2004 News

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12/20/04 - BFI Update II 12/15/04 - Speed Limit on Morton
12/01/04 - BFI Update 02/29/04 - Jogging Trail
2003 News Items 2002 News Items 2001 News Items 2000 News Items

 

To all Barkers Ridge residents ~

On December 9, the property manager at Crest Management, along with HOA Board member Margaret Moore, met with representatives from BFI to discuss our concerns over the decline in the company's service quality in recent months.  The meeting was motivated by at least three major failures in delivery, which resulted in the accumulation of trash in residents' yards for more than 10 days, as well as the inability of BFI to fully handle the Barkers Ridge trash volume following the Thanksgiving break. 

BFI was very attentive to our concerns, and committed to better service in the weeks & months to come.  However, not all questions were answered, and I have followed up with them for additional information, mainly as it relates to the replacement of recycling bins (and the recycling process), and the implication of reducing the number of individuals assigned to pick-up (from 2 to 1).  I will relay this additional information as soon as it is provided to me.

In the interim, it is very important that you let me know of any problems that you have with BFI, especially, the failure to pick up trash (for you or your neighbors who may not be on this email network) or the failure to respond to requests that you make to them via telephone. The HOA board cannot intervene for you in your communications with BFI, but we would like to know when you call & the response you receive over the next 90 days.

We plan to meet with BFI again to let them know if service has improved, and we will need your input and your evaluation to properly communicate our collective experience.

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Wishing you and your family a happy & safe holiday season (and don't forget your Vacation Watch if you're leaving town!)

Judith McGlaughlin
Margaret Moore
Barkers Ridge Homeowners Association

 

 

Speed Limit Change on Morton Rd.
 12/15/04

Dear neighbors,

Because we've been receiving a fair amount of e-mails regarding the change in speed limit on Morton Road, we're writing you to let you know what we do, and to ask you to help us determine our future course.

Margaret Moore has been in contact with the county engineer who made this change. He told us that the county routinely evaluates the speed limits in growing areas such as ours, monitoring average traffic volume, speed, & time of day when there is more traffic (morning/afternoon/evening).  Apparently, such studies have led the county to believe that the most "reasonable" speed for Morton Road (based upon the speeds recorded in this evaluation) is 40-mph.  Lower speeds tend to frustrate drivers, causing accidents as faster drivers maneuver around slower ones.

This information is surprising to us since, for some months, the block captains in Barkers Ridge Crime Watch program have been focused on how to reduce speeding on both Morton Road and other "interior" streets such as Barker Forest Lane,  Piney Forest Drive, and Deeds Road.  We have encouraged the constable to stop all vehicles who violate the posted speed limit, but he has not encountered a disproportionate number of vehicles who travel at speeds of 40-mph or more. 

We will, obviously, bring this apparent discontinuity to the attention of the county engineer -- and review the data that led to the county's decision. The decision that we need to face as a community is whether we want the higher speed limit through our neighborhood, and if not, are we prepared to communicate this to Commissioner Radack's office. At that point, the decision is no longer a technical one, but a political one, and it will be the number of voices that are heard that will make a difference.

Please feel free to let me know your thoughts, both on the "pro" side of allowing the increase to 40-mph on Morton Road hold, or the "con" side, that is, why we prefer to have a return to the 30-mph limit in our neighborhood.

Judith McGlaughlin
Margaret Moore

Barkers Ridge HOA
Crime Watch Captains

 


12/01/04
 BFI Update

To all,

This is a note to let you know that we and Crest Management have been in contact with BFI about our concerns with the quality of their services in the past months. There have been several major failures affecting individual residents, as well as the slower-than-expected pickup following the Thanksgiving holiday.  Crest Management has set up a meeting with BFI, that board member Margaret Moore will attend in our behalf, to communicate these problems and to identify areas where we expect improvements.  Specifically, we will ask that:

We will also discuss the change in service days, and our preferences regarding heavy trash & recycled item pickup.

We will update you as to the outcome of that meeting next week.

Regards

Margaret Moore
Judith McGlaughlin
Barkers Ridge HOA


02/29/04
 Retention Pond Trail to Cullen Park Status
 By Del House

I received a status update recently from the county regarding the planned jogging trail extensions. Here’s what I learned:

  1. The State accepted the original PER (Preliminary Engineering Report) for Phase I of the addition (includes the construction of a trail from Appletree Hill in Barkers Ridge to the existing jogging trail) in March 2003 but required a revised PER to be submitted by the County
  2. The revised PER was submitted to the State in June 2003;
  3. Subsequently the County submitted their "75% Plans" to the State on September 15, 2003, and
  4. The County is now preparing the final "100% Plans" and expects to submit them to the State later this month. After the 100% Plans are submitted, the County expects the State’s review to take 3-4 months before the construction bids begin, with the actual construction beginning a month or so after that. This means we may see construction beginning some time this fall.

In a related note, the 75% Plans for the Phase I extension are being prepared now, meaning that the extension (adding a loop around the detention ponds located within Barkers Ridge) is about 4 months behind Phase I. Also, Phase 2, which will extend the existing trail west to almost Fry Road is currently at the "30% Plans" stage.

To give you some perspective on how these things can play out, consider the following items. Barkers Ridge has had an excellent relationship with Commissioner Radack’s office and that helped us when the County constructed the Morton Road sidewalks for us for free (even though they had to replace the previous above ground drainage with expensive underground drainage). Also, consider that Copperfield HOA had to pay ˝ of the total cost of their sidewalks and we paid none of the cost. Most of the fault for the delay is due to circumstances outside of the County’s control. While many of you would like for this trail to have been built a long time ago, especially for the safety reasons, we are actually faring quite well and can be hopeful of the outcome.

I will continue to monitor this project and provide updates as necessary.

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