August 2011 | The Ledger
Messages from the President | Bob Folino
Covenants and Restrictions - We are approaching the 5-year milestone where we can revise the Ledgewood Covenants and Restrictions. Five years ago a committee was formed to come up with recommended revisions to the document. Unfortunately, five years ago not enough residents returned their proxies or showed up to vote at the meeting to vote on the proposed changes. That is not going to happen again this year. This year Marcia Folino, Dave Grace and Dale Finley have worked as a committee to review the Covenants and Restrictions again. This year we will mail a voting form to you before the annual meeting. Return your voting document or someone will be calling and knocking on your door. It is your document and a “living” document that should reflect the times. Our goal is 100% participation.
There will be two types of revisions. First’ there are over 200 references to “the Builder” that have not been applicable in 35 years. You will be asked to approve the removal of this obsolete language. These are the ONLY changes to the document and approving this action will have no impact on any of your homeowner rights. These changes are being requested to reflect the actualities of the homeowner rights (the developer rights have not been in effect since the early 70s) and to clean up, for future reference, the document by eliminating verbiage that has not been applicable since the 70s. I would expect a 100% vote in favor these of changes. For those who may be uncomfortable with this, the document and marked revisions will be posted on the Ledgewood website. The existing document is (and has always been) on the website for those who wish to do a line by line comparison. Secondly there will also be a series of changes recommended by the committee that will impact the content. These changes or additions to the Covenants and Restrictions will be voted on individually and you are free to express your opinion as individuals. The committee reviewed EVERY change proposed over the last 40 years as well as reviewing the entire document. As a result, a number of revisions are being proposed. Most of these revisions are inspired by new technology, changing lifestyles and an effort to keep Ledgewood the desirable place to live that it has always been.
For Sale Signs - I have been receiving emails and opinions on the realty signs hanging on the posts in Ledgewood. There are two completely different schools of thought on the signs. The Covenants and Restrictions limit For Sale signs to a specific size. They do not, however, specify how the signs are mounted or what constitutes the “sign”. Some feel that the “sign” includes the mounting post and some (including the city) think the sign is only the surface containing the written word. Since we did not specify how the “sign” is mounted, we cannot enforce the intent of the document, only what it specifically prohibits. We are going to resolve this once and for all by including a revision choice which everyone can vote on. You can be for or against the posts.
Swim Team – For those of you who attended the annual meeting last year, you know there was considerable tension between the Ledgewood Board and the swim team board. I am happy to report that all of those issues have been resolved. The swim team has completed their season with our support and we will continue to help them in their fundraising efforts this summer. I want to thank everyone involved for their reasonable approach to resolving all of the issues. Chimney Fires - As the development ages, there is an issue you should be aware of if your home has a fireplace. Unless you have your chimney cleaned regularly, the chance of a chimney fire from the creosote buildup increases dramatically with age. Many homes have never had them cleaned. We have a link to a local chimney sweep on our website Fixit Page.
Clubhouse Rentals – When we say we expect you to leave the clubhouse in the same condition that you found it in, that also means the COAT ROOM. We have had several incidents of people randomly throwing the tables back in the room without regard to stacking them where they belong. We had one slide down and jam the door shut. Jim is tired of cleaning up the mess in there. It is going to start costing you if you leave it a mess. Creek Flooding – I want to thank everyone for all the hard work during the cleanup after the flooding of the pools, garage, and clubhouse. Special thanks to our maintenance crew for the long hours and quick work on day one after the flood.
Pool | John Herold
pool@theledgewoodassociation.com
In a summer where across the United States our country has been affected by droughts, forest fires and multiple tornados touching down our Ledgewood pool was also affected by a natural disaster. In the early hours of Tuesday, July 19th it rained so hard that coupled with the drainpipe that runs under Falling Water Road being blocked by trees, logs and debris the water had nowhere to go and rose to the point where it came in from the South and then from the West and flooded our pool, the bathrooms, and the clubhouse.
We just opened the pool back up on August 10th. In between many people put in many hours to get the pool drained, mud shoveled off the bottom, and to a point where we thought we would be able to start to fill it up again. As the pool was drained and we were just about to the bottom of the deep end of the pool we found that there was water under the liner and that there was an eight foot separation in a liner seam. At this point the removal of mud and water continued while a specialty contractor from Indiana was contacted to do the repair. They had a backlog of work and could not get to Ledgewood until the first week in August. During this downtime we were able to get some maintenance work done on the pool and its related equipment. When the contractor was on site they made the repair and also did an inspection of the entire pool liner and after 17 years it is still in great shape.
On August 5th with the pool having been patched the previous day we had a crew of people on hand to scrub the liner and then start filling it again. By Sunday the pool was filled but mud that remained in the return lines ended up in the pool as the circulation pumps were turned on (simplified explanation of what really took place). The maintenance staff and guards continued on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to clean so we could reopen on Wednesday, August 10th.
In our trustee meeting that evening we discussed keeping the pool open for an additional three weeks after Labor Day. We will open at 4 PM during the week and stay open until 8 PM and on the weekends we will open at noon.
