January 15, 2001
 
From:  Terry Zawacki, Landscaping Committee Chair 
 
Re: What’s Been Done and What Remains to be Done 
(all work described here was approved by the Tollgate Board)  
 
The Association has signed a contract with a new landscaping provider—Curb Appeal—so we look forward to better service in the coming year than we received from Living Colour.  They are charging less than Living Colour but appear to provide about the same level of service. Included in that contract are two leaf removals, the same as we had from LC.  Some of you have complained about all of the leaves remaining on the properties, so we may need to ask Curb Appeal to do three leaf removals in the Fall.  Meanwhile, you may have noticed a work crew of Tollgate residents cleaning up and bagging leaves last Saturday in order to save us a $300 leaf removal charge. 
 
In the next few weeks, I should be receiving several designs from Curb Appeal for redoing the Tollgate entrance plantings.  They will photograph the entrance and then use a computer graphics program to generate pictures of the new landscaping possibilities. The designs will cost $500. We can also contract with Curb Appeal for “seasonal plantings” at the entrance; however, the Landscaping Committee thinks we can save money by enlisting a crew of residents together
to plant bulbs, geraniums, pansies, etc, according to the season.   
 
Living Colour did the following landscaping work for us, based on the priority list the Committee developed from your requests and on available funding: #102--4 new junipers; 104--a replacement azaleas; 107-109--4 replacement azaleas; 111—remove unsightly tall juniper by garage; 113—a replacement small tree; 116—2 replacement azaleas; 122 and 133—removal of dead or dying plant material and replacement with liriope; side property next to 135—stepping stones for path and removal of a dead pine tree.  In addition, Living Colour removed overgrown ivy and euonymus in beds throughout the property and pruned bushes that had been allowed to become unsightly. This work totaled $1680.
 
Tree Work: Bob Donaldson, also on the Landscaping Committee, has been handling tree work for the Association.  With the Committee’s priority list, he had Davy Tree do the following work: 102—remove Bradford Pear, grind stump; 100—remove dead limbs from large Norway Spruce; 103—elevated Sawtooth Oak; 109—remove split limbs and deadwood on Red Oak; 110-112—remove deadwood from Silver Maple; 121—cable Bradford Pear; 131—remove
dead white pine at rear of house and grind stump; grind stumps behind 113 and 121; 135—remove broken limbs in Maple; end of street—remove nuisance Mulberry.  The charge for this work was $2,665.
 
Tree Maintenance: Bob also contracted with Guardian Tree to maintain our existing trees with various seasonal sprays at a cost of approximately $5000.       
 
Drainage Problem Corrected: A significant drainage problem behind units 114 through 122 was corrected by installing French drains leading to an existing storm drain, connecting downspouts to the drains, and building berms behind the units to direct water appropriately.  Bob Donaldson and Garry Sauner did the
berm work themselves, saving the community several thousand dollars.  The French drain work was completed at a cost of approximately $1,400. 
 
As you can see by this list, we have attempted to address most homeowners’ landscaping requests plus complete essential tree maintenance and safety
projects.  We think we are in very good shape as we enter the new landscaping season.  You may want to begin thinking about your landscaping requests for
the coming year.