This week a couple of email questions came in to the website. The first one involves mailboxes. “How often are mailboxes replaced in Sun City?” Mailbox repair and replacement is the responsibility of the Community Association. In 2010 a mailbox renewal program was initiated to deal with the general deterioration of community mailboxes. Last year mailboxes were inspected and replaced when needed in neighborhoods 1-7, 10, and 10A. This year neighborhoods 8, 9, 11, 12, 13A, 13B, 32A, and 32B will be inspected and replaced where needed. Going forward, mailboxes will be renewed on a six-year cycle. For a complete schedule of neighborhoods through 2015, see the Sun City maintenance department website. (On the Sun City Huntley home page, select Assoc. Management, and under that, select Maintenance. The mailbox replacement plan document is at the bottom of that page.)
If your mailbox is damaged by a collision with a vehicle, call the Association Maintenance Department. If the damage was done by a Village of Huntley snowplow, call the Huntley Public Works Department at 847-515-5222, and they will review the damage. Ron Johnston, who is in charge of mailbox services, has an interesting collection on the wall of his office of mailboxes that have been destroyed by collision with vehicles. It is not a rare occurrence.
While you are on the Maintenance Department website, there are documents that will answer other resident questions. There is a document covering snow removal practices, and one covering the guidelines for waste and recycling. If you need to program the garage door controls, the instructions are on this website. Have you ever wondered why there is a crane at the lake by the pavilion in the spring and fall? Look at the slideshow documenting the removal of the fountain mechanism for winter. For those of you who play bocce, there is a slideshow on the construction of the new bocce courts.
The next question involved the lighted house numbers. Some of these have peeling and/or discolored paint. These numbers are the responsibility of the homeowner, but must be replaced with like numbers. These numbers can be ordered from Builders Lighting at 847-455-4290; ask for Elliot. The lights above these numbers last from 5 to 7 years. Replacements can be purchased at Ace Hardware. The lights plug into sockets, but you will need nimble fingers to remove and replace these lights.
Driveway seal coating is another responsibility of the Maintenance Department. The schedule is on their website. Do not contract with anyone to seal coat your driveway. This job is automatically done at no charge every two years.
One of the Woodchucks who delivers the Lifestyles magazine in his neighborhood mentioned that many of the doorbell buttons he encounters have a hole in them and are discolored. We surmised that this was caused by the heat from the light in the button. We polled members who were in the shop and found they had two solutions. Solution number one was to replace the button with a button with no light. Solution number two was to replace the button with another lighted button and plan to do it again in five years. If anyone has a better solution, email us, and we will pass it on.
Replacing the doorbell button is so easy, anyone can do it. There are two screws holding it to the wall. On the back of the button, there are two wires held under two screws. The voltage to these wires is low, so you can’t get a shock.
If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home, submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com.
