| Wildcat residents want more maintenance for common areas |
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Neighbors ask POA Board to mow the grassy areas
By Laura Link
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Board member Bill Wilson said Wednesday. “We have got to get out in front of this; get proactive because this is coming in other neighborhoods. We must make sure people will be told before they buy [what is expected of owners].” For the present, Roger Klask, general manager, said Wildcat is being maintained by the POA in accord with other areas of Big Canoe. This means only a roadside swath of the high grasses is being mowed—not what the residents of Wildcat had when the developer’s LMG landscapers were maintaining the area. Klask’s three options for maintaining Wildcat were proposed to the Board:
Option 3 could add some additional mowing. The incremental costs would be $23,000 for more mowing than what is done in the rest of Big Canoe and another $30,000 for the side residential streets. This would cost an additional $16 per property a month. The Board does not have legal authority to assess Wildcat property owners, according to Klask. Here are more details on the costs involved with the three options. There are 272 lots in Wildcat; 101 homes and 140 lots according to Steve Langway, POA Board member representing the developer. Rich Andersen, Board member, said “We have to give thought for now and the future. This [Wildcat neighborhood] is complicated by the fact the developer has already turned it over to us.” Klask said if the Board chooses option 3 it would be an indication of a general policy. The Board indicated to Klask by nods of heads for him to proceed with option 3. In a question and answer session following the Board meeting, a Wildcat homeowner told the Board he got the Big Canoe covenants after the fact. He said it would be prudent to put the information out there before people buy in Big Canoe. Board member Chuck Palmer said he wanted better informed future property owners. Continued from Saturday coffee At the Saturday, July 17, POA Board coffee for property owners to ask questions a group of concerned Wildcat residents came with a “What Are You Going to Do About It?” attitude. They were referring to the head-tall grasses, weeds and occasional wildflower. The showcase neighborhood once planted with wildflowers and decorated with statuaries and whimsy art has, some claimed, taken on an abandoned look. It was maintained by the developer with a large crew of landscape personnel until turned over to Big Canoe POA. Ramona McKee of 3555 Bobcat Ridge Drive told GM Roger Klask and POA Board President Terry Bacigalupo, “It was pretty. It was neat. I don’t care about flowers in a meadow; I want it neat. Never did I dream we would have to ask Big Canoe to care for this. When we gave up certain rights to live in here we did. I have done nothing without approval. I followed the rules. You hold the homeowners to one standard and they [POA] do what they [POA] want.” McKee, who moved here with her husband from Columbus, GA, said they owned a cattle farm and wished they hadn’t sold the tractor but brought it with them. “We didn’t move here to be concerned about the upkeep. My husband is 83 years old,” she continued. Big Canoe first
McKee said, “I believe all Big Canoe should be maintained where it doesn’t look neglected.” Bacigalupo told the group the POA has bid out the cost to maintain Wildcat as it was when the developer cared for the area. “We are responsible to maintain that area like we maintain all other areas,” Klask said. “Knowing it was coming [responsibility of maintenance of Wildcat] you haven’t been budgeted for it,” McKee said. Developer can develop “his way” Klask said the developer has the right to develop property “his way.” Bill Wilson, a POA Board member in attendance Saturday, added that Wildcat wasn’t going to be the only neighborhood turned over by the developer. The Choctaw neighborhood is currently maintained by Big Canoe Company LLC and will also become the responsibility of the POA to maintain in the future. The POA is currently working on department budgets for 2011 and the increased maintenance costs will be factored into next year’s budget. One coffee attendee urged the Board to keep the 2011 budget flat. McKee, who was well-spoken in her concerns about the Wildcat over growth, had one final thought for real estate agents in Big Canoe: “Don’t make promises in this paradise.” |
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