A West Park Village resident opened the audience forum by inquiring about enforcement of the “No Parking” signs in West Park Village. GAC Chair Rick Goldstein explained that the county will be adding the fire zone markings and the sheriff’s office is obligated to enforce parking restrictions within those zones. He said that the other no parking areas are at the officer’s discretion.
Board President Michiel Oostenbrink added that the board would undergo a thorough stage two process to address resident concerns while also working with the fire marshal.
In his Treasurer’s report, Terry Boyd said there is nothing in the financials that “pops out,” adding that the board is in good shape with accounts receivables, with $1.5 million currently creating interest. Boyd did say that the board will need to create an updated reserve list, and they could possibly tick a few things off the list with the interest being earned.
Director Jack Maurer presented the proposed fines and approvals – there were 65 in total, and all board members present approved the recommendations. Directors Jessica Siddle and Theresa Lanzar were absent.
Association Manager Debbie Sainz pointed out there were also three appeals, all from the same homeowner who was initially sited in August of 2024. After a discussion, the board voted to deny the appeals.
Oostenbrink informed the board that there was a request for an additional $1,500 towards the purchase of recording equipment to record and livestream voting member meetings. VMs had voted to approve the additional amount during their March 11 meeting. Maurer made a motion for the board to approve the amount. Goldstein said he’d like to see a contract before approving the additional monies. Boyd pointed out that the board was not approving a contract, it was simply approving a budget to be used toward the equipment. Radcliffe VM Eric Holt interjected that the contract had been presented during the VM meeting. The motion passed with Goldstein and Director Nancy Sells dissenting.
Turning to changes to the association’s insurance policies, Oostenbrink reminded the board that insurance brokerage firm Brown & Brown had looked into all of the association’s policies with their varying renewal dates and had come up with a comprehensive plan that offered more coverage at a cost savings. Associates from Brown & Brown joined the meeting by phone to explain that the rate for property coverage through Philadelphia Insurance had increased by 19.4%. The agents said the rate increase was due to Tampa’s high-risk classification. They had shopped the policy and, even with the increase, none of the agencies could compete with Philadelphia’s rates. The associates added that they were able to combine the crime and directors and officers coverage in a policy from Harco Insurance, at a savings of roughly $5,000. They noted there was also an option for cyber insurance through Coalition Insurance. Oostenbrink thanked the Brown & Brown associates for their time.
During their discussions, Sainz reminded the board that insurance rates had risen 46.6% with the 2022-23 policy and 27.29% with the 2023-24 policy, so 19.4% was not so bad. Goldstein and Boyd noted that, even with the addition of the cyber insurance, the total cost of $84,136 was well under the $96,000 budget.
The board voted to approve the Philadelphia, Harco and Coalition policy package.
Regarding the Countryway bathroom renovation, Maurer reported that the revised quote for tile work would require an additional $3,600. He explained that the contractor’s wife, an interior designer, had suggested changes to the tile that would offer a more modern look. She and Siddle worked on the tile selections, and Maurer presented samples and plans to the board. All agreed the new selections would create the spa-like feel they had initially hoped for. Maurer asked to rescind the vote to approve the previous tile selections and a motion to approve the additional $3,600 for the upgraded tile. Both motions passed.
Turning to the pool deck, Oostenbrink explained that there is a small hole in the pool deck that goes through the pavers, the concrete decking and about 5 feet beyond the deck. At the board’s request, A.D. Engineering had gone through the list of what work GA Nichols still needed to complete, as well as any additional tasks they needed to complete that were not on the contract. Following negotiations, GA Nichols agreed to complete all the items on the list at no additional cost, except for the hole repair. The estimate for that repair was $10,800. GA Nichols was not taking responsibility for that hole, but Oostenbrink said he did not feel that the pool contractor, Ronny Snow, could have been responsible for that damage. Oostenbrink said he had requested photos from every stage of the project to help determine when/how the damage happened. Oostenbrink replied that the repair of the hole was an extensive effort, and they needed to be sure it was done correctly. Maurer pointed out that the $10,800 did not include the cost of getting new geotechnical reports following the repair.
