Voting members also continued lifeguard discussions and voted to amend nominating committee rules ahead of the September elections.
At the beginning of the Aug. 12 VM Meeting, Property Manager Jennifer Jordan introduced two new on-site staff members, Alice Rivera and Sheila Bryant. WCA Board President Michiel Oostenbrink then informed the VMs that representatives from Stanley Martin Homes were present and seeking approval for the annexation of Westchase Station. District Counsel Kathleen Reres presented several INSG requests for the new development, which the VMs voted to approve. The VMs then submitted written ballots indicating whether they wanted to annex the new development into Westchase. Jordan tallied the votes and all VMs present voted in favor of annexation.
Nominating Committee Chair Jessica Siddle took the floor to ask the VMs to approve the rules and procedures for the 2025 Board of Directors elections. She explained one major change the committee hoped to make. Under the new rule, candidates would have to declare candidacy by September 1. The change would prohibit VMs from nominating candidates from the floor if there were enough declared candidates to fill available seats. This year, for example, there are three seats up for re-election; if there are three or more declared candidates by Sept. 1, none could be nominated from the floor.
Enclave VM Christine Hennes expressed concern that the new rule would limit VMs’ options, and Radcliffe VM Jim Wimsatt agreed. “This is really taking power away from the VM body in a significant way,” he said. “This seems like a big power grab.”
Siddle countered that a person who is serious about serving on the board should be able to provide at least one week’s notice. Wycliff VM Theresa Lanzar questioned the dedication of a candidate who was unwilling to commit beforehand. “If you just show up and say, ‘I want to be a board member,’ what kind of board member are you going to be?” she stated.
West Park Village Classic Townhomes VM Jim Brinker agreed.
Stamford VM Jamie Kolev acknowledged that the new rule would encourage residents to be more proactive and Christine Lindsay, alternate VM for Stonebridge, told her peers it was vital to communicate the change to residents as soon as possible. After further discussion, Siddle suggested amending the potential rule change to require an intent to run five days prior to the election date (Sept. 4 for the 2025 elections). Hennes moved to approve the Nominating Committee’s rules with Siddle’s modification. The motion passed, with three VMs opposed.
GAC Chair Rick Goldstein was absent, so Oostenbrink informed the VMs that the proposed crosswalk on Linebaugh was no longer happening and thanked the VMs for their efforts.
Lanzar then said she was uncomfortable with the discussion that occurred at the July VM meeting regarding the cancellation of Sheriff Chad Chronister’s planned visit. She informed the board that Goldstein told VMs that Chronister would address them at the June meeting but then said the sheriff had cancelled the speaking engagement. Lanzar said she reached out directly to Chronister’s office and confirmed that Chronister was never scheduled to attend due to a conflict but had planned to send someone in his stead.
Oostenbrink thanked Lanzar for the clarification and reiterated that the speaker approval process was implemented to ensure that guests were relevant to the VMs. He suggested inviting CDD Chair Matt Lewis to speak in October or November about the proposed trail project and working to schedule Chronister in 2026.
At the July meeting, VMs had requested a presentation from Inframark on the financial implications of eliminating lifeguards from the community pools. Director of Community Management, Christian Judy, presented the financial implications of three options: 1) eliminate lifeguards entirely; 2) keep lifeguards only for summer camp; 3) have lifeguards on duty at the WPV and Countryway pools during the summer only. Savings ranged from $208,000 to $328,000. Oostenbrink told the VMs there would still be cabana staff and pool monitors on site and Judy noted that the numbers presented took into account the continued costs for those positions.
“I think taking away lifeguards is a mistake,” said an audience member. “It’s going to reduce the safety, and the safety of our residents should be paramount. We’re going to have accidents. We could have deaths.”
Mary Griffin, VM for the Single Family Homes of WPV, reminded her fellow VMs that when a child drowned in a Westchase pool several years ago, there were seven lifeguards on the deck. The current head lifeguard was in attendance and shared several incident reports from the past six months, including one where a lifeguard saved the life of a four-year-old child.
Jordan said that pool monitors could be trained with lifeguard skills and insisted lifeguards should not serve as babysitters. Discussion ensued about the pros and cons of living in a community with lifeguards, including the potential for increased safety and the challenges faced when closing facilities unexpectedly due to insufficient staffing.
Oostenbrink pointed out that the decision ultimately lies with the board but took an unofficial straw poll to gather the VMs’ opinions. Only one of the VMs voted to keep things as they currently are. Four voted to do away with lifeguards entirely; four voted to keep them solely for summer camp; and eight voted for lifeguards at both pools only during the summer months. (Note: this was just a straw poll to gauge opinions on the options; no official vote was taken.)