Blackwell Beautification 2023

Blackwell cuts through the center of the Canterbury subdivision. With the latest updates to that street, it has become a major artery that connects many Lee's Summit and and surrounding residents to 50 highway. Blackwell will only become busier over time as the eastern side of Lee's Summit grows.

Canterbury does not present itself very well along the very visible stretch of Blackwell as people pass by. For Canterbury homes to retain their value, we are all dependent upon the common grounds to match the quality of homes that are in the neighborhood.

Canterbury needs a plan for beautification of this area that can be reasonably supported and maintained. This plan will likely span a few years.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

- The common area along Blackwell is approximately 8 feet wide and runs for approximately 840 yards along both the east and west side of the street.

- This area does not have any sprinkler system installed. Therefore, grass is very spotty with lots of areas of bare ground and is often overrun by dandelions and other weeds by Spring.

- There are several areas of exposed root that will make growing grass impossible as is. We need a solution that can improve the visual appeal for these situations.

- There are also several areas where water runoff occurs. Re-landscaping will be necessary to combat this.

The map below shows some examples of areas that are in need of improvement

4th Street

3rd Street

Blackwell & 3rd Street

Area #2

Area #3

Area #4

Area #5

Area #9

Area #8

Area #7

Area #6

Click on each location name on the map to see examples of the need

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DIRECTION

Canterbury needs the services of a professional landscaping and grounds maintenance company to perform the necessary tasks of restoring grass, addressing erosion and runoff and overall beautification. The expected work is too large and involved to be attempted by a Canterbury volunteer team.

HISTORY OF ACTIVITIES

APRIL 2022: Canterbury HOA board presented the Blackwell problem and the potential of the need for a Special Assessment (based on a very high level cost estimation) to Canterbury members at the 2022 Annual meeting. Meeting content was also sent to all members via email. Attending members voted to allow the Canterbury HOA Board to pursue the initiative; defining formal scope and a final proposed cost.

SEPT 2022: Canterbury HOA Board agreed to begin the process of inquiry to reputable landscaping companies with a service history in Lee's Summit for the purpose of acquiring recommendations and bids for improving the Canterbury Blackwell grounds. Request for Proposal (RFP) content was created and approved.

NOTE: The HOA Board also agreed to initiate a separate RFP for the HOA Yearly Grounds Maintenance contract

OCT 2022 : Canterbury HOA Board reached out to 10 landscaping companies via email and phone. The selected companies were selected based on declared capabilities, customer reviews, standing with the Better Business Bureau and and prioritized by their expertise and history of interacting with HOAs.

NOTE: The HOA Board invited 18 lawn maintenance companies to bid on the yearly grounds maintenance contract. Many
were invited to participate in the Blackwell bid as well if they provided such services.

OCT - NOV 2022: 5 of the 10 companies responded to Canterbury's RFP request and met with an HOA representative to physically walk along Blackwell, discuss the various unique issues and answer questions. Companies had 30 days to provide a formal bid. 4 of the 5 companies submitted bids.

NOV 2022: Canterbury HOA members reviewed the bids, asked for and received clarifications & corrections from nearly all of the participating companies. Final review was performed at the end of November.

Summary of Bidders

DECISION

On December 6, 2022, the HOA Board voted unanimously to select Brummel Lawn & Landscape as the preferred partner to carry out the Blackwell Beautification Project. Primary decision factors:

Responsiveness and Professionalism
Approach and Recommendations
Selected to be 2023 HOA Grounds Maintenance company
Most affordable price point

Having Brummel be responsible for the Blackwell project and also for the general grounds maintenance added the benefit of continuity in care. There is always risk in having a lapse in care of Blackwell if it is a different company responsible for caring for it after initial seeding.

