Friday, October 30, 2015

Some excerpts from the monthly letters that I am delivering today:

Happy Halloween!  I hope that you all have a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather we have been having!  It has really been a great fall.  Remember to turn your clocks back one hour on Saturday night. Remember the old saying:  “Fall back, Spring forward”.

As we approach colder weather, please make sure that all hoses are detached from the outside spigots.  

Rent is due on Sunday, November 1.  To avoid a late fee please have your rent payment deposited by end-of-day Thursday, November 5.  Please use the enclosed deposit slips, or be sure to indicate your unit number on the deposit..  If you would like me to pick up the rent please contact me to arrange a time.

I was in touch with the company that did the paving of the central drive last year, and they promised that they would be out to make repairs next week. I will keep you posted as I am able.

I am planning on mowing the yard one more time before the cold weather sets in.  Now that most of the leaves are down I will try to get out early next week to get this done.  Thanks to everyone for keeping the grass clear so that I can get out into the yard.  

I included individual contact information in each letter. Please make sure that I have correct contact information on file for you.  If possible I need home phone, mobile phone and email address.  

Have a great Halloween weekend!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

I hope you are all enjoying this fantastic fall weather.  Fun Fact:  If you are up early over the next week you can see Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Mecury in the Eastern sky 30-60 minutes before sunrise.  They are really spectacular to see.

The weather report says that we will be getting our first frost on Saturday with early morning temperatures in the low 30's.  Please make sure to detach all hoses from the outside faucets, and if you have any plants that you want to save you might want to cover them or bring them inside.

I am planning on mowing once more later this month.  I want to wait until most of the leaves are down.  I intend to mow things very short so that the leaves will not stick.  I am also going to clean up along the back side of the property (South).  Please make sure that everything is up off the grass over the next few weeks.

On Friday I will be coming by the property with my trailer to pick up some of the bigger things currently laying around the property (basketball goal, old metal chairs, etc.).  I will try to contact the owners of the items if I know who they are.  If you have anything that you would like me to haul away (old satellite receivers for example), please let me know.  If you don't want something hauled away, please make sure that it is put up in a spot where it is obvious that you want to keep it (your garage for example).

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

See!  I have already missed a week!  Part of the reason is that there isn't much to talk about, but also Diana and I were in Rochester, MN last week.  In case you are wondering ... Diana's appointments at the Mayo Clinic went well, and she got a very good report.

The grass is still looking good.  I think the yard has finally gone into hibernation.  I am expecting that there will be one more mowing this fall once all of the leaves are down.

While we are talking about the grass, please do not leave anything on the grass outside of  your unit.  I am going to be making a donation/dump run sometime next week with my trailer.  I will be picking up anything around the property that is laying in the grass..  If you have anything that you would like to contribute, please let me know so that you can put it on my trailer.

Parking
There have been some questions and comments recently about parking, so let me address some of those issues here.

• Parking should be in the designated areas only.  
• Please do NOT park on the grass especially as the weather gets colder and wetter.  
• If you are having a group of people visit, please instruct them to park on the street if all of your assigned spaces are full.
• Please be aware of your neighbors, and make sure that everyone has access to their parking spaces and garage.  Please do not block any of the driveways so that people can exit the property if needed.

If you are having problems with parking, please let me know.

Driveway

I have been in touch with the contractor that paved the main drive.  As of right now he is still planning on being back in the area this month.   

As I see it the problem with the drive is that the asphalt is not on a good base that will support the weight of the garbage truck. I hope that we will get this issue resolved when the contractor is back in town later this month.

Have a GREAT week!

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

I apologize for not providing any updates to this blog sooner.  With all of the mowing that has been necessary this summer, I haven't had a chance to update you on what is going on.

I am going to reactivate this blog as a way to keep everyone informed of what is going on in the neighborhood.  My intent is to update this blog once-a-week with "all the news you can use", but if something comes up I will post an update in between times.  I will notify everyone of updates to the blog through and email so that you are all aware.

Please feel free to post comments or ask questions through the blog as well.  I would like to know if you have something specific that you would like me to address or respond to.  I intend on addressing one topic in my blog every week.

I will still deliver my monthly letters as well with the deposit slips at the beginning of the month.  I delivered the October letter last evening.  I apologize that it is a week early, but Diana and I are going to be out-of-town for a few days.  I wanted to make sure you had the necessary information before the first of the month.  

For this blog post, please allow me to repeat the policy about pets that I put out in the monthly letter.

Due to some recent tragic incidents, I need to emphasize our pet policies:

• Dogs should not be left outside unattended either loose, or staked out.
• That will remove the need to have bowls of water and/or food outside. Leaving food and water out tends to draw stray and/or wild animals into the neighborhood.
• The pet rent is $25 per pet.  If you get another pet you must let us know so that we can adjust your rent accordingly.  
• Finally please make sure that you are cleaning up after your pets, especially if they are making a mess in the yard of another unit.

