2021 Crescent Park HOA Chipping Event
During the 2021 HOA Annual Meeting, Jeff Nicholson, HOA President, asked the attendees for a show of hands for interest in having slash on their property chipped. A dozen homeowners expressed interest, so Jeff N asked for a volunteer to coordinate the effort with Jeff Calebaugh, HOA Vice President. Bob Grimm agreed to be the Event Coordinator and October 23 was selected as the event date.
Notices were sent to Crescent Park residents, owners and our adjacent neighbors laying out the date and time, costs and the fact that slash chips were to be broadcast back onto the properties. Fourteen requests for chipping were received, and most of those owners also volunteered to help drag slash to the chipper for the duration of the event. With a few additional volunteers, the amount of slash and help to drag the slash to the chipper looked balanced.
Eric Kennedy, owner of Good People Tree Service, agreed to supply a chipper and two experienced operators with work to begin at 10 AM and continue until all chipping was completed.
A week before the event, Jeff C did a drive-by of the participating properties to get a feel for the effort and time to chip the slash. Unfortunately, many of the owners had not completed moving some or all of their slash to roadside and that resulted in an under-estimation of the time to chip. The consequence was that instead of an estimated 3+ hours of work, the total effort required almost 5 hours. This resulted in a long day for the volunteers who worked right through lunch.
EVENT ANALYSIS:
One of the glaring omissions of the recent event was the need for a better understanding of the work load prior to commencement of chipping. A simple solution would be a requirement that slash be at the roadside at least 7 days prior to chipping so that a more accurate time estimate can be determined. Homeowners wanting to add additional slash after that time would require approval from the event coordinator. If the time estimates are 4+ hours of work, then some accommodation should be considered: a lunch/rest break, a second chipper be brought in, or the effort be spread out over multiple days. Younger volunteers should also be encouraged to participate.
Expense-wise, the HOA nearly broke even, a goal for this and future events. Jeff & Bob are analyzing the event data looking for ways of achieving that goal for future events.
No injuries were reported, a lot of slash got chipped and most of the volunteers went home, tired but satisfied with our accomplishment.
The HOA wishes to thank all the volunteers who participated in this event. A community working together for the greater good:
Steve & Cindy Smith, Andy Melick, Mick Coady, Barbara Mazurowski, Matt Leiphart, Bob Grimm, Dan Schulz, George Lehmkuhl and Jan & Jeff Calebaugh.