For years, residents of Seven Lakes West have enjoyed what might be called "most-favored nation" status at the gates of Seven Lakes North and South, being waived though by the gate guards simply because their windshield bore the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] sticker.
And residents of Seven Lakes North and South have enjoyed that same easy access to Seven Lakes West, waived through by the guard on the basis of their Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] sticker.
All of that may be about to change.
Conversation at the Wednesday, January 25 SLLA Open Meeting revealed that Seven Lakes West is planning a change to its access policies that will eliminate automatic entry to the community for vehicles bearing SLLA stickers. And it appears that the SLLA Board may respond in kind.
SLWLA President Mick Herdrich told The Times that, while an ad hoc access control committee has in fact proposed changes, the proposed policy has not been formally presented to the Westside Board, let alone approved.
And it appears that the release of a unfortunately-worded draft document on SLWLA letterhead may have fueled suspicions that the new policy is aimed directly at North and South-siders -- something that Herdrich is quick to deny.
News of Proposed Westside Policy Surfaces at SLLA Meeting
News of a new policy at the Westside gates was reported by Security Director Andy Lowe during the Wednesday, January 25 SLLA Open Meeting. Lowe told his fellow Board members that, effective May 1, 2012, SLLA windshield stickers will no longer be recognized for access to Seven Lakes West.
Instead, SLLA members would be required to stop at the gatehouse and be signed in as the guest of a member -- just like any other visitor to the Westside.
Alternatively, frequent visitors to Seven Lakes West would be able to secure a barcode, if a sponsoring Westside resident completes paperwork taking responsibility for that visitor. The "visitor barcode" would cost $20 per year.
Lowe and SLLA President Bob Darr learned of the proposed changes in a January 11 meeting attended by SLWLA President Herdrich, Security Director Jim McCarthy, and Community Manager Joan Frost.
During that meeting, the Westside representatives distributed a draft "Reciprocal Access" agreement -- on Seven Lakes West letterhead -- that cast the new Westside policies in a negative light. Herdrich told The Times on Saturday that he did not realize that document had been distributed, that he had not seen it prior to the January 11 meeting, that it had not been approved by the SLWLA Board, and that it created the inaccurate perception that the new policy was somehow directed against North and Southsiders.
Herdrich: Proposed Policy Not Aimed at SLLA Members
Herdrich told The Times that his Board had hoped the two Associations could work out complementary access systems and policies before the proposed changes on the Westside were announced. The SLWLA Board is expected to take up the matter during its February 14 Work Session.
Perhaps more importantly, Herdrich positioned the change in access for North and Southsiders as a small part of a complete overhaul of the policies and technology governing access through the Westside gates.
The proposal does in fact mean that North and Southsiders -- or anyone else who wants to pass through the gates without interfacing with a gate guard -- will need to acquire a barcode through the sponsorship of a SLWLA member. Herdrich said whether that barcode should cost $20 per year or be subject to a $20 fee for the life of the vehicle has yet to be decided. He added that it may be possible to simply code the SLWLA system to recognize an existing SLLA barcode, so that frequent visitors need not have two barcodes on their vehicle.
Currently, SLWLA barcodes are available only to SLWLA members, who must purchase them, at a cost of $20.
Unlike Seven Lakes West, the SLLA continues to issue windshield stickers at no charge to all members. They may choose to purchase a barcode sticker for a one-time cost of $15. In addition, SLLA members may purchase a guest barcode sticker for a $15 annual fee.
Westside Plans Overhaul of Entrance Policies, Technology
Herdrich told The Times that an ad hoc committee had been convened in the Spring 2011 "to look at the whole access concept," under the leadership of newly-appointed Safety and Security Director McCarthy. Concerns about access control have been a perennial topic of conversation for the Westside Board and concern among some Westside residents.
"The first focus that came out of those meetings," Herdrich told The Times, "was that the membership -- the individual member -- should control who comes into our community."
Herdrich noted that a new policy of checking membership cards at the Johnson Point recreation area -- implemented in Summer 2011 -- found a number of unauthorized users on the Point. The Board responded by hiring guards to check IDs at the entrance to the Point.
"The feedback we got from our members was 'Why are we paying money for this?'" Herdrich told The Times. "They said: 'We should be fixing this at the front gate. If you control access there, you don't have to worry about who is in here.'"
The focus on giving individual members the power to control access led to a search for improved access technology, including a barcode-driven computer system that promises to streamline operations at the gate while making it simpler for Association members to warn the gate that guests are expected.
Herdrich explained that, while no purchase decision had been made, the Access Committee had previewed one or more of the newer barcode-driven systems. Among their features is the ability for an SLWLA member, using a unique personal identification number, to email the gate computer information about expected guests. The system will then print out a hangtag especially for that guest's visit. Landowners will continue to be able to call the gate to arrange for guest and vendor visits, as well.
The system can then track not only which vehicles and persons are authorized to be in the community, but which member authorized that access.
