More Damage Yet

In spite of the fact that this island in Parcel 6 was staked before the snowstorms to protect the curbs, our snow removal contractor, Longford Landscapes, drove their equipment up onto the island, knocking out the Belgian block.

This corner was also staked but the plow drove through the Belgian block—and the stake.

The plows piled the snow so high on the island that two bottom branches of this flowering cherry tree were buried. The heavy snow snapped the branches, perhaps destroying the whole tree. It's hard to believe so much damage was done in one small area.

March Recycling Dates

The recycling dates in Princeton Landing for March are the 10th and the 24th. There is also a link to these dates in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.

Melting Snow Reveals More Damage

Melting snow this weekend revealed another badly damaged address monument in Princeton Landing. This one is in Parcel 8. The community's snow removal contractor Longford Landscapes can add this marker to the one we previously reported in Parcel 6. We'll see what else is revealed as the rest of the snow melts.

You Get What You Pay For

The address monument in Parcel 6 that we wrote about here has once again been pulled out of the ground and damaged by the snow plows from Longford Landscapes, Princeton Landing's snow removal contractor.

Due to Longford's negligence, this monument, which was in good shape and repainted not too long ago, now has numerous cracks and breaks, exposing the wire mesh. One of the number plates has been broken off. 

There's no doubt that digging out after snowstorms presents challenges. But there have been bigger snowstorms than the one we experienced yesterday and this level of destruction to property and landscaping is not something we experienced with our previous snow removal contractor, Shearer Penn/SavATree. The equipment being used by Longford is bigger, heavier and less agile than the fleet of smaller bobcats that Shearer Penn used, pictured  here.

The shrubs we discussed here were buried completely by Longford's snow plows. This occurred in spite of the stakes the contractor put in to mark their location, and in spite of homeowners informing management about snow being dumped here in previous storms. This is what the corner looked like this morning. The tips of one of the many shrubs are barely visible.

The rest of the shrubs on the corner are completely buried under huge piles of snow.

The opposite corner in Parcel 6 also had its problems. This submerged Verizon pedestal was knocked over by Longford's plows. Many homes had problems with their phone service for several days last week, until Verizon could come out to fix the damage.

Longford Landscapes is the snow removal contractor  that our management company presented as a replacement for Shearer Penn/SavATree to our present Board of Directors. In what was described as an effort to save money, our Board chose this contractor. Now management's answer to these problems is to have Longford move snow from some areas to open space on the property. Well, the damage has already been done. And moving the snow will only do further damage. When will our Association learn that sometimes you get what you pay for?

A Teachable Moment: Caring for Our Trees

This week's storm took down many large tree limbs in the community, as can be seen by looking around the property. Failure to prune and remove dead and dying trees in Princeton Landing has been a long-running discussion on this blog. For the community, this recent weather is another teachable moment. The Association should be more aggressive about budgeting funds for tree removal and pruning. There are many old trees on the property, including some that are weak and overgrown. Alert residents shouldn't have to plead with landscape committee members and management to remove dead and dying trees from around their homes. Well-maintained trees are less dangerous in weather like this. 

February Recycling Dates

The recycling dates in Princeton Landing for February are the 10th and the 24th. There is also a link to these dates in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.