WLHA Annual Meeting Minutes

April 8, 2009

The WLHA Annual Meeting was held on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, at the Eastside Enhancement Center. 

John Bogue, President, WLHA, called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.  He then introduced the current WLHA Board Members. 

            Colleen Brooks, Vice President
            Wayne McKitrick, Treasurer
            Debbie Clayton, Secretary
            Bryan Cobb, Developer Liaison 

Ron Simmons, Director, was not in attendance at the meeting.

Guest Speakers were Kevin Massengill, County Administrator, and Sheriff Dusty Rhodes.

John went over the accomplishments of the Board in 2008.  The neighborhood was very pleased with the work performed during the year.

New Business

Golf carts usage for speeds less than 25 mph in neighborhoods in Dinwiddie County was discussed by Kevin Massengill, County Administrator.  There are currently no neighborhoods in the county who have the golf cart usage ordinance.  The ordinance is specific to golf carts and does not include four wheelers or go karts.  In order for golf carts to be in compliance with the ordinance, they must have a “slow moving vehicle” sign posted on the back of the cart, must be licensed, have working lights on the vehicle, seatbelts and a horn.

Also, signs would have to be posted in the neighborhood.  The neighborhood would have to pay the county for the signage.  If an ordinance is passed by the Board of Supervisors for approval of the golf cart usage, there would then be a public hearing regarding the usage of golf carts in a neighborhood.  The advertising of the public hearing would also have to be paid for by the neighborhood.  We must decide as a neighborhood if we would like to pursue this.

The BOS would have to consider speed, volume of housing, character of the neighborhood, road design, and volume of thru traffic.  Guidelines would have to be established in order to approve or deny the request for golf cart usage.

Sheriff Dusty Rhodes is against the ordinance.  The Sheriff then stated that every neighborhood in the county would then pursue the same issue and request golf cart usage in their neighborhood.  The obvious issues are public safety, underage driving, and drinking and golf cart usage.  Also, there is the issue of neighborhood liability in the event of an accident.

Gerald Massengill stated the issue of golf cart usage in neighborhoods was put to the localities because of the numerous issues and concerns around the way roads are engineered.  Right now, this is more of a fact finding mission to decide which direction the neighborhood would like to go with the request for golf cart usage.  We must decide if there is a clear benefit in golf cart usage in Waterford Landing.  The majority of attendees at the Annual Meeting were still in favor of requesting approval of the county for the golf cart usage in our neighborhood.

Speeding on the roads in Waterford Landing is an issue now, not just with golf carts.  We have talked about putting in speed bumps, but emergency vehicles do not like speed bumps to be placed in neighborhoods.  There is also the possibility of placing one of the speed information signs in our neighborhood to bring awareness to the speeders.  As usual, there was much discussion around the issue of speeding in our neighborhood.

Thanks to Kevin Massengill, Gerald Masssengill, and Sheriff Dusty Rhodes for their information regarding golf cart usage.  It was very informative and helpful.

Financial Report

Wayne McKitrick covered the financial statement for the Year Ending 2008 and also the First Quarter of 2009.

All outstanding homeowner dues have been collected with the exception of two.  He is working on the remaining two outstanding balances.

The light bill went up considerably due to the new lights on Waterford Terrace and the common area.

All proffers have been paid forward and are in the account.  The special assessment monies collected are also in the bank to be used for any future projects the neighborhood may decide upon.

The budget for 2009 is expected to be about the same as the budget for 2008.  The 2009 budget for WLHA will be posted on the website.

WLHA Website

Tom Murray covered the website. We have had 1848 hits on the website since last fall.  There about 30 repeat IP addresses and the rest are visitors to the website.

There was discussion around how the neighborhood would like to utilize the website.  Community announcements, business advertisements, neighborhood improvement suggestions, WLHA documents, etc. are all items for the website.  We are still evolving this website, so if you have a suggestion, please submit to Tom Murray for inclusion on the webpage.

Halloween in Waterford

Carlos Munoz from the Neighborhood Watch Committee discussed the Halloween activities in Waterford.  It has been difficult in the past to transport the children down the long driveways with the tractors and trailers.  Usually, there is no place to turn around the vehicles.

A suggestion was made by Carlos that we change to a “Trunk or Treat” and hold it at the common area.  The cars are all decorated and parked in the parking lot of the area.  The candy is in the trunk and the children go from car to car trick or treating.  It is much safer for the children.  There would then be enough time for a hayride through the neighborhood and also a cookout for those who would like to participate. 

It was decided this was a great idea and to move forward for Halloween 2009.

Becky Prince, NWP Coordinator, asked for families to volunteer for neighborhood watch for the months of October and November.  We need one more family for November.  There are four families per month to share patrol, look for unsafe conditions, etc.

There has been a request for a “No Wake” signage in the cove from the common area.  It was suggested the homeowners in the cove should place the signage on their boathouses and also a sign be placed at the common area on the docks.

The dock at the marina in the common area has some boards which need to be replaced.  It was decided they would be addressed as required, not to replace all of them at the same time.

Canoe/Kayak Rack Proposal

LuAnn Collier discussed the canoe/kayak rack proposal for the common area.  She has some photos depicting what we would like to build.  The units can house six boats.  Prices for yearly rental are usually around $35to $45.  A waiver is signed to release the association.  Per LuAnn’s research and based upon her experience in her previous neighborhood, there have been no problems encountered with the racks. 

A sign-up sheet for interested parties was left at the meeting to determine if there is any interest in building the racks.  The photos of the Brandermill racks will be posted on our website.

Election of Officers

A motion was made to have the current officers stay in their position for this year.  The motion was seconded and agreed upon.

Next year, a nominating committee needs to nominate an individual to rotate the Treasurer position.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:08 p.m.