Budget Box: Repair & Maintenance

What do pavement striping, mailbox replacement, HVAC repair, and lagoon dredging all have in common? These are a few of the repair and maintenance items handled by The Landings Association’s Public Works Department. Being a homeowner requires many items to be repaired and maintained over the life of the asset. The same is true for the Common Property, including infrastructure, facilities, and assets that are the responsibility of the Association.

The Landings Association manages all 715 acres of common property. This includes 313 center islands/medians, 151 lagoons (totaling 269 acres), 91 miles of roads and 22 miles of paved community paths and trails, 11 bridges, 7 gated entrances, 18 fleet vehicles plus 9 units of heavy equipment and 2 watercraft, 11 facilities, 2 deep water marinas (Landings Harbor Marina and Delegal Creek), an athletic field and playground, 3 storage facilities, and the Dog Park. In order to properly address the repair and maintenance associated with this long list of assets, and to extend their useful life for as long as possible, the Public Works Department manages a combined operating annual expense budget dedicated to repairs and maintenance of $2.5 million (including the $1 million annual landscaping contract).

Most of the work that is performed by the team on a day-to-day basis is preventative maintenance. Without preventative maintenance, the likelihood for infrastructure emergencies would become very visible and more frequent. For example, The Landings Association owns and operates a Vacuum Jetter Truck (cost: $310,000). This piece of equipment aids in keeping the storm drains debris free, so rainwater can flow freely and not back up into our community streets. Unplanned events at any scale tend to be much more expensive and inconvenient. Therefore, preventing such is in the best interest of all residents.

The Landings Association’s annual property owner dues (Assessment) fund the operating as well as the reserves budget that allows the Public Works team to provide each resident service that may not always be visible to the naked eye. There are many layers of work dedicated to the end result for our community. The goal is for the general population of the community to see as few emergencies as possible that could potentially disrupt the daily life and routine for each of you. This is achieved by putting your property owner dues to work, so you see and feel as little interruption as possible while maintaining our community.