Your all-volunteer Board of Directors and committee members have been working diligently to ensure the preservation of property values and focusing on enhancing the quality of life. It is amazing how much a community changes for the better when there are a lot of activities to enjoy.

If you are not participating in Food Truck Friday, you are missing out on a wonderful opportunity to meet the neighbors. We also had many neighbors come out last month for the plant sale by the Lady Bugs. I scored a large jalapeno plant for under three bucks and shared recipes on how to prepare stuffed jalapeno peppers. Also, last month was the Easter egg hunt. If you are on Facebook, perhaps you saw the dancing Easter Bunny on the playground bench. I certainly enjoy seeing children having a wonderful time; I realize this sort of thing is therapeutic for me.

Now let’s talk numbers. In political terms, a super-majority is a number well above a simple majority. In the House and Senate, for example, this can be as much as 2/3. I have not found a term to describe greater than 3/4; let’s call this a galactic-majority. Managing by the numbers helps separate facts from emotional bankruptcy. For example in March, 23% of homeowners received a letter requesting some sort of maintenance to be performed; about half of these dealt with lawn care. There was a lot of negative feedback concerning this, but we must remind ourselves 77% of homes did not receive a letter at all. This galactic-majority has lush green lawns with no weeds. Obviously, these owners either pay for a service or spent personal time spreading out a bag of turf builder. Perhaps visit your neighbor and find out the secret to their success.

Switching subjects to the annual assessment (maintenance fund), historically we achieve a 96% participation rate; meaning almost 4% try to opt-out. Opting out is a not a good strategy because eventually, the Association receives payment from the equity when delinquent owners property is sold. It is only fair that there are penalties, interest and legal reimbursements required from delinquent owners while they take advantage of the generosity of others. Last year we recovered just over $125,000 from delinquent accounts at closing. I point this out to reassure the super-duper-majority that your continued support and efforts are creating the best place to live.

Several homeowners have contacted me and expressed passionate concerns describing the obvious items like repairing fences, removing broken down vehicles, materials or trailers stored on the property, parking of commercial vehicles in driveways and streets, the un-kept basketball goals, trash cans stored in plain view or just general cleaning. The good news is about 90% of homeowners make corrections after the first letter. After the second letter, we usually see another 5 to 8 percent making the necessary corrections. Then we spend $47 for the certified letter requesting the property owner to please take action. At this point, most comply with this request and reimburse the cost of the certified letter. Then there are the stubborn few. This is when unfortunately requires a judge to help enforce the restrictions resulting in time and money being spent. Before you email me, if I am describing your neighbor next door, be assured we do follow all the required legal steps to enforce the promise we all made when they purchased the property.

Lastly, The Board of Directors has approved the hiring of a consultant, Counsilman Hunsaker, to provide a conditional assessment of our existing aquatic facilities. A third party consultant was selected to help us attain factual information and based on experience help us discern a reasonable next step. As a community, we have two options to consider: invest in a short-term or a long-term investment. The long-term will eventually happen given nothing last forever; the only question is when? The short term solution consists of making an investment to repair the existing pool while hoping it will last. Both options are viable with different risk factors to consider. The question to the owners is which direction should we take? We hope to get your input on this very important topic.