BID DETAILS

Brummel's recommended approach is as follows:

BLACKWELL COMMONS AREAS

This proposes to level out all the grass areas along Blackwell Rd on both sides of the street. This will include using the vermeer
machine to grade the necessary areas out, then adding soil where needed. And lastly, this includes drilling seed in all turf areas
along the street. If this is to be done in the spring, the Turf pre-emergent application (this targets grassy weeds) will need to be
skipped and just use fertilizer only. The seed will need to be drilled at least 6 weeks before the post emergent application, this
targets broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions. If it not allowed enough time, the post emergent will kill the newly germinated
grass.

BLACKWELL CORNER LANDSCAPING

This proposes to raise the two beds on the south end on Third street, then adding soil to raise the bed up a foot. The reasoning
for this has to do with the tree roots and not being able to plant anything without damaging the tree. We propose to install
Catmint Perennial, this will provide color and is drought resistant once established. We'd then install Karl Foerster Feather Reed
ornamental grasses on either side of each bed to complete the curb appeal. This plant is also very drought tolerant once
established. The north bed on Nottingham already has perennials planted, therefore would only need grasses to match the
other two beds.

FALL RE-SEEDING

Due to the lack of a watering system on Blackwell, it is anticipated that some areas that have been seeded will not experience satisfactory growth. Therefore, it is agreed that an area up to 60% of the originally seeded area may need re-seeding in the fall.

BID TOTAL: $14,743.86

The Canterbury HOA further unanimously agreed to move forward with a recommendation to the membership to sign a contract of work with Brummel in time for the early 2023 growing season (March - May) by acquiring the necessary funding through a Special Assessment.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT DETAILS

As defined in the Canterbury HOA Covenant:

Special Assessments may be imposed by the Board of Directors for capital improvements and construction, repair, replacement or maintenance of real or personal property or the Common Area, provided that any such Special Assessment shall require the affirmative vote of at least sixty percent (60%) of the Members of the Association after a meeting duly called and held, written notice of which shall set forth the purpose of the meeting and be delivered to all Members not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days prior to the date of the meeting. No Special Assessment shall have a duration in excess of two (2) years.

PROJECT COST

The Canterbury HOA Proposes the following Special Assessment Payment Arrangement:

NOTES:

* Due to the amount of time it takes for Canterbury to go through the Special Assessment process, the submitted bid will have expired. Quote expiration dates are a common industry practice. Therefore, the Cost Fluctuation Amount is added to this overall project estimation to conservatively address any changes in cost when the company is asked to refresh their quote at the time of contract signatures. Members will not be expected to pay more than the amount declared in the Special Assessment. However, should the revised quote be less than the estimated fluctuation amount stated above, Members would be asked to pay the lowered amount.

** An amount of $2,000 was added to the bid amount for the purpose of Fall Re-seeding. This amount is an estimation of cost and represents approximately 60% of the initially seeded area. This is a conservative estimate of the scope of re-seeding that may be required and can fall below this amount if weather conditions have been favorable. Canterbury will use this amount as a cost ceiling for fall re-seeding.

PROJECT VOTING SCHEDULE

The Canterbury HOA will open voting at midnight on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20th, 2022.

Voting will end at midnight on on FRIDAY, JANUARY 30th, 2023.

Canterbury HOA will provide detail Assessment materials to all Members via postal service, email and online. Additionally, the Canterbury HOA will sponsor up to 3 Q&A online virtual meeting sessions during the voting window as well respond to all questions posted on the online Neighborhood Forum or submitted to the HOA via email.

The Special Assessment Calendar of Events is as follows:

First Q&A Session:

Monday, Dec 19th 2022 7:00PM

Voting Window Starts:

Tuesday, Dec 20th

Second Q&A Session:

Tuesday, Jan 17th 2023 7:00PM

Third Q&A Session:

Thursday, Jan 19th 2023 7:00PM

Voting Window Ends:

Friday, Jan 30th 2023

Canterbury HOA will post all received questions & comments with any formal responses to the online Neighborhood Forum

For more details on the Q&A sessions, see below.

