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HSVPOA crack sealing machine mystery solved

Backstory

In an article dated September 11, 2019, Frank Leeming explained the process of how Hot Springs Village used to tackle some of the Village road repairs in the not-so-distant past.

Leeming explained that the Public Works Committee used to be “made up mainly of long-time employees in the road business who retired to the Village and volunteered their time to help their neighbors.”

“First, each year they would go out in teams of two and physically inspect our roads and rate their condition.  Roads receiving a score of 85 or lower were judged to need resurfacing.”

“Second, they would badger the POA board and staff to spend at least $1 million to repave 30 miles of road each year.  They argued Village roads have a life of 15 to 20 years, so repaving 30 miles a year would keep our road system in top condition.”

“One more thing the committee did: It hammered away on the need for a crack-sealing program, including the purchase of a $50,000 crack-sealing machine.”

“These veteran road guys told anyone who would listen how sealing road cracks will prolong the life of a road four to six years because it prevents water from seeping down and eroding the road base, particularly in the winter.”

“When I was on the POA board in 2015, we gave in and approved the purchase of a crack sealing machine.  The public-works department told us they would be able to use it 10 months a year.”

In this same article, Leeming also stated, ” The 2016 work was the last approved by the board in Hot Springs Village.

Leeming proposes we find out what happened to the crack sealing machine

In a subsequent article dated October 1, 2019, Leeming again broached the subject. Leeming proposed, ” Begin a year-around crack-sealing program on Village roads; find out what happened to the $50,000 crack-sealing machine the board approved purchasing in 2015.”

hsvpoa crack sealing machine
HSVPOA road crack sealing machine
Photograph courtesy of Hot Springs Village Voice

Bob McClesky also expressed concern over lack of road crack sealing

According to Bob McClesky in a letter to the editor of Hot Springs Village Voice, ” With the amorphous backlog of infrastructure needs, road crack sealing, a relatively inexpensive maintenance process is being either overlooked or intentionally ignored by the POA department responsible for such maintenance.” (HSV Voice Volume 30, Tuesday, October 8, 2019)

Why isn’t the road crack sealing machine being used?

It appears the crack sealing equipment has been “missing in action” since 2017. Why would we not use the equipment we have to make repairs to our roads? After all, it is bought and paid for and certainly was purchased for good reason, so we may make some of the road repairs with our own personnel and equipment. This makes good business sense.

Patrick McCullough solved the mystery of the “missing-in-action” crack sealing machine

Frank Leeming’s information about the crack sealing machine led Patrick McCullough to ask the question, “where is this machine?” Being naturally curious as to what happened to this piece of equipment, McCullough sent out a friend to research this issue.

According to McCullough, “Good news about our crack sealing machine!”

“Due to the efforts of a concerned Villager, it has been located and although it has not been used since 2017 it is in excellent condition and is ready to go to work. Plans are being developed to put it back into service later this fall to deal with some of our areas that need to be repaired ASAP.”

Villagers work together to solve issues

This is an excellent example of Villagers working together to take the initiative to expose issues and problems, investigate and solve these problems and inform their fellow Villagers.

Much appreciation to Ex-POA Board Director, Frank Leeming, for exposing this very important issue.

Also, very special kudos to Villager, Patrick McCullough and his investigator friend, for their efforts in solving this mystery.

by Cheryl Dowden, October 8, 2019

Click here to read the 2015 Village Voice article titled, “Public works crews continue crack sealing.”

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