Right before I moved here, they stopped having a 24/7 guard at our gate and installed bars that go up and down and we have passcards in our cars and there's a box to call residents if you're a visitor. When I moved here there was a guard there until 11 PM 7 days a week.

Now they have a guard there until 8 on the weekdays, 6 on Saturday and no one there on Sunday.

The bar stays up for, they say, 30 seconds and it's AT LEAST that long. If you're LEAVING the subdivision, the bar goes up, so anyone who's been waiting can zip right in. 3 cars, including a truck with a trailer (and NONE of them lived here) got in when I was leaving today and it made me realize we really need something different.

Yes, I live in the boondocks, but only about 1/3 of the houses are full timers and there have been some burglaries and vandalism - two that I know of just in the past couple of weeks.

I want to take a proposal to the HOA for something more secure, but I'm not sure what to ask for. We're set up weird because we straddle a county road with 4 entrances (2 on each side) which makes it even a bigger pain to have to deal with.

Any suggestions? I thought about offering up the kid with a gun for $5 an hour, but I'm afraid he might get trigger happy and start shooting at all the minivans he doesn't think deserve to be on the road. :o

Is there a Home Owners Associations in your neighborhood? I would assume that there is since your in a gated community. Find out who the head of the Association is and raise a stink. I'm sure cost is the reason they don't have a guard at the gate any longer.. if it is a concern to you, and the neighborhood has been experiencing break-ins.. I'm sure your not the only one concerned. Talk to your neighbors and the Home Owners Association. Tell them you want to have a guard at the gate 24/7 and your willing to pay your fair share for it.

If the neighborhood has been having security / break-in problems recently I'm sure you won't have any problem getting everyone to chip in for the guards at the gates. My only concern would be that you mentioned having 4 entrances into the community. That is a heck of a lot of guards. Depending on the size of the community you should suggest reducing the number of entrances. It is going to be difficult to secure that many entrances from the bad guys.

Yep, we have a very active HOA. Unfortunately, they're the ones making the decisions to cut the security. :( Three of the gates are in view of the guard house and it used to be the guard would see the sticker on your car and open a gate (the 4th is a special one where passcards don't work - you have to have a clicker to get in - an Ex-pres has a house there so the security's a little tighter :awinky: ).

Apparently they had a vote before we moved in and the residents voted to keep it the same and NOT to have it set up like it is now.... :headwall:

There are tens of thousands of dollars in uncollected dues because people bought lots years ago and never built. That's another thing I've brought up - if we're having money problems, then let's start foreclosing on these properties, selling them for $$$ (the least expensive lot would be $5-7K, with some going for $30K) and getting some paying residents.

But alas, I think finding a gate that won't stay open for as long might be the only thing they agree to. :angry:

Peaches, we live in a gated community, with a guard 24/7. There are 2 entrances, one for residents and one for guests. The guest entrance, you have to talk to the guard to get in. He sits there in his little house, with his little badge and is pretty strict who he lets in. Buuuuuuuut, the resident entrance, which you have to have a card to open, if you time it just right 3 or 4 cars can come in behind you. The moral to my story is that if someone really wants in they can get in ;)

Yeah, and I know and one of the things the HOA brings up is that a minimum wage security person isn't going to challenge anyone anyway. But IMHO, just having the gate manned 24/7 helps as a deterrent. :ph34r:

We also have a rule that no contractors can work on homes on Sunday and since they dropped the Sunday guard, I've noticed SEVERAL of them in here working. :angry:

HOA's tend to want their cake and eat it too. But it's a question of what level of dues is the community willing to bear in the name of security. Ideal is security at every gate and roving patrols 24/7, but that's a good chunk added to the budget.

Doesn't work as well up in the mountains where you have huge lots and a ton of land to cover as it does in a golf course community where the houses are packed in nearly on top of one another. Cost impact is typically more than the community will bear.

Problem with the automated gates, as you said, is the big iron jobbies take a bit of time to open and close. Best solution I've seen to that is to double them up. Use the iron gate for security, but right in front of it you put one of the little simple wood arm gates as an anti-piggy-back gate.

When your card is scanned, both gates open. As soon as your car clears the wooden gate, it comes down swiftly and immediately to prevent piggy backing. The iron gate can then take as much time as it needs to shut.

