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ENTRY SIGN PROJECT UPDATE Week
ending September 21 - The Entry Project is Complete Update
- Week of September 17 Update
- Labor Day The Knolls has hired Palm Gardens, Inc. Landscape Architects, a premier Dallas Landscape professional to design and build our new entry. The project will renovate the entire 40+ foot median at our entry. The new design will include an all natural stone and river rock bed and a new Knolls sign near the intersection. The master plan includes a more consistent look throughout the common areas. This phase of work will reconstruct the entire median landscape, remove grass and add stone, plants and our sign. Certain elements can be integrated into existing common areas, such as the pool, as new projects and budget permit. The new landscape design is intended to continue the very natural look of Breckinridge Park and The Knolls, while better protecting our investment by surrounding the entry median with adequate stone to keep cars off of our trees, landscape lighting and sprinkler systems. Our entry will require significantly less maintenance from our landscape service. To accomodate many neighbor's input regarding the sign's height and oncoming traffic visibility at the intersection, our sign, the tallest structure in the new landscape, will sit about three feet further (East) into Breckinridge Blvd. Leaving The Knolls and approaching the stop sign at the Breckinridge and Northstar intersection will have adequate visibility to oncoming traffic on Northstar. Specifically, the sign will sit more than 20 feet from the actual Northstar road edge. As digital copies of sketches are available, they will be posted here. Lighting will be adjusted to highlight our more impressive entry. The
project begins on Tuesday 4-Sept and
all major construction of the natural stone bed and new planting will
continue for about one week, while the new sign itself will be ready
by about mid-October. Update - Week of
August 20, 2007 Please continue to submit your comments to the Board using the form below. Many have spoken and by large majority, you have clearly told the board to make improvements to our entry. The Board and management company have met with multiple companies and will make a final design and vendor decision this week. Demolition of the old entry sign will likely begin within the next week to ten days. The old sign weighs hundreds of pounds and disposing of it is not a simple or inexpensive task. Even beginning the demolition process will cost us money that could otherwise be part of a packaged project with the vendor hired to do the whole job. Obviously our Board would prefer to move much faster but since the community will have to live with the decisions made for many years to come, our efforts are focused on getting the most and best we can within the established budget and to please homeowners for years to come.. You will see progress very soon. As drawings and plans are drawn up, they will be shared here. Jona, Mike and Marilyn hope you will be pleased with the proposed design which will do several of the things you've asked for:
Check back here for updates and drawings as they become available. Previous Updates regarding the sign: The Board is looking at potential designs and considering new options for the Knolls entry. Over the years, many homeowners have discussed a more prominent and visible entry sign, so some options to improve on the original are being reviewed. If you are an architect or design expert willing to help with this effort, please send a message to the Board on the form below. The insurance companies have adequately covered the cost to rebuild the old sign and repair the lighting and landscaping. Many homeowners have suggested that this is an excellent opportunity for our community to greatly improve our entry, with a majority of the cost already provided by the insurance company. The board has determined that some capital improvement funds will be spent if a more elaborate entry is built. Our Reserve Fund audit indicates that we are fortunate to have adequate funds in our emergency reserve fund to protect our assets (furniture, buildings, equipment, landscaping, etc.) while contributing funds to improve our entry. It is anticipated that a relatively small amount of funds will be contributed from the capital fund. Our capital improvement and Reserve Fund allow the HOA to make improvements and to repair existing structures and equipment. Just a few examples: Our capital fund and our operating budget has regularly replaced diseased trees, replaced worn and broken furniture, drinking fountain, fans and updated the pool gate and entry system, added landscape lighting and has kept our pool equipment in good, working condition.
