Grounds & Streetlights

Landscaping Contracts. Wow that grass grows high in the springtime! You may have noticed that the grass in the common areas has not been taken care of as well in March and April this year. The Association sought new proposals last fall, but because the proposals were all worded differently they were difficult to compare so the board wrote a standard Statement of Work and asked for proposals. That process is finally complete and the board selected Smith’s Landscaping Service of Beltsville, MD to maintain the common areas. Daryl Smith is a resident of our community, looks forward to maintaining our common areas, and started today! And for those of you in Section A, will be moving his work truck to another location. Thanks Daryl!

Home Lawn Care. Each homeowner is still responsible for maintaining their own lawn. As part of the recent request for bids for the common area, the board asked potential contractors to offer a price for lawn mowing and turf care of individual yards. Smith Landscaping Service can provide identical lawn and turf care services for individual lots for $30/week or $40 bi-weekly. Contact Daryl Smith, Smith’s Landscaping Service, 21514 Lime Tree Way, Beltsville, MD 20705 (202) 379-0225, djsmowsit@hotmail.com. If homeowners neglect to mow, however, the board may direct the contractor to mow the lawn and bill the homeowner. This remedy is provided for in the rules and regulations of the association.

Streetlights. Circuit #4 to streetlights #7, 8, and 9 in A section has been damaged in one or more places where Verizon installed fiber. The only sure solution is to replace the entire segment of underground cable and install it in proper conduit at the proper depth. Since this expense would have to come from our reserve funds, we will seek financial cooperation from Verizon. The next step will be scheduling a Verizon inspector to meet with our electrician who will demonstrate the numerous places Verizon came too close to our electric cable. Meanwhile, the circuit will continue to trip whenever it rains, which is just as well so we don't have electrified puddles anywhere. We will keep you posted.