It can still be defeated by someone getting right on your ass to make the sensor think it's one vehicle, but that makes it pretty obvious that someone is trying to bypass the card scan.

Oooh - I like this idea. I don't think I've ever seen it though - anywhere I can take a look at it (and take some pictures)? I clocked it when we came in today and 5+ cars could have come in behind me. :o

Ours are just a small metal bar that comes down so it's not time that it takes them TO open and close, it's the damn delay on them. I'm sure some slowpoke got nailed ONCE so they made the delay so long. They were being broken until they put a camera up there and nailed one of the residents who was too lazy to get a passcard. :awinky:

There was a mention once about the iron gates that open and close sideways, but I'm not sure what happened to the proposal. I REALLY want someone's car to be damaged while they're sneaking in. :okthumb:

Yesterday at my lake house the koon ass idiot almost did not let me in since my membership card was expired. We were about to have a throw down on out hands.

Gates are good, but without a human gurd watching each gate, they may provide a false sense of security. Both of my homes are in gated areas, I would not live anywhere that was not gated. My old house was 2 miles down the road, a guy got murdered in a home invasion about 10 houses down, scarry. In my current neighborhood, there has not even been a home burglary in 5+ years.

hmm.. well I guess the HOA needs to be motivated. Give me their address... I'll have someone rob their house. :ph34r:

I agree and that's what I TRIED to bring up to the HOA when they pulled the "But a minimum wage worker isn't going to challenge anyone" issue. Just having a BODY there is enough to keep most petty thieves out.

What's really sad is that I had to let a sherriff's deputy in one night who was responding to a call. Had a guard been there, it wouldn't have been a problem.

It's nuts.

Hehehe - that thought's entered my mind. :matey:

Brad - I know you use to live in Dallas.. then I thought you moved to Vancouver. Where is home for you these days?

Just curious.. I know years ago you where in Dallas and I was living in Colleyville. Then I moved to Coquitlam BC and I thought you moved in Vancouver.

My house in Tampa is in a gated community.... only reason I went for a gate was that I would not be here all the time. So I liked the idea of my property being watched over when I was not here.

IT was something I used to never think about, I enjoy my property in NO - living n 45 acres provides a lot of privacy....

But I have to say, more and more I stay in Tampa, I like the idea of living in a gated community....

Most of the houses here are 2nd homes, so it's gated for the same reason. When I moved here I THOUGHT I was going to be living here alone *cough cough* and was really attracted to the gated plan. But it's a lot less secure than when I first looked at the subdivision. :angry:

Just having a person at the gate is enough to keep most nonsense to a minimum. It's not perfect but it would be a heck of a lot better than what you have now. If someone is serious about breaking into your house a great security guard isn't going to stop them. They wouldn't bother with the gate.. they would scale the wall and go straight for the jewels not the big screen tv. They wouldn't need to drive through the gates. The guard at the gate is just to keep Joe Stupid out of the neighborhood.

You mentioned having to let an Officer into the neighborhood because the gate was unmanned... thats rather scary.

Thats the boat I'm in. My house sits in the middle of 50 acres. One way in.. One way out. Six foot fence all the way around the property and seven 200lb Mastiffs.. I feel pretty safe.

And IMHO, they can also keep an eye on "gate followers". What goes in, has to come back out. :)

The first thing that dawned on me is that I have a monitored alarm. It's not going to do me much good if the police can't get in.

As much as I hate to say it, something bad's going to have to happen before they do anything. :(



Last edited by Peaches at Sep 7 2003, 10:24 PM

If I live in the dog pound does that count as a gated community? :P

<span style='font-family:Arial'>Que the Music to John Cougar's "Small Town"</span>

Well I was born in a dog pound
And I live in a dog pound
Prob'ly die in a dog pound
Oh, those dog pound communities

All my friends are so dog pound
My parents live in the dog pound town
My job is so dog pound
Provides little opportunity

Educated in a dog pound
Taught to piss in a dog pound
Used to daydream in that dog pound
Another boring romantic that's me
But I've seen it all in a dog pound
Had myself a ball in a dog pound

I know where a perfect example of it is, but it's in Norcross....a bit of a trek from Ellijay.

