WWS 2010 Preliminary Budget Distribution

The WWS 2010 Preliminary Budget is being prepared for distribution to the owners. Next week the cluster advisers will be delivering the preliminary budgets to each cluster. Out of town owners will receive their packets in the mail.

The 2010 Preliminary Budget shows a reduction over last year's figures. Annual maintenance fees will be approximately $360 ($90 per quarter ) lower than last year if the BOD approves the budget as proposed. The major portion of this reduction comes as a result of a proposed revision in reserve accounting. The Budget Committee has recommended the adoption of a method known as 'pooling' that will combine our multiple reserve line item accounts into one fund.

Once the 2010 Preliminary Budget is accepted with the pooling of reserves, the owners must approve the transfer of existing reserve funds to the new pooled reserve fund. This must happen at a Special Meeting of the Owners. We have scheduled the Special Meeting to convene immediately after the November 23, 2009 BOD meeting.

Look for a voting proxy and return envelope in your budget packet. Each owner must vote to approve the transfer of reserve funds from our current line item accounts into the new pooled fund. Please complete and return your proxy to the office ASAP. This will insure that your vote is counted in the event you cannot attend the Special Meeting on November 23.

The BOD recommends you vote 'YES' on this item.


Director Terms. Déjà vu
I've had some discussion with a few owners about the following statement in my last post:

We have ten remaining Directors who were elected prior to the effective date of this law. Since the law is not retroactive, those ten Directors are allowed to complete their terms.

Some people have read that statement to mean that those 10 Directors are not up for election in March 2010. I included the statement to explain why only 5 Directors were elected in March of 2009 and not all 15. Those 10 Directors were allowed to complete their terms.

As another year passes, 5 of those 10 seats will be up for election in March 2010. Remember that our BOD had staggered 3 year terms until the law changed. So as each year passes, 5 more Director terms come to an end until all 3 year terms are gone.

Consider the following information:

We have 15 Directors on our BOD with the following status:

5 Directors on 3 year terms expiring March 2010
Elected 2007 - prior to the new law

5 Directors on 3 year terms expiring March 2011
Elected 2008 - prior to the new law

5 Directors on 1 year terms expiring March 2010
Elected 2009 - after the new law

A total of 10 Director seats are up for election in March 2010.

So the original statement as it was presented is correct. We have ten remaining Directors who were elected prior to the effective date of this law. Since the law is not retroactive, those ten Directors are allowed to complete their terms. 5 of those director seats will come to their natural term end in March of 2010 and will be open for election.

If nothing else, this highlights how confusing the whole issue can be.

Special Meeting November 10, 2009

The materials for the Special Meeting (November 10, 2009) have been mailed to all owners. You should be receiving them shortly. Along with the meeting details and the letter of explanation there is a voting proxy for the two Documents amendments we'll be voting upon. Please complete your proxy as soon as possible and return it to the office. That will insure that your vote is included in the event that you cannot attend the meeting.

The BOD recommends a 'YES' vote on both amendments.



Play it Again - Director Terms Amendment

It appears that there is some confusion about the links I provided in my last post since the two condominium associations referenced in those links each used two year director terms, not three as WWS did. As you can imagine, many Florida condominium associations are faced with a similar question on how to proceed with existing 2 and 3 year director terms on their BOD. These two decisions by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation set the legal precedent for the handling of existing 2 and 3 year director terms.

From the Olympus link, I refer you to section 10 of the response (starting at the end of page 7) ... "The amendments (718.112(2)(d)1) are prospective in application. Therefore, for directors elected to two-year terms in February 2008, the amendment will not apply retroactively to terminate the positions mid-term. "

And further down on page 8: " Allowing currently elected directors to complete their terms will have the least disruptive impact on the association's administration."

From the Brickell Bay link, I refer you to section 10 of the response (starting about midway on page 7) ...Directors presently serving a two year staggered term who are not up for election in April 2009 may serve out their terms as the law is prospective in application and the legislature did not express an intention to make the amendment retroactive to elections held prior to its effective date or to truncate terms of validly elected directors.

