WestWinds Needs YOU!

One of the best things about WestWinds is the way residents come together to make it a beautiful, safe, and welcoming place to live. Most of this work is done by volunteers, and each year we see a natural rotation as residents who have volunteered their time and talents for several years step away and new ones - with fresh ideas and different perspectives and talents - step up and take their places. With our WW Annual Meeting coming up in April, we urgently need volunteers for the following positions:

• Two board directors

• Treasurer (can be paid or volunteer)

• Volunteer committees

If you would like to be more informed about (and involved in) the changes taking place in WestWinds, now is the perfect time to throw your hat into the ring!

• To submit your name as a Board Director candidate, please complete the Candidate Bio Form (below) and email it to secretary@westwindshoa.org. Information you submit may be posted to PayHOA and on our website for residents to review, and your name will appear on ballots for our 2024 Annual Meeting and election at the end of April.
  

2024 Candidate Bio Form.docx

Download DOCX • 15KB

• If you're interested in being our Treasurer, please email president@westwindshoa.org to set up a call. This position is currently vacant - please help! The Treasurer is an Officer of the WWHOA, and is appointed by the Board.
  

• To volunteer for a committee, please visit our Volunteers page and check out the various committees and their descriptions. Volunteers with IT experience are particularly needed.

We really hope you'll join us! Whether you're new to WW or have been here for years, our community needs input from residents in the single family, villa homes, and townhomes to ensure a variety of perspectives, priorities, and skill sets. Our goal is to get more people involved in more positions to build a strong "bench" of volunteers for the future. Right now, volunteers contribute anywhere from 1 to 40+ hours a month - we need you to keep running our HOA manageable for busy homeowners with families and jobs!

Interested? Don't hesitate to email president@westwindshoa.org. I've served as a committee volunteer and board member since 2021 and will be happy to answer any questions you have!

1/12/2024 Community News

Most of this information went out in an email from PayHOA earlier today, but it's being posted here as well so those who didn't get the email or want to check back for updates can access the information.

1. Live Christmas tree pickup is tomorrow (Saturday,  January 13th). This curbside pickup is for live trees only. Please remove all decorations and lights. Get your trees out early so you don't miss the proverbial boat.

2. Sidewalk work is ongoing with most of the Phase 1 sidewalk replacement work on Sanandrew, lower Country Club, Eagletrace, Fair Lane,  and Pond Fountain completed or nearly completed.  As of yesterday there was no firm date for the start of tree removals, but that work is being performed by a different contractor. The Sidewalk Repair blog post was updated yesterday with new information, and we will also briefly discuss the project during next week's board meeting.  If more information on tree work becomes available, we'll update the blog post again and notify the community.

3. Lighting. A whole string of the wired lamps at the main entrance has been out of commission. At first, only one light was not working. More recently, the entire string of lights adjacent to the Tennis/Fitness Center went out.  Repairs to these lamps are both expensive and time-consuming due to buried wiring being cut repeatedly by utility and vendor work.  Because the lights are connected (much like a string of Christmas lights), a problem with one sometimes affects all of them. In the past, contractors have had to dig up the street or parking lot pavement to fix broken lamps. This is one reason the WW Board originally voted to replace them with solar lamps.LLA has had several crews out working on the lamps, and after testing the wiring in and around the bases of the lamps, they've had to dig trenches to follow the underground wiring and trace the source of the problem. Today's excavation revealed large amounts of ground water that may be why the latest outage occurred. Unfortunately, we're dealing with aging infrastructure compounded by the challenges of wiring that runs underneath paved areas and crosses the street.  Big thanks to LLA's Operations Manager (Brett Hamilton), new (!) Maintenance Supervisor Nate Leach, and our Village Manager Amanda Zimmerman, all of whom were out this morning at the job site. UPDATE: 1/12 1:43 PM from Amanda at LLA: "...they think they found the break in the line but are unable to complete the repairs today. New wire needs to be pulled, and they hope to complete the repairs by early next week (weather dependent). For the time being, they will cover the holes with plywood and caution tape."

4. Winter weather plans. It looks like snow may be in the forecast next week. If you haven't checked out LLA's winter weather plan, please do so here. If we do get snow, please move your cars off the street so they don't get damaged by (or impede) snow plows. Emergency or overflow parking for WestWinds is in the pool parking lot - if you're a first responder or anticipate having to get out of WestWinds during or after a snow storm, parking there is a great way to ensure you can get to work. If we get significant amounts of snow, please clear in front of your mailbox so mail carriers can deliver the mail and make sure the sidewalk in front of your home is cleared for pedestrians.

LLA put out some great tips in last week's Friday Flyer, which I have shamelessly copied and pasted below: Snowstorm Parking Info

• Refrain from parking on the street; park in your garage or driveway so that snowplows have access and emergency vehicles can get through, if needed.

• Refrain from parking in circles or dead-end streets to allow for plow vehicles to clear courts and cul-de-sacs.

