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How can we limit solicitation in Southbridge? (October 2007)
Shakopee City Council adopted an amended Peddlers Ordinance on May 2, 2006.  This ordinance allows property owners to place a City-designed sign at the main entrance to their home.  The sign is available online or by visiting the Shakopee Police Department at 475 Gorman St. during regular business hours.
 

Why are yearly invoices sent out in April? Why can't they be sent earlier in the year?
In order to save postage costs, we combine our annual dues invoice with our annual meeting notice.  According to the Bylaws of the Association (Section 4.4), we cannot mail notices for the annual meeting more than 30 days nor less than 21 days prior to the annual meeting.


When will the irrigation on Southbridge Parkway be turned on?
The irrigation is running on the parkway and is running on two of the three Hamlet areas. The parkway system was operational on June 7th & 8th with the Hamlet areas activated on June 10th.

The parkway system is set to run overnight with two areas running one day and a third area running the opposite day to meet city requirements for odd/even watering. The parkway systems start at 10:00 on their scheduled day and Hamlet's start at 8:00 pm on their scheduled days.
 

When will I receive my 2006 annual dues invoice? Whom do I contact if I have questions regarding my dues? (March, 2006)

Your 2006 annual invoice will be sent mid March, 2006.  It is due on April 17th, 2006.  If you have any questions, contact the board.

What requirements do we have in place in our neighborhood for lawn maintenance? (published in the September, 2005, newsletter)

The homeowners association has little control over individual properties within the Hamlet village of Southbridge. Since the association is not in charge of care and maintenance of each property as would be the case in many of Shakopee's townhome developments, we have not created rules dealing with the length of grass or maintenance of grass. The City of Shakopee does have ordinances dealing with several tree, shrub and lawn maintenance requirements. In particular, Chapter 7 of the City Code/Ordinances last updated January 1, 2005, "Streets and Sidewalks Generally," Sec. 7.05., Subd.2. Duty of Property Owners to Cut Grass, Weeds and Trees Along Streets.

"Every owner of property abutting on any street shall cause the grass and weeds to be cut from the line of such property nearest to such street to the center of such street. If the grass or weeds in such place attain a height in excess of 6 inches it shall be prima facie evidence of a failure to comply with this Subdivision. Every homeowner of property abutting on any street shall trim, cut, remove and otherwise maintain all trees and shrubs located on their property which overhang public right-of-way, and which create a hazardous condition."

For a complete listing of Shakopee's City Code/Ordinances, please visit www.ci.shakopee.mn.us/pages/cityCode_Ord.htm.

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What is the status of the sprinklers along Southbridge Pkwy? (August, 2005)

Question detail:  I am wondering why the side grass areas on Southbridge Parkway are not being watered. I know that sprinklers were supposedly added, but apparently there are problems and I am curious about the status.

 

The Southbridge Community Association currently has a contract with a landscape vendor that includes mowing and pruning trees. They also make "weed and feed" applications periodically. The removal of weeds from the turnarounds would be an 'extra' that we hire on demand. Recently several neighbors provided volunteer labor by removing weeds from the turnarounds saving us the cost of professional services.

Last year, the Savannah Oaks HOA was turned over to its homeowners. They quickly settled their past due balance with the SCA and started to actively participate on the Southbridge Community Association Board of Directors. With a fully funded budget, the SCA Board decided that we would begin to restore some of the assets (vegetation & infrastructure) that had been lost in recent years and plan for future improvements of Southbridge Parkway. Through this process we determined that any plans we made would be pointless without adding irrigation to the outsides of the parkway and that we would continue to lose trees and vegetation at an even faster rate.

After a somewhat lengthy procedure that included several discussions and evaluations by outside experts (including the original landscape architect for the parkway) the SCA BOD decided to solicit bids for three distinct projects.

1. Install irrigation on both sides along the entire length of the parkway.

2. Remove and replace approximately 30 dead trees with same or similar size and species.

3. Remove and replace the day lilies and shrubs with a complementary mix of attractive and hardy vegetation.

Bids were awarded and contractors hired to complete the work.

