About
Winslow Farm is a community of 8 individual neighborhoods located in Bloomington, Indiana, close to BLoomington South High School,
the YMCA, the Montessori School and Winslow Woods & Sports Complex.
5 neighborhoods are single family homes, 2 neighborhoods are patio homes and 1 neighborhood is a condominium complex.
Patty Anderson said,
November 14, 2008 @ 8:33 pm
Re: Special Pond Meeting
If it is decided to return the ponds to a more natural process, I believe Charles Steeles’ proposal should be kept in the running. I am pleased that he has thought to allow for walkways and seating so homeowners can enjoy the setting. I especially liked the casual feel of his renderings.
Eco-logic should have been prepared with a price range for build cost. Surely they have completed projects similar in scope that can be referenced. I would not want to advance $22,000 to a firm without some assurance of a reasonable build. Did their proposal seem overly complicated to anyone else? It seemed like a lot of work to “get back to nature”.
I understand condo owners feel their privacy is threatened by the removal of the ponds. However, the common area is as named, and I assume owners are welcomed as friends and neighbors should be to stroll through the common area The landscape architects may want to consider how to design through the narrow corridors to ensure some level of privacy for those condos. If condo owners continue to feel threatened, we should sell them this common property so they can control the usage. If we sell the ponds to the condo owners, how are homeowners compensated?
Overall, with the economy as it is, I’m not sure this is the best time to be making drastic changes to the ponds. Can we continue with the band-aid approach, while continuing to plan for the years ahead (2010)? I thought the ponds looked healthier this past summer. Additional time will allow us to consider a number of options and get a majority to buy in.
Phyllis Mitchell said,
November 15, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
I have never blogged in an open forum but I feel the stage is perfect timing for the several of the ponds to become a natural creek bed flow channel for the rain water passing thru Moss Creek and Moss Creek Village.
I thought there were parts from both presentors that could be easily applied to our system. To me , the landscaped creek/flow channels would enhance the value of the property of the condos instead of devaluing the property. I have seen the placements of several condos on Pond #3. One has a porch that is about ready to be claimed by Pond #3 due to years of erosion. Another condo has had repeated erosion problems because of past muskrats occupying living space in the hill above the pond. In truth, the condos were placed to close to the bodies of water. You never know when a guest or homeowner is going to slip or fall into one of the ponds.
I regret that I didn’t spend more time on the availabilty of reserve funds. We have about $130,000 plus in the bank. The board gave both presentors a figure of $75,000 to work with in developing a long term plan that is easy maintenance, reduces the cost of yearly spending and environmentally friendly. There is NO NEED for an assessment.
The turf fighting has to stop. We aren’t the Hatfield and the McCoys. While I sat in the auditorium on Thursday night, I thought of the many well edcuated homeowners that reside in Winslow Farm. For 417 homes, we have a nice variety of people able to think and problem solve. The solution is at hand; the big issue is breaking through the game of politics.
I have faith that the wise homeowners will see the solution isn’t trying to maintain a system that has aged and the major factor is the liabilty. We live in a happy lawsuit environment. You never know when a freak accident can happen after a major big rain fall. One of the ladies on the Pond Committee can’t swim. I asked her a test question one day. Would you panic if your car accidentally ran into one of the ponds? Her response was ,”Yes”. Under the right circumstance, a person could drown in 36 inches of water.
If the WFHA votes to move forward with one of the long term plans, I would love to see a new committee formed where people from all subdivisions would be active in the planning.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to use the common property and have a few benches where old men and ladies like me can pause and see the beauty.
Phyllis Mitchell said,
November 18, 2008 @ 4:32 pm
Two comments, which I feel must be added to the infomation box.
1. When the water is recyling from pond #7, the same amount of water doesn’t return back to pond #7 due to leak or leaks in the pipes are at the weirs.
2. The sediment in the ponds is measured in feet. Dredging the ponds is costly and the last estimated bid was $350,000. Considering the economy news, I don’t believe the option should even be offered to the Winslow Farm Homeowners.