Woodland Pond Homeowners' Association

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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Lakefront Association News

October 2004

The primary objective of the WPLA Board is to ensure the health, welfare and safety of the lake and its surrounding environs for the enjoyment of the entire Woodland Pond community. With this objective in mind, I am pleased to report the following:

1. “Best Maintained Dams Award” - Woodland Pond received the “Best Maintained Dams Award” in March, 2004 from the Virginia Lakes & Watershed Association for excellence in the maintenance and operation of the Woodland Pond Dam. Also, for your information, the dam must be maintained in accordance with state and local regulations with regard emergency notification procedures and inspection. The dam was inspected by a professional engineering group in May and received high grades for good maintenance.
   
   
2. Record Rainfalls - The dam has readily accommodated the abundance of rainfall this year. The major rain event of August 30, approximately 7”, brought the lake level to what is believed to be a record high of 48” above normal. Water did flow over Nash Road, approximately 6” high, as a result of this storm. The integrity of the dam was never an issue even with this record rainfall.
   
   
3. Spillways – The spillway that Midlothian Enterprises paid to have modified to meet a higher rate of discharge under both normal and severe lake levels is a marked improvement over the previous design. Water levels do, in fact, now recede more quickly. Also, the emergency spillway performed extremely well during the unusually heavy rain events.
   
   
4. Water Quality - The annual water quality testing was conducted in June. Water samples are drawn from four different sites for testing. Results were very favorable and provided that level of comfort that we all desire for swimming, boating, canoeing and fishing.
   
   
5. Dam Mowing and Grounds Maintenance – Again, due to the unusually wet year, we have had the dam mowed two times already with the possibility of a third mowing before the end of the year.
   
   
6. Boat Ramp & Picnic Area – Two additional boat racks have been constructed (12 more spaces) for those members desiring to store their boats in this convenient location. Work will begin soon (est. November) on creating a better and larger parking surface for this area.

Cleanliness of the Lake and Lakeshore

To keep the lake and lakeshore clean, we ask that you remove any floating debris as a result of the storms as well as removing trees that have fallen into the lake from the shoreline. We also ask that you move firewood and other materials that will float, and that are not secured, to higher levels on your property (to avoid having them float away if and when we experience high water again). We would appreciate a timely repair of damaged and/or unsightly docks. In late July/early August, the lake water was the cleanest and clearest we can recall. Unfortunately, the phenomenal amounts of rainfall have muddied the waters. However, the water is once again clearing up.

Declaration of Covenants

The WPLA Board wants to make certain that we meet the expectations of the membership. It has been suggested numerous times that we address “practical” enforcement of the WPLA Declaration of Covenants. In order to achieve this objective, it is necessary to revise the Covenants to reflect the circumstances of the Community today versus those of the Community 18 years ago. In order to change the covenants, it is necessary to receive approval of 80% of the lot owners in Woodland Pond. This is no easy task and will require the cooperation of “everyone” in the community.

View the Recommended Changes

• A condensed version of the recommended changes to the covenants (.pdf, 2 pages)
• The full version of the recommended changes to the covenants (.pdf, 10 pages)

We would like everyone to review these suggested changes and provide your feedback to the WPLA within two weeks, but no later than November 12. Please review these and provide your feedback as follows:

IF IN FAVOR – SIMPLY RESPOND WITH A “YES”

IF NOT IN FAVOR, SIMPLY RESPOND WITH A “NO”

If not in favor, please indicate the item numbers with which you disagree. Also, if you believe additional items should be added, please comment accordingly.

We need to determine the percentage of participants to continue with this endeavor.

The challenge to achieve this objective is unbelievably arduous. We can’t do it without your candid participation. A log of respondents will be kept and those not responding will receive follow up calls. Please take a few moments to respond either via the web address noted below or return the attached response sheet.

Please provide your feedback to the Lakefront Association via our temporary mail box established for this purpose: the address is wpla_wpla@yahoo.com, or send your comments to the Woodland Pond Lakefront Association, P.O. Box 286, Chesterfield, VA 23832 using the feedback sheet (.pdf, 1 page).

Also, a “fine” structure for covenant violations will be developed to motivate compliance with the covenants. This is necessitated by the “very few” residents that ignore things like trees in the lake, dilapidated and unsightly docks, unsightly debris on property, no current boat decals, etc., etc. Please keep in mind that the last thing the Board wants to do is be a police force, however, for those who ignore the covenants and thereby defeat the purpose of those covenants, some remedy is required.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance in helping the Board to manage the WPLA activities. We are always interested in feedback and comments.

WPLA

P.S. A green canoe landed on the property of Bill Fields after the storm. If you are missing one, please contact Bill at 748-9190.