Townhouse owners find management unit less than helpful By JAKE LINGER Staff Writer
Like any new homeowner, all La-Donna Daniels ever wanted was a house she could call her own.
That was nine years ago.
Now Daniels has multiple issues regarding her quiet 175-unit community in the Collington Ridge section of Pointer Ridge. Throughout the past year, the Indiana native has battled her homeowners association as well as unruly teenagers and young adults who have made every attempt to use her neighborhood as their personal playground.
The trouble for Daniels began in June 2006 when she sent an e-mail to American Community Management asking the homeowners association to prune an area of trees that had overgrown and blocked a pathway that allowed the residents of a row of townhouses to take their garbage cans from behind their homes to the curb twice a week. There was little response from ACM to that e-mail or to three subsequent e-mails. Phone messages left for the company by Daniels also went unreturned. She even sent photos of the affected area to ACM to show that she was not making frivolous requests.
But still nothing.
That is until last September when Daniels finally received an envelope in the mail from ACM - something she had long awaited. Not only had ACM finally responded to the issue of the overgrown trees, but they had sent her a violation notice for not properly storing her garbage cans in the rear of the house. Since she could not safely make the trip to the front of the house on trash nights, Daniels decided to just keep her trash receptacles in the front of her home. But after months of requesting help from ACM, Daniels and one female neighbor pruned the trees - through three yards - to avoid another violation that would carry a fine.
"I wish (ACM) was more proactive, more aggressive," an upbeat Daniels said. ACM is "laid back and not aggressive in doing anything."
Owning a home in the "smallish" community costs $450 annually in dues. Nearly $79,000 goes to the HOA from homeowners. ACM holds community meetings twice a year, but according to Daniels, many homeowners have stopped attending due to the lack of any sense of accomplishment or satisfaction. "They tell you what you want to hear, but they take no action," said Daniels.
In an e-mail to Daniels dated July 17, 2006, a representative of ACM named Michelle Alexander wrote: "The remaining trees will be pruned at a later date. However, I'm not sure exactly when at this time as the board will have to decide. As for the tree closest to your shed, that will be done in the very near future." Nearly two months later, those trees had not yet been pruned and Daniels received her violation for the trash storage.
Daniels finally pruned the trees in May, 10 months after this saga with ACM started and eight months after Alexander informed Daniels that the trees would be pruned in the "very near future." There have been no follow-ups from Alexander or any representative of ACM since, according to Daniels.
Daniels and her neighbors have also had problems within the community that are no fault of ACM. Younger residents from late teens to early adults have been moving into the neighborhood and loitering around the playground, or tot lot, areas near Daniels' home, and not just after dark but in the daytime as well. She said that there are regularly four to five people in their 20s drinking from containers in brown paper bags on the tot lot. And recently, six Bowie Police Department officers arrested a male on suspicion of attempted breaking and entering into a Pointer Ridge home.
In addition to all that, vehicles foreign to Collington are seen parked with occupants drinking alcohol, smoking and playing loud music. Neighbors have become concerned about where the behavior will lead next. But what does a concerned resident do when she has a problem that cannot necessarily be solved through her nonresponsive homeowners association?
If you are Daniels, you ask for a meeting with Bowie Police Chief Katherine A. Perez and Deputy Chief John Nesky to try and find ways to resolve issues within the community.
Perez and Nesky sat down with Daniels inside the Bowie Police Department at City Hall. They told Daniels that this type of community action and concern is exactly what the city police need to be successful.
"Community policing really does work," Perez said. "Bowie residents are our eyes and ears."
Perez continued, saying that the best way to deal with problems within a neighborhood is to use the broken window theory. "If you fix the little things, they won't become bigger things."
While Nesky recalled recent arrests that were made in the Collington area for consuming alcohol inside a parked vehicle, Perez says she still frequently hears that many city residents choose not to bother Bowie police with calls, assuming that the department has larger priorities. Nesky wants some of the public perception of police priorities to change.
"If you call, we're coming and we're following up," he said. "If (delinquents) are there on Monday, call us. If they're there on Tuesday, call us."
Daniels received valuable information from Perez and Nesky regarding ways to begin a Neighborhood Watch in Pointer Ridge. Neighborhood Watch is an avenue that allows community residents to take charge of their surroundings and to clean up the neighborhood and drive out any unwanted activity. Perez also noted that the two newest city Neighborhood Watch programs in Northview and Tall Oaks have been very successful. Her belief is that community programs such as Neighborhood Watch not only make it uncomfortable for delinquents to continue their "dirty work" there, but also that the community's "quality of life goes up while my workload goes down."
Nesky adds that with Bowie residents and business owners becoming increasingly involved, "you get a 'not in my neighborhood' attitude flowing, which will reduce the amount of (illegal) activity."
Bowie Police Department will host an open house Friday, Sept. 14, at the department from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. City residents are invited to meet and speak with Nesky and Perez and share ideas on how to further ensure the safety of residents. Patrol cars will also be available for viewing and refreshments will be served. Information will be available regarding the city's new Police Explorer Program designed to educate residents ages 14-21 in the field of police work - hopefully breeding the next generation of city officers.
City police have only been on the streets since February, and Perez will celebrate her first anniversary as police chief Sept. 11. The force has 21 officers, but will soon swear in four more.
In the meantime, Bowie police would like for city residents to know that there is an anonymous tip line allowing anyone who may notice suspicious activity to inform BPD without having to reveal their identity. That number is 301-575-2008.
Following her meeting with Perez and Nesky, Daniels said that she felt "empowered" and ready to act. "(Speaking with Perez and Nesky) means a lot to me," said Daniels. "I have confidence in the department and I see they really care."