Shoot me an e if you wanna know exactly where it is (hellpuppy at hellpuppy dot com).

So let me see if I got this straight ... you are concerned about security but upset the person was doing his job? Interesting ... that single sentence offers a fairly clear answer to any question about the relationship of class to money.

Gates are nearly worthless, guards are the only way to go... Most gate systems allow multiple cars and I would think most people(including thiefs) know that. Even a $5 guard without a gun, will protect better than a gate..

My cousin lives in a gated community in Daytona and they have the big iron gates that slide back and forth. It would be nearly impossible to sneak through behind someone. First off the gate doesn't open that wide, I was driving a big suv and it barely fit through the gate. Second, the gate starts to close the instant you pass it. It's nearly impossible to sneak in behind someone unless your on a motorcycle and not too many thieves are on motorcycles. If a big truck needs access they have to come in the day so the gaurd can open the gate to let them in and out. This keeps someone from sneaking in in a Ryder and emptying your place out.

Hope that helps a little.

Yes, MikeW mentioned that he has these in his neighborhood and they work well (I've been complaining about this for a while :awinky: ) and the outgoing HOA president wanted to put them in. And the point about a truck not being able to make it in makes a LOT of sense - that would also eliminate the workers coming in on Sundays.

They wanted to do it "cheap" and that's what they got. But more and more people are moving into town and with the recent burglaries and vandalism, it looks like we need to be proactive. :(

Of course, then Wig will complain since he's managed to follow someone in every time. :P

So let me see if I got this straight ... you are concerned about security but upset the person was doing his job? Interesting ... that single sentence offers a fairly clear answer to any question about the relationship of class to money.[/b][/quote]
I had my membership card (it was expired), he could have asked to see my ID rather than be a prick. They have a list of homeowners, would have been simple to verify my identify. I think he was just being a prick as he was in awww over my dubs.

The point I was trying to make, Brad, is that if somebody had shown up with an expired membership card and gotten in without some kind of challenge, and then proceeded to clean out your superior stash of "dubs" and baubles and trinkets, you'd be even more pissed than you are now.

For two years while I was in the Navy I made more money as a manager for a guard service than I did from Uncle. Security for a gated community was one of the biggest headaches we had. Everybody wants the level of protection that Peaches' ex-Pres neighbor gets, but they want to pay no more than they do for their lawn boy, and certainly don't want to be inconvenienced themselves in any way, shape, or form.

I also know for a fact that giving a guard like that attitude will affect how quickly they deal with the situation.

He could have asked me for my ID, I would have taken it out, and cared a less. He just had a bad attidude by saying "I do not "have" to let you in with that expired card".

Two words...tire spikes!

My house is guarded by the fact that I don't have anything worth stealing...

LOL, mines guarded by the fact that no one like Diamond Jim can figure out where they are, even if they live right up the street from me ;)

My house is gated and guarded by two guards! Beat that:) http://www.westcoastdreams.com/tonda...s/IMAG0259.JPG

Now, I'll be the first person to admit that I have ZERO that anyone would want steal except for a couple of hundred dollars worth of electronics. And unless they have a 4X4 truck, they ain't getting the TV's or computers up the hill :awinky: AND of course, I DO have two very brave pugs - Ferd would jump on them continuously for attention and Meg would repeatedly throw herself down in front of burglars in order to get her tummy rubbed. :)

BUT...they usually don't find out you don't have anything until AFTER they break in. One of the breakins a year ago netted the crooks some guns, booze, a DVD player and some DVDs. Not much, but since most here are part time residents, and those of us that are fulltime aren't wealthy, I doubt we'd attract the pros. B)

PLUS, they're also coming in and fishing on the lakes and using the pool. :angry: I'm a snob, OK? And I want to be the one who uses what I pay for. :okthumb:

I just want to feel safe except for the snakes, deer, and bears......

LOL, mines guarded by the fact that no one like Diamond Jim can figure out where they are, even if they live right up the street from me ;)[/b][/quote]
Extenuating circumstances... :nyanya:

I use Windows.

I live in a Bill Gated community.

Extenuating circumstances... :nyanya:[/b][/quote]
Always with the details, always in your mind. ;)

good one Drav.