VOTING PROCESS

Canterbury HOA supports member voting via 2 methods:

Online. Canterbury supports online voting via Voting Central. Members can cast a vote at any time during the voting window listed above. Online voters must have been granted access to Member pages. Please contact canterbury_hoa@outlook.com for instructions for requesting access to online Member pages.
- URL: https://canterburylshoa.wixsite.com/home/voting-central
- Menu Navigation: “Engage / Voting Central”
Via Email. Members can request a PDF version of the ballot and submit their vote via email to canterbury_hoa@outlook.com as long as the email used is one that is registered with the Canterbury HOA. Submitted votes by email must also :

-- Include "Blackwell Beautification Vote" in the subject line

-- Include either YES or NO in the email body

Submitted emails without following these distinctions will not be counted.

PROJECT PAYMENT SCHEDULE

If the Special Assessment is approved, the Canterbury HOA will provide the final cost and ask Members to submit their individual payments in a time window beginning immediately upon approval of the Special Assessment and lasting until payment close.

PAYMENT WINDOW START: JANUARY 31, 2023

PAYMENT WINDOW CLOSE: APRIL 1, 2023

Due to the proximity of the deadline for payment of the 2023 Annual Dues, Members can combine both amounts into one payment.

Given the amount being asked, the HOA does not support partial payments.

Following the rules set forth in the Canterbury Covenant, late fees can be charged to Members who do not pay the designated amount within the defined payment window.

PROJECT SCHEDULE

The exact timing for the work on Blackwell to begin will be announced once the contract has been signed and the landscaping company has integrated Canterbury into their 2023 planning schedule.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT BALLOT

Below is the proposed ballot language for the Blackwell Beautification Special Assessment:

I vote to approve the Special Assessment for the sole purpose of improving the Canterbury common grounds along Blackwell which will require my additional investment of an estimated amount of $89.14 payable as early as January 31, 2023 but no later than April 1, 2023.

Due to the time required for this HOA to acquire Membership approval, I recognize the original bidded amount may have expired and the selected vendor requires the ability to submit a refreshed bid should this Assessment be approved. However, I understand this proposed payment amount is the maximum I will be asked to pay and may even be slightly less if the revised bid amount is less than estimated.

I also understand, if this Assessment is approved by the HOA membership by at least 60%, this is a mandatory investment for me. In the event that I may be late in providing my payment within the time specified, I will be obligated to pay any identified late fees in addition to the original amount for each Member as specified by the HOA.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Canterbury HOA will host up to 3 separate Q&A Sessions via online meetings during the voting window. The continuation of a 3rd meeting will be based on the amount of Member attendance in the first 2 meetings.

Q&A Session Schedule

- Session #1: Monday, December 19th 2022 7:00PM

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/ygq-wviu-ebv

- Session #2: Tuesday, January 17th, 2023 7:00PM

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/nod-wrzg-njp

- Session #3: Thursday, January 19th, 2023 7:00PM

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/fyd-oxzj-rjg

Please visit the Canterbury online Calendar for any updates to meeting links and additional details.

Members are invited to attend, ask questions, hear the questions from others and hear the HOA Board responses.

Neighborhood Forum

The Canterbury Neighborhood Forum is a website designed for Member discussions. Canterbury has created a separate forum called "Blackwell Beautification" where Members can read all questions posed by other members as well as provide comments or submit new questions. Members are encouraged to subscribe to this forum in order to receive email notifications when a new post has been created. Canterbury HOA Board Members will be actively monitoring this site during the Special Assessment voting window.

Additional Material

Canterbury HOA will post all updated pertinent material for this Assessment to this web page in an expeditated manner. Additionally, the HOA will provide notice of these updates via email to all Members who have a registered email address with the HOA or as flyers delivered to physical addresses for Members who do not have registered email addresses. No updates will be provided via postal mail.

Please submit all questions/comments to the Canterbury HOA via either the Neighborhood Forum or via email at canterbury_hoa@outlook.com

BID AMOUNT: $14,743.86

COST FLUCTUATION AMT: $ 2,548.77 *

TOTAL PROJECT COST: $17,292.63 **

COST PER MEMBER: $ 89.14 (Maximum)