WCA Board Chair Michiel Oostenbrink opened the March Voting Members meeting with a brief update on association business. The removal of the nonfunctional Frontier pedestals will be complete once Stonebridge has been finished, he reported. He thanked the Government Affairs Committee for spearheading the multiyear effort and advised anyone whose pedestal had been missed to contact GAC member Dale Sells.
Some residents thought that illegal dumping was taking place in West Park Village, but it turned out to be the result of apartment evictions, Oostenbrink shared. GAC Chair Rick Goldstein said that Westchase owed a debt of thanks to code enforcement for threatening the offending apartment complex with a $1,200 per day fine if they didn’t clean up the trash pile.
Regarding the WPV pool, Oostenbrink told the VMs that he was working with contractor G.A. Nichols Company to complete the add-on list of work that the board had compiled. The board asked A.D. Engineering to review the relevant contracts to ensure that the board wasn’t paying for any work that already should have been completed, he continued. G.A. Nichols agreed to all but one item on the list, which would be discussed in greater detail at the March board meeting, he explained.
Oostenbrink said that he wanted to have the pool open for residents in time for spring break, adding that he planned to propose that the board rope off the area at the pool where work was still being done. He stated that the board hoped to finalize the reopening plan at the upcoming meeting.
Stanley Martin Homes would like to address the VMs regarding the proposed annexation of the development they’re building in WPV, reported Oostenbrink. He asked the VMs to send any questions they may have for the developer ahead of time to Community Manager Debbie Sainz or directly to him. Oostenbrink said he was going to ask someone from the company to attend either the April or May VMs meeting in the hopes of getting some updated construction timelines.
Stanley Martin has agreed to pay all legal fees that the WCA incurs in association with the annexation process, he continued. If the VMs want the new development to abide by association guidelines, they should agree to the annexation sooner rather than later, he advised.
Eric Holt, Radcliffe VM and chair of the newly reinstated Document Review Committee, took the floor to provide an update on the committee’s progress. They have met three times and plan to focus first on the Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CCRs) and bylaws, he continued. Committee members have asked legal counsel to provide them with an initial draft of the documents that incorporates new Florida statutes from the past few years, and they expected to have it in hand by April 1, he stated.
Next, they will work on the residential guidelines and Individual Neighborhood Section Guidelines (INSGs) with a goal of removing duplications and ensuring consistency throughout, Holt explained. The committee wants residents to know that now is the time to express any concerns about any community rules, and the VMs are a vital part of that process, he added.
Committee members have put a schedule together that will allow final drafts to go out in November with annual homeowner packets, Holt said. They plan to provide monthly updates at the VMs meetings so the VMs won’t have to review too many changes at once, he continued. A VM asked whether Swim & Tennis rules were going to be part of the committee’s review, and Holt said they most likely would not.
The conversation then turned to the subject of the proposed crosswalk on Linebaugh Avenue. Goldstein told the VMs that Hillsborough County has funded the project, but had not yet decided when construction would begin. He and Board Member Terry Boyd met with County Commissioner Dr. Donna Cameron-Cepeda to discuss the matter, and they planned to meet with other commissioners as well to express their displeasure with the decision, he added.
The project is projected to cost more than $1 million, Goldstein continued, and the community needs an organized response to oppose it.
“We need phone calls and emails and a large contingent to come to the meeting,” he explained. “As a community, we have always been protective of Linebaugh and the median. There’s no data on how an extra crosswalk would impact traffic on Linebaugh.”
Goldstein told the VMs that residents had successfully persuaded the county not to turn Linebaugh into a three-lane road, and he felt confident that by banding together they could stop the crosswalk as well. He expressed frustration that the county has insufficient funds to repair local sidewalks but wants to invest a substantial chunk of money into a crosswalk that would be detrimental to the community.
He urged VMs to be polite but consistent with messaging when reaching out to county commissioners and reminded them that he had already provided them with a list of talking points via email.
Chelmsford VM Joanne Maurer asked whether the project could still realistically be stopped, and Goldstein replied that it could be. Barry Anderson, VM for the Shires, asked whether the WCA board had voted and taken an official position on the matter. Oostenbrink told him that they had, and were officially opposed to the building of the crosswalk.
Forrest Baumhover, Kingsford VM, asked whether the crosswalk would be active solely during school hours or 24 hours a day. Goldstein said his understanding was that pedestrians could push a button to turn the accompanying street light red at any time of the day or night. Baumhover responded by asking whether it could be set to function solely during school hours, and Goldstein replied that he was unsure.
Holt asked for which fiscal year the project was slated and when the public hearing was going to be held. Goldstein told Holt that he was trying to find the answers to both questions. Oostenbrink then held an informal poll, and all VMs present expressed their opposition to the crosswalk.
Oostenbrink then gave the floor to Jonathan Ellis of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, the WCA’s legal counsel, so he could present the VMs with their annual legal training. Ellis touched upon the code of conduct for the VMs, the existence of the variance committee and the potential for its removal, and the question of annexation of new developments. He also discussed the possible implementation of a rental cap and the implications of such a decision.
Stamford VM Jamie Kolev asked whether the board was doing anything to address the vulture problem. Goldstein reminded the VMs that the birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Act, and that only the U.S. Department of Agriculture was permitted to mitigate the vulture population. The USDA was addressing the issue in an attempt to keep the problem at bay, he continued.
Oostenbrink then asked whether there were any future agenda item requests. Holt moved to add a document review committee update to the April meeting agenda, and the motion passed unanimously.