The irrigation contractor was hired last fall and the work was expected to be completed by the end of November, 2004. That contractor started the project but was unable to complete the contract in a timely manner or at the agreed price. This created a major delay as the other projects are contingent upon the completion of the irrigation system.

The procedure had to be repeated to find a replacement irrigation system contractor that we would be assured could complete the work at a reasonable price. Very recently, the BOD voted on a new vendor and we expect work to begin almost immediately with completion by the end of July. We also instructed our landscape vendor to manually water the outsides of the parkway during regular intervals.

Needless to say, the failure of the irrigation contractor to complete this project has been a major disappointment. I was excited to have these projects completed and watch the "gateway" to the Southbridge community begin to recover and thrive in the coming years. This delay will surely cause us to lose more trees, time and money.

I am confident in our new irrigation system contractor. He is a member of our community and has guaranteed a good outcome. He will finish the system and setup watering times and align the sprinkler heads for optimum performance. You should begin to see activity on the parkway in the next few days, and with good luck and good weather the landscape contractors can begin soon after.

Dave Lindquist

VP, Hamlet at Southbridge HOA

SCA BOD

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Why is there an association?

This association was setup as a part of creating this housing development. The association along with the trees and common spaces is simply another piece of the foundation which supports the standards and appearance of the neighborhood.

The association exists to secure necessary services to support the neighborhood such as irrigation contractors, landscaping contractors, general repair and maintenance services and much more. The association also must make sure that the proper planning is in place attempting to ensure that should catastrophic circumstances arise the neighborhood has the financial wherewithal to rebuild or repair damages.

The association also attempts to maintain standards in terms of architecture and general property appearance so that the individual property owner's value is not in jeopardy. Furthermore, attempts to maintain the standard of lifestyle within the neighborhood that existed or was promised at the time of home purchase so that our neighborhood will always be a safe, stable and pleasing place to call home.

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Who is the Association Board and how were they chosen?

The association bylaws call for there to be an association board made up of five homeowners. The board members are elected annually by a quorum (25%) of the homeowners within the Hamlet at Southbridge neighborhood. Each home is given one vote in the election. Individuals who are interested in running for a board position are given the opportunity to return a form included in the association documents mailed out in the spring. Anyone present at the annual meeting is given the opportunity to enter the election at that time as well.

The board consists of five members, each serving a two year term.

The members of the board and their biographies can be found in the board section of the website found here.

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What does the association control?

The Southbridge area is actually made up of four "villages". We are the Hamlet village. The developments of D.R. Horton, Centex and Ryland Homes make up the remainder of the villages. Each village has its own association because each village has its own specific and unique needs.

The four villages share common areas and as such must share in the expense and management of those areas. Most noticeably, the medians and sides of Southbridge Parkway are a shared asset of all four villages. The management of these shared assets is controlled by the Master Association for Southbridge.  The Hamlet at Southbridge association is a member of that association and two members of our board sit on the Master Association board. Individual homeowners are not members of the Master Association; instead it is the Hamlet board's responsibility to bring forth the complaints, questions, suggestions and general views of the homeowners of Hamlet to the Master Association board.

The Hamlet at Southbridge Association has dominion over all association-controlled assets within the Hamlet area of Southbridge most easily described as those areas contained within the border of Southbridge Parkway and beyond the entrance markers at each entrance of Hamlet.

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Why is the address of the association in Savage?

The Shakopee post office is relatively small. The smaller post office boxes cost less money and Shakopee reserves those for individuals. Since we are technically an organization we would have had to rent a larger, more expensive box in Shakopee.

Furthermore, located on highway 16, the Savage post office is closer than the Shakopee post office so it is actually more convenient.

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To whom do I pay my dues?

If you have outstanding dues owed please send a check payable to the Hamlet At Southbridge HOA at the address listed at the base of this screen.

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