2017 Mendenhall Village Management Report
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June 1, 2017
Dear Mendenhall Village Homeowners:
In accordance with the Mendenhall Village Homeowners Association Bylaws, the 2017 Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday, May 9, at the Hockessin Library.
Corporal Allen of the New Castle County Police reported that, for a neighborhood of its size, Mendenhall Village has few 911 calls indeed. The recent rash of car ransacking events and incidents of kids throwing rocks at cars were mentioned. Corporal Allen gave out the non-emergency police number (302) 573-2800, and stated that for giving tips it has a faster response time than the County phone app. As our parks close at dusk, she recommended calling the non-emergency line if you see any suspicious activity or people hanging out after dark. Corporal Allen noted that any anti-soliciting rule does not carry the weight of law. Residents should ask solicitors to leave, and if they do not, they are considered as trespassing, and residents can call NCC Police.
Happily, we were very fortunate in that we had a very uneventful winter season with very few snow or ice events. This obviously helps our coffers stay in the black. However, Mother Nature might not be as favorable next winter and we could be inundated with more snow events and nasty weather. With Mendenhall Village’s miles of roads, cul-de-sacs, and complex snow removal procedures encountered within our townhouse areas, this always presents a massive challenge. I’m happy to report that our landscape and snow maintenance firm Delaware Lawn and Landscape did a superlative job of making our streets safe to travel. We cannot overstress the importance of having safe and passable streets available to fire and ambulance services in the event of an emergency or life-threatening event.
Our entrances to Mendenhall Village were slated for upgrades to the landscaping and for more efficient sign light fixtures utilizing state-of-the-art LED technology. These light fixtures would save on power consumption and on labor and materials associated with incandescent lighting. We are currently managing several ongoing improvements and repairs throughout the Village, while keeping budgeting foremost in the decision process regarding any non-essential improvements.
The 2017-2018 Assessment shall remain the same as last year, 2016, at $360.00 with a discount of 20% (bringing it to $288.00) if paid by June 30, 2017, in accordance with the Bylaws. Any resident whose payment is received after July 1, 2017, will owe the entire $360.00. The Board is committed to pursuing all legal means available to us to recover all monies owed the Association by any homeowners that have not paid their mandatory assessments. With the help of our legal counsel, we have been very successful in recovering unpaid dues by those in arrears (many several years overdue) and will continue to use all legal avenues available to us. In fairness to the overwhelming majority of homeowners who always pay in time, we will keep pursuing delinquent accounts until all past-due amounts that can be recovered have been collected. Considering our Community’s size and amount of open space we must maintain, our annual maintenance fee is very reasonable. Look at a map or Google Map view of our community and you will discover the amount of green space within our borders. Not many communities in the region can lay claim to such a beautiful backdrop as Mendenhall Village enjoys.
Maintaining the magic that is Mendenhall Village does come with a price in time and work. Although we have dedicated Board members, several having served for many years, the level of involvement to maintain our standard of excellence has evolved over the years, especially since the single-family homes and the townhomes joined forces, into a daunting task. Everyone has jobs, family, and other commitments vying for their time. Although our small Board invests four to six or more hours each month with Village work, the need for additional help necessitated our original decision to retain an outside vendor several years ago (as utilized in many other communities) which has proved to be a means to get all, and much more accomplished while giving the Board better tools to manage the day-to-day operations and pressures that were becoming overwhelming to our small group of volunteers.
With the approval of the Board, A2Z Property Management has been greatly supplementing our operations, preparing and soliciting bids for all our contracted services for Open Space and Snow Plowing/Salting, etc., to name just a couple of the items in the scope of work we developed. We now have contractors providing better quality services in all areas of the Community, better management of deed restrictions, architectural change approvals, and collection of past-due annual dues. Their due diligence in getting the best possible prices for vendor services has saved our neighborhood many thousands of dollars.
Recently, there have been unsubstantiated negative comments, lies, and libelous content published in the website “Nextdoor Mendenhall Village,” as well as postings on Facebook regarding the Board of Mendenhall Village and our property management firm, A2Z Property Management. Considering the serious defamation issues of this content, we have scheduled an Open Meeting to be held at 7 p.m. on June 14, 2017 at Thomas McKean High School, located at 301 McKennan’s Church Road, Wilmington, DE 19808 to rebut these allegations and put a stop to these unsubstantiated accusations. We ask that you please try and attend this very important meeting.
The Board is here to facilitate the efficient operation of and continued quality of life that is Mendenhall Village and thanks you for your continued support of our community.
Sincerely,
The Mendenhall Village Homeowners Association Board