From the Boardroom

Dave Pete, Board Treasurer

The 2022 LPOA & LHC election for the Board of Directors is coming up. I thought it would be a great time to reflect on the Board’s mission and hopefully encourage everyone to carefully review candidates as they will be featured in the April Ripples. Please note if candidates run uncontested, bios may not be published.

The Association has a mission, and the Board of Directors govern the Association in support of the mission.

The mission of the Lakewood Property Owner’s Association is to maintain and enhance the property values of its members and promote the development of a desirable community through projects, programs, and services.

The Board of Directors (member elected) are bound by the duty to advance the Associations mission as well as the duty to assure that all provisions of the governing documents, which include covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) and ByLaws are abided by and assure that the rules and regulations are enforced.

I am lucky enough to be serving my second term on the Board. I also feel blessed to get to serve with caring and responsible people, many who have done several terms as well as being long-term residents in Lakewood. Both of my terms on the Board have been with some really great people, always professional in attitude, mindful of the Board’s mission and always careful stewards of our neighborhood’s assets.

Both times I ran for the Board, I promised to do my best to focus on keeping Lakewood property values high, and this falls in line with the Board’s overall mission. For me, this is the guiding factor in the decisions I might have to make concerning this neighborhood. This type of approach is not always easy, and sometimes it has meant I couldn’t vote simply to be “the nice guy”. In some instances I had to vote to protect ALL the resident’s interest in LPOA above any single individual’s interest (including my own). I think this is the toughest part of being a board member, and for people that have never been on a Lakewood committee or board it may be hard to understand.

Being on the Board for LPOA and LHC is a huge responsibility, and not a single person I have served with has taken the role lightly. Board Directors generally receive a vast amount of information about each topic that comes before us, and some topics require us to investigate further or to do “field research”. No decision is taken lightly - some are nobrainers and others require much thought, study, debate and sometimes deferral as we gather more information.

The Board is not a perfect decision making machine, but in my 4 years of experience we have done a fantastic job steering the LPOA through some very complicated and sometimes incendiary issues. Having individuals that are professional, experienced and dedicated to the long-term success of this neighborhood needs to be at the top of your list when considering candidates.

It’s appropriate to say thanks in advance to anyone that decides to run for the Board. It can at times be thankless, and the criticisms can be fast and harsh (thanks, social media!). LPOA Board members are not paid, and contrary to popular gossip on the socials there are no kick-backs, pay-offs, or backroom deals making board members (or staff) wealthy.

But, it can also be very rewarding. The residents of Lakewood that volunteer so much of their own time and energy do this because they believe what we have is special. Some would tell you they love Lakewood, and they want to fight to keep it a premier neighborhood. Serving on the Board or one of