Monday, March 18, 2024

City of Johnston Sidewalk Repair Program Meeting is Mar. 26, 2024

 

City of Johnston inspectors marked non-compliant sidewalks in the Green Meadows West neighborhood in November 2023. In two public meetings scheduled for Mar. 26, 2024, city officials will brief residents on the next steps toward repairing sidewalks, including cost-estimates.

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The City of Johnston will conduct two public meetings Mar. 26, 2024 regarding information regarding its inspections all sidewalks in Green Meadows West and other neighborhoods, and to repair/replace at homeowners’ expenses in 2024 those that are out of compliance. Homeowners will have an option to repair or contract repairs themselves.

The Tues., Mar. 26, 2024 public meetings will be held at Johnston City Hall, 6221 Merle Hay Road, from 5:30-6 p.m., and again from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m.

For more information on the program, visit: bit.ly/JohnstonSidewalk

This will be the third year of an 8-year, city-wide Sidewalk Repair Program. The project's execution began in 2023 in the original Green Meadows neighborhood, which is located between Beaver Creak and Merle Hay Road, and south of N.W. 62nd Avenue.

The program will help address:

  • Gaps between sidewalk panels
  • Tripping hazards, including heaved, raised, or lowered sidewalk panels
  • Deteriorated, crumbling, cracked, or unevenly surfaced panels 

While this work is being done, city contractors will also ensure that corner "pedestrian ramps" (also called "ped-ramps" and "curb cuts") meet current requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.) Homeowners will not be charged for this ADA-related work.

According to information first presented at two public information meetings held Wed. Sept. 27, 2023 at the Johnston City Hall, Green Meadows West homeowner-members would see city inspectors marking neighborhood sidewalks not later than November 2023.

As of March 2024, all Green Meadows West sidewalks have now been inspected and marked.

A presentation the city's repair program, as well as common types of sidewalk deficiencies, is now available on-line here: www.cityofjohnston.com/DocumentCenter/View/12007/Johnston-Sidewalk-Repair-Presentation_Public-Meeting-92723

According to the September 2023 meetings, all homeowners will be presented with official, written inspection results by March 2024. Recommended repairs will be detailed and documented for each homeowner address.

However, homeowners need not wait for these reports or notices. City inspectors are available to meet with individual homeowners at any time, officials said.

Pubic works officials said that the Sidewalk Repair Program should not interfere or interact with the city's concurrent efforts to cut down untreated Ash trees in rights-of-way. "Our goal is to not to take any trees with our sidewalk program," said Johnston Public Works Director Matt Greiner. "Our contractors will typically only cut the root [of any tree causing a sidewalk to heave or shift]. That doesn't mean, however, that the problem won't grow back in 5 or 10 years."

In last fall's public meetings, city officials said that homeowners will be presented with three options:

  • DIY repair within 90 days. (City permit required, but right-of-way permit fees will be waived.)
  • Privately contract repairs within 90 days. (City permit required, but right-of-way permit fees will be waived.)
  • Have city contractors repair the sidewalk at a flat, per-panel rate. (Neighborhood-wide project likely to occur Fall 2024 or Spring 2025.)

City officials and experts said 4-foot-square sidewalk panels will be determined in each neighborhood's contract. They expect more clarity on Green Meadows West rates in Spring 2024, after work is complete in the original Green Meadows neighborhood. Variables include contractor bids and materials costs. At the September 2023 meetings, however, they estimated the city's flat-rate charge to homeowners would likely be set between $350 to $550 per sidewalk panel.

Homeowners opting to repair sidewalks under city contract will be given an option to pay directly, or through special assessment over a period of 5 or 10 years. Further details on available payment plans will be presented in the Mar. 26, 2024 public meeting, city officials said.

For more information on the city's sidewalk repair plans, visit:

Review the September 2023 public meeting information packet here:

Or contact:
Matt Greiner, public works director
mgreiner AT cityofjohnston DOT com
phone: 515 - 278 - 0822

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Be Sure to Vote in This Year's HOA Board Elections!


The following are biographies of those Green Meadows West homeowner-members who are running for election to the association’s board of directors in 2024.

The election will take place at the Annual Meeting scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Tues., Jan. 30, 2024, at the Johnston Public Library, 6700 Merle Hay Rd., Johnston.

All association members in good standing (all dues paid) may vote in-person, by assigning their proxy to another homeowner-member, or by returning their proxy to the board.

Two candidates will be elected, toward a minimum number of nine board members.

Directors serve terms of three years. Directors are unpaid volunteers.

If you have not received your ballot and meeting-attendance proxy, please contact Association Manager Ben McMenamin at Knapp Property: 515.222.5206; benm AT knappLC DOT com

Ballots and proxies must be received by 12 noon Mon., Jan. 29, 2024 in order to be counted.

Those who attend the meeting, as well as those who have returned proxies, will be eligible for door prizes.

The following biographies are presented in alphabetical order by last name. Candidates who are currently serving on the board are labelled as incumbents.

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Carin Birt (Incumbent) joined the Green Meadows West board in 2021, and is the current chairperson of the Outreach and Communication Committee. She has been a Johnston resident since 2009, and moved to Green Meadows West with her family in 2018. Her and her husband Brian have two sons, Reagan (18) and Eli (12). She has been a full-time Realtor® since 1999. You might see her running in the neighborhood with her brown labradoodle Brynn. She also enjoys biking, reading, playing euchre, cheering for Iowa State, and being social.

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Jack Sullivan (Incumbent) has served on the Green Meadows West board of directors three separate times over the course of his residency in Green Meadows West. His most recent participation with the Board began in 2019. He currently serves as the 2023 board president, and on the Grounds and Property Committee. Since building their home in Green Meadows West in 1998, Jack and his wife Linda have raised two daughters here. He takes the fiscal management responsibility of our association seriously, and appreciates working with neighbors to make the value of our homes grow, in ways that benefit each homeowner and the City of Johnston. He believes that Green Meadows West continues to be known as one of the most desirable suburban neighborhoods in the Des Moines metro area.


2024 Association Meeting is Jan. 30 at Johnston Public Library


The next annual meeting of Green Meadows West Homeowners’ Association (GMWHOA) members is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Tues., Jan. 30, 2024, at the Johnston Public Library, 6700 Merle Hay Rd., Johnston.

Please note this is a change of time and venue. The municipal Crown Point Community Center is not available this year, due to renovation.

The association’s officers will present reports, including a 2024 operations budget. An election of board members will be conducted. Meeting materials, including the official meeting notice, ballots, proxies, and candidate biographies, will be distributed via postal mail in early January 2024. 

Proxies may be assigned to the board for purposes of achieving quorum, or may be assigned to a neighbor who plans to attend. To encourage meeting attendance or proxy-returns, there will be drawings for two cash awards of $100 and one of $50!

For more information about the meeting, please contact: Association Manager Ben McMenamin, Knapp Properties LC, 515.222.5206; benm AT knappLC DOT com