Wasatch Commons All-Community Meeting,Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Topics: concrete patios and paths, cohousing board visitors

Present: Ben, Lynda, Renae, Laura, Vicky, Joe, Chelsea #19, Linda, Coleman, Kay, Kerry, Stephen, Amy

Events, Reports, Announcements

Potluck Thursday March 13.

Laraine is doing a drive for the food bank. They mostly need non-perishables.  If you'd like to participate, put your donations on your porch before 8:00 a.m. Saturday March 15.

Eliza & Vinnie will be having an open house showing unit 17..

Bed #18 in the east garden has been unclaimed for a couple of years. Linda wants to plant perennials in it so it will look better.

Yard sale & plant sale first weekend in April. Money going to Wasatch Commons.  Consider what you have to donate or divide.

Sign thank you card for Kathy Albury for her donation.

Patios, Walkways, Central Path

Concrete Patios & Walkways. Ben is looking into getting a heat pump soon and at some point wants to have a concrete patio. It makes sense to do the patio now,  instead of moving the heat pump later.  

It's a three-day process, prepping, pouring, and cutting joints, then 3 or 4 days not being able to walk on it.  The contractor will wheelbarrow the concrete in.

Owners are responsible for their walk up to the edge of the common path, per the CCR.  (Some people think it shouldn't be, but making it not an owner's responsibility requires amending the CCR.)

The concrete pavers become uneven from tree roots and must be reset periodically, about every five years, as they keep growing.  Poured concrete resists heaving much longer.

If planning to redo your patio, make sure you know what/where your limited common area (LCA) is.  Talk to Management.  Anything permanent in your LCA has to be approved* by Management; anything outside your LCA needs community approval* (*and recorded in in the Management or ACM minutes).

Ben wants to get the work scheduled within the next three or four weeks. If you are interested in doing either your patio or your path, talk to Ben about getting a quote. 

Ben is also interested in doing a French drain in his back, which is an area full of rocks underground that water can drain into. One quote for the French drain was $1800.  Ben will check on the price for a square drain for Maintenance Committee's info.

Walkway to Common House. Because the concrete pavers leading to the common house have to be lifted and reset every few years to keep it wheelchair/walker accessible, Management has considered replacing the concrete pavers with poured concrete,.

Will there be a proposal for making the common house path concrete? It isn't a change in usage, so probably a proposal isn't required.. Concerned about aesthetics. Possible to stamp or color concrete, although it adds to the cost.

Brick Edging of the Concrete of the Central Path. 

The Association is responsible for the bricks at the side of the path.

Originally the bricks beside the path were level with the concrete, but they've subsided over the years (inadequately packed sand? ants excavating?). The subsidence has created a tripping hazard on both sides of the bricks, particularly the steel that holds the bricks from spreading out. The bricks need to be raised in many spots. The community has done the work before, but it's a labor-intensive job.  OTOH, because it's labor-intensive and requires skill/patience, it isn't cheap to hire.

In some areas the strip can be pounded down with a big mallet when the ground is soft; in some places tree roots are pushing it up so it can't be pounded down.  It might be possible to shave a little off the top of the steel without it failing (e.g., with an acetylene torch).  Lowering the strip reduces the trip hazard on that side of the bricks, but does nothing for the trip hazard stepping from the concrete to the bricks, whereas raising the bricks fixes the hazard on both sides.

Visitors from Cohousing National Board

Members of the Cohousing National Board are arriving later tonight and tomorrow to hold a workshop.  Potluck tomorrow night, 6:00-9:00, please come!  Talk about why you came to cohousing, why you've stayed in cohousing. They will be here until Sunday. To disturb their workshop less, residents please enter/exit through mailroom or laundry hall.

Emailed 3/22/2025.