In less than two months, the board that governs the Walden Lake community will have at least two new members.
Six Walden Lake residents have announced their candidacies for the Walden Lake Community Association’s three open seats. Two existing board members, Treasurer Karen Olson and Director Steve Swantek, are leaving the board. WLCA Secretary Heather Updike’s term is up, but she will be running to retain her seat.
Newcomers include Sharon Philbin, of Forest Club; David Sollenberger and Eileen Anderson, both of Ashton Woods; Deedra Allen, of Village Green; and Terry Murphy, of Forest Club.
Walden Lake residents will have a chance to vote for their candidates of choice at the community’s annual meeting, which will take place April 10. Residents will receive an official annual meeting notice, which will include a proxy and condensed biographies of each candidate, in the mail by March 10.
Residents can turn in their proxies to the WLCA community building, 3035 Griffin Blvd., or cast a ballot at the April 10 meeting.
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENTS
The WLCA approved at its Feb. 17 several improvements throughout Walden Lake.
The largest improvement is an $18,500 project to repave the asphalt path from Fairway Villas to Village Green. Tampabay Asphalt Paving and Sealing Inc. will perform the work, which should commence within the next two months.
The WLCA also approved spending $12,930 to repair three damaged bridges within the community. Two of the bridges are owned by the WLCA; the third is under shared ownership with Walden Lake Golf & Country Club owner Visions Golf LLC.
WLCA President Jan Griffin, new On-Site Manager Lee Weiss and WLCA Director Ray Page will ask Visions Golf Managing Partner Steve Mercer for a held harmless agreement before performing the work on the shared bridge.
The repairs will include composite decking, which should last longer than traditional pressure-treated wood, Weiss said. Dixon’s Custom Fence & Railing will perform the work.
The community’s two new notification signs were installed at Walden Lake’s two Timberlane Drive entrances. Pleased with their appearance so far, WLCA directors asked Weiss to obtain quotes on adding solar-powered lighting, as well as smaller signs for the remaining community entrances.
Weiss also reported that the slide on the community playground has been replaced, the community building’s air-conditioning duct work has been re-routed, and his crew also cleaned and chained off a pond near Walden Lake Elementary School that had been used as a dump site.
GOLF COURSE PRESENTATION
WLCA Director Rich Glorioso, who has been examining the possibility of purchasing the golf course and country club, presented his task force’s initial findings at Walden Lake’s last Presidents Meeting.
Glorioso said his two primary challenges so far are how to convince non-golfers to buy into the amenity as social members and how to disseminate his task force’s findings effectively to all residents in the community.
“How do we get the person who doesn’t play golf, who has an 8- and 10-year-old … How do we get them involved to say, ‘This is a worthwhile endeavor?’” Glorioso said. “We’re working on that type of a vision.”
However, 66% of Walden Lake must vote in support of any potential purchase, and Glorioso said getting his information to those voters will be key.
“How do we get people to come to a meeting to listen to this, because that’s going to be the most important part of this,” he said. “Every citizen in Walden Lake has to have a chance to look at the good, bad and ugly right now — and there’s a lot of ugly right now — and where the future may or may not go.
“I can’t imagine doing it any other way than in person, because they’re all going to have questions,” Glorioso said. “You can’t do it in a survey. … It’s going to have to be in group meetings.”
Glorioso said he expects to share his findings with the rest of the WLCA within the next month and will be ready to present to the public when the board so moves.
Contact Michael Eng at meng@plantcityobserver.com.
IN OTHER NEWS
• The board approved Simply Events’ request to use of the community’s polo field for its Walden Lake Family Fun Day. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 12, and will feature a variety of booths and a kids zone. The WLCA will require a $2,000 refundable deposit, and Simply Events will provide parking attendants, insurance, generators, portable toilets and security. The agreement prohibits alcohol and the sale of weapons.
• The WLCA hired Lee Weiss as its new on-site manager. Weiss replaces Tom Daramus, who resigned in December.
• The WLCA approved policies regarding the use of its community room and newly installed notification signs.