Several residents attended the October board meeting to take part in the monthly open forum. Mary Griffin, VM for the Single Family Homes at West Park Village, brought forth three concerns from one of her constituents, who is also a lap swimmer. Griffin said the homeowner was frustrated by Pipeline’s lack of communication regarding inconsistent timing of swim meets; was concerned about letting other vendors use the community pools; and felt strongly that lifeguards are not necessary in Westchase.
Bennington VM Russ Crooks stated that his community wanted lifeguards during the summer months when there are a lot of children using the pool. Resident Katie Hammond told the board she believed strongly that the community’s lifeguards should stay. She also expressed deep appreciation for Pipeline and its programs, adding that four of her children swim with Coach Patrick. Another resident echoed Hammond’s statements about the lifeguards. She pointed out that they can assist even strong swimmers in the event of a stroke or heart attack, and alert facility users of lightning in the area.
A homeowner informed the board that her son had been assaulted on the WPV bridge by an adult Westchase resident 11 days prior. She said the CDD chair and the VM for the Greens suggested she attend the board meeting to ask Inframark to work with the CDD to cover the cost of livestream camera footage on the bridge.
Moving on to board business, Treasurer Eric Holt said the 2026 budget is a work in progress. WCA President Michiel Oostenbrink said he had been trying unsuccessfully to get in touch with the vendor responsible for the board’s reserve study and would continue to try to reach them.
Government Affairs Committee Chair Ashley Wait-Woodcock shared that she was in the process of finetuning the committee’s mission and members and was open to having existing members continue to serve if they wished. Holt said it was vital for each committee to have a resolution stating its purpose. He said he had created a new resolution for the GAC, and made a motion to forward it to legal counsel for review. The motion passed unanimously.
Holt, who also serves as chair of the Document Review Committee, announced that the proposed revisions would be presented to the VMs at their October meeting. Counsel would be present to address any legal questions. Wait-Woodcock shared that she had reached out to Hillsborough County Commissioner Josh Wostal, who was scheduled to speak at the October VMs meeting. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he was no longer able to attend.
Director Jack Maurer moved to appoint Ron Schinder and Jamie Kolev to the Swim & Tennis Committee. Holt expressed concerns about the process being used to fill committee vacancies, adding that he wanted to ensure that all interested residents were being considered. A discussion ensued about whether the board should review all of the bios submitted for any given vacancy or if the committee chair should simply submit a recommendation.
Hammond stated that she had submitted her bio for consideration for the S&T Committee vacancy, but Chair Dan Haigy didn’t receive it. Maurer’s motion passed 6-1, with Wait-Woodcock opposed. She said she thought the matter should be tabled until all candidates could be considered. The board then voted unanimously to remove Terry Boyd from the S&T Committee.
Haigy submitted a proposal on behalf of the S&T Committee for what he called “open pickleball play” on Thursday and Saturday nights, which is intended to increase participation by residents who might not have a group. The board questioned the logistics of the proposal, as well as the term “open” play, which many found to be confusing.
Maurer, who also serves on the S&T Committee, said that the board needs to find a way to control the access point to the pickleball courts to ensure that unauthorized non-residents aren’t using the courts. Oostenbrink suggested tabling Haigy’s proposal until the board addressed Maurer’s concern. Maurer and Holt asked Association Manager Jennifer Jordan to obtain three bids for a metal lock and button system to control access to the courts.
Haigy requested that the existing tennis court rules be applied to pickleball as well. Holt asked Haigy to provide the board with a revised version of the rules to ensure that they all apply to pickleball, adding that the revisions were needed before the board could vote on the matter.
Haigy also proposed that the committee be granted limited access to the Your Courts system so members could gather relevant usage information. The board approved.
Holt then moved to appoint Stephanie Lambre to the Covenants Committee, and his motion passed, 7-1.
Oostenbrink then informed the board that the Jewish Community Center pool is closing in May 2026, and Swim Tampa Aquatics (STA) submitted a proposal to use the Westchase pools. He moved to task the S&T Committee with conducting a review of Pipeline’s existing services, an analysis of STA’s proposal and a comparison of the two before next month’s board meeting. All board members voted in favor.
Maurer made a motion to approve the formation of a Technology Advisory Committee and to appoint members Brad Swindell, Mike Ward and Marlon Santos. Holt reiterated his concerns about the need to open all committee vacancies to the community at large. He also said he wanted to prohibit anyone who serves on the TAC from doing business with the WCA in a way that would create a conflict of interest or financially benefit the committee member. Wait-Woodcock agreed.
Swindell, a Westchase resident since 2019, spoke about the need for the committee and agreed with Holt that it was important to consider any interested homeowners for membership. Swindell also shared that he had created a draft resolution for the committee, and Holt said it should be sent to legal for review. A discussion ensued about whether a resolution needed to be approved prior to the formation of a new committee. A motion was made to form the committee and approve the three initial members, and it passed 6-1. Holt was opposed.
Oostenbrink said the board tasked Inframark with putting together recommendations to illustrate how the pool facilities could potentially operate without lifeguards.
Jordan reported that there are currently 22 lifeguards and cabana attendants, at a cost of $534,000 per year. The proposal would transition that staff to 12 Community Service Attendants (CSAs) and Inframark would also hire a facility manager who would be responsible for pool maintenance. Additionally, the property management company would employ janitorial services for regular deep cleaning.
There is currently no facilities manager on staff, and Wait-Woodcock urged the board to address the vacancy immediately. Maurer suggested that Coach Patrick from Pipeline oversee and manage the lifeguards in the interim. Holt said he was more concerned with whether Westchase was keeping lifeguards in the long term. Jordan reiterated that Inframark was unable to oversee lifeguards, but could oversee CSAs.
Jordan told the board that she had Inframark’s corporate job description for a facilities manager, but Holt argued that it needed to be edited to be specific to Westchase. Jordan stated that she was unable to alter the description, so Director Theresa Lanzar agreed to do so. Director Jason Jozefiak said he would help.
The board discussed whether the majority of VMs actually polled their constituents prior to voting in Oostenbrink’s straw poll regarding lifeguards. Lanzar suggested tasking the VMs with polling the residents about the need for lifeguards. Director Jessica Siddle agreed, saying that even if her opinion differed from that of the VMs, she would vote the way the VMs voted after they polled their residents.
Maurer recommended sending out a community-wide survey, and Swindell said he could assist with the creation and implementation of a cost-effective or free survey. The board agreed to the survey.
Holt stated that the budget would have to include the cost of employing lifeguards year-round since the board would not have time to reach a final decision prior to the VMs’ budget workshop. Oostenbrink expressed concern that that decision could further increase annual assessments .