Return to Knolls Home Page. | Return to the Top of the Page. Actual Photos, Moments after the Bug Landed on our Knolls Sign
Join a Discussion at the Knolls Message Forum. The water restrictions within the City of Richardson have been lifted. With the incredible amount of rain and lake levels exceeding normal conditions, on July 3rd the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) officially moved from their drought plan to their water conservation plan and all mandatory water restrictions were lifted by the District. The NTMWD continues to promote water conservation and has provided cities with numerous recommendations. The Richardson City Council met on Monday, July 9th and decided to lift most of the current water restrictions. Residents can now water any day of the week before 10am and after 6pm. The time of day restriction is still be in place to discourage residents from watering during the heat of the day when evaporation reduces the effectiveness of watering. Additional information about the changes in the City's water restrictions will be communicated on our website and through the Richardson Today. Return to top of page. What Ever Happened to the Bridge Discussions We Had is 2001-2002? The Knolls homeowners had several meetings with the City and the Parks & Recreation department back in the early 2000s about connecting our neighborhood to the developed side of the park. We discussed several options, most of which came with a price tag too big to consider. The Knolls has a good friend named Michael (Mick) Massey, the Director of Parks and Recreation who has kept us informed and involved in park discussions. We (and the neighboring associations) had a special meeting at Stinson Elementary School on April 30, 2002 so that Mick could present the Master Plan for the Park. An article in a Richardson newspaper that same month, highlighted the Park’s Master Plan. Earlier, in 2001, City representatives said that the Plan would include: two to three bridges across the creeks that separate the east and west sides of the park, trails to link both sides of the park, as well as trails that will connect to the Garland trail system. The west side (our side) of the park will always include natural areas. The Master Plan was to have an impact on the neighborhood, and fortunately, with additionally approved bonds, our bridges have been funded. If you're not already aware, at 556 acres, Breckinridge Park is the largest park in the City and one of the biggest in the State. Rowlett Creek essentially divides the “developed eastern side from the “natural” western side of the Park, and cannot be crossed. The Beck Branch is the smaller creek on the west side of the park that parallels Breckinridge Blvd., and includes an even smaller creek. The space between these two creeks is a great place to explore. Special sights include a bridge to nowhere, an old pickup truck, a bird sanctuary, at least one coyote, a tire swing, a small canyon, scores of pecan trees and other great old hardwood trees not seen in many parts of north Texas. Recent information and progress reports from Mick and from Roger Scott, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation states that very good progress is currently underway. The first of the necessary bridges is already built and in use over by the pond at the end of Beck drive. You will get there if you cross over the creek across from the pool (there are a couple of places where the water is low, so you can easily cross). Heading over to Beck drive from the field will take you to the pond and the bridge. It's a nice long (LONG) walk. Next to the pond is the bridge that goes across Rowlett Creek. The second bridge is being designed now and will be built directly across from the Knolls pool. Some survey work is underway now (July 2007) and the earliest the city believes the park can be completed is this coming winter. The bridge across Rowlette Creek was built at a cost above $200,000 and the second one across Beck Branch will end up costing between $150-175,000. There is historic information about this project on The Knolls website at the bottom of the Park information page. Aside from this work related to new bridges, we had a sad occurance this year when a tree fell across and destroyed the "bridge to no where," which was a historic bridge crossing Beck Branch just south of Beck Drive. You may know this bridge, if you ever went to see the old pickup truck living in the creek bed. The bridge was an old historic "pony truss bridge" and we do not have funding to replace the old bridge, however COR staff are anxiously trying to find ways to get a bridge back into service. The cost to replace this old bridge will be approximately $150,000 to $175,000. We are lucky to have
our natural park but some day, extending what we have to more facilities
on the developed side, will be very nice. New neighbors are often surprised
to find that with Knolls homes practically sitting right in the park,
we are unable to get into it without a few mile drive in our cars. Existing bridges are shown in red. The new bridge to cross over Rowlette Creek and one more, directly across from Breckinridge Blvd to cross over Beck Branch will allow the Knolls to pass to the developed side of the park. There is another ideal crossing point at the end of Breckinridge in the Heather Ridge community. Directly across the creek are trails and picnic tables that are a part of the large, developed side. So potentially one bridge at the end of Breckinridge, could get us there. Take a walk down there sometime. That area at the end of Breckinridge is very scenic and there is nice, cleared area behind the trees, so you can walk the full length of Breckinridge Blvd through the trees. There at the end of Breckinridge, there is a partial water fall with fast running water which is a great place to spread out a picnic or go on a nature walk. Join a Discussion at the Knolls Message Forum.
Return to top of page This website is maintained on a volunteer basis and is not in any way managed by the HOA or the management company nor is it funded in any way by homeowner dues. The Association has no responsibility for the accuracy or inaccuracy of anything posted here. This site is maintained by a volunteer. Read our user agreement,
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