road repair

Started by DianeW • 7 replies • 2781 views

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DianeW (Maryland)
Posts: 147

Posted:

Our small HOA recently repaved our roads to the tune of $100 thousand dollars. How long reasonably speaking, can these roads last with only about 30 current homes and daily traffic from UPS etc? What is your communities experience with road repair?

I am trying, as treasurer, to be proactive and put aside monies for future repairs. I have contacted the paver, who is also a resident, but have received no response. I need to start working on 2010 budget and would like to address this issue at that time.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Diane I'm not an expert in blacktop (if that is what you used) but the more you maintain it the longer it will last. The constant heat and sun of FL has to take a toll and if the contractor won't give you a time line I would call the local public works and ask them how long they plan for residential streets to last. We sealcoat our road and parking lot every five years or so but the township where I live has recently started micro-surfacing the roads which they expect to get an extra five years or so out of the roads by doing this. I found a link to a project Pittsburgh has going which explains the process. http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/pw/html/paving_processes.html

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

TracieS (Colorado)
Posts: 460

Posted:

Diane,

Have you had a reserve study done? Our association is in the process because none of us can figure out useful life estimates/calculations, etc. When you get the reserve study, it should tell you estimated repair costs and dates according to your specific association/geographic location.

LynetteB (Texas)
Posts: 141

Posted:

DianeW,

A good road company can answer these questions best.
There are so many types of material for roads. For our situation and road type, 7 to 10 years is when we would expect to re-do them as long as we do annual repairs for the little things. If we choose not to do the annual repair, we would expect to have a shorter life expectancy. Also, for our type of road, the more traffic, the longer the road life.
Getting this information is wise on your part. You should have reserves for all of your assets, especially the major ones like the roads. Good Luck.

Lynette

DianeW (Maryland)
Posts: 147

Posted:

Thank you for your replies. We have never done a reserve study. How much do those typically cost because I do not see anyone approving one. I know about them solely from reading here and the Association Times newsletter. I have asked a reputable paving company but have received no response. I plan on bringing up at our next meeting the issue of future road costs and the necessity of putting aside enough so we do not have a large assessment down the road. The roads are our only major investment as an association. I hate to spend money on a reserve study for just that one item when the homeowner/paver could provide me with that information easily. I think he may be dragging his heels knowing I plan on bringing up a raise in the dues at our next meeting. My assumption was to try to set aside $100 thousand over a 10 year period because the cost in 2006 was $100 thousand to repave. Am I being overly proactive?

TracieS (Colorado)
Posts: 460

Posted:

Estimate of how much a reserve study costs really varies on your property. I'm a 19 unit townhome association, so we needed to know roofs, sidewalks, alleys, retaining wall, landscape, garages and roofs, fencing, etc. I got bids from about $2000 down to about $1200.

We're brick-face townhomes, so we don't need to worry about siding, and the only time we'd need to replace all the siding would be pretty much any situation that would be covered by insurance. For the roofs, we're praying for a hail storm. (until we get our reserves fully funded - in about a thousand years...).

One thing I know for sure... In ten years, the cost to fully repave your road will be more than $100k. Can you make it last longer by sealing/repairing? Last resort before repaving would probably be sealing/pea stones. How much does all that cost? I have absolutely no idea. Will you really need to fully repave in 10 years? That's where the professionals come in.

Wouldn't your members/owners rather see it in black and white from a trained professional? I mean, I can take your word for it, but you probably don't have paving/cost estimate experience, right? They might say, we shouldn't spend the money, but still... I think it's good stewardship.

We're completely cash-strapped, so I can't even imagine laying out $100k. Still, though...a reserve study is a small price to pay for piece of mind. It could also assist with selling any units that are on the market (when realtors and potential buyers see that you're a foward looking association). Plus, it gives you a really good picture of where you are and where you need to be.

The reserve study we contracted for also includes a financial review and they also look at our documents. It's not just your physical assets.

GeraldT4
Posts: 1,022

Posted:

DianeW,

Roadway repaving that is necessary for an HOA to fund should be considered a Reserve item. Cost of replacement or repave will increase over time due to inflation, and construction costs. So there are budgetary factors to consider other than just the actual cost. How long did your roads last up until the point of repave? Has your HOA ever had a Transition Related Engineering Studay performed so you can refer to the estimate of repave recommended?

One method of funding the repave would be to take $100,000.00 divide by the expected useful lifecycle of the paved roadway and divide by 30 owners. If the lifecycle is 20 years that would mean you'd need a MINIMUM of $13.90 per month per unit owner. The repave cost should be reevaluated as much as possible say once a year or once every couple years to allow for fluctuating construction costs and increased cost of living.

DianeW (Maryland)
Posts: 147

Posted:

Thank you all for your input. The HOA has been around for 15+ years and I think, but do not know for sure, that the roads were the originals. There are no docs to find out because it was under the developer until 2006. No reserve study of any kind has ever been done here and I know no one will okay one. I will take your information though, and try and make the membership understand we need to have a dues increase of at least xx dollars. Thank you all again.

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