At last night’s Board Meeting, the Board nominated and approved the addition of Mary Hartman to the Board, and subsequently nominated and approved her to be our Secretary. Mary was on the Board previously, filling out the remainder of Bobby Gentry’s term. She will now be filling out the remainder of Dotti’s term, which ends in 2017.
Please join us in welcoming her to the Board !
The installation of our new Thermal Windows in the Office will begin around the first week of September. They will be installed in stages, with the front area done first, then the rear, and then the upper windows. If something changes, we will advise.
Secondly, the landscaping company, Metroscape, will begin mowing on Mondays beginning in September and will phase out Saturdays. They may need to do some adjustments to maintain continuity,
In recent weeks, we have opted to have several trees removed from our Pool and Common Areas. The decision to cut down and remove these large trees was not made lightly and were based upon the expertise of a certified Arborist, and in whose opinion these trees posed a liability to the Association. We must address imminent liabilities when we are informed of them. With the wind storms we have experienced in the past few years, it is not a far-fetched scenario that limbs could fall.
Last week, the large tree near the Gazebo/Pergola on the east side was removed. Many people have asked why this was done and here is our response; this tree was very overgrown and there was an exorbitant amount of weight hanging off either side and in such a way as it could not be trimmed or thinned enough to limit the possibility that it could split and fall on someone or their home. So, we opted to have it removed.
This is also true of the tree in front of the 2 story homes on East Creek; this tree is rotten, unstable and poses a liability to the Association. It will be removed tomorrow as well as more trimming on the trees on Warrior Trail.
Our plans are to replace these two recently removed trees this fall but we will not plant them so near to homes this time. We will locate them near the Gazebo/Pergola, in the large open area.
There will likely be additional tree trimming going on for a while; there are many trees here that need attention, especially those in homeowner’s back yards and which are the homeowner’s responsibility.
We had our first of 2 annual applications of Organic Fertilizer this week, primarily in hopes the recent rains would help get it into the roots and begin the process of choking off all of the weeds. There will be another application this Fall.
In the past few months, we have spread about 300 pounds of Bermuda grass seed on both sides of the subdivision and more will be spread as needed to fill in. Plus, there is some St. Augustine grass in many areas that is spreading out very well. Our ultimate goal is to have more grass than weeds, something worth mowing. Our new landscaping contractor, Metroscape, will raise the mower decks and leave the grass a bit longer to prevent loss of moisture, something they normally do in Summer.
We did get a few calls at the Office asking what that stuff was on the sidewalks. Due to the size of the HOA (22 acres), the subcontractor hired to apply the fertilizer used a full size turf tractor and a rather large spreader; this is why the stuff ended up in places which did not necessarily need fertilizer.
We had some trees trimmed this week and have more scheduled for next week. The huge tree just South of the Office had a lot of excess weight on it and we were concerned of large branches falling eventually, so it got a trim. The Certified Arborist from the tree service wanted to remove it entirely, but we opted for a thinning out. It may need to be removed in a few years, but for now, it will remain.
We will be trimming and thinning out the trees around the Pool, on days the Pool is closed (Monday and Thursday). Below is a photo of the Pool trees (click on it to enlarge). Our plans are to thin them out so we can get some grass to grow around the Pool deck and stop the dirt from washing into the Pool when it rains. This has been partially accomplished by adding in some St. Augustine sod, but it needs light to grow and spread out.
There is a Bradford Pear tree in Common Area next to the Pool fence (far right in front of 26 W. Townhouse) which the Arborist also suggested to remove completely. He said these type of trees are prone for limbs breaking off and since it is in Common area, it is the Association’s responsibility if it damages a home or injures someone. We have opted to have it thinned and topped off instead of removal. We will have the tree service check it periodically and follow his advice if things change.
This Oak tree will be thinned, shaped and topped off, something it really needs. We do plan on having additional trees trimmed around the subdivision, as some look like they have never been touched.
We are using SP Tree Service, located here in Grand Prairie, and are getting a reduced price since we are local to them and they want our business. We can certainly keep them busy trimming trees for a few months and we will be spacing things out throughout the Fall. Compared to other dealings I have had in the past with tree services, they are highly competitive.
Any homeowner wanting a free estimate for trimming or removing a tree in your back yard (which some homeowners really need to get done) can contact them thus:
Mention that you live in the GPMCHA subdivision
They have offered to give us a group rate if we can get enough homeowners wanting tree services so they can do several homes in one trip.
We will be posting a 1 page Notice on each and every homeowner’s property so that we all understand the rules and to give everyone the opportunity to correct problems before things escalate. This precedes sending out actual “Notice of Violation” letters and the possible levying of fines as allowed by our Bylaws which state: In addition to such other rights as are specifically granted under the Declaration, the Board shall have the power to impose reasonable fines, which shall constitute a lien upon the Lot of the violator.
If you do happen get a written Notice of Violation, you can find all of the details related to it in our Bylaws, Page 8, Section 20.
Here is a link to the June 2014 Notices going out to all homeowners> Notice Items June 2014
This weekend we had a visit from “Bee Rescue Swarm Removal”, a professional bee removal company who came out to remove a swarm from a water valve box in front of one of our townhouses. The beekeeper removed the swarm without killing them.
If any of you have problems with bee swarms on your homes or in your walls, you can contact this company at http://brsr.org/
This comes from the Grand Prairie website and remains in force until further notice.
As of June 3, 2013, the following restrictions are in effect in the city of Grand Prairie:
*The following restrictions also apply at all times:
The Drought Contingency Plan also prohibits all non-essential uses (water use that does not directly benefit or maintain health, personal cleanliness, or firefighting purposes) including the following:
For more information, call 972-237-8377 or 972-237-8154.
Dotti passed away sometime this morning and at this time we are uncertain of the cause. As I get more information I will pass it along.
Here are a few pictures of the newly plastered and tiled pool; it has been completely resurfaced, along with replacing the circulation pumps. New depth marker tiles have also been installed.
In addition, we have purchased some new chairs and added in sod around the pool area. Come join us tomorrow at 11AM for Opening Day! (Pool is open Memorial Day weekend – Saturday, Sunday and Monday – and closed again until May 30th)
Here is a picture of some of the 250 shrubs we received today. Our plans are to begin planting on Friday, May 23.
Anyone wanting to volunteer to help with planting them may contact the Office, 972-264-2587