• Residents are encouraged to park extra vehicles in common area parking lots such as pool parking lots and beach parking lots.  Efforts will be made to keep access to those areas open to retrieve vehicles.

Plowing Facts

• Snow is plowed from the center of a roadway toward the edge/curb and driveway aprons. Trying to direct the plow away from or lift the plow at each driveway would result in substantial amounts of snow being left on the street.

• Plowing requires multiple passes on each street and in each direction to get from the center to near the curb. On each of these passes, snow spills off the edge of the plow. Every effort is made to get as much snow to the curb as possible.

• Plowing efforts are focused on main throughways, followed by secondary roads and lastly courts and cul-de-sacs. Please be patient. The length of the storm and accumulation amounts determine how many times the plows must pass down each street. The greater the accumulation, the longer it takes to clean up.

Shoveling Tips

• When shoveling the end of the driveway near the street, place the snow to the right of the driveway (as you face the street). If it is piled on the other side, it will likely be pushed into the apron when the plow starts curbing (plowing along the curb).

• Clear a few feet of the edge of the street and curb to the left of the driveway (as you face the street). This clearing creates a pocket for the snow to spill into and will help reduce the amount of snow that ends up in the driveway apron.

Questions? Please email me at president@westwindshoa.org. Please be patient on response times, as I'm juggling a lot of things this week and next between my day job, family, and the upcoming board meeting.

WestWinds ADA Compliance Sidewalk Repairs

Note: this post reflects our best understanding (as of today) about the ongoing ADA sidewalk repair work in WestWinds. Going forward, we will keep the community advised to the best of our ability. Please be patient with us, however, as we are all volunteers with jobs and families! Response times during the holiday may be slow. We would like to thank the Frederick County Department of Public Works and LLA for their efforts to keep us informed and address our questions.

K9 Kounty inspector, scrutinizing removed roots. Also sandwich-surfing... but mostly, checking roots.

Update 5. Latest crew and work schedules from the County (also updated in update 4 below):

• No work Monday 2/19 (holiday)

• Stump crew will probably be on site Tuesday 2/20, 2/21, 2/22, 2/23 till finished.

• Tree crew will be on site Wednesday 2/21 until tree removals are completed.
  

2/16/24, 2:35 p.m.

Update 4. The County was able to circle back this week to replace the asphalt paths on Country Club between Pond Fountain Court and Panorama Drive. Sidewalk work was completed Thursday, 2/6. A few street trees on CC Road near Panorama were removed, and the rest are marked with pink dots for removal. Now that the concrete work is done, the tree removal and stump grinding crews and their machinery can begin cleanup of stumps from the first round of tree removal along Country Club from Eagletrace to just after Pond Fountain and the removal of remaining trees in the mow strip adjacent to the former asphalt paths on Country Club. Here are the latest estimates for the remaining work. Please be aware that plans can change due to weather or other circumstances (note: schedule below updated 2/16, 2:32 pm)

• Stump Grinding 2/12/24-2/16/24. Tuesday is unsure due to possible snow.

• Monday 2/19 (holiday - no work)

• Stump crew will probably be on site Tuesday 2/20, 2/21, 2/22, 2/23 till finished.

• Tree crew will be on site Wednesday 2/21 till the tree removals are completed.

• Tree Planting, end of March or beginning of April.

The County is finalizing plans with their arborists, but it looks like the replacement trees will be a mix of Paperbark Maples and Japanese Lilacs. These were the two trees best suited to our narrow mow strips, as they don't have invasive root systems. Special root barriers will be installed with the trees to direct the roots away from the new sidewalks. 2/9/24, 11:40 a.m.

Update 3. Tree removals along Country Club Road from just before Pond Fountain Court to the intersection with Eagletrace are pretty much completed. The next step is for the stumps and above-ground roots to be ground out before new trees can be planted later this Spring after the weather warms up. We got one update from the County - they had hoped to try and replace the asphalt paths (and remove street trees) along Country Club between Pond Fountain and Panorama, but now that part of the work will either be completed after their current project or - if funding for this contract runs out - will be deferred to the next contract. NOTE: neither Lake Linganore nor the WestWinds board have any direct control over the planning, timing, or performance of this work, as it is a public works project similar to the sewer work that occurred last year. Our volunteers have worked hard to get as many details as possible (published in this blog post), and emails have gone out to the entire community on 11/29, 12/21, 1/4, 1/12 as information becomes available. The Frederick County Department of Public Works have been very willing to provide information, and we thank them for helping us to keep you as informed as possible as plans and schedules change. 1/29/2024 7:38 PM.

