OFFICIAL PUBLICATION FOR EAST LAKE WOODLANDS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 9 | 2020
PRESIDENT’S REPORT by Paul Burmeister, President For this month’s article, I thought I’d share information on a number of initiatives important for our residents to be aware of. First, I’d like to start by thanking ELWCA Board Member Richard Corrigan along with our Property Manager, Debi Hudrlik, for their work with Duke Energy. Thanks to the efforts of both individuals, the property some of our residents refer to as “East Lake Woodlands Community Park” has been added to Duke Energy’s mowing maintenance schedule. The property located off of Sunflower Drive in between Greenhaven Circle and Pinewinds Boulevard is owned by Duke and in the absence of a lease, ELWCA could no longer bear the cost of its maintenance. With Duke’s agreement to mow, the appearance concerns expressed by a number our residents have been addressed. Second, I’d like to thank ELWCA Board Member Connie Hillman, Finance Committee Member Dave Feller and Debi Hudrlik for the work they are currently doing preparing our 2021 Budget. Having participated in all the meetings I’m very pleased with the financial discipline all 3 individuals are demonstrating as well as the realistic expectations our committee chairs are showing as they present their 2021 proposals. Recognizing that Connie and her team are now in the process of “crunching numbers’’ it is premature to commit to holding the line on fees at this time. Recognizing that the existing contracts with our major service providers have annual increases built in, we are always working with our vendors to control costs and ensure good value for our dollars without compromising the quality of services we receive. Similar to budget challenges every community deals with, ELWCA is also working to contain costs and doesn’t raise dues to increase profits. Every penny that is paid into ELWCA ultimately reflects what it costs to maintain the community at the current level of service as required by our documents. Please also keep in mind that being a board member does not grant financial immunity to anyone from the responsibilities of living in an association. In fact, serving on the board reflects just how seriously they take that responsibility. So, please keep in mind that our board members are also subject to paying membership dues. That said, it is the board’s intent to hold 2021 increases (if needed) to a minimum. Last, we are finalizing plans to upgrade the Walmart and Quail Forest gates with barrier arms similar to the units installed at the Metro and SunTrust locations. A recent assessment identified a number of repairs needed at both locations that based on costs, suggested replacement versus repair, made financial sense. In addition to the upgrades being made at the aforementioned locations, the Sunflower gate will concurrently have improvements made, but will not be changed from the current design. Plans are to provide new news associated with project timing and potential gate closings as appropriate.
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A MESSAGE FROM YOUR MANAGER by Debi Hudrlik, AMS, CMCA
Last month we wrote about the upcoming budget process and the projects that we are prioritizing for the near future and long term. In order to fund these projects, proper planning is necessary. We continue to receive inquiries as to how much fees may be going up in 2021. We will not know the answer to that until the end of September when we conduct our budget workshop, but the Board will work diligently to minimize assessment increases. When you purchased your home, you were probably aware of fees and assessments, funding reserves for wear and tear, and insurance costs for unknown perils. What you probably were not aware of was the Association’s responsibility to provide for hidden infrastructure wear and tear. Owners often want the Association to maintain and enhance property values with conspicuous, beautification projects. Equally important is the Association’s responsibility for maintaining our infrastructure which if we don’t do will ultimately be more expensive in the long term! Most homeowners and Boards want to keep regular assessments low and only want to invest in visible issues and immediate fixes. It is sometimes difficult for a Board to convince owners to contribute to longterm maintenance. Even though ELWCA uses annual reserve studies, unless those studies consider every possible scenario, there is always a chance hidden issues will surface and reserves may not be adequate. In other instances, when reserve studies do not focus on infrastructure in their normal course some conditions are not discovered until problems manifest. Undiscovered conditions typically worsen with time and get more expensive to address. Since insurance does not cover wear and tear of infrastructure, failing to plan can result in the need for special assessments. The ELWCA Board takes its fiduciary responsibility seriously and strives to create a budget for transparent communication to the membership that meets the needs of the Association. Guarding against superficial repairs that do not address the root of the problems and do nothing more than “kick the can down the road” do nothing more than increase our costs. In 2021, the Board will obtain proposals to have a comprehensive reserve study completed. Our goal is to avoid surprises by thoroughly inspecting our infrastructure, identifying potential issues and setting reserves aside to address issues as dictated. Saving money on an annual basis to address the effects of wear and tear to our infrastructure helps ensure sufficient resources exist when capital expenses are incurred. In an ideal world, being prepared and budgeting appropriately now facilitates avoidance of special assessments in the future. It may be prudent for all sub-associations to address their budget process in this same fashion. Many sub-associations are running extremely lean, and they too may be caught off guard should a hidden infrastructure situation occur. Some thoughts to keep in mind as we enter this budget season: • Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance • Failing to Prepare = Preparing to Fail • Preparation Today Leads to Success Tomorrow The ELWCA Board of Directors, various Committees and Management thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation as we work toward building a better future for our community.