Hurricane Irene & FV Street Status

Not much is happening down here in Forest Villas this week.  I feel fortunate that we dodged a bullet with Hurricane Irene.  No real effects from the storm.  We had one day where the breezes picked up & the temperature dropped a few degrees.  Just enough to make it feel like summer was on the wane, and then BAM!!!  We're back into the mid 90's again and sweltering heat & humidity.

HURRICANE IRENE

There was a FV Board Meeting this week. One of the items discussed was the report from the Paving Committee, which I was a member of along with Ed Hargedan, Paul Schierberl & Ben Bubala. 

Center Road Seaming Popping Open

The streets seemed to have hit a tipping point in their condition this year.  There has been cracking & some minor openings in the asphalt surface.   But this summer, when you walk the streets, the intersections are covered in pea-sized gravel covering the surface.  The asphalt appears to be decomposing.  The oil product that glues the gravel together in the asphalt has just evaporated & worn away due to our severe weather.  Street conditions like this cant' t be repaired with a layer of seal coat.  The roads seem to require a more comprehensive solution.

Disintegrating Parking Lot Surface

Ed Hargedan prepared a brief presentation regarding the conclusions & recommendation from the Paving Committee that met over the spring & summer.


The committee requested proposals from a number of paving contractors, & interviewed some finalists to ask questions & ascertain how the work would be accomplished.  Ajax Paving came back with the lowest bid, but also the best crew to do the work.  They can do the work in about 3-4 days, as compared with 7-8 days from other contractors.  And because they have large scale equipment, they can install the asphalt without the typical center seam.  Cracked asphalt will be milled off, & new asphalt will match the level of manholes & gutters.


Last year's quotes for this work were $10-$20k higher.  Asphalt prices are low right now because of a drop in the per barrel oil price, and it was recommended by the committee that this was the right time to take advantage of a season without hurricanes & that lower asphalt price.

The HOA has saved for 23 years for road resurfacing. In 1988, a barrel of oil was $14.90.  Who could have predicted that it would be more than $85.85 per barrel 23 years later?  The HOA will have almost enough paving funds saved towards the resurfacing at the end of the year, & will only be required to kick in a small amount from the HOA reserves to get the project paid for.

The committee recommended the work be done between October & November, after hurricane season, but before most of the part-time residents arrive.


It will be nice to have everything look nice at the same time.  New streets, new mailboxes, new coach lights & grass that looks better than it has in the last 5 years I've lived here.

Crispers restaurant in Bonita Springs has closed it's doors.  Carl's Patio is moving into the storefront that formerly housed Robb & Stucky Patio in Fort Myers on 41.

Clive Lubner, the former CEO of Robb & stucky, has announced he & his son, Daniel, are opening a new home furnishings venture in the old R&S Naples store called Clive Daniel Home in October.  At the same time he announced that the Naples showroom would no longer have that "Tuscan Feeling" because "that is just not the style Southwest Florida is looking for".  Aren't you glad you didn't spend $$$ on the Tuscan furniture that R&S pushed for years?


Bye for now, & have a great week. 
 bj, tig & tallulah

   

This blog is in no way affiliated with the Forest Villas HOA.