Maintenance Report
From Parks to Playgrounds: Maintenance Team Revitalizes Community Spaces
With the end of another fiscal year, it’s a great time to look back and reflect on the dedicated efforts of the IHCA maintenance team on various projects around the community. This year, we have been able to complete multiple reserve projects such as Dahlia Park, Verenna, The Terraces and Valais/Hudson. We also updated common area signage for parks, the playground at Daphne Park, paint on fire hydrants, and the Sport Court.
Daphne Park’s play structure was removed and replaced with a new one in March. This new structure is larger than the original one and it also allows for more age groups. The old structure was wood, while the new one is metal, which will ultimately result in a longer life span. The original swing was left in its location and we were able to freshen it up with a new coat of paint.
The Sport Court on Park Drive is another play area in the process of being replaced. It will hopefully be completed before the end of summer. The new surface will also have the markings for pickleball, which was requested by residents. This change will allow for us to transition the court during certain times of the year from soccer to pickleball. It should make this court kid-friendly as well as adult-friendly, fostering a safe environment and promoting a healthy community for all ages.
Other projects included powder coating handrails and benches, leveling concrete, adding lighting, replacing old lighting, painting large light poles, jetting drainage and painting fire hydrants.
We are grateful to everyone that is a part of this community and thankful to be able to help maintain it. This year has been very challenging financially with the soaring inflation on all things, so I want to give a special thanks to the IHCA Board of Directors and Executive Director Sarah Hoey as we have navigated this fiscal year.
Landscape Report
Landscape Crews Enhance Our Open Spaces
The IHCA in-house crews and our two landscape contractors, Landcare and Bear Creek, have all been very busy making landscape improvements throughout the community.
The crews have been working on tree and plant replacements, soil and sod installation, drainage and irrigation updates, trail improvements and more. Bark was also installed in parks and residential neighborhoods throughout the month of June.
In February, the crews added stepping stones in the planter strip adjacent to the road to make it easier for people to exit their vehicles. We also added plants around the trees in high traffic areas to elevate plant damage by foot traffic. Additionally, we upgraded the median planter beds at the Vista Park crosswalk to make it more visible to vehicles and keep pedestrians safe.
In March, the crews replaced 22 trees on Katsura that were damaged in a storm. Landscapers had to cut and remove the old stumps, repair damaged irrigation, and replace the sod that was damaged in the storm. There is still work to be done to the damaged sidewalks this summer.
Bear Creek landscapers worked on improvements to several areas of our streetscape and open space slopes. Crews worked throughout the months of January and February to complete the installation of 4,000 one-gallon plants to enhance damaged streetscapes. They also focused on fixing settled areas in the turf to improve pedestrian safety. Fresh bark was added as a finishing touch to the improved areas.
Landcare, our other contractor, has been working on landscape improvements to residential areas under our care. The crews have been planting trees and shrubs along with soil and bark to make it complete.
They also finished a full landscape upgrade to a couple of community/neighborhood parks. The crews tore out damaged or aged plant material and added soil to fix the grade. Plants and trees were then added, with bark as a finishing touch.
Landcare also helped the IHCA crews complete the new landscape in the median island on Park Drive as you approach the town center. Please slow down, take a look and enjoy the view.
Matthew Hendrikse is the IHCA maintenance manager. Lyle Dickey is the IHCA landscape manager.
As published in the summer 2023 Connections >>
