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Neighbors,
Feedback is a gift, and it’s great to see our neighbors getting involved in our community. As we communicated before, many of the members of the board were impacted by the hurricane which impacted our original plans for a year end meeting. Since we want the discussion to more constructive and informed, we want to share with you the meeting materials ahead of the meeting and explain the background on the association financials.
In 2024, the board had great intentions to improve communications. We built a website, launched an email automation platform, a service ticket system and added AI transcription to our board meetings. We also took steps to reduce the impacts of inflation on the community. A simple example is we reduced our connectivity charges at the gate from over $1,800/year to $360/year.
We’re attaching our budget presentation that was prepared for our annual meeting so you can review and formulate questions. We’re happy to take Q&A and publish answers publicly. We also refreshed our reserve study which was the basis for our request to hold dues at $1,200 and give the board the right to increase at CPI as needed. You will see 3 scenarios in the presentation, with the recommendation to deposit $64,500 to the reserves annually. The old study was flawed, as it underestimated the maintenance required for the storm sewer system that the association needs to maintain. This sewer system has 17 lines that run through the neighborhood and are not maintained by Hillsborough county.
Last fall, the board approved the reconstruction of 2 lines which were in disrepair and could cause catastrophic flooding if they collapse. The cost to repair these two lines is between $70-80k, and we have built the new reserve study to reline our storm sewers over a 20 year period. The cost to do so is $520k over 20 years. The old study only considered $45k every 5 years or $180k. It is extremely important that we plan for these expenditures now, so that we don’t find ourselves needing special assessments.
Our reserves stand at $147k and our operating cash is approximately $25k, and while this seems like a sufficient amount, the committed repairs on the storm sewers and gate repairs, put us in a situation where the reserves will be dangerously low. One unexpected expense can have a dramatic effect on our reserve funding.
We also owe you an update on the status of the gate. We were unable to get Viking F1 operators before March, so we made the decision to purchase and install alternatives. While this operators are installed and ready for energization, the electrical system at the front entrance was severely damaged. Every conduit was filled with water and in some cases, short circuits caused damage requiring new wire to be pulled. Since we can’t simply replace the operators, we’ve enlisted the help of a licensed contractor to remediate. Unfortunately, we have struggled to get this completed before the holiday. We expect work to commence after the new year. We also have a new camera system that will be installed at the same time. If anyone knows a contractor that can be here sooner, please let us know. It’s about 2-3 days of work.
We look forward to seeing you at the annual meeting, if you can attend in person. If not, we’ll have a Zoom link available for you to join remotely. That link will be posted to sweetwatercreek.info before the meeting.
Happy Holidays
The Board