Had they just waited!

Forsyth MO. - Taneycomo Terrace Condos - Last May 31, a hail storm hit roof shingles that had been installed due to a hail event that had happened earlier. Had the Board of Managers used a little common sense and waited for that spring season to pass, the complex would have saved over 200K in additional insurance claims. The out of pocket costs to condo owners exceeded $1500 each. This is an example of very poor management decisions.

Living at Taneycomo Terrace!

Forsyth Mo. - I've now been living at Taneycomo Terrace Condominiums for about two years as of this post. The 154 unit complex comes complete with swimming pools and a large dock. A pretty nice place to live depending on who you have to draw for neighbors. Some residents have a pretty good experience while others, not so much so.

And, while I would never stoop to naming names, I can tell everyone reading this that there are quite a few Liberals living there who are scattered about in random fashion. If nothing else, they can make living there 'interesting. I was very surprised to find this to be the case as southwest Missouri is often considered very red politically speaking.

Then there are all those who continue to smoke, even past the age of 60. Another surprise and one that I've had direct experience with. And while that practice is great if performed in ones own condo, it's something different when people elect to smoke either on their balconies or in the front. Anyone living above had better be prepared to have their condo space quickly smelling like an ashtray should they open a window or sliding glass door.

There is also the matter of building age and upkeep. The entire complex is getting 'older' and so requires ever higher levels of maintenance. This then requires that the home owner association fees be raised – in my two years, they've gone up over 16%. A trend that I fear will continue.

Yet, if you have plenty of money, like to smoke and lean towards progressive people, this is a great place to live! In my humble opinion...

We have a fire pit! Now what we need....

Yes! And, we need a wastebasket too!

Forsyth MO. - Earlier this year a group of outdoor minded men and women apparently got together and pooled some money for an proper outdoor fire pit. A great place for people to get together and enjoy the spirit of community that only a good fire pit can instill. But now that we have one, it got me to thinking....

Units like this can be had for $124

For not too much more money, one or more standard park in ground charcoal grills could be installed so that food could be properly prepared. Next we need some form of furniture in the form of benches and tables that would not lend themselves to theft. Add a small canopy and you'd have yourself self one hell of a great spot for out door groups that could work all year long, but which would be especially nice in the fall! Just a thought!

One afterthought concerning that recent concrete pour - 'Concrete does not dry, it cures. A 28 day cure is generally specified. It is desirable to keep the surface of the concrete wet or damp after it initially sets up in order to prevent 'dryout' which ends the curing process and limits its final strength!'

An update: After the rains of late April, the fire pit flooded and the firewood floated away.... a comment on these times?

Taneycomo Terrace features a crack maintenance team!

Damage to bridge structure done by a truck!

 After living at Taneycomo Terrace Condominiums for a year now, I have to admit to being impressed with maintenance staff that is comprised of two individuals; Craig and Chris! I've found their response to most of my work order requests to be prompt with the work done of only the highest professional grade! Sure, some requests could not be done as fast as I would have liked, but I realized that with over a 150 condo units not to mention boat docks, pools and grounds, these two guys have a lot on their plates!

Craig puts on the finishing touches!

Kudos on some great work, guys!

Proof of just how affluent some people are!

Forsyth MO - Located on the grounds of the Taneycomo Terrace Condominium are a fair number of dumpsters that are meant to service the needs of the one hundred and some condominiums that are located there. The picture above was taken of the dumpster that services my building which contains approximately 12 active units, all of which use this dumpster to get rid of their trash. As you can see, this rather sizable 6 yard dumpster is full and even beyond full. (It's like that pretty much every week when the Republic Services comes each Wednesday to haul it all away). Sometimes there's even large appliances leaning up against the dumpster and that really makes me feel that eleven of the resident's must produce God awful amounts of trash! (I say eleven, because as the twelfth unit owner, I typically have only two or three small bags totaling about 30 pounds that I carry out and dump each week).

After doing some fast and loose math, I figured the above dumpster holds about 6 cubic yards, I have estimated the capacity of this dumpster at somewhere around 7200 pounds of trash. (This could be more or less depending on the type of trash that in it). Now, since it is filled every seven days, one could then surmise that those other eleven unit owners are producing something like 600 pounds of trash per person every week, and they do it like clockwork. (Amazingly, I did the math and figured that between them, they must be dumping a total of over 171 tons of junk a year versus my rather meager 3/4 ton)! Can you say unreal?