Regarding the key question, the reopening date of the WPV pool, Oostenbrink explained the final fix within the pool was the lighting. The lighting company had come out and was unable to find junction boxes for two of the lights. The next step was to bring out an electrician. He was scheduled to be on-site on Monday, March 17.
Kilgore explained that they can open 30 minutes after dawn and 30 minutes before dusk until the lights are fixed and they receive their night certification.
Oostenbrink also reported that the new slide was 20-25 days out from delivery. He suggested roping off the section of the deck with the hole that awaited repair and opening the pool, even if they might need to close it again temporarily to fix the lights.
S&T Committee member Pam Wilcox asked if they could try to avoid closing it back down during spring break.
Maurer asked Kilgore if they had the staff to open the pool and Kilgore replied that he did not have the staff to accommodate the current operating hours at Countryway and WPV.
“You’re saying we don’t have the staff to open on Monday?” Oostenbrink asked.
“With the current operating hours, no. If we shorten the hours at Countryway in the morning, we can overlap our shifts, and I think if we do that, we’ll be able to open up,” Kilgore said.
“How did we lose so much staff?” Oostenbrink asked.
Kilgore said they lost two head lifeguards who went on to jobs within their fields following graduation and one regular lifeguard. Kilgore added he currently has 11 guards on staff, three of which serve as court attendants; he needs 16 in total to staff both pools and the courts.
Maurer asked what Greenacre is doing to solve this problem. Sainz responded that they have an ad on Indeed and qualified candidates are passed on to Kilgore. Maurer expressed frustration that he did not know about the staffing shortage and wanted to know if Greenacre was staying on top of the situation and Oostenbrink said he had sent Kilgore a message two weeks prior, letting him know they were planning to open the pool. Sainz reminded the board that Kilgore had a certification class coming up in March and asked Kilgore how many had signed up. He replied that 5 had passed the pre-certification swim test and 4 of those had paid for the course. He added there were a few more swim tests in the coming week. He had also received a few applications pending their certification.
Maurer asked Sainz to do a “deep dive” into hiring guards to assist Kilgore. Goldstein suggested reaching out to staffing companies that provide guards.
Kilgore pointed out that they had explored all of the options the board had suggested.
Goldstein reiterated that Sainz should look into temporary staffing for guards.
Maurer asked Kilgore to start by asking all current staff if they’d be interested in expanding their hours.
“I did explore all of the options, and I did discuss with Debbie and we decided to focus on training and recruiting through the vendors we’ve been using,” Kilgore said. “The idea of contract employees was discussed.”
Resident Andrew Amenta suggested calling all guards who worked the summer camps last summer to see if they were interested in covering spring break.
Wilcox asked for consistency in the pool hours and requested both pools be open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. “I want to make sure that is the ultimate goal,” she said.
The board confirmed that this is the goal when the lights are fixed.
A motion was made for Greenacre and Kilgore to explore all options to increase staffing in order to open by Monday for spring break. The motion passed.
“Is changing pool hours at Countryway off the table?” Kilgore asked.
Maurer said it would be a last resort.
“Whatever happens, it is imperative you contact Debbie and let her know what has happened and it is imperative that Debbie keeps us informed,” Maurer concluded.
Editor’s note: Following the meeting, WOW was informed that the staffing had been adjusted to allow the WPV pool to open on Monday, March 17.
Moving on to trash removal discussions, Sainz reported that when the association switched to Republic in 2022, the monthly rates were $134 at WPV and $253 at Countryway. Those rates have risen by 56% and 54.5% respectively to $209 and $401. Sainz added that Waste Management wants the business back and is offering rates of $177 and $275 respectively with a three-year contract. A motion was made to switch back to Waste Management with an increase cap of 6% written into the three-year contract. It passed unanimously.
In his GAC update, Goldstein informed the board that the proposed crosswalk on Linebaugh leading to Westchase Elementary had now been funded by the county but no construction timeline had been set. He said he and Boyd had met with several county commissioners, and they planned to meet with other commissioners to express their displeasure with the decision. He added that he would be providing information to residents so they have all of the talking points they need to oppose the crosswalk. Oostenbrink said he had mapped out all of the streets in the surrounding area and worked with the school to get a better handle on the number of Westchase Elementary students who would be impacted by an additional crosswalk. He said he was still crunching the numbers, but on the high side, that number is 55. He added that a straw poll was taken at the March VM meeting and it was unanimous not to support the crosswalk.
