The Official Newsletter of the Lake of the Woods Association, Inc. Vol. 19, No. 10
540.972.2237
LOWA.org
/LOWAssociation
September 10, 2021
GENERAL MANAGER’S ANNUAL REPORT 51st ANNUAL MEETING COMMUNITY CENTER LAKE OF THE WOODS ASSOCIATION, INC. SEPTEMBER 6, 2021
BY PHILLIP L. RODENBERG, LOWA GENERAL MANAGER, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM® Photos by Dan McFarland
Congratulations on a successful election to our newest Board Member, Rick Rappoport, and returning Board Members Walt Diercks, and Cliff Wilks.
LOWA Annual Board Election Certification of Ballots
by Leighton Cumming, Election Committee Chair
Photo by Dan McFarland
LOWA would like to thank outgoing Board Member Heidi Brown for her service to our community. Thank you for your commitment to our Members.
Summary of Total Ballots Cast Valid Ballots Cast: 1,057.25 Abstentions: 6.00 Invalid Ballots Cast: 36.00 Not in Good Standing 21.00 Total Ballots Received: 1,120.25 Number of Ballots Cast for: Richard J. Rappoport (Rick) 909.25 Walter E. Diercks 883.25 Clifton D. Wilks 785.50 Ballot Breakout Phone Ballots Paper Ballots Electronic Ballots Total Valid Ballots Cast
General Manager's Report 1 President's Letter 2 Agenda 2 Association News 2-11 Hometown Heroes 8, 9 Calendar 10, 11 Viewpoints 18 Orange County 25 Classifieds 26-27
12.00 174.00 871.25 1,057.25
Wednesday, Sept. 15 LOWA Regular Board Meeting 2 PM, Community Center, Zoom Sunday, Sept. 12 Soggy Doggie Swim 1-3 PM, Sweetbriar Pool Tuesday, Sept. 28 Planning Committee Town Hall Proposed 2022-2026 Capital Plan 6:30 PM, Clubhouse
It is my honor to stand before you again as your General Manager to present the Annual Report at this 51st Annual Meeting. This is my tenth annual meeting. The first time was 2011 when Jeff Fynn was President. The Annual Report will summarize the year and discuss future challenges. Since last year’s annual meeting, LOWA has gone through a cycle of Coronavirus closings and reopenings as the vaccine became widely available and the Governor’s mandates expired. The year could have been a financial hardship, but LOWA was able to secure a Paycheck Protection Program grant and CARES Act grants to keep going. We are not in the clear yet. The good news is that four months into the new fiscal year LOWA’s overall financial performance shows we are off to a good start versus budget, and our financial condition remains solid. Assessment collections for the current year are on target with approximately 82% of annual assessment collected. Balances in the four Reserve Funds total approximately $4.9M as of Aug. 31, and Reserve Cash is adequate to cover this year’s remaining capital spending requirements of $3.3M. Operating Cash stands at about $3.1M. Assessment delinquency rate, compared year to year, is 2.0% this year, compared to 2.1% last year. The industry standard is 5%. The independent financial audit was presented in July, and LOWA received an unqualified or “clean” opinion. Member equity grew by $1.7M to $21M. LOWA remains the largest concentration of homes and population in Orange County. LOWA’s preliminary estimate for the 2020 Census is a population of 8,081, which is up 904 people since the 2010 Census, when our population was 7,177. We are 22.3% of Orange County’s population of 33,481. In 2010, we were 21.4% of the county population. LOWA now has 3,937 completed homes as of April 30 on the 4,258 private lots, up 48 homes from last year. It makes me wonder if we will clear the 4,000 completed homes mark by the next annual meeting. Our housing stock is a key indicator of a healthy community, and so it is good news that from May 2020 to April 2021, the Environmental Control Committee approved 57 new home construction projects (up 22 from previous
See General Manager's Report on p. 19
LOWA Website Links TEKControl (Visitor Management) LOWA.ORG/TEKCONTROL Vote in the ECC Referendum www.LOWA.org/ECCReferendum support@vote-now.com https://vtnw.com/go/LOWAResend/
Expect Delays at the Back Gate September 21 See page 5.