IRRIGATION WOES ON AGENDA FOR TODAY'S (12/28) BOARD MEETING (4pm)

Quail Meadow's irrigation system has been broken for several months now. Lawns are brown and owners are seeing red. Why hasn't the association fixed the problem?

As with most community issues handled by former association President Toni Leben and "her board," there's drama behind it and as usual the plot involves bungling, indecision and transactions that raise eyebrows. The Cliff Notes to the debacle go something like this. Our 30-year old irrigation system is leaky and causes the main system pump to cycle irregularly. Around two years ago, Leben approved the purchase of a state-of-the-art "variable flow drive," (a "VFD") at a cost of $5,900, to augment the original pump. Whether a state-of-the-art variable flow drive can properly be matched to our 30-year old system is unclear and it appears Leben took the word of the vendor ("Vendor No.1") on this point.

Fast forward to late summer 2021, one and a half years later, and the VFD has failed and our irrigation system is broken. According to Leben, the vendor blamed the VFD failure on an electric surge. Leben was unaware of any warranty on the VFD or its installation, and the vendor indicated that the failed $5,900 drive was covered by only a one-year warranty that had already expired. Although the facts are murky, it appears that several board members were in favor of using another vendor for the repair ("Vendor No.2"). For reasons that are unclear, Leben stonewalled for months as the landscaping parched. Eventually Vendor No.2 bowed out when it learned that Vendor No.1 was still involved.

When about two weeks ago, Vendor No.1, offered the Association an estimate of $750 to troubleshoot the VFD, which troubleshooting fee Vendor No.1 was not to credit towards the eventual repairs, and a quote to repair the VFD of $2,900, director Valerie Halaby, an engineer herself, started asking questions. This is some of what what she learned: (1) FPL inspected the drive's electric supply, which is in the same line as part of the golf course irrigation system and a fountain in one of the Ibis lakes. FPL concluded that since the other systems running on the same line were operating normally, the VFD stoppage had not been caused by a power surge as claimed by Vendor No.1.; (2) Halaby then contacted the VFD's manufacturer and learned that the VFD was under the manufacturer's 2-year parts and labor warranty and that Vendor No.1 should have submitted Quail Meadow's claim directly to the manufacturer for evaluation and processing; (3) the identical model VFD is available online for $2,900, the exact price Vendor No.1 wants to charge for repairs to the VFD, and $3,000 less than what Vendor No.1 charged the association for the item less than two years go; (4) the new VFD technology may be incompatible with our 30 year old irrigation system. (5) another solution suggested by a knowledgeable professional, resident in Quail Meadow, may be simply to put our existing system's pump (without the VFD) on a timer so that it cycles and pressurizes only immediately prior to use, at a cost of around $20, plus installation.

Halaby, now the association president, is working toward an immediate solution

. She is working with the manufacturer and its local representative who is processing the association's claim on the original VFD over the Holiday week despite both of them being on vacation, and exploring whether the VFD is the right solution for our legacy system.

Attend this afternoon's meeting (by ZOOM) for more information. (Ed. In the meantime, hand watering for 10 minutes before the sun is up and also in the evening will help keep your lawn and landscaping from burning.)