Barcodes vs. Stickers
Seven Lakes West moved to a barcode-only access system several years ago, dispensing with windshield stickers, requiring landowners to pay for the barcode, and insisting that SLWLA office staff actually affix the barcode to the landowners vehicle.
Dispensing with stickers resulted in a bit of a snafu when Westsiders who frequent the North or South Side reminded the Board that the absence of stickers meant the SLLA gate guards could no longer identify SLWLA vehicles.
The Board responded by printing and issuing special SLWLA stickers to those who needed them for SLLA access. The stickers cost five dollars, and Herdrich said about twelve percent of their membership has these stickers, which would be eliminated under the new access policy.
Herdrich said it is important to understand that the West Side's interest in better access control is not in any way directed at restricting access by SLLA members. "This affects anyone from outside our community," he told The Times. "It is similar to the systems used in any other gated community in the country."
As the Access Committee began to develop its member-controlled barcode access concept, Herdrich told The Times, he met with SLLA President Bob Darr in October to fill him in on those plans. Herdrich said Darr expressed support for the idea and hoped that the SLLA could move to a barcode-only system -- though he added that he wasn't sure he had the full support of his Board in that regard.
But after the January 11 meeting, "We got a different reaction," Herdrich said, "as though they thought the West Side was snobs, wanting to keep them out. I explained that this is an overall security policy -- not something directed toward the North and South Sides."
SLLA Members React Negatively to News of New Policy
The proposed change in SLWLA policies in fact raised hackles at the SLLA Open meeting, in part because the change was laid out in stark language in a draft document that Herdrich says should never have been circulated.
“This is one community. It is a shame that it has degraded to this,” responded Southsider Chuck Leach, who is one of three candidates vying for a seat on the SLLA Board this year.
Responding to Leach’s suggestion that the proposed policy should be renegotiated, SLLA President Bob Darr said, in his opinion, the Westside Board is firm in their decision and that there is not much room for further discussion.
“I’ve heard that when we had instances like this in the past, the North and South sides took the high road," Darr said. "We wanted to keep our neighborhood open. My feelings -- in terms of my meeting [with SLWLA representatives] and this policy -- is, I am not interested in taking the high road. I think we will go down the same road.”
Director Lowe also expressed frustration and was more pointed in his remarks, describing the attitude of SLWLA representatives during the January 11meeting as “elitist.”
“They don’t want our residents in their community and indicated that most of their problems are caused by North and Southside visitors,” said Lowe.
Southsider Brenda Massimo quickly raised the question about access for regularly scheduled meetings of various groups: “There are organizations in this community like Kiwanis and the Women of Seven Lakes. This [policy] will make it so we have meet outside of the gates! Have they even thought about that?”
Northsider Les Sommers also expressed concern how the proposed change would affect golfing access and questioned if Beacon Ridge members would have to purchase a $20 barcode.
Speaking in support of a more aggressive stance, Northsider Chuck Stephenson recommended a proactive approach to the negotiation process could be beneficial.
"I suggest a ‘tit for tat' to give them a taste of what is to come,” he said, suggesting that SLLA adopt the same restrictions and put the policy in place before May 1.
“I think we’re being run over by this and I don’t like it,” Darr concluded.
Impact on Clubs is Darr's Top Concern
Speaking to The Times following the SLLA meeting, President Darr said his immediate concern is how policy changes at the gates might negatively impact the various clubs and organizations that draw membership from both Associations.
“We have a hell of a lot of Westside folks who use our amenities and we have no access to theirs," Darr said. "So the attitude is, ‘Why should we give them something for free?’ But then we get calls that if we close down our access. Then people are concerned we’re going to kill off the Women of Seven Lakes, and Lions Club, and the country clubs and the fitness center,” he explained. “I don’t want it to go this way.”
Except for the Women of Seven Lakes, which alternates meeting places each month between the North Clubhouse and Westside Park Community Center, Darr noted that most other area clubs and groups meet exclusively in SLLA facilities. In particular, he said he knows the Lions Club was forced to seek out a new meeting space after facility fees at Westside Park Community Center were increased beyond what the group could afford.
“You’ve got the Bloodmobile, and Lions Club, and Kiwanis Bingo, and pinochle and bridge players and more. These clubs are important to our community -- they are our community,” said Darr. “We host all of these groups in our facilities -- our amenities. They don’t.”
Darr also expressed frustration that gate access is an issue again this year.
“I thought when we had the windshield stickers resolved that we had an agreement that would allow their people to have ready access through our gates," he said. "As part of the current discussion, they have decided they will no longer sell those windshield stickers [to their own members]. They want to get rid of windshield stickers altogether and will not recognize our [SLLA] windshield stickers.”
Reviewing various options moving forward, Darr said the SLLA could distribute special windshield stickers to Westside members, upon their request for access and for a set fee; or, SLWLA members could request their barcode sticker to be coded into the SLLA system for a set fee; or, they could purchase a new SLLA barcode sticker.
The least expensive option would be for a SLLA member to call them into the gates as a guest; however, Darr argued that option is “horribly restrictive” and creates unnecessary traffic at the gates with long lines in the guest lane.
