Council OKS beautification project
Some residents argue city an unwanted HOA
Residents in the Meridian Estates in Henderson soon will have another bill to pay, this time for the price of beauty.
The Henderson City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday to create a beautification project that will charge homeowners to maintain the landscape in the perimeter of the neighborhood near Robindale and Pecos roads.
“This was a request from many of the neighbors that have lived in the area,” said Ed Mcguire, deputy director for the Public Works Department. “Frankly, there are big gaps in the landscape, and there is a lack of maintenance.”
The Neighborhood Improvement District project will replace trees, add shrubbery and remove waste. It will add grading, an irrigation system, accent boulders and rock mulch, said Robert Herr, director of Publicworks.
The project will cost $89,080, divided among the 166-home neighborhood.
Homeowners each will pay about $537, and the payment will be divided into semiannual installments of $134.25 over two years. Long-term maintenance is estimated to be $52 a year per home. Additional service fees will cost $36 the first year and $19.27 in subsequent years.
For nonpayment, a lien can be placed on the property, Mcguire said.
He said the first bill probably will come in November.
Since the project was introduced in 2016, residents have been at odds.
Laurie Amicucci, who opposed the project, called it a backhanded attempt by the city to create a homeowners association.
“They’re going to be in our pockets forever,” she said. “We all bought our homes here because there was no HOA. Now, this is going to be worse than an HOA. We won’t even have a say in what kind of plants or rocks go in.”
Opponents were one signature short of the 56 required on a petition to halt the project, Amicucci