2012 Landscape Contract

On July 5, 2012, the Autumn Walk Board awarded a contract for the rest of CY2012 for full-service maintenance of the property.

For this year, we chose not to raise the assessment fees, but if the service is continued in CY2013, fees will rise to balance the budget.

The decision will be made at the 2013 Budget Meeting on November 19, 2012 in the Emerson Clubhouse.

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Grounds Contract: July-November 2012
Start Date: July 12, 2012
Cost: No extra cost in 2012; full service will require extra dues in 2013
Scope: Full Property

1. You are responsible for:

• Mulching, weeding, and pruning your own flowerbeds 
• Watering your grass and flowerbeds 
• If you have a fenced-in yard, you must mow it yourself

2. The Contractor will provide the following services:

• Mow & trim all grass, including common areas and front, side, & back yards (11 mowing, 6 edging) 
• Fertilizer & weed control (2 times) 
• Aeration (full property) & slit seed (1/3 of property) (1 time) 
• Prune shrubs, Common Area Only (2 times) 
• Weeding of Common Area mulched beds (6 times) 
• Weeding of Common Area mulched beds + post-emergent (2 times) 
• Leaf removal (2 times - full season)

3. Opting Out:

• Due to potential for minor incidental damage (e.g., to fence and deck posts during edging) we gave you the option to skip mowing your lawn, but no one elected to do so. The contract remains the same either way.

4. Other Considerations:

• The contract calls for the grass to be mowed every 7-10 days.
• It is unclear if the HOA is responsible for mulching the public trees in front of the houses.
• When new sod is laid after repairs to sidewalks and curbs, it must be watered heavily or else it will die.
• On 2012-08-09, Contractor recommended:
• Homeowners should cover areas behind HVAC units with mulch or stone (difficult to trim this area without damage)
• Brush in reforestation area behind Lots 22-27 should be trimmed back every 2 years
• Will provide recommendations for modifying drainage outlets from 6" PVC pipes servicing Lots 28-33 (need to keep outlets clear of grass and debris, provide channel for water)
• Rework HVAC discharge and runoff in swale behind Lots 34-45 (issue may be temporary)
• Per Jesse in 9817: 
• Fall is the ideal time for aeration and over seeding (mid to late September)
• But you need to give the new grass time to come in before the growing season ends (usually first frost). 
• In the springtime, weed killing applications are usually applied, which also would prevent newly planted grass from growing, so over seeding that time of year is not the best (at least if you are trying to control weeds as well).

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Service Dates in 2012:

• 2012-07-12: Initial mowing, edging, weeding
• 2012-07-19: Contractor visits property; grass is dormant, no cut needed. Heavy rains began immediately afterwards.
• 2012-07-30: Second mowing, edging
• 2012-08-03: Contractor clean-up of clippings, edging
• 2012-08-06: Third mowing 
• 2012-08-09: Contractor and CAS Community Manager walkthrough for Contractor recommendations
• 2012-08-16: Fourth mowing, edging
• 2012-08-28: Fifth mowing, including the storm water management pond
• 2012-09-05: Sixth mowing, including fifth edging
• 2012-09-17: Seventh mowing
• 2012-09-27: Eighth mowing, including sixth edging
• 2012-10-11: Ninth mowing, including seventh edging
• 2012-10-12: Aerating and overseeding
• 2012-10-24: Tenth (?) mowing and eighth edging
• 2012-11-15: Leaf removal (mulched using riding mowers)

2013:

• Road salted at least 5 times under snow contract from M&S
• 2013-03-04: Brickman trenches all mulched beds in Autumn Walk, including private; did not lay new mulch yet