For Five Weeks, the Quail Valley HOA Fails to Paint Over Graffiti

''Rapid and continual removal of graffiti is the best way for homeowners to protect their property and preserve the image of their neighborhood. Studies show that removal within 24 to 48 hours results in a nearly zero rate of reoccurrence.'' --DodgeCity.org (Dodge City, Kansas)

Q: How does a slumlord lower home values and demoralize the neighborhood?

A: One way is to fail to remove graffiti quickly (within 48 hours) if it appears on surfaces.

The Quail Valley HOA and its property management company learned about the vandalism in late March 2022. The Community Center, the community barn (next to a playground), and other structures had been hit with graffiti. The property management company wrote a nice email (Note 1) ... then has failed to paint over the graffiti for 5 weeks.

The graffiti seems to read "guns." Children walk by this building, and the community barn next to the playground, every day. The residents feel frustrated and demoralized. Does the HOA care about the neighborhood's appearance? What's needed here is a bucket of paint, a brush, and 30 minutes of a groundkeeper's time. This is not rocket science.

The HOA can't seem to property care for its own assets. This is just another example. The residents have waited seven years to get litter cans with lids to keep the crows out. A poorly maintained gutter on the Community Center was filled with muck. When you first enter the neighborhood, you see a pine tree leaning dangerously toward a resident's fence. Constant litter around the litter cans, leaning trees, and graffiti send a clear message to prospective homebuyers: "This community is poorly managed."

Each year, the Quail Valley HOA collects about $600,000 in monthly assessments from the 592 homeowners. The HOA spent $2,000 to take a photograph of every residents' front door, so as to be able to better police our front-door styles. (Really?) The HOA fines residents $225 dollars for features of a property for which, years ago, it gave permission to build. (The HOA lost a bunch of records of architectural change approval.) The HOA threatens a neighbor with fines for the exposed concrete footing on a fence post ... exposed because runoff from the HOA-owned lawn eroded the ground.

At this time last year, the HOA used our funds to hire lawyers to demand that one family pay $21,000 in fines. The judge ruled against the HOA. The homeowner, for whom English is a second language, owed $0.00. He defended himself in this courtroom hearing.

The record of the HOA's behavior is in these "Cuckoo Court" blogs-- Chapter One was posted on April 26, 2020. Residents' testimonies, photos, and documents show a clear pattern of abuse and neglect by the HOA over the course of a single year. This is Chapter 44. It's time for residents to stand up and answer some questions:

* Who do we want to represent our interests by serving on the HOA board of directors?

* Who do we want to hire as our property manager?

* How do we want our money to be spent?

* How can we rebuild community spirit in Quail Valley, Maryland?

Elections for board of directors will be held on May 9th -- the first such meeting to be held in person since the COVID epidemic began. The meeting begins at 7:00pm ET, and it will be held in our defaced Quail Valley Community Center.

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NOTE 1 - A Timeline of Obfuscation

March 31, 2022: The property management writes: "We are aware of the graffiti damage to the barn, signs, community center and stormpond riser. We are working with the Association’s security contractor (T. Cooper) and the Montgomery County Police Gang Unit on this issue. This is an ongoing investigation and in the meantime, we will be providing information and pricing to the Board at the April Board meeting on increased security measures such as lighting and cameras in the area. We appreciate the residents of [nearby courts] keeping an eye out!"

May 9, 2022: The HOA has painted over the graffiti on the Community Center–but not on the barn or parking signs. Thus, we don't have to look at graffiti as we enter for the Annual Meeting. (How nice is that for the HOA board and its property manager? Keeping up appearances and all.) Four days of sunshine follow, yet the property management performs no other restorative painting over graffiti on other structures. (Not so nice.) Is this HOA-slumlord behavior? What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Elections at the "Annual Meeting" on 5/9 resulted in two new members on the board. Residents hope to support the newer members in their efforts to improve the social culture and practices of the Quail Valley HOA. Earlier in the evening, property management reported that the (unnamed) insurance company hired by the HOA needed weeks to assess the many places where graffiti appeared. (This "explanation" is a fine example of the usual morass of unaccountability.) Much of the graffiti is still up today, six weeks and counting. We'd be delighted to introduce this assessor and/or insurance company to the wonders of photography, invented ca. 1826 C.E. If, indeed, they are actually the cause of this delay in common-sense maintenance.

May 16 2022: property management staff write, "The Association’s umbrella and liability policy is through State Farm. ... You are welcome to request copies of the policies in accordance with the Maryland HOA Act." And in an earlier message on 5/2, "Please understand that the delay in addressing this is based on the fact that we had to file an insurance claim with the Association’s insurance company due to the cost of repairs since the graffiti is extensive over the area. Although we submitted pictures to the insurance company of the damaged areas, the adjustor still wanted to inspect the damage as well which was just completed last week. We appreciate your patience as we continue to address this issue."

May 20, 2022. Finally, the graffiti on the side of the barn is painted over.

S.L. response: If the insurance adjustor really needed 9 weeks to inspect graffiti, the HOA should fire them. That is absurd. They have photos of the damage. This is not rocket science.

The HOA has not provided me with the name of our State Farm insurance agent. I would like to speak with them and verify that they are, in fact, the source of the delay. Graffiti left up on buildings harms the neighborhood. A notice to all our vendors: Do not treat Quail Valley like a slum.

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Steven Sellers Lapham is a 21-year resident of Quail Valley. A retired editor, he can be reached at MuskratMusic@gmail.com. The "Living on Cuckoo Court" collection of essays is on Patch.com. Read about the nationwide problem of "HOA corruption, dysfunction, and abuse" at Independent American Communities.