Homeowners Committee Meeting

On the 27th the Committee met and two members of the Board joined with the the committee members present to discuss many of the issues of current interest in Wingspread. A number of matters dealing with court concerns, Landscaping issues and things like the Rules and Regulations of the community were reviewed.

One special area of interest was the matter of the five member Board and the forthcoming election. It was exciting to find that there are now more candidates for the Board positions than there are openings. Information about the candidates and the actual annual meeting information will be mailed to all owners quite soon.

Another, less comforting, piece of information will soon arrive in a letter to many owners in the older or Brick portions of the community. A recent study of the condition of the chimneys in the brick buildings shows detereoration that must be addressed quite soon. This repair is the responsiblity of the individual owner and all pertinent information relative to this will be explained in the upcoming mailing to the owners of these properties.

Some questions answered

Q 1. Is there any truth to the rumor that homeowners will no longer be allowed to rent their properties out to tenants and that existing tenants will be required to vacate?

A There is no truth to the rumor. At this time the Board is certainly considering all options that pertain to retaining the quality of life and the value of property here in the community. There are suggestions that Wingspread should revisit the matter of some form of limitation on leasing properties here but there is nothing currently being explored along these lines.

Q 2. There had been talk of selling the land across from Shelbourne Road. Are there any new developments on that topic? If the land is not sold, what plans does Wingspread have in store with this property? And what effect will it have on the budget and association fees if it is retained or sold?

A That stretch is a problem as it has no great value as real estate, being in a rather active flood plain. Over the years a number of uses have been considered and it is currently configured as a picnic area, though not used very much. There are also limits placed on fishing in that area. Wingspread even offered the property to Exeter but they were not interested. We have cut back on mowing the area because of the limited use. But it is required that we do control the weed growth down there. We are told that maintaining that property costs each homeowner about 36 cents a month.

Q 3. Is there a way to send outgoing postal mail in Wingspread? If not, we'd like to see an outgoing mail deposit somewhere in the community. A number of other governed communities offer this service and it would make it convenient for many residents, especially senior citizens, if we could send mail without having to drive to the post office.

A Most Court areas do have outgoing boxes in the immediate area of the resident boxes. A visit to Windsor explains why there is none in your court. You have 16 units and 16 mail boxes so there is no room for an outbox. Folks in your court can easily walk over to Wessex and use the outbox there.
We did have a drop box along Wingspread Drive but the post office elected to remove that some time ago. FYI. the mailboxs and dropboxs are the property of the US Postal Service and do not actually belong to Wingspread.

Five member Board ~ it's official

The response to the survey was overwhelming and almost totally supported the expansion of the Board to five members. It was gratifying to find that much interest in the community and suggests we are headed in the right direction.

As a result, the Board voted to expand the Board to five and the forthcoming election will be set up to accomplish this. Shortly a mailing will go out seaking nominations for the three open spots that will exist as of the annual meeting. It is now time for those who indicated an interest in serving to place their name in nomination. We would ask for broader representation of the various courts and for more involvement of women on the Board.

Let's prove them wrong....

They say that people in Wingspread just don't care.
They say that folks don't want to be involved or take the time for this community.
They say mostly the owners from the newer units come to the annual meeting.
They say residents won't spend an hour or two a year at an annual meeting even though some volunteer Board members give that much time each day to the community.
They say we won't get enough volunteers for the Board or Committees.
They say the we won't accept a need for increased fees even if we understand the issues.
They say we just don't understand that the value of our investments in our homes surely depends on how the affairs of Wingspread are conducted.
They say we simply can't solve the parking issues here in Wingspread.
They say that people don't really understand the Rules and Regulation and they can't be enforced anyway.

OK????? Participate, come to the annual meeting and show them.