we numbered every column and used a spreadsheet to tell Brick Fix where the loose bricks and fallen panels were that needed to be repaired after our annual inspection. We did this every year since 2001 and paid for the repairs out of the HOA budget. The worst year was 2004 when we had record rainfall and the damage accelerated and we had to spend more money than budgeted. After doing our annual inspection in March this year, we found that Brick Fix was not longer in business. We knew that we had to find another alternative and contacted the contractor named ProofRock that repaired Foxborough Hollow’s walls on both sides of Lexington. They are a specialty company that does nothing but repair masonry walls and were large enough to do a job like this. After going through many different possible solutions with them, we decided to continue with our old plan of fixing the worst damage first and then repairing the rest in one large job that will take them about 90 days to complete. We think this will be a permanent fix with broken bricks being replaced, all bad mortar being removed and replaced with high strength mortar, steel under every panel, and a mortar cap to seal panels and columns for the entire wall. The Town of Flower Mound told us that we are required to have a brick wall as was permitted back in 1993 when Shadow Ridge South was planned. ProofRock, the contractor we have been working with, came up with a less expensive repair where they would apply a structural coating to the brick and make a stucco looking finish, but the Town would not allow it. Since this has to be a brick wall, we decided that the most economical thing to do is to repair it, as replacing it with a new one was nearly double the cost. |
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MORE ON THE BRICK WALL REPAIRS (continued)
We contacted three banks about a possible loan, but found that since the HOA does not have many assets, the most we could get was an unsecured loan with a five year term and monthly payments we could not afford with our income. We decided that the best option was to make a one time special assessment and get it over with. In our HOA Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, Article II, Section 5 (d) Special Assessment for Working Capital Fund, Nonrecurring Maintenance and Capital Improvements says the following: “In addition to the annual assessments authorized above, the Association may levy special assessments as follows: (i) In any calendar year, a special assessment applicable to that year only for the purpose of defraying, in whole or in part, the cost of any nonrecurring maintenance, or the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, repair, or replacement of a capital improvement upon any Common Maintenance Area (other than the initial acquisition or construction of capital improvements – for instance, the subdivision wall for the Property – completed in connection with the initial development of the Property), including fixtures and personal property related thereto, may be assessed. The Association shall not commingle the proceeds of such special assessment with the maintenance fund. Such proceeds shall be used solely and exclusively to fund the nonrecurring maintenance or improvements in question.” We wanted to get started with the work as soon as possible due to the liability we have with possible injuries from falling brick. We received letters from homeowners saying that they would not allow their children to play next to the wall, as they were concerned that bricks would fall on them. We were also told of a fatality of a man in Houston from a wall like ours collapsing on him. We were afraid that we would wake up one morning and find that a section had fallen down from a wind storm or someone pushing too hard on it. We wanted to act as soon as possible and told ProofRock to start. We scheduled the meeting to answer questions on July 12th because that is the soonest we could meet in order to give 30 days notice to homeowners. It will be held at the Police and Courts Building on Kirkpatrick at 7:00 PM. We know that it coincides with the due date of the invoice, but we will work with any homeowner that has a hardship in paying, as we always have. Unfortunately, we have to pay ProofRock for their work and must have the money ready to pay them on schedule. Shadow Ridge South will be a better place to live with this wall repaired and whole again, and we will not have to worry about this eyesore and safety hazard for many years to come. |
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Primary Care Clinic of North Texas This is a low cost medical clinic in Lewisville near the hospital that serves people who do not have health insurance. They have asked that all HOA newsletters post their information as there is a growing need for their services. According to their web site, www.primarycareclinic.org, office visits are $30 and they offer the following:
● Fees for routine blood tests under $10 each ● Screening for Hepatitis, HIV, cholesterol, PSA, etc. ● Referrals for X-rays, ultrasound, CT scans and MRI scans priced at or near Medicare rates ● All generic drugs at discounted prices made available through local pharmacies Note: The clinic does not offer obstetric or gynecological services. Phone number/address: (972)221-6005, 376 West Main St., Suite F, Lewisville, Texas 75057. |
Activities
Some neighbors have questioned the amount of money spent on activities. The Activity Committee is given a yearly budget of $1,100.00. Out of this we host two events a year along with the cost of advertising for the neighborhood garage sales. The Fall Carnival was so big last year because of generous donations from your neighbors. This included the hot dogs and condiments, bounce house, obstacle course, Boogie Woogie Choo Choo, popcorn, cotton candy, door prizes, haunted house, music and plush animal prizes. It would not have been possible without their support. I look for bargains throughout the year to make each event special for everyone. Plans are underway for this year’s fall carnival. If you would like to promote your business by being a sponsor, we would love to include you. Please let me know. Pat-972-691-9539
4th of July Bike Parade Due to unforeseen circumstances, the 4th of July Bike Parade will be cancelled.
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Vice President: Rick Tuzinski |
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