We have ten remaining Directors who were elected prior to the effective date of this law. Since the law is not retroactive, those ten Directors are allowed to complete their terms.

So whether the director term in question is two years or three years:

• The amendment is prospective and not retroactive.
• Directors elected prior to the amendment's effective date may serve out their terms.

But for those remaining naysayers, Mr. Chad McClenathen, our Association attorney (who provided these references) will be available at the Special Meeting on Tuesday November 10, 2009. You may ask him directly.

Director Terms Amendment Information

I'm providing this information for those in attendance at the BOD workshop today who asked for clarification on the status of the remaining 3 year Director seats on our Board.

The links listed below are found on the
Florida Department of Business & Regulation Site.

From the section on Condominiums you can find these links under year 2009 of the Declaratory Statement Index.

Olympus Condominium Association

Brickell Bay Club Condominium Association

In both cases the state agency in charge of condominiums has ruled that the statute would be applied prospectively only. In other words, the statute would apply to directors elected after October 1, 2008 and would not apply to persons who were elected prior to that date. If elected to a multiple year terms before that date, the person had the right to serve out his entire term.

We have 15 Directors on our BOD with the following status:
5 Directors on 1 year terms expiring March 2010
5 Directors on 3 year terms expiring March 2010
5 Directors on 3 year terms expiring March 2011

Therefore 10 Director seats will be up for election in March of 2010 no matter what the outcome of the vote on the Director Term amendment. The outcome of the vote on the Director Term amendment will determine only whether those 10 Directors are elected for one or two year terms.

Vote 'YES' on the Director Term amendment to allow for two year director terms.

Here's the link to my original post on this topic:
Original Post on Director Terms

WWS2010 Budget - Operating Accounts

The budget committee meetings on Saturday 9/26 and Tuesday 10/6 were a review of operating accounts since 2000 and the preliminary budget for 2010.

The chart below is a visual representation of how each maintenance dollar is allocated in the proposed budget. As you can see, over 50% of each maintenance dollar is spent on the uncontrollable items of insurance, utilities, and cable tv. Those are the big ticket items where rates are determined by municipalities or single service providers.

The preliminary budget as presented shows an average decrease in maintenance fees of over 7% for 2010. A large portion of that decrease is a result of the change in reserve accounting that is being proposed by the Budget Committee.

The proposed budget must now be reviewed by the BOD. There may be further adjustments before the numbers become final.

The complete presentation including the chart shown above is available at the link below and on the President's Blog.

2010 Budget Presentation

The BOD will consider the preliminary budget at the October BOD meeting on 10/26. All owners are invited to attend.

WWS 2010 Budget - Controlling Costs

The major portion of the budget is devoted to operating expenses. These are the day to day costs of running Wildewood Springs and include items such as insurance, cable tv, utilities, administration, grounds and landscaping maintenance, pool maintenance and water/sewer.

Many owners have expressed concern about the rise in maintenance fees since 2000. David White, the budget committee chairman has provided an informative analysis to explain the reason for the rise in fees over the past 8 1/2 years using historical expense information supplied by Dennis Bucher, our Property Manager. In a nutshell, uncontrolled costs have risen from being 40% of our operating budget to 55% of our operating budget. Remember, uncontrolled costs are the big ticket items of insurance, utilities and services (water, gas, sewer, trash, electric), and cable tv. These are items where the rates and terms are dictated by a municipality or a single service provider (i.e. insurance) and we have little control over the charges.

Insurance cost alone has risen 818% (yes, you read that correctly!) since 2000, from a low of $65,384 to the current cost of $535,037 and comprises 24% of our operating budget. In other words, roughly one quarter of each dollar paid in maintenance fees goes toward paying our insurance bill. Remember, the bulk of our insurance is provided by Citizen's Insurance, the Florida State Insurance Provider. Citizen's Insurance is our only insurance option because no other insurance carrier will insure a community as large as WWS.

