Greetings neighbors. Thanks to all of you who participated in our play set survey. I apologize for taking so long to announce the result, but we wanted to wait until we had the set fully negotiated and under contract before sharing the news. We are now happy to report that we have contracted for the “Jungle Jim” play set, in Natural colors, to be installed this coming spring. While the survey was close, Jungle Jim came out on top and going with Natural colors was a substantial (80%) winner.
Through the survey and other messages, we did receive several questions/comments. Rather than replying individually, some Q&A is given below:
Q1: Do we need to vote on whether reserves should be used for this project?
A: No vote is needed. The HOA Board has the responsibility/authority to use the reserves for big-ticket maintenance items. The play set is one of the big-ticket items specifically listed in the reserve study/plan.
Q2: Will the play set be repairable? [For those that don’t know, the slide on the existing set broke a few years ago and was not repairable due to the company being out of business – and liability issues prevented adding a slide from a different manufacture to the existing set.]
A: We selected an established, nation-wide company with a long business record, so we have every expectation that they will be in business and able to support repairs in the future.
Q3: Can the existing play set be refurbished?
A: No, for the same reasons as Q2.
Q4: Can we include fixing the basketball hoops or adding a pickle ball court?
A: Maybe. The board decided to first complete the play set and make sure that everything comes in as budgeted/expected. We can then consider other smaller projects.
Q5: Can we add a swing set or a larger, expanded play structure.
A: Only with a special assessment and a vote. The play set chosen fits within the existing playground site. Anything larger or additional would substantially exceed our budget (mostly due to the need for extensive site preparation).
Q6: What is the cost/budget of the play set?
A: We recently conducted a reserve study update that recommended near-term replacement of the play set, targeting $40k. We expect this project to come in at right about $40k. The contracted cost of the equipment and installation ($30k) does not include removal of the old structure or refresh of play chips once completed. We hope to do the removal via volunteers, but might have to hire some of that done, so the exact final cost is not known.
Thanks again for your participation in the survey, and stay tuned for:
- Opportunities to volunteer to help with the existing structure removal
- Announcement of an exact date when we will plan a grand opening of the new play set