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September Board Meeting Highlights
Thank you to the residents (both online and in-person) that participated in the Board of Directors Meeting this past Wednesday evening. Here is a recap of agenda actions and discussion items addressed by the board.
Action Items:
1. Creation of a Separate Account with South State Bank for the SRC Project Fund
A proposal was put before the board to create a separate account specifically for the SRC pool project. This would allow funds to be managed, transferred and tracked for the SRC project and keep them separate from other funds used for other WCA projects. The proposal was unanimously approved with an initial transfer of $500,000 into the new account.
2. Policy on Requests for Memorials
A request for a policy for memorial benches was presented to the board of directors. Requests have been made by residents to have memorial benches placed throughout the community. To better manage the process, criteria and placement of memorial benches a draft policy was shared and discussed.
From the discussion it was decided to include “honorary” as well as “memorial” form of commemoration. Two bench designs are available; a metal version for placement in parks and other common property, and a wood/composite bench for placement along the trail system.
The policy was unanimously approved with the changes discussed, including the removal of a “plaque-only” option and with the inclusion of the “honorary” option.
3. Funding Authorization for Resurfacing of Racquet Sport Courts 15 & 16
Authorization for resurfacing of tennis courts 15 & 16 in include pickleball layouts was discussed. Pickleball is currently played on courts 15&16 consisting of 4 pickleball courts marked along with tennis court markings. The authorization of funds would allow the re-surfacing and re-aligning to increase the number of pickleball courts to six. In addition, new, upgraded portable nets would be purchased. These nets will be on wheels and easily moved for tennis play when needed. Members of the pickleball players community spoke in support of the authorization.
The board unanimously approved the funding authorization for resurfacing of racquet sport courts 15 & 16 and the new nets. Unfortunately, with the weather situation pending – both rain and the cold weather that will be approaching, it was recommended by the contractor to delay the project until spring.
The contract will be locked in at the quoted price of 40k and executed by/before May of 2023
Discussion Topics:
1. SRC Project – Status of Construction & Cost Update
President Traynor provided an update on the SRC Pool Project. The project is progressing and at this point, is on time for completion for the 2023 pool season.
The project is facing a financial challenge however that has created a need to re-consider some of the major portions of the effort. The cost is currently estimated to finalize between $10.0 million to $11.3 million. The cost increase, as we have all seen this past year, is mostly driven by inflation. It was pointed out as an example, that concrete, the primary construction material for the project, has seen record-breaking and frequent price increases, including one six-week period where concrete pricing alone increased by $250,000.
While labor seems to remain stable, the material costs increase on a near daily basis. Thus, the team is looking at several ways to value-engineer the project to save money. Nothing is off the table and all areas have been, and continue to be, examined. Delaying the clubhouse renovation or delaying other project elements are still possibilities. One example of this is landscaping being moved to the fall of 2023 when the weather is better suited for successful planting.
The board is also researching the availability, and viability, of using portions of other existing reserves to reconcile some of the cost increases. This will be an on-going process as the project progresses. The board did rule out any special assessment.
With the challenges noted and discussed, President Traynor shared some positive information to those attending the meeting. By acting early, the loan for the project was able to be locked in with a very good interest rate. Had we waited, we very likely would not have gotten that rate, nor potentially the loan amount of even the $7.5 million. Getting out in front of a pool failure, with a plan in place, was still the best approach.
Further updates and discussions will be provided as need and information becomes available.
2. Voting Power of Properties (Residential & Commercial)
The Financial Transparency Committee shared their work to address a revision of the voting power of the various properties. The goal of their proposal is to create a more equitable sharing of the voting powers of residential and commercial property owners. Currently residential property owners get two votes per property. Commercial owners obtain votes based on one vote per $100 of paid assessment.
The proposal presented to the board for consideration would have the vote-count for each to be the same and cap any increase in the commercial assessment to one-half of the percentage increase in assessment applied to residential properties.
Adoption of this proposal will require a change in the By-laws, the Restrictive Covenants, and the Articles of Incorporation. Thus, the changes to the voting power question would have to be voted on by the membership. It is anticipated that the measure would be put out for vote with next year’s annual meeting vote.
From the discussion, General Manager Bailey suggested official language be crafted by the attorney to address the above, and that the FTC use that to fine-tune their proposal on how to educate the membership on these issues.
The consensus of the board was to direct GM Bailey to proceed with securing referendum language from the association attorney.
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