On the other hand, our controlled expenses tell a better story. Controlled expenses are the items Dennis Bucher, our Property Manager, and the BOD manage directly. Examples of controlled expenses are: administration and office expense, grounds and landscaping, building maintenance, pool maintenance. These items have been well managed with an increase of approximately 2.8% annually since 2000. That's less than the rate of inflation for the period.

The presentation is available at the link below and also on the President's blog on the right column.

2010 Budget Presentation 9/15/2009

The next budget committee meeting is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th at 10AM. Location to be announced.

Announcing WWS Fall Newsletter

The WWS Newsletter fall edition is now available. You may read it online or download it to your own printer by following this link:

Wilde Times

You may also find a link to the latest edition on the website wildewoodsprings.org by clicking on the newsletter page.

There are printed copies available in the office for those of you who wish them.

Don't hesitate to contact either Kay Levy or Kay Wilder with your comments.
Enjoy!

WWS 2010 Budget - Reserves

The first phase of the budget process involves planning for reserves. Reserve funds are monies set aside for high dollar expenditure items and long range projects that are done infrequently. Reserve projects most often involve the following types of expenditures: Roof, Road/Pavements, Painting, Swimming Pools, Tennis Courts, Machinery and Public Utility.

Some reserve items: Roof, Swimming Pools, Road/Pavements


A portion of each maintenance fee paid is put into reserve funds. For 2009, that amounted to approximately 15% of each maintenance fee payment or 15 cents of every dollar.

The balance in reserve funds is reported monthly in the financial report.
We have been building reserves steadily since the end of the roof project in 2007. The balance in reserve funds on July 31, 2009 was $708,792

The Budget Committee has recommended we consider using a pooled technique for handling our reserves starting in 2010. This technique considers cash flow requirements on a pooled reserve fund instead of treating each reserve item as a separate account. The owners must accept this type of reserve accounting by a majority vote in order for WWS to transition to this method.

The Budget Committee presentation is available here:

2010 Budget Reserve Presentation
It is also posted on the right column of the President's Blog page on the website.

The next Budget Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday September, 15 at 9AM in the Wildewood Springs office.

Crunching the Numbers

The budget process will begin in earnest in a few days. It might be helpful to review some frequently asked questions to refresh your memory about how this happens. This entry is devoted to basic budget questions. As we move through the cycle, I will provide additional updates.

WHY do we budget?
It costs money every day, to cut the grass, heat the pools, answer the phone, spray the bugs, clean the gutters, pickup trash, pay for cable and all the other things that keep Wildewood Springs going. The budget process is the formal evaluation and decision process that we use to plan what we believe it will cost to run this community for the coming year.

WHAT is the WWS budget?
The annual budget is the anticipated cost for the coming year. The total dollar amount is allocated by unit size to 558 units as maintenance fees.

The budget is comprised of two main sections.
The first section, Reserves, are monies we accumulate for capital projects such as roof coating, painting and paving.
The second section, Operating Expenses, are the everyday expenses incurred in running Wildewood Springs such as trash, water, sewer, electricity, insurance, administration and cable tv.

WHO creates the WWS budget?
The Budget Committee develops the budget with input from the Property Manager and from service providers. The Board of Directors approves the WWS Budget and the Owners approve the funding level for Reserves.

HOW is this done?
All those costs mentioned above are reported and tracked during the year. When the budget cycle begins, the current year's costs are reviewed and considered to develop the new budget. Anticipated rate increases for items such as insurance, electricity, gas, water and trash are factored into the equation. The schedule for large capital projects such as painting must be reviewed to verify we are accumulating reserve monies at an adequate rate to have funds when the projects are planned to occur.

WHEN does the process occur?
The budget process dates are tentative. Here are the milestones:

April/May
The preliminary Budget Committee meeting. This is generally an overview of the cycle.

August/September/October
There are a series of meetings where the budget components are reviewed and revised.

