Chip Seal Road Repair, Dust Control and thoughts on creating an HOA.

[JasperFrank]

All of the neighbors have decided to do some road repair on an easement that we all share.. The lower part is paved AC Grindings that I don't think was applied correctly 7 years ago. It has pretty big chunks taken out if it, from heavy trucks, pot holes and places where later repair layers of AC grinding have eroded away making the surface rather uneven. Chip Seal is the recommended repair path by the contractor we are looking at. I've never seen Chip Seal used on an AC Grindings road. Wondering how the Chip Seal will hold up with pot hole repair and the slightly different depths of the roads layers. Also has any one used Lignosulfonate for Dust Control.. I see that there are all sorts of different kinds. Calcium and Magnesium Lignosulfonates and Straight Lignosulfonate. i can't find an explanation of the differences: Other Dust control methods have been ruled out such as Calcium Carbonate. Lastly, if you've been through this same sort of thing in the past and did develop a HOA type road maintenance agreement with your neighbors, did it work out? Or did it lead to all sorts of problems and conflicts? Right now the road maintenance is entirely voluntary. I see future problems with future usage if the fees paid in become non- equitable. For instance if one neighbor substantially increases their use of the road.

 

[RNeumann]

I’ve been down the road maint HOA before. Let someone else die on that hill. It was dirt when you all moved there, unless everyone votes to upgrade you are asking for trouble- especially with a voluntary agreement. Let me guess- folks with gray hair and or in good financial situations want it paved- then they will start in with the whispers of everyone who doesn’t want it or doesn’t pay.......I’d stay out of that mess.

Chip deal is fast and easy- the big cost is to mobilize. Sounds like you have enough road to cover that cost. It can go over existing AC or other road base. Pot holes will always be an issue in weak and or wet areas. Best to fix those areas before the big chip seal job.

I’ve used “Dustoff or Dust-off” with good results. The folks with nice and or low cars don’t like it since it tends to stick to the paint and wheels if it’s wet. But it does keep the dust down. Needs to be applied 1-2x a year.

 

[Diggin It]

All of the neighbors have decided to do some road repair on an easement that we all share.. The lower part is paved AC Grindings that I don't think was applied correctly 7 years ago. It has pretty big chunks taken out if it, from heavy trucks, pot holes and places where later repair layers of AC grinding have eroded away making the surface rather uneven.

Chip Seal is the recommended repair path by the contractor we are looking at. I've never seen Chip Seal used on an AC Grindings road. Wondering how the Chip Seal will hold up with pot hole repair and the slightly different depths of the roads layers.

Also has any one used Lignosulfonate for Dust Control.. I see that there are all sorts of different kinds. Calcium and Magnesium Lignosulfonates and Straight Lignosulfonate. i can't find an explanation of the differences: Other Dust control methods have been ruled out such as Calcium Carbonate.

Lastly, if you've been through this same sort of thing in the past and did develop a HOA type road maintenance agreement with your neighbors, did it work out? Or did it lead to all sorts of problems and conflicts? Right now the road maintenance is entirely voluntary. I see future problems with future usage if the fees paid in become non- equitable. For instance if one neighbor substantially increases their use of the road.

See, paragraphs are easy.

There was a thread not too long ago about the evils of HOAs and how most people despise them. There were a few supporters of them. It didn't go well.

If you want to be part of a government, run for office in hopes to get elected. Don't try to make your own.

 

[JasperFrank]

Some clarifications. Right now there isn't any maintenance HOA contract/lien. I am personally happy with that. I put in what I want to to make the road nice and usable, co-joined, usually, by some other neighbors that also want to pitch in.

What is being presented now, is a Compulsory Covenant to pay into a road fund every month with some sort of enforcement clause. Only two out of 7 of the neighbors are really pushing this. One, that lives above me on the road, built his McMansion, likes to entertain and has two rental properties, the other, that lives below me is trying to subdivide and sell off three home site lots.

RNeumann---- " Let me guess- folks with gray hair and or in good financial situations want it paved- then they will start in with the whispers of everyone who doesn’t want it or doesn’t pay......." You Nailed This, Exactly.

 

[JasperFrank]

I should work on Paragraphs.....
I know...

 

[JK22]

In Colorado, a “Road Association” is used for exactly what you are describing. It’s sole purpose is paying for and maintaining the road. Does not otherwise limit how you can use your property.

 

[Diggin It]

Petition your county government to take it into their road system for maintenance.

 

[s219]

I would avoid the whole thing if you're OK with the way things are now. Why sign up for extra hassles in your life.

Our property association has a private shared driveway that was required for three owners to access their properties. It's basically a shared easement across all of their lands. Paved with asphalt, but only to residential driveway standards. Each property pays $200/year to go into a road fund. We did the math and it will never amount to much in our lifetimes, certainly not the $50-60K it would take to replace the asphalt (and that's in today's dollars). There is concern that construction on the last remaining property could really damage the road and then all those folks would be in trouble.

 

[JasperFrank]

Petition your county government to take it into their road system for maintenance.

That would make the road entirely public. We don't want that. My Grand Father did this with an also non-thru private road he had a long time ago. It was a disaster. Kids would just park and party, and leave all their trash. And Google Earth could drive up with street view.

 

[Nikkorott]

My property is on a private road where there are numerous easements and we had/have a road agreement. The road agreement has been suspended for better than a decade. The guy that was supposed to manage it is trying to subdivide a property and activate the agreement again. My neighbors and I are digging our heels in. Originally what the guy wanted to do was maintain the road and some other stuff while taking a 10% management fee. My suggestion is stay away from anything of the sort. Think about what you're going to do if folks don't pay. Are you going to put a lien on your neighbor? Auction their place off for dues? If it's just voluntary folks don't pay. It's just a reality. On our road, one other neighbor and myself do pretty much all of the work. We fix the pot holes and maintain the road. I spend 4 or 5 days a year doing the heavy work. The other neighbor runs a harrow up and down the road a couple times a month to maintain it.

As far as dust control goes, we don't use it. I was on a job where dust was a touchy issue. We used something called Gorilla-snot that worked pretty well.