We encourage TOP residents to help maintain & beautify TOP grounds by planting their own flowers & shrubs and weeding in the limited common areas and in the common areas and by raking leaves and removing ivy from trees. Residents can obtain large leaf bags for recycling yard waste by contacting the TOP office.
GROUNDSKEEPING
> Leaf removal is done by an outside contractor
> Tree maintenance (pruning and tree removal) and a regular arborist inspection are done by outside contractors
> Light grounds keeping work is done by onsite maintenance staff (e.g., grass cutting, some bush/hedge trimming, cleaning sidewalks & parking lots, removing fallen branches). Staff does not do the weeding in limited common areas.
> TOP staff turns on the outside faucets in the spring; turns them off in the fall. Some faucets don’t have a shut-off valve in the crawl space, and need to be protected w/ foam covers to prevent freezing and bursting. Contact the TOP office if your outside faucet isn’t turned on or off at the appropriate time, or if it has low water flow or a constant drip.
> Painting of doors, door surrounds, porch pillars, shutters and window frames through-out the community is undertaken by the Association every 7-10 yrs as needed. The homeowner may opt to paint his door, etc. if the color selected is within the TOP “color palette” and only with the prior approval of the ARB.
SNOW REMOVAL
Each fall the Association contracts with an outside company to provide snow removal services at TOP – clearing the sidewalks and steps (including the walkway to your front door) and to plow the parking lots. The contract typically requires that snow removal be done only if the snow is at least 2 inches deep, and that snow removal be started as soon as practical after the snow fall has stopped. If the contractor’s hasn’t cleared the snow from your area, or if salt/sand is needed for icy patches, please call the TOP onsite office (301-587-5726). You’ll also find sand barrels at several curbside locations on the Bradford and Geren parking lots, to use on icy patches in the parking lot.