Resident voices concerns about erosion

One resident, Oma Jean Rodriguez, stopped in to speak to the Townhouse Association board with concerns about her townhouse.

She’s been living in Bella Vista townhomes, she said, since the mid to late 1990s.

“The erosion around the townhouses … is getting worse and worse and worse,” she said.

Water has been running, she said, and carving gulleys in the earth.

Her driveway is cracking and sinking, she said, and the neighbor’s house is showing some rot, which she fears may spread to her own house.

She believes more vegetation could help, she said, and she would be willing to donate some trees and help spread dirt.

She’s concerned, she said, that membership dues are increasing without an increase in the level of service for property owners.

“If you want us to stay here … then help us take care of our properties,” she said.

The board’s chair, Jack Adams, said that over the years, the association has cut back on some services to keep costs down, but it has also worked to minimize erosion.

“All over the townhouses, 17 courts that we have, we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to eliminate erosion. Some in conjunction with the city and some on our own,” he said. “We can only do so much on a dollar.”

In some cases, he said, houses were in real danger when the association got to work.

Moreover, he said, the association does have a list of special projects it works on to help property owners, but that list is not easy to keep up with alongside regular grounds work and maintenance.

“We have so many projects to do we don’t just go out and do a project without somebody being on the list,” he said.