So, the message here is very clear. I really need to jack up my lifestyle A LOT if I am to 'keep up with the Jones'. My only problem will be to figure out how to exactly do that!

Taneycomo Terrace and other legal quicksand style issues?

Coming very soon, I plan to voice my opinions on a Condo I purchased at Taneycomo Terrace in Forsyth Missouri this past year... I'll also be stretching my First Amendment Rights while doing so. In another post, I want to dip into some of the cruddy attorneys that slink their way through life in the same area...

My friends, going through life dense, stupid and moronic is no way to live. Of course, those comments do not in any way reflect on the management team of Taneycoma Terrace....

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign!

By definition, a sign is 'a piece of paper, wood, etc., with words or pictures on it that gives information about something'. In general signs convey important information designed to promote safety, in one form or another, while others may also convey more of a threat. For instance, the average STOP sign conveys all the above; information that you need to come to a full stop and an implied warning that should you choose to disobey, you could fave a penalty. So, in general signs are pretty important...

Now let's take this pair of signs located at the Taneycomo Terrace complex in Forsyth Missouri. 

 One would think that the meaning of these would be pretty clear, wouldn't one? Well, apparently not for this crew from US Lawns who use that very same space to park their vehicle and trailer while cutting grass that is was on a separate property! How really crude...

Well, nothing really happened to these people from US Lawns. They got away with ignoring some signs that they apparently felt did not pertain to them. Their manager was notified by email of my  displeasure and I got to post this story for the benefit of anyone who was thinking about hiring a lawn care company for themselves. Why anyone would hire people as illiterate as this group seems to be, would be way beyond my comprehension...

As of mid June, I've never received a response from the management of this company... I was not surprised....

Traveling outside the box to help Taney County!

A rather crude effort, but you get the idea.

There is little doubt that the Landings is a very popular destination for many folks year round. Located as it is on Taneycomo Lake there exists all kinds of opportunities to expand services to reach out and to support neighbors towns and villages. Here is one thought that I had which is relatively simple, but which might have a large impact on those local economies.

Bass Pro Ferry Service

The establishment of a ferry service by some entity like Bass Pro that already had dock facilities at the Landings. This ferry would be a full featured craft capable of transporting guests on a scenic trip up and down the river with regular daily service. Of course it would be nice if there were some interesting stops along the way!

Rockaway Beach stop #1

Only minutes from downtown Branson, the Rockaway Beach stop would have shops, an eatery and perhaps even a hotel all in one location where passengers could come to stay for a day or two while getting the chance to dance on the special dance floor that floats on water!

Taneycomo Terrace Cabins stop #2

A small parcel of land that is situated close to Taneycomo Terrace could be developed with small cabins, a pool and a restaurant in a similar vein to what currently exists at Big Cedar Lodge!

Empire Park stop #3

The terminus for the ferry would be the Empire Park, a location that is just begging for careful and considerate development. All manner of eco-friendly park oriented facilities could be erected and maintained to the benefit of the community at large.

'I guess that if you are going outside any box, you might as well travel as far as you can'. Such a large development would take the resources of a number of organizations in order to succeed. But, if something like it were to be implemented successfully, many would benefit!

However, the bottom line is that this idea has the same chance as a snowflake in hell of passage. No entrepreneur would touch it. Like Congress, we are all slowly grinding to a halt under a mountain of regulations, as we will become just another second world country... 

Pool noise...

I'd recently moved to a condo, known locally as Taneycomo Terrace, located in Forsyth MO. After much time spent moving in and on what promised to be a blistering hot day in late July, I made my first trip to the pool located in the back of my building.

10:12 AM - Under clear skies, with towel in hand, I approached the locked gate with some trepidation; after all, I had never used my 'pool key' and had doubts as to exactly which key on a string of keys I carried to use. After trying four keys with no luck, I happened on the correct one and I was in!

The pool was empty at that early hour, so had my pick of any deck chair and quickly picked a semi-recliner next to a circular table. I'd just placed my stuff on the table and had settled into the chair when over a nearby hill came the grounds keepers! There were two of them. A man by the name of David and a lady who answered to the name Kat. Like two moths attracted to a flame, they zeroed in on myself with mower blades a chopping and weed whacker strings a whirring. Thankfully, a fence that surround the pool area prevented them from charging right into my lap! David got as close as abut five feet away, throwing grass blades this way and that as he doggedly worked the same area over and over again. The noise levels made napping all but an impossibility, so I contented my self with sipping on a Pepsi and eating a small bag of Doritos. Yet, for some reason, I found it difficult to relax....