Update: 10/09/14: Response to my email from our Fire Marshal:

Hi Julia:

Thank you again for your feedback. I acknowledge your dissatisfaction with the work completed on the palm tree—here is our view:

Meadow Park HOA has met the intent of complying with the approved VMP that was a condition of approval on the development. Through our inspections and meetings, over the past several weeks, with both the HOA Property Management company and contracting landscape company, all parties have become more aware of what is required, and how to maintain it. NFD inspectors have field verified that Meadow Park is continually working on meeting its obligation to  keep the community fire safe, per the approved VMP. If fact in more than one area of the CC&R’s, the HOA is  going above and beyond the minimum requirements.

With regards to the palm tree, our inspector was present during the cutting process and talked to the arborist about the need to limb up and remove any dead fronds, but also there is a need to balance that with maintaining the health and viability of the tree (Too much cutting can be a bad thing for those trees). NFD is satisfied with the work that has been completed on the palm tree and the VMP.

We will continue to work with both the HOA management and the contractors to keep the community a safe place to live and visit.

Sincerely,

B/C Bill Tyler, Fire Marshal

Novato Fire District

415-878-2690

From: Julia Angel [mailto:firsthealer@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2014 12:19 PM
To: Bill Tyler; info@wakefieldsharp.com; hgrunt@cityofnovato.org; Virginia Patterson
Subject: Palm tree maintenance and lot inspection on Captain nurse Cirdcle

Bill,

There are high fire hazard trees with dead stuff on them right now next to my building. I am not going to nit pick anymore. I am just stating the obvious. There never was a lot by lot inspection of high fire hazard vegetation on Captain Nurse Circle completed. And, no matter what you say here, my initial complaint was not carefully and completely addressed. If this matter continues to go on as it has, my neighborhood remains at a high fire hazard risk…. There is this huge Eucalyptus tree shedding all kinds of stuff in the center of Captain Nurse Circle. There are several high fire hazard trees lined up in the middle too, leading right to it. It makes me uncomfortable that they were even planted there by some stupid landscape company…

Julia Angel, Universal Healer

10/08/14:

My email to the Fire Marshal and Meadow Park HOA management today:

Julia Angel <firsthealer@gmail.com>	12:19 PM (0 minutes ago)
to Bill, info, hgrunt, Virginia

I am not pleased with the results of the palm tree maintenance done by Cagwin and Dorward. I am sure they charged a lot for this half done job and it will be needed again soon as there are still many yellow tinged fronds that were left there. This is not acceptable. It needs to be done completely now so we will not be charged again so soon…

Also, this company never completed the lot by lot inspection of high fire hazard vegetation on Captain Nurse Circle that they were supposed to do per my complaint. I am stating this one more time and also making it public on my blog.

I am requesting that the HOA either follow up and ensure that this is all done completely by Cagwin & Dorward or we hire a different landscape maintenance company to do this right. We are not receiving the customer service that we are being billed for and it needs to stop. I am not happy that my HOA dues are being used to pay for bad service….

Thank you,

Julia Angel

10/07/14:

Here is how our palm trees look now on Captain Nurse Circle and Bolling Drive:

Palm Trees on Captain Nurse Circle after trimming done 10-07-14

Here is what they looked like yesterday 10-06-14:

Palm trees before trimming

I do not like the job that the Cagwin & Dorward did on the palm trees. There are still yellowing and dying palm fronds there.

This is just an example of the very poor customer service we receive from that contracted landscape maintenance company. I’ll let the Fire Inspector know this too. Really, we can get so much better customer service elsewhere these days. We need a company that is more focused on organic gardening too. These people do not care anything about making our community safe and beautiful…We do not have to settle for bad customer service….

_______________________________________________________________________________

I decided to contact our Fire Marshal again to see what was going on… I am getting pretty bored with this whole thing by now as many people are I am sure. Why can’t things just be done the right way all the time? Why didn’t our initial landscaping get planted according to our Vegetation Management and Fuel Modification Plan (VMFMP)? Why were some trees allowed to stay even though they are considered high fire hazard?

This was done several years ago by the people who planned this community.  It seems that they all felt it was OK to let these prohibited trees stay… Well, I know it was not really because they were “already here”.  It was the cost factor involved to remove them… And so, many high fire hazard trees in Meadow Park and in other Hamilton neighborhoods  have been allowed to stay and are now so ugly and neglected.  This situation has been this way for a very long time….Ugly, dry vegetation, ready to burn up…

It is too bad that our Plan did not change the mind set at that time about this whole thing which allowed all these non-native, high fire hazard trees to stay. But, that is what happened. I hope that this tree trimming on Tuesday will be the start of a return to a better mind set about our community’s vegetation. I hope we all see more action towards a safer community. All neighborhoods should be trimming or removing their high fire hazard, non-native trees.

Bill Tyler	6:03 PM (25 minutes ago)
to me

Thanks again Fire Marshal Bill Tyler,

Healer