The Financial Side
Road maintenance and replacement are most often among the most expensive line items a homeowners association will ever face and are very often among the most underfunded. When most associations are planning for landscaping, administrative costs, or amenity maintenance, infrastructure is often forgotten.
While in some climates asphalt roads can last 20-plus years, in the Illinois area with its freeze-thaw cycle, heavy trucks, snow, and salt, these roads have a much shorter life span. Due to this, it is extremely important to have a full reserve study in place, as these types of projects can easily exceed six figures and, in some cases, much more.
The reserve study should include a realistic timeline that includes expected life span, the cost of resurfacing and patching, and maintenance items such as crack fill. Due to the rising costs of labor and materials, reserve studies should also account for inflation because when reserves fall short and road work is deferred, it opens the association up to liability and the potential need for a special assessment.
This also circles back to making sure you fully understand your shared maintenance responsibilities with the local municipality, as the homeowners association may also be responsible for more than just pavement. The cost of concrete, drainage, signage, and related infrastructure may also fall on the association.
Liability should also be considered when evaluating the fiscal impact of proper funding. If a resident, guest, vendor, or employee is injured due to a lack of maintenance, the homeowners association can be liable for the claim, which can increase insurance premiums or even bankrupt an association if there is a catastrophic event.
When reviewing your shared services agreement, look for cost- sharing incentives, as they may be available if the road also provides some public benefit. It is also worth looking into grant programs that may be available through the county or state.
Common Conflicts and Resolution
Responsibility disputes tend to surface only after events such as a blizzard, underground utility work, or accidents. Again, fully understanding the responsibilities of the homeowners association is imperative before these issues arise. In these situations, shifting responsibilities becomes tedious, time- consuming, and causes unnecessary delays.
Well-drafted maintenance agreements typically include a dispute resolution clause. This clause usually suggests mediation or arbitration before litigation, which can save both sides significant legal expense. When no formal agreement exists, or when a vague agreement exists, resolution usually depends on historical practices or the decisions of the courts.
The healthiest outcomes tend to come from associations that proactively renegotiate agreements every few years rather than waiting for a crisis to force the conversation.
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Best Practices for
Associations Boards that want to avoid road maintenance disputes should look at this as an ongoing responsibility between the homeowners association and the governing body and treat it as a priority rather than a one-time task.
Just like any other contract with the homeowners association, these agreements must be in writing and reviewed by your attorney or someone familiar with municipal law. This agreement should be reviewed periodically, especially after changes in government administration. Informal agreements often do not carry over to the next administration.
Reserve studies and roadway analyses should be updated every three to five years and should never be based on rough estimates carried forward year after year.
Boards and managers should maintain regular contact and communication with the public works department to stay informed about policy changes and to build a healthy working relationship that makes problems easier to solve.
Conclusion
Road maintenance and responsibility is not always black and white. Assuming clarity where none exists is one of the costliest mistakes a board can make. Whether roads are fully private, fully dedicated, or governed by a shared maintenance agreement, the responsibility for knowing the answer falls on the association, which means pulling the plat, reviewing dedication records, securing, or renegotiating agreements, and building a true and realistic inflation-adjusted reserve study.
The associations that fare best are not the ones that avoid road disputes, as disputes are often unavoidable when several parties share responsibility for aging infrastructure. Instead, they are the associations that stay ahead of the issue by reviewing agreements and staying connected with public works departments.
In the end, a few hours spent clarifying who owns and maintains the pavement outside your residents’ front doors can save boards years of finger-pointing and save homeowners thousands of dollars they never should have had to pay.
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