Goldstein pointed out that we have a crosswalk with crossing guards and a bus that meets the need for safety measures in the area.
Goldstein then requested to add a new member to the GAC committee and Oostenbrink reminded him that the item was not on the agenda, so the matter would need to be tabled to April. Maurer reminded Goldstein that he had asked for a monthly CDD recap. Oostenbrink said it would be helpful to get a breakdown of everyone on the committee and what they are handling. Holt reminded the board that under the governing documents, they are obligated to create a resolution for every committee. “This is one of the larger committees that should be clearly defined,” Holt said of the GAC Committee. “It would be very beneficial, and it is an obligation.”
“I’m only putting people in because of the coverage we need in certain areas…we need to be on top of it,” Goldstein said. “I said I would make GAC a very proactive entity and I’ve done that.”
In Dan Haigy’s absence, S&T committee member Pam Wilcox presented the report. She first offered an update on the proposal for additional dual-use tennis/pickleball courts, stating that data extracted from the Your Courts app on pickleball usage for 2024 had been parsed and broken into high usage and prime time. Overall usage was 36%; prime time morning was 63%; and evening prime time was 79%. Wilcox added that based on that date, the committee was not recommending conversion at this time. She added that the data does not distinguish residents from guests.
Amenta asked about the usage of tennis courts and Wilcox said they are not looking at tennis usage right now.
Amenta countered that there is currently more demand than courts available.
Wilcox added that they needed to collect more data on who is actually using the courts, which would be a two-step process:
- They would need to add a field in the Your Courts app to capture info on everyone using the courts to get a true number of residents versus non-residents.
- Entrance to the facility would mirror entrance to other facilities – players would only be let onto the courts if their name is on the list.
The board reiterated that this study was just phase one. Phase two is identifying who is using the courts. “We’re trying to do it in a way that when we attack it, we do it with answers,” Maurer said.
A motion to hold off on dual-use courts because the board does not have all of the data they need to move forward passed unanimously.
Turning to LED lighting, Wilcox said the committee had narrowed down to two potential vendors: Fuller and Stones River. The S&T recommendation was that Fuller had superior lighting with fewer hot spots. Wilcox added that both vendors had said there would be tariffs going into place and an order would need to be placed by March 21 to avoid a cost increase.
A motion to go with Fuller and sign the PO before March 21 passed unanimously.
A motion was then made to add two new committee members to fill vacant spots: Amenta and John Mogge. The motion passed unanimously.
Regarding the painting of the metal tables, light poles and benches, Sainz informed the board they only had two bids after one vendor backed out and that any project over $5,000
Following a discussion about having enough time to paint the light poles before the new LED lights arrived, the board agreed to seek another bid for the painting project.
In his facilities manager report, Kilgore reminded the board that when the WPV pool closed, the board approved opening the Countryway pool at 7 a.m. on the weekend. This was meant to be temporary, and Kilgore was once again requesting a return to the 10 a.m. opening hour to accommodate Saturday morning in-service staff training. Goldstein asked Kilgore to explain the purpose of those training sessions. “We need to do the training so that the staff can be up-to-date and rescue-ready,” Kilgore replied. He pointed to the changes to Your Courts app data collection suggested earlier in the meeting, adding that his staff would need to be trained on those changes. “We also get in the water and practice rescues so that if there is an emergency situation our guards can get in the water and save lives,” he added.
Wilcox interjected that she felt the needs of the residents should take priority. Kilgore agreed that serving the residents is the top priority and that having a well-trained staff is a service to the residents.
Oostenbrink asked if either pool was open before 10 a.m. on the weekends before the WPV pool closed. Kilgore said no, both opened at 10 a.m.
After a lengthy discussion, the board passed a motion to return to a 10 a.m. opening time on the weekends at Countryway temporarily.
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