Update 2: Tree work. Work on removing trees will start soon (possibly next week). There are separate contractors for the sidewalk removal/replacement and tree removal, so the sidewalk work gets done first with the tree removal happening later. There isn't enough room on our roads for two sets of equipment, so the tree company is waiting until enough of the sidewalk work is done that they can get their equipment in without closing down the road. Homeowners will not necessarily be notified in advance unless cars need to be moved, but we'll send out an email if we get more information. Tree replacement will happen in the Spring! 01/10/24 3:39 pm

Update 1: There will be no concrete work or contractors on site the week between Christmas and the New Year, and tree work will not begin until after the New Year! 12/21/23, 11:30 a.m. Background

WestWinds sidewalks are a patchwork system of concrete sidewalks, asphalt paths with gaps, and no sidewalks at all on some streets. Over time, trees planted in the narrow mow strips between the sidewalks and road have heaved up the pavement, making our sidewalks unsafe and even unusable in many places. Since 2018, the WW board has been working with the County to get our sidewalks fixed under the ADA Sidewalk Retrofit program.  Funding for this 10-year program ends in FY 2025.

Project Description 

This federally-funded and -mandated project will bring most existing WW sidewalks up to the safety and accessibility standard required under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. It involves repairs to existing concrete sidewalks and replacement of part of our asphalt path system. The County is working on a solution for a few sections (upper Country Club and Panorama) that cannot be completed now. The work will be performed in the public right-of-way by the County.

A major challenge is that the root systems of street trees along Country Club Road have severely damaged the concrete and asphalt sidewalks.  To repair/replace these sidewalks, licensed arborists advise that approximately 65 street trees located along Country Club Road between Eagletrace and Panorama Drives will need to be replaced.    Replacing just the sidewalk is likely to damage or kill the trees, with repaired sidewalk sections quickly becoming damaged by continued root growth. 

Work will be performed in two phases:

• Phase 1 – sidewalk repair/replacement and tree removal.

• Phase 2 – planting of replacement trees.

Homeowners with trees to be removed will receive a notice if cars need to be moved (01/10 update). Sidewalk repairs and tree removals are planned to finish this winter, with removed trees replaced in the Spring. Stumps from removed trees will be ground and wood chips removed.  Special root barriers will be installed to prevent future root damage once replacement trees are planted. Replacement tree species will be better suited to our narrow mow strips, featuring slower growth and root systems that go down rather than out. We will provide more info on tree replacements in the Spring! The County is working with us on replacement species.

Questions and Answers: 

1.      Who is legally responsible for maintaining sidewalks and the mow strip between the sidewalk and street? (paraphrase –full text at link) Per Frederick County Code: § 1-15-4.  OWNERS TO REPAIR SIDEWALKS AND DRIVEWAYS, the landowner abutting the street area in which the sidewalk has been constructed is responsible for maintaining the sidewalk and driveway entrance in good repair (including snow removal) and maintaining the space between the sidewalks and the curbs or road or property line. (1/10 update). This will be especially important once the weather warms up and grass seed starts to sprout and replacement trees are planted. It will be very important for homeowners to water the grass and the newly planted trees to help them get established before (and during) the hot summer months! Homeowners may find they need to overseed the mow strips, as seeds can wash away during storms, be eaten by birds, etc.

2.      Why is this work being done now? We were originally scheduled for FY 2024. Because the County had extra money for this year, work in WestWinds was moved up. They are working hard to get as much work done, in as many neighborhoods as possible, before the program ends.

3.      Why so many updates about the scope of work? LLA and the County have worked hard to keep us informed, even as assessment and planning work evolved. The WW board also reached out to the County immediately after the first notice to get as much information as possible.  Unfortunately, early plans and estimates often change as more information becomes available. The estimated cost of tree removal/replacement put the WW work over this year’s budget, so initially it looked like work on lower Country Club would be deferred until FY 2024 (the original timeline). The County was able to secure additional funds and approval to cover work along Country Club Road, moving the schedule back to this year.  County staff are still working on a plan to replace the asphalt paths on one side of Panorama Drive and along Country Club Road from Wimbledon to Panorama with a continuous sidewalk, but several utility boxes will need to be moved. Consequently, that work cannot be finished during this phase of the project.

4.       Why can’t they save these trees? This is one of the first questions we asked! The County is required to work with licensed arborists, both during the initial assessment and implementation phases of the project.  Tree roots under 2” in diameter can sometimes be cut without damaging the tree. Unfortunately, roots that heave up sidewalks are generally 2” or larger. The County is trying to mitigate two risks:

1. Aggressively root-pruned trees may die later. Roots big enough to heave up the sidewalk are big enough to damage/kill the tree if cut, especially when cut close to the trunk. Also mow strips in older neighborhoods like ours are far smaller than those required now for new construction where trees will be planted.
   

2. Because these are mature trees, they would likely send out more roots that heave up the newly repaired sidewalk sections.
   

The  best way to address both risks is to remove the trees, put in a root barrier, and replant with tree species better suited to the narrow mow strips in WestWinds.

5. Has tree removal been approved by the MD Department of Natural Resources (DNR)? Yes - a Maryland Roadside Tree blanket permit has been obtained, and the arborists handling tree removal work have MD DNR Tree Expert certifications.