Our pet policies are meant for indoor pets.  Thank you for making the neighborhood a clean and safe environment for everyone.

I have noticed that there aren't as many stray cats running around the neighborhood. If there is no food or water left out the stray cats will soon find another place to beg.

Please let me know if there are any additions to the policy that you would like to suggest.

Even though I am out of town for a few days, if you have problems I can still be reached at my mobile number (417-372-5354). Feel free to contact me to let me know of any problems or questions.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Yesterday I met with Dustin Harris (City Engineer) and Charlie Romans (developer) on the South side of the property to discuss the water runoff and erosion problem between our neighborhood and the development that is going on down below.

It was good that we met there on a rainy day, because the problem was obvious to see.  There are even several deep holes right next to the asphalt that are puddles now, but as water seeps out of them down the hill will become sink-holes.

Charlie has talked to an excavation firm to come out and take a look at the situation.  The proposed solution that we discussed was to extend the retaining wall a few more feet, and make a drainage path to the west and down the hill there where the erosion is not occurring.

Charlie expects to have a discussion next week with the excavation company to finalize the plan.  I plan on being part of those discussions so that I am kept informed of the plans for this area.  I will try to keep you informed of the plans as well.

Dustin also commented about the overgrowth of grass and brush along that hill.  Charlie will need to take care of most of the hillside, but I am going to work on cutting more along the top of the retaining wall, and the grass on the west side of the asphalt.

I will be mowing the property again Friday, May 22 (weather permitting).  Please make sure that you have everything picked up from the grass around your unit so that I can mow up close to the buildings.

As we head into the Memorial Day weekend I know that summer and "Grilling Season" is upon us.  If you intend on having a grill on your deck, please make sure that it is as far away from the building as possible.

Next week I will deliver my monthly letter and deposit slips for the June rent payments.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather!  It has really been a fantastic week.

On Monday I rented a Power Sweep, and brushed most of the rock chips off the main drive.  Rachael and I took several loads of rock chips down to the lower part of the property to line the area just off the asphalt at the bottom.  These should help with drainage in this area, and if they do wash away they will help secure the hillside.  I think we moved about a ton of chips down there.  I know that there are still some rock chips around.  Hopefully a couple rains will take care of washing away the rest of the chips.

My next big project is to get some topsoil delivered, and fill in the depression where the old dumpster used to sit, cover the area around unit 723-1, and plant grass.  Since this is on a hillside I want to wait until the chances of rain and thunderstorms diminishes so that I have more control over how much water is put on those areas.

We are still having a problem with stray cats in the neighborhood.  I appreciate everyone refraining from feeding the cats, and I hope that not having food around will encourage the cats to move on.  I have received complaints from tenants about "offerings" that the cats have made (dead birds, dead mice and dead moles).  I have been throwing all of these into the woods to the west.  Neither the city or the county can do anything about the cats, so if you have someplace that wants to adopt the cats, please feel free to relocate them.  I don't want to be hardhearted about stray animals (we have 2 rescue dogs of our own), but I am concerned that the stray cats will encourage wild animals (like skunks and raccoon).  I am also concerned that the cats are not inoculated, and there have been reported cases of rabies not far away.

Thanks to those that are planting flowers, and trying to brighten up the neighborhood!  The flowers really look nice.  Once I have a better handle on the rock and (lack of) grass situation I hope to do some landscaping that will help the area as well.

Please note that I have a new cell phone number:  417-372-5354.  Feel free to call me anytime with questions or problems.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

I met with the Doctor today, and he has given me the all-clear to get back to work.  I am still going to hire the mowing done one more time, but hope to be back doing some things around the property this week.

Last week I met with the city engineers and inspectors to discuss the water run-off situation to the south of the property.  I am waiting on a response from them with a recommended plan of action.   They raised a concern that just putting in a retaining wall would create a waterfall effect going down the hill during rain.  They suggested that there also needs to be some kind of drainage area created that would direct the water to the west and down the hill.  As soon as I have their report I will let you know.

I haven't had any luck finding someone to sweep the excess rock off the driveway.  In the next couple weeks I will be renting a "Power Sweeper" to see if that will be enough to brush the rock off the central drive.  I am hoping to collect all the excess rock along the pad at the south end of the property to help keep the water from creating even more erosion.

I am also going to be working on filling in the erosion areas on the hillside on the west side of the property.  My plan is to fill that area in with some rock and topsoil, and plant grass to keep the soil in place.  I need to wait until a little drier weather so that I can control how much water the grass is getting.

I will be delivering my monthly letters and deposit slips later this week.  Thanks to everyone for your timely rent payments.  It really helps when everyone makes their deposits directly into the accounts.

Please note the new contact information below:
email:      bpgroe@gmail.com
Home:     417-257-7787
Mobile:   417-372-5354

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.