October
The budget is presented to the BOD tentatively in the October meeting.
The Board gives approval for distribution and budget copies are distributed to all owners.

November
Final Board approval is tentatively planned for the November meeting.


WHERE do the meetings happen?
The first committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday September 8, 2009 at 9AM in the Wildewood Springs office. Watch for official meeting notices on the office bulletin board and additional notices posted on the cluster bulletin boards, Channel 95 and the reminder email notices. Budget Committee meetings are open to all owners. Additional meetings will follow and be announced in the same fashion.

A Blast from the Past

I thought it might be fun to devote this entry to some material I came across in the WWS office. I'm not certain who found these materials. But I enjoyed comparing them to current photos of the same locations and I hope you like it as well.

The first item on the left is a photo postcard from Wildewood Springs. It must date from the late 70's and might have been created as marketing material for condo sales. The photograph is Pool 3 looking toward the rear of cluster G. On the right is a recent photo taken from approximately the same location and orientation.
























The next pair of photos shows Pool 1 in the same approximate time frames as the photos above. This view looks toward the rear of cluster B. The old photo is from a WWS marketing brochure.



































The most striking difference for me was the lack of mature trees in the early photos. I had thought the trees we can see in the later shots were always on the grounds. It's easy to see the visual impact of a mature landscape for this property. It looked nice then, but it looks wonderful now. Maybe this place was named 'Wildewood' because someone had a crystal ball. Enjoy the photos!

Looking Up

There's been much activity recently at Wildewood Springs. But unless you're accustomed to looking up, you may have missed it.

Tim our roof specialist has been working on the most recent round of roof cleaning. As you may recall, Tim was hired to provide a constant monitor on the new roof coating that was completed in 2007. Under his watchful eye, potential problem areas are identified and given appropriate remedial attention on a proactive basis. The result; we've had no billable roof maintenance since Tim has taken over this task. Plus the incidence of plugged gutters and has fallen virtually to zero.

The palm tree trimming has recently been completed. This is done each year in the mid summer. Removal of the dead fronds, flowers and seed pods eliminates debris that fall on the sidewalks, stairs and roof and may become projectiles during any high wind. The tree contractor also removed a number of dead trees and trimmed a a few problem trees on the grounds. The grounds look beautiful.




Special Meeting Information

We've finally been able to establish a date for the Special Meeting for the Documents Revision Mini Project. The Special Meeting is set for November 10, 2009 at 2PM. The location is not yet established.

We've also set aside two dates for workshops on the two amendments we'll be voting on.

• October 12, 2009 9AM Workshop Bylaws 4.3 Director Terms
• October 19, 2009 9AM Workshop Article X Insurance.

These workshops are established to help owners understand each amendment and ask related questions. More information will be published regarding these meetings as the dates approach.

Setting the Record Straight Part 2

or Everything you wanted to know about the Insurance Amendment

The Board of Directors has voted to submit two proposals to the members for a vote. The purpose of this entry is to discuss the reasons why the Board of Directors felt that the adoption of those two proposals would be in the best interests of the community.

This entry will also rebut and reject certain erroneous statements made by an anonymous author in the July 2009 Owners to Owners Community Newsletter.

This is part 2 on the upcoming Documents Revision. This article deals with the proposed Insurance Amendment.

Insurance Amendment

This is a difficult subject. The WWS Association Attorney recommended that we amend the Declaration to better address insurance. Excerpted at this link is a portion of WWS Attorney's Letter of January 14, 2009. That excerpt explains the risk associated with staying with the current Documents and the reason for the change to our current Documents.

The following section will address the OTO errors in regard to the insurance article.

Excerpts from the July 2009 OTO Newsletter will be in “italics”:

The OTO Newsletter article states that ”condo owner insurance is now the responsibility of the condo owners. The Association is not responsible for buying condo insurance for owners that do not have coverage”.

