A Letter to a Homeowner’s Association
I had several suggestions for my Home Owners Association to consider, so I decided to send them the following ideas on recycling, a Neighborhood Watch Program, Home Owner Association Budget Reports and speed bumps:
1. Recycling. Although well intentioned, I feel the fascination with a community wide recycling program is not fiscally responsible nor in the neighborhood’s best interest. Recycling is a business; any valuable recyclable materials will rarely find their way into the recycling bins of a thrifty homeowner who knows he can save them and get paid for recycling them later. Any remaining materials are cost prohibitive to recycle in any format other than utilizing a central collection point. Hence many companies charge for recycling services, feeling that the income from the valuable items is insufficient to offset the recycling costs.
Furthermore, it is debatable whether a recycling service driving through a neighborhood creates any net benefit in the end. There are high associated fuel and labor costs for vehicles and workers for a relatively small amount of recoverable material. What percentage of recycling benefit is lost to the increased emissions of a large vehicle driving through the neighborhood for several hours once a week?
I would support any free recycling program, perhaps some companies may be willing to place recylcing bins at the park or the Association building. I will not support a paid recycling program since I feel it is a foolish way to squander community resources and not a net benefit to the environment – especially when we can get paid to recycle the valuable materials on our own.
2. Neighborhood Watch Program. There frequency of petty crimes such as car breakins and small theft in the neighborhood is too high, many of these crimes likely go unreported. Of those that are reported, relatively few are likely ever resolved. Our community could really benefit from a neighborhood watch program. Besides the added benefit of providing the neighborhod with additional free patrols and added security, it increases the association and bonding of neighborhood residents.
3. Quarterly Home Owner Association Budget Reports, If honesty is the best policy, transparency is the best guarantee. Homeowners have an interest and right to know where their payments are being spent and what surpluses or shortfalls may exists. With this knowledge some homeowners may become more involved in their associations activites.
4. Speed Bumps. There is an ongoing problem in the neighborhood with many drivers traveling too fast on the residential streets, often there are children playing in the area and cars parked along the street. This is a recipe for disaster, Please consider putting speedbumps in the residential streets, this is extremely more important than a recycling program, plus it will save carbon emissions in that it will deter drivers from excessive acceleration and speed in the neighborhood.
