The Cedars HOA

The sprinkler system and drip systems are now installed.  A big thanks for all those who spent time on the installation of the sprinkler system.  It took 300 man hours to complete but we now have a much better system than we had before.  At the end of the week we will have the final grade done to the park.  This will mean more big equipment in the park so keep your children clear since these machines will be moving at a good pace spreading the remainder of the top soil throughout the park.  The park strips and area between the pavilions will have sod installed in the next week to week and a half.  On Monday we will be installing a 6 foot fence around the open field and then hydro-seeding that area.

 We have chosen to hydro-seed for several reasons.  First and foremost we are going to be saving $10,000.00 by seeding, money we do not have.  Second, The grass will end up stronger and in better health in 3 months than sod would be in 5 years.  Third, Our grass seed will germinate in the best soil that is around.  When sod is laid down there is 1/4 to 1/2 inch of clay that the sod is based in.  This degrades the time and money we have spent in amending the soil to the perfect top soil.  The root structure of the sod also takes a lot longer to penetrate and thicken due to the fabric and clay that the sod is in.  With seed placed on proper soil and maintained properly there should be very few weeds and, in three months, will be strong and usable.  We are taking all efforts to do the seeding properly and create the perfect grass for the park play areas.

We ask for your Patience as we do the seeding process.  The fencing will be up for 3 months.  This means that we will not have access to the playing field until the middle of August.  However, in the long run we will be glad we had the patience to do the grass this way.  The pavilions, walking trails and playground will be open to the public and fully functional.  Unfortunantly the pergolas will have to be inside the fence due to the way they have to set the temporary fence up.

We ask everyone to keep on the look out for youth vandalizing the new facilities.  We have had three instances this spring of vandalism that have cost all of us extra money.  Those who have teenagers vandalizing the park will have to pay for the repairs and possibly a fine.  We will also prosecute the teen to the fullest extent of the law.  Now that we have something nice lets keep it that way.

Due to the weather and wet ground we have been slightly delayed in the excavation of the remainder of the park.  The excavation has continued and with any luck we will have a dry week to get the soil excavated, sifted and then the final grade completed.  We have tested the soil and found that it will need no amending to be a good growing soil for the park.

When the grading is completed we will install the trees. power conduit, and sprinkler system.  When this is complete we will sod between the pavilions and seed the remainder of the grass areas of the park.  We are going to be seeding with a mixture of high quality Kentucky Blue Grass for the best park lawn that can be obtained.  This should create a strong, thick and deep green turf.  In the wooded area we are going to seed for wild flowers.

The playground, pavilions and pergolas are completed and are a big hit with the children and parents thus far.  We ask that as you enjoy these areas that you take caution in the areas of the park that are under construction to keep your children free from harms way.  We also ask that you keep your children from damaging anything that is in construction or freshly completed.  We also ask that you keep an eye out for vandalism and report it whenever you see it happening.  We have invested to much into this park to allow a few misguided souls to ruin it for us all.

Utah Senate Bill 220, currently under consideration, limits homeowners’ and associations’ ability to sue for defective construction. Please see this Community Associations Institute letter for additional information.

Work in the park is progressing nicely with forms set and concrete poured. For an in depth report on the status of the construction, see this thread on the forum:

http://www.thecedarshoa.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=153

Also, many people have been curious about what the finished product will look like. This picture should give a good approximation of what the finished park will be like. (Note, that it is not the final drawing and some details may change, but it is very close.)

(click on the picture to enlarge it)

This year the annual meeting will be held on June 7th to coincide with the grand re-opening of the park. This event will be celebrated by a BBQ and movie in the park. We hope to see you all there.

There is a lot of curiosity out there concerning the progress of the park construction.  Hopefully this announcement thread serves as a means to communicate some of the progress. I will try to update it regularly.

A couple months ago, the “Lars plan” was chosen for a variety of reasons and three weeks ago the plan was finalized with a few minor tweaks. These include removal of the proposed monument on the East side, removal of the “power box half circle” on the south side, increasing  the diameter of the playground circle from 60 ft. to 70 ft. (to meet ASTM and federal CPA recommendations), use of back to back bench seating instead of swing seating under one of the three pergolas and a slight upsize to each of the three pergolas from 5′x10′ to 6′x12′.

Board members have also been very busy soliciting bids for the project, speaking with city officials, Rocky Mtn. Power representatives and a host of other building professionals.

The “equipment package” has been ordered with Miracle Recreation, which includes:

Two 16′x24′ Litchfield brand steel pavilions (same make and coloring as those in the Cedar Hills Timp Cove park [brown/bronze roof, black posts])

Four 4′x8′ Miracle Recreation brand PVC coated tables (same make and coloring as those in the Cedar Hills Timp Cove park [green table/bench, black supports])

One 6′ Miracle Recreation brand PVC coated benches (same make and coloring as those in the Cedar Hills Timp Cove park [green bench, black supports]). We will reuse the two benches that we already have in the park in an effort to save money.

Two 8′ Miracle Recreation brand PVC coated benches (same make coloring as those in the Cedar Hills Timp Cove park [green bench, black supports]). These will be placed back to back under the center pergola.

