Board Update May 2018

Dear Members,

When the new board of the Association took over at the beginning of this year, we published a “Mission and Values Statement” which you can find on the Association’s website. Among the concerns this statement underscores is the inability of the Association to generate enough revenue through its dues to provide more than minimal services to the Subdivision, and certainly not enough to embark on any paving, lighting, or full time security coverage for the community.  

      Over the last several months, the board has been exploring other possible sources of revenue. The board was focussed on the possible sale of a section of one of the green spaces which could potentially net the Association sufficient funds- with the added support of residents- for a substantial paving program. The plan was to first determine whether it was legally possible to transfer of all the green spaces and sell off a portion of one of them. We were then going to bring the plan to the full Association for a vote before proceeding.  We were aware there could be strong opinions on the sale of any of the green space. We had outside counsel review all the issues (at no cost to the Association) and have ultimately concluded that there is no way to circumvent restrictive agreements that were put in place prior to the current board’s tenure. These agreements effectively prevent any sale of the green space. Therefore that revenue raising option is no longer on the table.

       However, during the course of this work, the board determined there could still be a benefit to transferring the green spaces from their current owner (Blue Hills) to the Association, not for the purpose of raising revenue, but for better stewardship. Over the last several years, there have been several instances of misuse of the these public spaces from the bulldozing of natural vegetation (for example, at the start of the 61103/27 green space on Long Bay Beach Drive, after you pass Villa Isla) to dumping of garden cuttings and discarded furniture. The board believes the Association should take over management in order to better protect these “public spaces” and since the initial work on transferring them has been done, the cost should be minimal.

      The question o froad paving remains a priority for members.  It appears that the only way forward is for smaller communities within the Subdivision to raise funds from those within their immediate neighbourhood who would most benefit from the paving. One group under Tim Dewerth has already been formed to raise funds to pave the rest of Lignum Vitae and the section of Long Bay Beach Drive from Lignum Vitae to the Wind Chaser Villas end of the road. All the paving done over the years  in the Long Bay Subdivision has been funded through such individual contributions. By breaking down the process into smaller communities, the hope is it will be more manageable and you won’t have dues paid by homeowners on SeaSage Hill Rd being used to pave Flame Tree Circle.

        Consistent with the smaller community approach to paving, the board is proposing to install some of the cul-de-sacs that were part of the original plan for the Subdivision, and are shown on Provo's cadastral plan. For example, the original Subdivision design called for three cul-de-sacs at each of the three green spaces on Long Bay Beach Drive, effectively dividing Long Bay Beach into three areas: East, Central and West. The push will be to improve the most direct routes to each area: Lignum Vitae to Long Bay Beach East, Curlew to Long Bay Beach Central and Long Bay Highway and Long Bay Beach Drive to Long Bay Beach West. The idea is to create smaller communities within the Subdivision where road improvements, lighting and security are more manageable. The same approach can be applied to the other, longer roads in the Subdivision which were all  originally designed to have cul-de-sacs.

If all of this takes place, the role left to the Association is more limited- but focused on tasks that benefit the entire Subdivision.  These tasks would be appropriately sized for a budget which is funded solely through the collection of small, annual fees.

The following are the types of activities the Association would be responsible for:

• Representing the community before government entities on such issues as development projects in the area. 
• Protect the green spaces once transferred. 
• Provide a platform from which to disseminate information and concerns which are important to the community as a whole. 
• Add limited security during high risk periods. 
• Periodically collect garbage along the Subdivision’s roads.

We will also do what we can to assist these smaller community areas to pursue the goals they deem as most important to them and their neighbours.  However, it will be up to each smaller community to initiate there own efforts.

Please comment below and let us know what you think.

Best Regards,

Sam