Hi Neighbors,
It seems there has been some confusion and complaints made regarding the condition of the road and apparent “inaction” to fix it.
Please allow us to remind everyone of what was communicated in past newsletters and inform you of the latest plans.
First I’d like to say I’m sorry if I as part of the road committee have not clearly communicated our plans or how to reach out to us when you have concerns. I thought we wrote in the September road newsletter that we were in a holding pattern for the remainder of 2019 due to lack of funds for the road, and that work/repairs would continue once we received 2020 dues (https://goosecreekfarms.xyz/how-do-you-like-the-new-road/). I also thought that we asked for input such as ideas and suggestions with an email address/link to contact us in the last newsletter (https://goosecreekfarms.xyz/december-2019-newsletter/) where we reminded everyone to send in their 2020 dues so that we could commence repairs and work on the road, yet to until this evening had received ZERO feedback or comments.
As soon as Cory checked the PO box and received the first trickle of 2020 dues he let us know and we contacted our road contractor over the weekend to get on his schedule to fix the road, he has told us he will be back in town on Jan 6th, so we should hear more then. We could not make fixes to the road any sooner without putting ourselves in extreme risk of running completely out of funds, as we clearly communicated in prior newsletters. No one on the committee wants the road to not be fixed or enjoys driving over pot holes, but we also cannot spend money we don’t have! Also to specifically address comments regarding paying “more for less”, yes we have to all pay more for less because labor and material costs more. So to make forward improvement progress it costs even more. If we kept hobbling along as we did in the past, we would already be out of money as we have clearly communicated and shared in every newsletter with the full accounting of our income and expenses.
If any of you have ideas on ways we can more efficiently keep the road repaired or would like to volunteer your time to make improvements to the road please let the committee know directly via our email and we would be more than happy to coordinate with you. If any of you would like to try and find another road contractor to make repairs we are in no way locked into AW other than it took us months to cultivate a relationship with him and he is one of the few contractors willing to show up to work here for a reasonable fee. I’d be happy to coordinate with you if you find someone else and want to facilitate them making repairs. If you want to get a quote from someone we can act very quickly to vote and approve the job and disburse payment. Thank you to Scott Butler who volunteered to get some additional quotes for repairing the road, we look forward to seeing those!
All of us on the committee are doing the best we can with the resources the neighborhood gives us and balancing it with our own personal lives. If that is not sufficient in anyone’s opinion then I am sure any of us would be more than happy to exchange positions and let someone else take over. Yet every time we have called for volunteers, to take over positions we hear nothing. While the road is in very bad condition now, parts of it that we made major improvements to (the hill to the mirror) are actually in great shape considering how long it has been and how much rain we have received. We were unable to get the machinery needed to do the full road grading that we discussed at the in-person meeting this summer, and couldn’t afford it with the funds we had even if we could in 2019, so we did the best we could with the material and resources we had. We did get that dirt packer/roller and it has made the hill much better for much longer than in years past, especially given the increased traffic on the road due to more frequent deliveries and additional residents in the neighborhood.
As your friend and neighbor, I do want to say that I do not think it is constructive or helps the neighborhood to have these public dramatic exchanges when it is as simple as a text, call, or email to anyone on the road committee and you will have direct access to the very latest information and be empowered to take appropriate action. Especially those of you who have lived in the neighborhood for more than a few years, you know exactly how the road committee operates and our limited funds and how difficult finding contractors that will come out can be.
So please do not hesitate to reach out directly to us next time at the first sign of a concern and we will be happy to do everything in our power to empower you to make the improvements you desire.
Sincerely,
Harley Green
President of the all volunteer Goose Creek Farms Road Committee