Two 8′ Miracle Recreation brand vinyl coated swing seats [same make as those in the Timp Cove park with slightly different coloring: green bench, black supports]). These will be placed under the outer two pergolas.

The Miracle Recreation components are scheduled for delivery on Wed. of next week and the Litchfield components are scheduled for delivery in about a month.  Miracle Recreation is tentatively scheduled to install all of these components and move the existing playground equipment during the last week of February, provided we have better weather between now and then.

The biggest single challenge has been a lack of electricity in the park.  There are a number of reasons that permanent power must be stubbed in now.  First, electricity will be needed to power a new irrigation controller in the park as new zones will be added up and beyond what we already have. (As all are aware, the park irrigation system is currently powered and controlled by a temporary power box and irrigation system controller in the front of the Hansen’s yard.  It seems to work “as is” (with a new controller bought last year) but will not be able to service the additional zones required by the project.)    Other reasons to stub electricity now include potential future pavilion lighting, potential future electricity outlets on the pavilion, potential future landscape/Christmas lighting, etc.

The big green “transformer box” on the south side of the park cannot be used to tie into.  It apparently is a three phase relay box, not a single phase transformer.  The nearest transformer box is located across the street between 4122 and 4144 Hayes Circle.  Rocky Mountain Power has given us the okay to tie into it as long as we provide a 24″ deep 3″ conduit under the road.  A handful of “directional micro tunneling” companies are currently determining feasibility and formulating estimates for doing this. Meanwhile, Blue Stakes and the City of Cedar Hills has been out marking utilities in Hayes Circle and on the west side of Hayes Circle near the proposed power junction and along the west and south side of the park.  (That’s why there are red and orange flags/spray paint out there)

Yesterday the park plan was precisely laid out with GPS equipment to an accuracy of +/- 1 in. with orange wood stakes.  The perimeter was also cordoned off with yellow caution tape.  It’s important for people to stay out of this area as these stakes pose a safety hazard.  It’s also important that these stakes remain where they are at and that they not be taken out.

More soon…

For those who are interested, February will start the construction of the new park reconfiguration.  During this time there is going to be holes and steaks and other constructions hazards in the west end of the park.  For those that use the playground equipment in the winter months the playground will not be touched until it is ready to be moved to its new location.  The relocating process should be only a couple of days and should give little inconvenience to the residents.

For a general timetable of the construction the excavation is to be done the last of January/first of February.  The concrete will follow in the first to middle of February.  The last week of February there will be two pavilions installed and the playground equipment will be moved to the new and improved playground area.  In March we will have the trees installed and three pergolas.  The remaining landscaping will be completed by the end of April.

All of these are subject to change due to construction delays, weather and other unavoidable delays.  However, we are hoping to stay on schedule throughout the construction process.

We ask that you all exercise extreme caution in and around the park during construction since a construction site is not the safest place to be.  We also ask that you keep you children of all ages out of the construction area.  Injury, and most importantly, vandalism can delay the construction and add unknown cost to the project.

For those that are interested in serving their HOA, voting in of Board members will take place during the annual meeting. To be added to the ballot send a resume with cover letter stating your intentions to run for the Board to ECM (Elite Community Management). Your name will be placed on the ballot.

All five Board positions are voted in each year and so there needs to be at least five HOA members run to fill the open Board positions. Take the time to serve your community during the next year and make a difference in the place that you live.

On Sunday November 4th we need to remember to change our clocks. Since this is fall we fall back one hour:

Grammer and Spelling:

The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight SavingS Time.

Saving is used here as a verbal adjective (a participle). It modifies time and tells us more about its nature; namely, that it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. It is a saving daylight kind of time. Because of this, it would be more accurate to refer to DST as daylight-saving time. Similar examples would be a mind-expanding book or a man-eating tiger. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball game, rather than as a savings account.

Nevertheless, many people feel the word savings (with an ’s’) flows more mellifluously off the tongue. Daylight Savings Time is also in common usage, and can be found in dictionaries.

Adding to the confusion is that the phrase Daylight Saving Time is inaccurate, since no daylight is actually saved. Daylight Shifting Time would be better, but it is not as politically desirable.

Details on Time Change:

In the U.S., clocks change at 2:00 a.m. local time. in fall, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

In the U.S., 2:00 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.

As a SAFETY REMINDER:

Many fire departments encourage people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change their clocks because Daylight Saving Time provides a convenient reminder. “A working smoke detector more than doubles a person’s chances of surviving a home fire,” says William McNabb of the Troy Fire Department in Michigan. More than 90 percent of homes in the United States have smoke detectors, but one-third are estimated to have dead or missing batteries.

Just as a reminder the Board meets every second Tuesday of the month at 18:00 hours (6:00 PM). The location is at one of the Board members and to find the location all that needs to be done is call or email the management company or one of the Board members to find that location. One of these days we may have all meeting locations posted but for now we do not. All HOA members are welcome and there is a segment at the beginning that is open forum and all who want to speak can do so. We ask you contact the management company or a Board member if you want to have time in the open forum so we can schedule you in.

The October meeting will be held at Tiffer Jenkins home at 18:00. This next meeting and subsequent ones will be mainly the 2008 budget. At each meeting we set the next Board meeting location at the end of the meeting.