After being dissatisfied with the results of a reserve study last year, the Walden Lake Community Association accepted the results of a new reserve study at its monthly meeting Monday, Oct. 17.
“We had things we wanted them to add (last year), and they wouldn’t add them,” WLCA President Dan Orrico said. “I think overall we feel (the new study) was a much more complete study, as it encompasses all the changes to our community.”
A reserves study is a planning tool for the community that allows the WLCA to ensure it maintains sufficient funds in reserves to take care of large ticket items, such as signage or infrastructure repairs.
Items missing from the 2015 reserve study included the community’s pump stations. Prior to the 2015 study, the last full reserve study was done several years ago.
Since then, the WLCA has had a number of infrastructure additions and improvements in the community, including the new Walden Lake Sports Complex on Griffin Boulevard.
In June, the community association agreed to fund a new reserve study for $6,500. The new study took 90 days and was completed before the WLCA’s budget workshop in October.
Done by a different company than the 2015 study, the new reserve study analyzed the community additions, including the Walden Lake Sports Complex, which has pavilions, a baseball diamond, a soccer field, hibachi grills and covered trash cans. Soon, the complex also will have a batting cage.
“The next full reserve study will be done in about three years, unless there is significant change in the community,” Orrico said. “It’s an estimate. It’s a guide.”
Updates to the existing full reserve study are made annually.
Based on the results of the new reserve study, the WLCA has upped the contributions it makes monthly to the reserve fund.
“Every month we pay into our reserves,” Orrico said. “We increase the amount we’re putting in annually because we have more things to maintain, and the cost of repairs have gone up. The reserve study gives the community a plan for the maintenance of its real property. It ensures that we have the funds available for major repairs or replacements and it keeps our community looking healthy.”
The results of the full reserve study will be posted on the community’s website. Member access is required.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.