A More Detailed Gate Update

Updated: Wednesday 2/5/2025

Although it may seem that not much has happened recently with the gates, a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes. Next week, starting Monday, a new vendor (Star Technology Group) will be onsite to perform a complete evaluation of our current gate systems.

Very basically there are three different 'components' that make the gates open/close:

The forensic study next week will focus on the first two. The mechanicals in the Gate Control system and the wiring that connects all the systems together. This infrastructure was installed in 2006 and appears to have exceeded its useful lifespan. Most of it appears to be failing and decaying due to age but, before the Board spends anymore money trying to repair the old, or invests large sums in replacing with new, we want a full evaluation from another expert.

Once the evaluation is complete Star Technology will present their findings at an onsite presentation to the full Board and the Clubhouse & Grounds Committee. This, as all Board and C&G meetings are, will be a published, open meeting for residents to attend, date TBA. The short term goal is to create an immediate, tactical plan to establish reliability in our gate systems as cost effectively and quickly as possible. The second goal is to create a longer term strategic plan to refresh the infrastructure, possibly over the next 1-3 years or as/when needed, as cost effectively and efficiently as possible.

Immediate issues that remain:

The barrier arm at the entrance to Promenade is up. The previous vendor said it needs a new motor. The Board has lost faith in that vendor and is working with Star to validate and provide a new quote. This will be done as part of the study next week
The barrier arm on the exit of Promenade is off. There is a plastic Cam that adjusts the arm level at rest and when open. This has broken or slipped causing the arm to go all the way to the floor when down. This will be addressed next week. Until then be careful exiting Promenade
The entrance to Mandalay 4 is open. This was diagnosed as a wiring issue by the previous vendor. The Board is obtaining a new repair quote from Star as part of the study next week
The Legends exit gate is open (except for one barrier arm). A wiring issue is strongly suspected. The Board is going to get a repair estimate from Star as part of the study next week

The plan is to focus on Mandalay 4 and Promenade first when it comes to repair/replacement. Once the short term plan is approved, and immediate repairs have been scheduled the next step is for the C&G Committee to look at #3 above; Access Control. This will include evaluating all the items listed above plus others. Should we stay with Gatehouse or move to a newer, more modern system, and one that is appropriate for the access control posture the community wants to maintain and pay for. That is TBD.

Hope this article has been informative and we are all looking forward to seeing and sharing the results of the forensic study.

Posted: Thursday 1/23/2025

As discussed in the recent Board meeting the community has spent over $16k on gate repairs since July 2024 plus we have estimates for the current repairs totaling another approx. $5,800. This expense may repair the immediate issues but there are literally dozens of other parts, cables, connectors at each gate that are close to failure. Rather than keep throwing good money after bad we have to pivot and take a different approach.

The Clubhouse and Grounds Committee and Management have been meeting with multiple different vendors over the past two months, but all they appear to want to do is sell us a new system. The Board has been asking for and we have finally found a vendor who is prepared to do a full assessment of all our current gate infrastructure with the goal of providing us with three things:

An estimate of how much will it cost, and how long will it take, to replace all the cabling and components that need immediate replacement to give us a reliable, stable system?
An estimate of how much will it cost and how long will it take to replace everything at all four entrances?
If we go with Option 1, how much of that investment can be reused, reducing the cost of Option 2, as/when full replacement is required?

A vendor has been selected to do the full forensic assessment, the scope of which is outlined below. The price was negotiated down from $8,000 to $5,700 and we expect this work to begin in mid-February and take a full week to complete. The committee should receive the results about a week later.

The results from this forensic review should help the Board to decide on the recommended plan and immediate next steps to share with the community. Hopefully we'll have some significant progress to report before the end of February.

SCOPE OF WORK

This estimate covers the service audit of all 4 gate systems. All operators will have a service audit performed on them to determine the status of the following:

(1) wiring infrastructure, identify and label cabling and conduits

(2) Test safety loop wiring and loop health/operational effectiveness

(3) Test photo eye operation and effectiveness

(4) Barrier arm and swing operator drive systems

(5) DC System, Motor Amperage, and battery check

(6) Physical Swing gate structure inspection

(7) Measure and log incoming high voltage

(8) Asses operator age and physical condition of unit/chassis.

(9) Notate and assess any emergency access systems ie knox keys, SOS, click to enter.

Service audits will be performed and documented and provided to the customer.