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WATER WASTING GRASS CORNERS TO BE REPLACED At the 7/8/08 special board meeting, the BOD voted to remove the four water wasting grass corners at the entrances to Ironwood Canyon II and replace the with colorful Apache Gold rock, similar to the rocks at the corner of Thundercloud Loop and Cactus Canyon.
The sloping corners have been a concern for years because of the water runoff and maintenance issues. The cost of the project will be about $1800.00 Costing out this project with the savings from using less water, it will pay for itself within 18 months.
The corners will just have colorful rock for now until the landscape committee and BOD move to add plants and maybe boulders.
The BOD appreciates the input from residents in the landscaping survey, which helped the BOD make a more informed decision.
The project will begin on July 14th. Thank you homeowners for getting involved!
6/27/08 SWATH KEEPS RAIN, DIRT OFF BBALL COURT! WATCH VIDEO!! The recently completed swath around the perimeter of the basketball court worked like a charm during yesterday's heavy rain. All dirt was diverted around the court. The swath was designed to work during normal monsoon rains.
Great job!
WOW! TURF PROGRAM A SUCCESS!
GRASS TURNS GREEN AFTER WATERING, FERTILIZATION After a winter when rye grass could not be planted and watering had to cease in a drastic attempt to control weeds, North Ranch's signature grass is returning to its annual green splendor!
Weeds have been reduced compare to last summer through the association's preventative maintenance (a part of the North Ranch Strategic Planning Program NRSPP).
Bunnies can be seen frolicking about in the green grass near the pools and entrances. Children and the young at heart are out in force enjoying the grass. Some residents are even photographing the beautiful sea of green for their own collections!
Sod and plugs are scheduled to go in near the big pool entrance to reinvigorate the area, where dicondra was inadvertently wiped out by a former contractor.
Kudos to Santa Rita Landscaping and the many volunteers who work so hard to keep our community lovely!
(Homeowners are invited to share their photos of the simply divine NR grass and landscaping by email!)
BRUSH CLEARING BEGINS BEHIND IRONWOOD 2, MESQUITE 1 NEXT
TREE CUTTERS, LANDSCAPERS WORK HARD TO STAY AHEAD When it comes to maintaining the many acres of common area, the NRCA remains steadfastly proactive. The photographs above represent just some of the work that was completed in the last two weeks of May 2008. Many other projects have been completed or are still underway.
The Landscape Committee provides vision and direction for contractors and management in this area. Major projects (like the clearing of brush below) are discussed in committee first and then sent to the board for a vote.
Routine tree trimming and emergency work is executed by the management company AHOME, who issues work orders for such jobs. A priority is placed on safety, long-term effects and cost effectiveness.
5/20/08
BOARD VOTES TO CLEAR BRUSH FROM IC1 AND MESQUITE 1 About 9000 square feet of overgrowth will be cleared from behind Sky Ridge Loop and Desert Bend Loop. The board accepted a proposal to clear the brush and overgrowth.
IMAGE SHOWS GRASS GREENER TODAY THAN IN 2005 A Google Earth image from summer 2005 shows brown and yellow spots all around the big pool area. For years there was no interruption of watering or over seeding the grass in North Ranch.
In 2007 the NRCA made a difficult decision to not over seed and to choke the winter grass to control weeds. Despite this extreme repair method the grass today around the pool is greener than in 2005 when watering was never interrupted.
5/9/08 LAWNS TO GET NITROGEN TODAY, SOD BIDS COMING IN Santa Rita Landscaping will be putting nitrogen on the lawns today to help speed up the restoration process. Bids on new sod for the barren area near the big pool are expected to be in before the board meeting.
5/5/08
AREA NEAR BIG POOL MAY GET SOD AND PLUGS The dead grass near the big pool may need to sod or plugs to come back to life. The area was actually covered with beautiful dicondra until last fall, when a former landscaping contractor sprayed harsh chemicals on it...killing everything.
Watering was tried but there appear to be no thatch left. The association will get some bids for sod and hopefully new grass will be there by the summer.
PALMS LOOKING HEALTHIER In addition to being lighted at night for the first time in many years, the recently fertilized palm/date trees are starting to regain their color. Everybody on the landscaping committee who have worked hard to beatify the grounds of North Ranch deserve congratulations. Thanks!
LAWNS FERTILIZED TO RESTORE GREEN The North Ranch turf got a needed boost of fertilizer today for the expert landscaping team of Santa Rita Landscaping. Brown areas like pictured above should benefit from the fertilization, coupled with the aerating which occurred earlier this week.
With daily watering and maintenance the summer lawn is expected to come back soon.
