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Amendment 3: Road Re-paving
Posted on Oct 16th, 2016

In 2014, the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) provided to the residents of Chestnut Hill Farms Association (except Chickadee Lane) an estimate of the cost to rebuild our roads.  The estimate was about $15,500 per household.  If financed for 10 years at 6% interest (the payment plan option that the RCOC offered), that translates to an annual payment of over $2100 per year for ten years – a total of about $21,000.  This estimate was 55% higher than a similar estimate from the RCOC in 2010.  The project was voted down on both occassions. 
 
The Board believes that, by working directly with local paving contractors, by internally managing the project, and by not doing the total reconstruction that the RCOC had planned, we can restore our streets to good condition at a much lower cost.  However, the Association does not currently have the authority to do this and to collect the funds to pay for it.  So the Board is proposing a revision to Article V of the covenants - "amendment no. 3" - that would give us this authority. If passed by the Association, this amendment expands the powers of the Association to include re-paving the roads, to be paid for through special assessments.  Routine maintenance, like crack-filling, could be paid for from the General Fund.  But projects that involve re-paving, replacement of curbs, etc. could only be done if voted on and approved by a two thirds majority of the affected homeowners.
 
If amendment no. 3 passes, the Board will then propose a project for re-paving our streets.  If we were to attempt to complete the re-paving of all of our streets in one year, the one-time assessment for that year would be approximately $6,000.  (Click here to see that estimate and the drawing upon which it's based.)  Alternatively, a slower approach could be taken, re-paving the streets section-by-section over a period of several years, breaking the one-time assessment ($6,000?) into smaller annual assessments until the project is completed.  The following Q&A section addresses should help to explain.
 
Question 1: What is the purpose of this proposed revision to the covenants?
Answer: This proposed revision expands the powers of the Association to include the re-paving of the streets, and establishes a "special assessment" process to pay for such repaving.  If amendment no. 3 passes, then any re-paving projects must be voted upon separately and  approved by two thirds of the affected homeowners in order to be implemented. 
 
Question 2:  So approval of this amendment doesn't automatically mean that I will be assessed for road repairs? 
Answer:  That's correct.  No assessments can be made until a separate vote for a specific project is passed by a minimum two thirds majority of the affected homeowners.
 
Question 3:  What do you mean by "affected" homeowners?
Answer:  Let's consider an example.  If we wanted to re-pave all of the streets in the subdivision, we'd have to exclude Chickadee Lane because the west side of Chickadee Lane is not part of the Association.  We have no way to assess those people.  But if we wanted to re-pave all the other streets, then the residents of Chickadee Lane would be excluded from that voting process and would not be assessed.  Here's another example.  Suppose that the residents of one of the courts wanted to get their street re-paved.  Then a project to re-pave their street would be voted upon by only those residents on that street, and only they would be subjected to a special assessment to pay for it. 
 
Question 4:  How would a "special assessment" work?
Answer:  Going back to the first example under question 3 above, let's suppose that we proposed a 3-year project to re-pave all of the streets in the subdivision - except Chickadee Lane - and the project cost worked out to $6,000 per home.  Then all homeowners except those on Chickadee Lane would have the opportunity to vote to approve a special assessment of $6,000 payable in annual installments of $2,000 per year for three years.  At the end of three years, when the project is completed, the special assessment would end.  During the course of the project, the funds collected through the special assessment would be held in a separate account (separate from the Association's general fund) to be used only for that project. 
 
Question 5:  When and how will the voting take place on this amendment?
Answer:  Voting began in early 2016.  By the time of the annual meeting in June, 2016, the amendment was still a few votes short of passing.  At the meeting, homeowners in attendance voted to keep the voting process open indefinitely.  While the voting process remains open, any homeowner who has already cast a ballot may change their vote by submitting a new ballot.  Those who voted against the amendment are free to vote for it, and vice versa.  If and when the amendment passes, our attorney will handle getting the new version of Article V of the Covenants recorded with the Oakland County Register of Deeds. 
 
