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Swimming Pool Incident
June 13, 2008
Dear Association Members,
As many of you are aware, there was a series of
altercations at our swimming pool on Clatterbuck Loop
this past Sunday, June 8, 2008. These altercations were
triggered by a resident patron's refusal to abide by our
published pool rules and by her subsequent refusal to
obey our lifeguards' requests that she exit the pool as
a result. The situation escalated to the extent that our
lifeguards had to enter the pool to disengage this young
woman from a physical confrontation she allegedly
initiated with another guest swimmer, and the police
were called. The first officer arrived on the scene
immediately after these events occurred, and there were
consequently no criminal charges as these were
misdemeanor offenses not committed in the officer's
presence. Additional Prince William County units came on
the scene and the situation was stabilized.
We have been in contact with multiple witnesses,
including lifeguards, and Prince William County Police
officers who were on the scene, or were otherwise
familiar with events as they unfolded.
Given the serious nature of these incidents, the
Association has taken the following steps. First, we've
arranged to have a private Securitas security officer
patrol the pool deck during normal operating hours all
week this week, and for the foreseeable future. Second,
we're retrieving video surveillance of these events for
evidentiary purposes. Third, those responsible are being
denied access to the Association's pools. Fourth, we
have arranged for additional active duty police patrols
in the vicinity of this pool. Fifth, we have arranged
for additional lifeguard coverage at this pool during
peak hours. Finally, we have been exploring other means
of controlling access to the pools and will continue to
do so with the objective of having new controls in place
as soon as practicable. While there are a finite number
of access cards in circulation, and they are traceable,
we continue to receive complaints about patrons
"tailgating" behind others, opening doors for those
without access cards, passing them through the fences
enclosing the pools, etc.
The Association will not tolerate profanity, threats of
violence or actual violence at any of its facilities,
and we intend to pursue this matter to the fullest
extent possible under the law. We are taking these steps
because they are warranted under the circumstances. The
events of this past Sunday demand nothing less than a
rapid, comprehensive and effective response.
Thank you for your continued support, and please contact
Patrick Heelen, Community Manager, at 703-753-7404 or
via email at piedmont-hoa@comcast.net, if you have any
further questions regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors
Road Repairs Funding and Maintenance Plan
by Patrick Heelen, Community Manager
The Board of Directors has been working on a long range plan to
address road repairs within the community for some time, and
requested that I update you on those plans. Planned repairs and
replacements are based on the Association’s reserve study, which is
a professionally rendered report that outlines funding requirements
and specific maintenance protocols for replacements and repairs of
our infrastructure based on estimated remaining useful lives of
specific components, such as buildings, signs, streetlight, concrete
driveway aprons, curbs, sidewalks, gutters and roads. Other
features, such as swimming pools, tot lot equipment, tennis courts,
and entrance features are also included.
The reserve study is periodically updated to include additional
common features and amenities as they are added, and to reflect
replacement and repairs cost increases over time. The most recent
update was in 2005. The study includes almost 56,000 square yards of
asphalt in Piedmont Phase 1 (those streets that had been
final-topped at the time the updated study was done – roughly all of
Piedmont Vista Drive and all secondary roads leading off of it back
to its intersection with Wythridge Way), with an estimated unit
replacement cost of $5.70 per square yard. The first year
replacement cycle is scheduled for 2020. Typical service life was
estimated at eighteen years, and no estimate was given of the
probable depth of the asphalt. I’ve been working with two vendors,
both of whom estimate the depth of the asphalt in the affected area
to be approximately 4”. The study contemplates one hundred percent
replacement during the first replacement cycle (in 2020) at a total
cost estimated of $537,295.00. Crack sealing was previously done in
accordance with the maintenance protocols to extend the useful life
of the asphalt, thereby putting us closer to the target dates
outlined in the reserve study. However, we’re still twelve years out
from the estimated first year replacement cycle. The Board realizes
that the crack sealing is aesthetically lacking, but did it was done
as a means of laying the foundation for subsequent road topping.
The probable depth of the existing pavement is likely sufficient to
withstand the volume and type of traffic we’re seeing now, and can
anticipate in the future, but was likely not sufficient to withstand
the volume of heavy equipment we experienced as Piedmont was being
built. This heavy use accelerated the asphalt’s deterioration to the
extent that looking at milling and overlaying at this point is not
necessarily preemptive. Consequently, the Board is looking at
repairing the roads well ahead of schedule.
This will entail increasing the Association’s reserve funding
contributions over the next several years to compensate for both the
accelerated replacement cycle and increasing replacement costs over
and above that which was estimated in 2005. Increasing oil prices
alone have driven up asphalt costs to the extent that our bids were
coming in with unit pricing in excess of $2.50 per square yard over
the unit pricing estimated in the 2005 reserve study.
The Board is considering several options for repairs. These include
slurry sealing, which is an emulsified asphalt applied at an
approximate depth of 1/8” to 1/4” and with a total completion time
of three to four days. The second option is for a latex modified
slurry seal and with the same completion time. This is longer
lasting that the standard seal and is somewhat more aesthetically
pleasing. Finally, the most appropriate and most expensive solution
is to mill the existing asphalt down to a depth of 1.5” and install
surface course asphalt to match the existing grade. This is the
method of over-laying contemplated by the asphalt maintenance
protocols in the reserve study.
The Board will continue to work on a long range plan with the Budget
& Finance Committee and with Management to fund and implement these
repairs, with a view towards putting together a multi-year plan
ahead of that contemplated by our reserve study.
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