I would like to “Thank” all the different people who rose to the occasion to get the pool opened back up. First and foremost Jim Chmura and his assistant Connor McLaughlin who spent long hours in the intense heat at the end of July to get the pool drained, the mud shoveled out, maintenance work during the lull prior to the liner repair, the pool refilled, repairs to the mechanical systems and the final cleaning just prior to reopening. These two guys went above and beyond for all of us! Our pool Manager Dan Christian and his staff of guards came in whenever manpower was needed for additional cleaning and especially for the final cleaning over the three days leading up to the reopening on August, 10th. Board president Bob Folino was also on hand and very involved over the last week leading up to the reopening. Finally, I appreciate the patience and understanding shown by all the residents of Ledgewood. With the intense heat we had over this three week period it was a tough time to be without our pool but the calls from the residents that we did get were few and far between and for the most part you were only looking for an update.
Four of the boards from subdivisions with large pools are discussing the possibility of a cross usage agreement in case one of the pools goes down. Three of them have been down in the last 2 years. We will keep you posted on this discussion.
One last “Thank You” to Brooke Strumbel who worked this summer as our Head Guard! She did a great job and left last Sunday to start her sophomore year at college!
Architectural Review – Mary Ellen Hill & Nancy Lowrei
architectural@theledgewoodassociation.com
The Annual Walk Through was performed between June 21 and June 29, 2011. This year we did something different by having one board member and two resident volunteers evaluate each home together. To all of those residents that have been diligent about the upkeep of their homes we want to send out a big THANK YOU! You are what makes Ledgewood a truly beautiful place to live.
With our heavy and persistent Spring rains there were a lot of letters that went out because of weeds in grass, landscaping and rocks. In a 40+ year old development we also have a lot of concrete issues. If you receive a letter from the homeowners association or the City about your concrete we have some information below on concrete leveling and replacement.
Some observations during our walk through:
There are some exceptionally lovely homes and yards in Ledgewood and we observed that most people care about the upkeep of their property;
Please keep "yard art" to a minimum - one or two pieces go a long way;
The beauty of Ledgewood is its natural setting - enjoy your artificial flowers, greens and vines in your backyard;
It's summertime - a great time to clean out your garage so you can put your vehicle’s away; and,
Please refrain from putting your Christmas holiday decorations up until after Thanksgiving.
Ledgewood Concrete Leveling
Some residents will be receiving letters from the homeowners Association or the City of Strongsville indicating that their sidewalks or driveways need leveling or replacement. I have been working with Green Concrete Leveling (greenconcreteleveling.com) to get Ledgewood residents a group rate discount of 10% for their services. You can contact Randy Greene at Green Concrete Leveling at 440 543-2555 for this group rate. They have been in business for over thirty years and are offering a 5 year warranty for their leveling work. Ledgewood Concrete Replacement I have also been working with Joe Rivellino of Rivellino Construction to get Ledgewood residents a group rate discount for their concrete replacement services. Mr. Rivellino cannot give us a percentage discount but rather a general discount on "the more work he has the lower the cost". You can contact Joe Rivellino at 440-582-0500. Both of these contractor's did the Association's sidewalk leveling and replacement last year. Keep in mind if you need both concrete leveling AND replacement you should get the leveling done first. Remember:
You are under no obligation to have the work done by R. L. Green or Rivellino Construction and can obtain other bids at your discretion;
You will be contracting with R. L. Green or Rivellino Construction directly; the Association will not be handling contracts, payments etc.; and,
Once the estimate is complete it will be left with the homeowner. The vendor below is a resident recommendation: Samartano Concrete CO. Inc. Concrete and Asphalt Services 4920 W. Streetsboro Rd Richfield Oh 44286 Phone (330) 659-6607 or www.samartanoconcrete.com
Volunteer
If anyone is interested in volunteering to clean up some of our elderly residents’ yards, please send us an email through the Ledgewood website.
Ledgewood swim team
The Ledgewood Swim Team and the families who organized the 2011 Neighborhood Food Drive for the Strongsville Emergency Food Bank and the SCAN Hunger Center Pantry want to thank all of you for your support and participation this year.
We estimate that we collected over 360 cans and jars of food, over 250 boxes and packages of dried food, and over 50 miscellaneous single serving snacks, which we have evenly distributed to our two local food banks. Additional donations are anticipated from the two home swim meets. We also collected more monetary contributions this year than we have in the past three years.
The results of this year's drive demonstrate what caring and kind neighbors we have here in Ledgewood. We can all be extremely proud to be a part of this community.
The organizing families and the directors of both food banks are sincerely grateful for your generous response to the needs of people who are struggling to feed their families. We look forward to next year's effort. We will continue to succeed with your help.
Yoga
We have a new instructor! Come meet magnificent Mimillia May, CYT, RYT. Mimi is a certified yoga instructor from Cleveland Yoga School. She teaches Baptiste-style power vinyasa yoga. Her classes are challenging and fun. She feels teaching yoga is a privilege and she is grateful that she has been given the opportunity to share her passion with others.
If you are new to Mimi she would like to welcome you by offering your first class free! So stop by and check her out. Email any questions to yogaclass@ledgewoodassociation.com! THANK YOU!
I would like to thank all the Ledgewood families who so generously donated items to the swim team garage sale. It was a huge success, but we could not have done it without your support. All the proceeds benefit the children of Ledgewood, so on behalf of all of us - thank you! Mariette Herold
