Piedmont Grounds Management

This contractor was hired by the my community HOA, to provide mowing, and trimming of lawn areas, leaf collection, blowers to clear grass off sidewalks and paved areas a twice a year trimming of shrubbery in our front of house plantings.

The crews descend on our community en masse, and the noise levels from machinery are beyond loud. There is often no supervisor on site as required per contract. Day laborers seem to be the employees of choice as there is little to no consistency of employees in the work crews. Workers have repeatedly damaged the siding and trim of my house with their trimming machine, requiring repairs. The semi annual shrub trimmings have resulted in disease being spread and death of mature foundation plantings. When the blow away grass trimmings, they blow it and the dirt loosened by edging sidewalks toward the house, and up and on my front porch and siding. There has been repeated “trimming” of specimen grasses and perennials in my borders - plantings cut to the ground.

The crews have been banned from all services but mowing on my property. I have to be on guard to remind them often, which has on several occasions resulted in grass, leaf litter and dirt being blown into my house when I have opened the door to get them off my porch and the blower is aimed at me.

Last service I observed them run the lawn mower, blades spinning, through my border plantings as a short cut to get to the common area behind my house. They cut to the ground a number of native ferns and hellebore plantings. They have been told repeated no access through, and tomato cages I have used to block off the area are simply relocated or tossed aside.

My complaints have resulted in checks issued for purchase of new plant replacements and reimbursement for repairs to my house but no change or improvement in method of operations. The blatant disregard of ornamental plantings and lack of respect for other people’s property has not improved over the last 3 or more years.

I have considered banning them from providing any services on my property and buying my own lawn mower, but I have no confidence that they would refrain from continuing to run their lawn mower through my garden plantings as a short cut to access the common grounds of my neighborhood.

Last years leaf collection resulted in 2 large piles of leaves, height over 4feet, being left overnight in the street. I There are many children in the neighborhood, and leaf piles are attractive nuisances they like to play and use to hide. Location near a 90 degree corner in the street made it very difficult to see and avoid the pile as you round the corner. We are very lucky no one was injured.