Recounting the Board’s Accomplishments

Farewell! After being on the Westchase Community Association’s (WCA) Board of Directors for many years, including the last two as president, I have decided not to seek reelection to the board at the next annual meeting.

I do, however, feel proud of what has been accomplished by the board members, who have given so much of their time to work for the betterment of Westchase.

I am not only proud of my fellow directors but also of the Westchase Voting Members, who are composed of one representative and one or more alternates from each neighborhood and who are elected by their neighbors. Please, let us also not forget the most unheralded volunteers of Westchase – the chairs and members of the WCA committees. The administration of Westchase would be impossible if not for the volunteers that work on the Covenants, Modifications and Government Affairs Committees as well as the members of the Stork Club and the Welcome/Village Volunteers. This small group of approximately 100 Westchase owners, who have stepped forward to participate in the operation of our community, deserves to be recognized. Each is a volunteer that has chosen to be a part of the solution – a part of what makes Westchase tick. Due to this small group, Westchase can boast of being the best community in Northwest Hillsborough County if not the entire county.

I would also like to mention a group of people that carries out the policies and practices of our association as dictated by our governing documents. These individuals enable Westchase to function effectively. I am very proud of every one of the WCA’s staff members, from the WCA office to our facilities’ staff – the operations manager of our swim and tennis centers, the tennis professionals, our swim director, their supporting staff and our lifeguards. These are really the people responsible both for ensuring that all rules and regulations are followed by the WCA members and for keeping our facilities in the best possible shape.

Let me briefly address the financial situation of our association. As of the end of July 2010, WCA showed a surplus of $37,759 in its operating account as well as a balance in its reserve account of almost $400,000. The reserve account consists of funds set aside for future replacement of the association’s assets; a reserve study, which is performed every three years, represents a financial check-up for the association. I am therefore pleased to announce that our association is in very good financial health. Our reserve study, recently conducted by Armstrong Consulting, Inc., recommends decreasing the amount of money for reserve contributions for the year 2011. This is a significant achievement in good economic times and a remarkable one given the current state of our economy.

Westchase is in good financial health due to the prudent leadership of the board of directors, which continues to maintain and improve our facilities in a fiscally responsible manner. All improvements are considered with an understanding of how each project will affect the finances of the association and benefit residents and property values.

Let us look at what we have done to our facilities lately. Probably the most satisfying effort about which I feel especially proud was the construction of our own WCA office building. There we house our management staff. It’s also where the WCA Board, other WCA committees and many neighborhood committees and sub-associations’ boards of directors meet. This project came to completion after many years of study and planning. It was originally intended to house not only the association’s management staff but also the Community Development Districts’ (CDDs) management staff. It didn’t, however, get the approval of the Westchase CDD (representing the western part of Westchase). For its construction, the association took a three-year loan, which we were able to pay back in less time, saving a fair amount in interest money.

During the last two years we also completed the remodeling of both swim and tennis facilities. Both pools’ shells and decks were resurfaced, the restroom facilities upgraded and the meeting room at the Countryway Center received new windows and a ceiling. We also added shade structures for the benefit of the WCA members while remodeling the office facilities at the Countryway and West Park Village centers. The tennis courts were also resurfaced. Problems with their soil foundations were also corrected and the landscaping of both facilities was upgraded. We can claim to have two top swim and tennis facilities and at present we are working to make sure that our swim and tennis programs are among the best in the state.

Now where are we headed? In addition to the projects that I have mentioned, I feel the new WCA board should continue to strive for improvements. If we ever decide to be satisfied with what we have, that will likely be the moment that Westchase will stop growing and improving. I know that not all families use the available facilities. Yet many association members do, and they are entitled to call Westchase’s pools and courts “their own facilities.” Those who don’t use these facilities must remember that the pools, courts and their programs – if properly maintained – play a significant role in maintaining everyone’s property values.

I wish everyone well.

By Carlos S. Quiros, WCA President