Question 6: So what are you proposing? Would all of the streets be done at once? Would we be assessed thousands of dollars to pay for it?
Answer: We need to find out what homeowners think.  The size of the annual assessment would determine how long it will take to complete the project - whether it's done in one year or over the course of several years.  Also, we could propose a project that addressed most of the streets in the subdivision or, if there's insufficient support for that approach, a smaller project could be proposed that would address only a certain street or streets where there is strong support for having their street repaved.
 
Question 7: So, once the repaving is complete, will the special assessment go away?
Answer: Yes.  Completion of a project will require a special assessment that will last only until the project is complete.  Beyond that, if we want to do additional work - if we want to replace additional curbing a few years later, for example - we would need to get the affected homeowners to approve another special assessment (which would probably be a lot less).  Each special assessment would require approval by two thirds of the affected homeowners and would require a new special assessment. 
 
Question 8: If we do this and begin re-paving the roads ourselves, do we take ownership of the roads?
Answer: No.  Oakland County will continue to own the roads and will continue to be responsible for snow plowing and patching potholes.
 
Question 9: Does this cut the RCOC out of the picture altogether regarding paving?
Answer: No. In order to proceed with the project, we will have to complete an application with the RCOC with drawings showing the scope of work, and the contractors will have to obtain permits from the RCOC. The RCOC will also provide inspection of the contractors' work and materials.
 
Question 10: What about the curbs? Won't they need to be replaced?
Answer: A survey conducted by some of the board members in 2015 found that about 10% of the curbs are in imminent need of replacement, exhibiting large, open cracks, big chunks missing at the joints, and heaving. These will be replaced as each section of road is re-paved. Many of these sections are in front of driveways. Any damage to driveways would be repaired as part of the project.  Once the project is completed, the remaining curbing will be monitored and replaced as necessary in future years (which would require another special assessment).
 
Question 11: Will this cover the repaving of all streets in Chestnut Hill Farms?
Answer: There is a problem with Chickadee Lane, in that the west side of the street is not part of the Association. So we have no authority to assess those people. Therefore, Chickadee Lane would never be included and, because they are not included, they will not be subject to the special assessment. Chickadee Court, however, will be included in the program.  
 
Question 12: So why do the homeowners on Chickadee get to vote (or have to vote) on this change to the Covenants (amendment no. 3) if it will not affect them?
Answer: The Covenants are a legal document and to change them requires that all homeowners in the Association must be included in the vote.
 
Question 13: If a special assessment is passed, what if some homeowners refuse to pay it?
Answer: Just as currently happens when a homeowner is delinquent with their annual dues, a lien will be placed on the property for the assessment, filing fees and expenses, and interest. Liens could lead to foreclosure.
 
Question 14: Who decides which streets or sections of streets get re-paved first if the project needs to be spread over a number of years?
Answer: A “Road Committee” consisting of volunteer representatives from as many of the subdivision streets as possible will recommend to the Board which sections of street to re-pave first, and which sections will be next.  The Board will make the final decision.  (If you are interested in serving on this committee, please send us an E-mail via this web site.)
 
Question 15:  What kind of warranty will we get from the contractors?
Answer:  A one-year warranty is typical. The RCOC was going to provide a 15-year warranty.  The contractors will have to follow RCOC requirements and material specifications.   The RCOC will require permits and they will do inspections to ensure the engineering requirements and materials used meet the specified requirements.  So we expect that the quality of the work and materials will be the same, but we'll have to pay for any repairs that may be necessary after one year.
 
Question 16: What is required to pass this revision?
Answer: According to paragraph 6 of Article V of our covenants, approval by two thirds of the Association is required.
 
Question 17: If this amendment passes, how soon would a repaving project be proposed?
Answer: If this amendment (amendment no. 3) passes, the "road committee" would determine the scope of a project to be proposed, assemble a bid package and then obtain bids from contractors.  Assuming that we get an attractive bid - something significantly less than the cost of having the RCOC do the project - then the project would be proposed to the homeowners.  This could several months or longer.  It might be a year before a specific project is proposed.  
 
Question 18: How can I get additional information or answers to additional questions?
Answer: Please use the web site to E-mail your question to the Board. Go to the "contact us" page and use the drop down "website" to send your email.  We'll be happy to promptly answer any additional questions.