After initially resisting my request for copies of the snow removal contracts for this year and last, the board finally provided them. That likely cost the HOA at least $300 in attorney fees, since I was told they consulted legal counsel. Their main hangup seemed to be my potential posting of the contracts to this website. While Virginia law does not prevent me from doing so, I informed the board I would refrain as a gesture of goodwill. It’s unclear why they are so concerned—these are standard contracts with no trade secrets or proprietary information.
Comparing this year’s contract to last year’s highlights two differences regarding when plowing begins:
- Streets:
- Current contract: plowing begins at 2 inches.
- Last year’s contract: plowing begins at 1 inch.
- Driveways and sidewalks:
- Current contract: plowing begins after the event ends.
- Last year’s contract: no separate delay—plowing begins at 1 inch.
The differences are minor. Starting street plowing at 2 inches instead of 1 is reasonable, as is beginning sidewalk and driveway clearing after the storm ends rather than during accumulation.
Did the vendor fulfill their contractual obligation for the recent storm?
No.
The storm event ended between approximately 7–11 p.m. on January 25 which means snow removal on driveways and sidewalks should have commenced no later than 11 p.m. Instead, plowing did not begin until approximately 10 a.m. on January 26—a delay of nearly half a day.
That is a clear breach of contract.
When homeowners raised legitimate concerns in the Winchester Landing Facebook group, Board President Tom Denney berated residents and defended the vendor.
Mr. Denney misunderstands the contract terms. The benchmark he cited isn’t in the contract, and the Commonwealth’s state of emergency is completely irrelevant.
Furthermore, Mr. Denney’s role is to represent the HOA—not the vendor. Even if the vendor acted in good faith, his fiduciary responsibility is to enforce the contract in the HOA’s favor. On behalf of the association, he should place the vendor on notice that the contract terms were not met and pursue appropriate compensation.
Mr. Denney may argue that “after the event ends” doesn’t mean immediately. It does. From a legal standpoint, the phrase is plain language and reasonably means the obligation triggers as soon as the storm ends—not hours later at the vendor’s convenience. The purpose of the contract is timely snow removal to protect homeowners’ access, and a multi-hour delay defeats that purpose.
Board member Mike Guevremont asserted—without evidence—that the same conditions existed everywhere. Whether that’s true or not is irrelevant. Contractual performance isn’t excused because others experienced the same conditions. What matters is the specific contract between the HOA and its vendor, and whether the vendor performed according to its terms.
“Thank you Tom, as I said before this issue was County wide, almost every neighborhood is in the same boat. This could have been much worse in terms of accumulation and should we get a larger storm we must be aware it could take even longer to get buried out.”
Thanks to the board recently reducing seats from 5 to 3, Mr. Denney and Mr. Guevremont now have practical control of the HOA for two more years.
Lastly, I’ll leave you with something Mr. Denney said behind the scenes—he inadvertently copied me on an email intended only for Coventry community manager Mark Schloemer. I hope he actually addresses the communication issues.
For the record, this year’s storm wasn’t much different from last year’s on Jan. 5–6. It certainly wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime apocalypse. While snow removal companies across the region may have been strained, that isn’t the HOA’s problem. The vendor is responsible for being prepared. What matters is the contract.
“He can compare all he wants. I am over this snow stuff this week. This was the biggest storm we have had in 10 years and a hard one at that to remove. I bet Mike can attest to areas of the county that have not been addressed yet. It is what it is. Minus a few miscommunication issues which we can fix and the unrealistic expectations of folks in WL, we are in pretty good shape.”
Subscribe to get important updates like this delivered straight to your inbox.