LAWNS AERATED The dormant bermuda grass at the front entrance was aerated today by the landscapers. The aeration will permit better absorption of water. With continued watering, fertilization and other measures, the grass at the entrance is expected to look good this summer.
4/27/08
BEER CANS AT PLAYGROUND REMOVED BY PRESIDENT About two cases worth of empty beer cans were removed from the Thornydale playground by association president Harry Resnick today. The beer party may have taken place this past Friday.
The association asked for volunteers and ideas on what to do with the playground in the last newsletter. Nobody responded.
The manager, with input from a concerned homeowner, is attempting to work with the board, landscapers, security and hopefully some volunteers to clean up the playground area soon so it does not have to be closed.
SICK TREE TO GET ATTENTION A diseased loquat tree at the small pool is making a mess. The tree will get attention from the arborists as soon at possible. UPDATE: We regret to inform the community that all but one of the sick loquat trees were humanely euthanized by a licensed arborist.
ERADICATION OF RAT HAVENS CONTINUE More rat infested prickly pear cactus was mowed down by large machinery near Sun Ranch Trl and Sky Ranch Trl. At least one dozen rodents were seen scurrying away from the heavy blade of a Bobcat.
The job will continue until the area is cleansed of rats and prickly pear.
Residents are encouraged to shut their garage doors or face a possible invasion of rodents.
RUSTED STEEL EDGING REPLACED. NEW ROCKS PUT IN Steel edging, rusted for years is being replaced at the big pool. New rocks are also being installed in the same location.
4/1/08
ASSOCIATION DECLARES WAR ON RAT-INFESTED PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS Rat infested prickly per cactus is being removed from the common area near Sky Ranch and Sun Ranch. A Bobcat machine will arrive this week to commence removing more cactus.
3/10/08
FRONT, REAR ENTRANCES CLEANED, TRIMMED IN PREPARATION FOR NEW LIGHTING The Lighting Committee will soon be proposing the installation of up to 36 new energy efficient fluorescent light fixtures at the front entrance to North Ranch. Before new lighting could be considered the area had to be cleaned and pruned.
Santa Rita Landscaping has been working hard to bring these areas up to par. Hedges and bushes, left to grow wild for years are being cut back to manageable levels. Overgrowth of foliage is being scaled back. North Ranchers can expect the front and rear entrances to look much cleaner and better very soon.
The area in front will not be allowed to overgrow again. Stucco walls around the area will also be painted soon by board member Armand Millette and his band of volunteers.
3/5/08
DEAD PALM DATE TREE TO BE REMOVED, PALMS TO BE FED A dead palm date tree at the big pool will be removed this month. The tree is rotting from the inside out due to infestation of insects and represents a falling hazard. All 34 North Ranch palm and date trees have been under stress for at least a five year period. Two arborists and three landscapers have examined the trees and all have come to the same conclusions regarding their condition. A combination of inadequate or no irrigation and lack of proper feeding has pushed the North Ranch palms to the brink of extinction. The palm trees require at least one round of deep root feeding annually and a considerable amount of water in the summertime. The association is taking steps to correct this long term practice of neglect by reviewing proposals to feed the trees and coordinate with contractors to repair/replace irrigation. As soon as a proposal to feed the palms is accepted it will be reported here and in the printed newsletter.
3/5/08
THUNDERCLOUD LOOP PROJECT COMING TO LIFE The association spent $8000.00 to beatify the corner of Thundercloud Loop last year. Now with some warmer weather on the horizon residents can expect to see blooms of color on the corner. Stay tuned!
2/10/08 JUNGLE BEHIND DESERT RANCH AND SKY RANCH TRIMMED AT LAST An overgrown area from Desert Ranch all the way to Sky Ranch Trail was cut back by contractors in early February. Other than mature trees and live cactus, all up to twelve feet from the common wall was removed. The plants constituted a possible fire hazard and made it impossible to access trees for trimming. The trees in the area will also be pruned in the near future. Other areas slated for a clean-up are the wash behind Desert Bend Loop, the second half of the wash behind Mesa Ridge (the first half is done) and the common area behind Sky Ridge Loop. After clean up the tree in those areas will be pruned as well by an arborist. There is no record in the association indicating these areas were ever pruned in the past.
January 2008 Landscape Committee Report Dear Committee members: Enclosed is my report of the Landscaping meeting we had January 10TH, 10:00 AM at the South Pool. Present were Tony Congi, Sande Schirmer, Harry Resnick ( Chair ), and Chris Centuori, (AHOME Manager). A quorum was present with three of the four members present at this meeting.
Harry Resnick, Chair
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