This statement is true. See Section 10.2(a) of the proposed amendment that lists the specific items that must be insured by each unit owner. The type of property insurance policy issued to a unit owner is typically referred to in the insurance industry as an HO6 policy. The Association has no intention of buying a property insurance policy of the contents of any unit if an owner fails to do so.

The OTO Newsletter article also states that “If in our documents we just say “per the 718 statute” we could not have to change our documents every time the state of Florida changes the law”.

This gross oversimplification misses the point entirely as to the significant underlying reasons why we want to rewrite our insurance provision. The statute does not supersede a poorly conceived documentary provision that requires the use of an insurance trustee, or approval of a mortgage holder to the insurer or settlement of a claim. We need to amend our Declaration to get rid of these undesirable provisions. Further, we need to be consistent with the many complex statutory requirements. Simply citing to a statute is not going to provide the necessary direction to management, board members and owners and there are some discretionary issues under the statute that will be determined by our documents, not the statute.

Now let's consider a scenario. Assume that for 558 units, there are 50 banks represented as mortgage holders. Assume we have taken the OTO advice and voted 'no' on Article X. In September 2010, Hurricane Pistachio blows Oakview Village into Palm Tree Village. 15 of the 50 banks challenge our current Documents because we don't have pre-approval by mortgage holders for the Insurance proceeds distribution. From this point we can expect a lengthy court process as 15 banks and their lawyers demand an Insurance Trustee to protect their interests before any reconstruction effort begins. Is this what you want?

If you vote 'no' based upon the erroneous OTO advice consider the following:

A 'no' vote on Article X gives control of our Insurance Proceeds in the event of a catastrophe to bankers and bank lawyers not WWS BOD and owners. A 'no' vote is shortsighted, irresponsible, and dangerous.

Aside from the fact that the anonymous OTO author has clearly made a number of inflammatory and false remarks with intent to damage my integrity or question my motives, the anonymous OTO author's material regarding the Documents change is inaccurate and misleads, misinforms, and misguides the readers.

The source material for FS718 is readily available online. We have reviewed both Articles in open WWS Committee and Board meetings within the last four months. What excuse explains the inclusion of such blatantly inaccurate material as the basis for the OTO recommendation?

You be the judge.

If you wish to vote 'no' on these items, make a well informed decision based upon the correct information, not the OTO propaganda. Understand clearly, the ramifications of your choice. Since the Special Meeting is not yet scheduled and voting materials have not been distributed, ask OTO Leadership why they have intentionally provided erroneous information about FS718 in lieu of waiting for the official materials and explanations.

The Special Meeting (date TBA) devoted to these Documents items will include a presentation about the two items to be voted upon. At least two weeks in advance of that meeting, voting materials will be provided to all owners regarding the two items. There will be ample opportunity for owners to ask questions.

WWS Update

I hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing summer. For those of you in the north...Yes, it is hot & steamy here. For those of you still here... You know what I'm talking about. As you know, the BOD doesn't conduct regular meetings during the summer. Despite that, a few projects continue to move forward. I want to give you a quick update on some items we've been working on.

Documents Revision:
We're working on firming up the date for the Documents Mini Project Special Meeting. At this point it looks as if the meeting will be in August. Once the date is established, the voting materials will be distributed to the owners.

Remember, the reason for the meeting is that we've identified two items that require special consideration apart from the remainder of the Documents revision. The first item deals with Director terms and we will be voting on it now so that, assuming owner approval, it can be effective for the 2010 elections. The second item deals with insurance. We will be voting on it now because it will require a lengthy mortgage holder approval process after the owners approval.

Newsletter: We've regrouped the Newsletter team. Kay Levy (Oakview) has agreed to take on the role as editor. Kay Wilder (Springdale) will be assisting. The first issue is planned for October 2009. Deadline for submission is September 1, 2009.

Kay is looking for regular contributors as well as one time articles of interest. She is planning to include a quarterly calendar of upcoming events so if you are active in an organization and would like to include your event listing, please contact one of the Kays with your information.

