The City finally acknowledged responsibility for the basic island repair, and the person responsible for the damage was identified, and his auto insurance will be paying for repairs caused by the accident, to include reimbursing the PSHOA the $400 it paid to clean the debris from the street and cover the exposed damage area with a tarp to prevent further soil erosion.
On May 2nd the City’s contractor restored the island. The HOA’s contractor has restored the landscaping.
Background is below:
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The following was sent to the Mayor’s Staff on March 13th.
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Dear Marty, Cassie, Carrie, and Amy:
On or about 25 January an unknown vehicle slammed into the Entrance Island at 168th and Harney. This is an entrance to the Pacific Springs Community.
On 25 January, I advised the Mayor’s Hotline of the situation via e-mail; pictures of the damage were included (and some are attached).
On 30 January, a representative from the Mayor’s Hotline (Kelsey Dolinsky) responded:
Hi Mr. Tucker,
Thank you for your email and concern. A request for service has been sent to the City’s Traffic Department, so an inspector can be sent out to make sure traffic is not being blocked.
As was stated in a letter mailed to you and the other members of the Pacific Springs Homeowners Association on March 23, 2015, the sign and enhanced landscaping around it are specifically recognized in the subdivision agreement as being the responsibility of the property owners. The City does not use general fund or bond dollars to maintain amenities associated with specific subdivisions or neighborhoods. These types of amenities become the responsibility of the homeowners association. If the homeowners association does not wish to maintain the landscaping and other amenities on he island, the City will revert it to a grassed island and it will be mowed by one of our mowing contractors. Regards,
Kelsey Dolinsky
Mayor’s Hotline
Phone: 402-444-5555
Email: hotline@cityofomaha.org
FAX: (402) 444-6059
Website: http://mayors-office.cityofomaha.org/
On 31 January I sent the following response to Kelsey at the Mayor’s Hotline:
Hi Kelsey,
I refer you to the April 23, 2015, PSHOA response to the City’s March 23, 2015 letter, and to which the City never responded. Copy attached.
As noted in that letter, the Pacific Springs Homeowners Association is NOT a signatory to the SID 383 Subdivision agreement, and is NOT mentioned in any way in that Agreement. The only HOA mentioned in the Agreement is the Pacific Springs Townhomeowers Association, an entity that officially is known as the Pacific Springs Villas East Association, and which has the responsibilities noted in Section X, Para. E. and Exhibit B, Sheet B-3 of the Agreement (and the Acknowledgement of same at the bottom of Page 10). There is no mention of maintenance of the two islands on Harney St. Also, contrary to the representation in your e-mail, there is no language in that Agreement that the sign and enhanced landscaping around it are the responsibility of the property owners (and by the way, the basic structure of the front island in our opinion is certainly not considered “enhanced landscaping”). And as noted in our letter, we do not have a copy of the maintenance agreement required by Section X, Para. 10. A.
As this is one of four entrances to the Pacific Springs community with Monument signs that were installed by the original Developers, the PSHOA “voluntarily” provides routine cleanup, mowing, plantings, tree trimming, and mulching to both these islands, and maintains the LED lighting and the irrigation system. The Pacific Springs Golf Course provides the water for the irrigation system and the electrical power for the LED lighting. However, maintenance of the basic island structure is not something we do, nor are we willing to do it.
Any action on the part of the City to destroy or modify the front island without input or consultation with both our HOA and the Pacific Springs Golf Course would certainly be viewed as a City rebuke of the Pacific Springs community at-large. And since there is a Mayoral election on the horizon, I would certainly hope that she would be thoroughly briefed on any action planned by her staff to destroy or modify the island.
And with regard to the front island, we do have some ideas for island changes that would improve the sight line for Harney traffic as it approaches 168th St.
Bob Tucker
Treasurer, PSHOA
Like our April 23, 2015 letter to the Mayor, there has been no further response from the Mayor’s office.
I did receive a phone call from someone in Street Maintenance (don’t remember his name) claiming the Island damage was what he referred to as “enhanced landscaping” and was not a City responsibility, but rather the HOA/property owners. I advised him that that representation was totally false from the standpoint of the HOA and the property owners, and there is absolutely nothing to support his representation. The Street Maintenance person also stated he had not seen the e-mail from the HOA to the Hotline.
Since the City has taken zero action to clean up the debris, which created a potential hazard to traffic, the HOA hired a contractor to clean it up, and cover the damaged area with a tarp to prevent runoff should it rain/snow. The cost was $400 and the HOA expects to be reimbursed by the City.
This Island was originally SID 383 property, and until Annexation by the City was maintained by the SID. It has been City property since the Annexation of SID 383 in 2008, and as noted above, the 2004 Interlocal Agreement that involved widening 168th St (and thus shortening of the front end of the Island) clearly states this is a City responsibility, if not at the time of the Agreement, certainly at the time of Annexation.
The PSHOA has zero responsibility for repairing this damage.
We are available to meet and discuss if interested, but the damage needs to be repaired, and sooner than later – it’s been six weeks with no action on the part of the City.
Also, to our knowledge, the person or persons responsible for the damage is/are unknown. I did call OPD (SW Precinct) and they had no knowledge of anyone reporting the incident.
Also, as noted in our response to the Hotline, there is an existing sightline problem for traffic exiting Harney onto 168th St. This would be a perfect time for the City to also resolve that issue. And as noted, the HOA has a suggested solution.
Bob Tucker
Treasurer, PSHOA
cc: City Council via Council Chief of Staff James Dowding
PSHOA – Pictures of Entrance Damage – 168th and Harney