The BOD has approved to include advertising in our newsletter to help defray costs. Advertising is $5 per newsletter for business card size ad.

From Kay Levy: 'We welcome all suggestions. Even if you don't want to write it, let us know if there is an area of interest you think should be included or especially liked in the old newsletter and want to have continued.'

Contact information to submit articles or ask questions:

Kay Levy - wwseditor@aol.com
732-271-1796 (until October)
941-758-6960

Kay Wilder - kmwriver22@verizon.net
941-755-7806

Documents Revision Mini Project

By now, I'm sure you're heard that we are in the midst of a Documents Revision Project. Here's a quick review. Last year Florida Statute 718 was significantly changed by the Legislature. As a result, the changes required in our Documents were extensive. Our attorney, Chad McClenathen, recommended we do a complete update of our Documents to incorporate all 35 previous amendments as well as the new law changes into a new revised document. You can imagine the work this entails.

An Ad Hoc Document Committee led by Mr. Bob DeBruin was charged with the huge task of reviewing of the proposed document package and presenting a working revision to the BOD for consideration. During the past few months, Mr. DeBruin and the Committee have completed their task. The next step would be for the BOD to begin the review process. This step is also expected to take a number of months and won't begin until the BOD convenes again in the fall for regular monthly meetings. But some strategic issues have come to light at this juncture of the process.

The Document Committee has identified two sections of the proposed Documents which will require special consideration in advance of the remainder of the project. The first section, By-Laws Article 4.3 deals with the election of Directors. Director terms will continue to default to one year until this section is approved. This section must be approved by the BOD and 60% of the owner voting interest before mid December 2009 for it to be effective for the 2010 election.

The second Document section to be considered is Article X and pertains to insurance. This section is being handled separately because it must also be approved by the mortgage holders. This means that after the BOD and 60% of the owner voting interest have approved this section, it must be sent to all mortgage holders of record for a final acceptance. We anticipate this to be a lengthy process.

The BOD has considered and voted on these two named sections in a meeting on May 28th in the WWS office. Later this summer, a Special Meeting will be convened for owner consideration of these items. Owners can expect to receive information regarding these two amendments and the announcement of a Special Meeting sometime in the next month or two. You will receive updates via email as the dates of the mailings and meetings are announced.

WWS Potpourri

Summer is fast approaching. Most snowbirds have flown from Wildewood and the parking lots are looking very empty. Here's a quick update of the latest news:

Pool & Spa
The Virginia Graeme Baker updates have begun. The photo below shows the new contoured drain cover on the left and the old flat drain covers on the right. Most drain covers have been replaced at this time.


This is a drain cover being replaced in Spa 1

And this is how they replace drain covers in the pool. Yes he is holding his breath.



There's some great news to report on the State portion of the Virginia Graeme Baker (VGB) Act. WWS has applied for and received an exemption from Manatee County which changes the status of our pools and spas. We are exempted from installing the State portion of the VGB modifications. That's an estimated $140,000 expenditure that we have now avoided. As a result of our new status, the Association takes on more in house responsibility to monitor our own pools and spas for compliance to health and safety regulations.

Vials of Life Distribution
The Vials of Life have been distributed across the community. If you have not received your packet, check with your cluster advisor. If you are a snowbird, you can collect your packet when you return in the fall. If you want more information about the program you can follow this link Vial of Life

Chico Harpo Groucho
A few of the neighborhood kids outside my lanai.



We'll soon be announcing upcoming meetings for the Documents Mini Project that will occur over the summer months. Watch for the notices.

BOD Meeting & Update

Here's a quick summery of some high points from the 4/27 BOD meeting and what you might expect during the summer months. A number of projects will be in progress during the summer break.





Pools
The BOD gave bid approval for work to address the Federal Portion of Virginia Graham Baker Act (VGB). Work may begin as early as the week of 05/04/2009. The pool upgrades will be done by divers while the spas will be drained for the grate installation. Pool down time will be minimal. Watch for the notices.

Documents
The Document revision will be separated into 3 parts:
1-Election of Directors
2-Insurance - requires mortgage holder approval
3-Remainder of changes

The BOD will be reviewing the document sections relating to election of directors and insurance. The plan is to have these sections approved by the BOD and distributed to unit owners for review and vote during the summer. Our goal is to have the section relating to elections approved in time for the 2010 BOD elections. The portion relating to insurance will require an additional approval step from all mortgage holders. The remainder of the documents will be addressed when regular meetings resume in the fall.

Summer Meetings
Regular monthly meetings are suspended for the months of May, June, July and August
There will be BOD workshops and meetings during summer for the Document Revision project and other business which may arise. The dates will be announced.
A Special meeting will follow later in the summer for the owner vote on the first two document revisions

Cluster Advisor Door to Door Distribution
The Cluster Advisors will distribute the Red Cross Vial of Life Materials during the month of May.


Have a great summer!

Last Week at Wildewood

Last week was certainly busy here at Wildewood Springs. We started off with a Poolside Chat at Pool 5 on Monday evening. It was a fun time and there were about 20 owners in attendance. We socialized and enjoyed snacks and drinks. Plus it was a good place to find excess Easter candy.

From Poolside 2009-04-13

I've included a few photos from the event. You can view the online album if you click on the link below the photo.


On Tuesday morning we had our official 2010 Budget Kickoff Meeting, the 'Snowbird Special'. After introducing the committee members, David White, committe chairperson, explained the budgeting process he plans to use and presented a tentative schedule of events. He also answered a number of questions from the owners in attendance. The next budget meeting will not occur until after Labor Day in September. Then we will begin the process with vigor.

I'm listing the tentative meeting dates in this note, but please watch for the official confirmation of the dates as the fall approaches. The locations will be announced when the dates are confirmed.

• Tuesday 9/9/2009 9AM
• Tuesday 9/15/2009 7PM
• Saturday 9/26/2009 10AM
• Tuesday 10/6/2009 9AM with Cluster Advisors
• Board of Directors October Meeting 10/26/2009 2PM Budget Review
  
• Board of Directors November Meeting 11/23/2009 2PM Final Budget Vote

The presentation documents are available at the following links:

Meeting Minutes Part 1
Meeting Minutes Part 2
Meeting Minutes Part 3
Meeting Minutes Part 4

These links are also available on the Notes from the President page on the WWS Website.

Poolside Update & Next Chat

We had a nice turnout at the second poolside chat at Pool 3 on 4/2. About thirty owners and a few renters came out for a pleasant evening. I've included a photo from the event. The link to the online album is below the photo.

From Poolside 2009-04-02

The next poolside chat is scheduled for Monday 4/13 at Pool 5 from 5-7PM. You can access Pool 5 from Clusters R or P in Lakeside. For those of you who love adventure, you can also follow the service road that bounds the western edge of the property. You'll find Pool 5 at the southern end of the road.

Remember to bring any drinks in plastic. We'll be congregating outside the pool so snacks are allowed. These chats are a good way to mix and mingle with your neighbors. It's also a good way to bid our snowbirds a farewell and 'Happy Trails' as many are leaving in the next few weeks.

Board of Directors April Workshop

The Board of Directors schedules a monthly workshop meeting as a method to discuss topics that are pertinent to our community in a more informal setting than the monthly Board Meeting. No official business is conducted at a workshop. Instead, the meeting is used as an information gathering and exchange forum for the Directors. Owners are welcome and may also participate in discussions.

I'm working up the agenda for our April BOD Workshop. One important topic that we will be discussing in this workshop is the renovations we must make to our spas to conform to the Virginia Graeme Baker Act.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Act was enacted by Congress and became effective in December of 2008. This law requires specific updates to commercial spa drain covers and installation of anti-entrapment systems to prevent possible entrapment of children and small adults.

The April BOD Workshop is planned for 4/7/2009 in the WWS office at 9 AM. Watch for notices on CH 95 and the mail kiosks.