More than forty Westsiders attended a Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, July 11 to weigh in on whether to spend $40,000 to hire an outside firm, Clarion Associates, to guide Seven Lakes West in creating a Vision and Master Plan.
The Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] Board has designated the proposal a matter of significant interest to the community, triggering provisions in the bylaws that call for enhanced opportunity for member input and two separate votes by the Board.
Long Range Planning Director Don Freiert presided over the meeting, and began with a presentation that made the case for the project. [A copy of his presentation is available here.]
“A community-developed master plan will set goals and direction for leadership," Freiert said. "It will help guide future Boards -- whoever they are."
“Without a clear vision and goals, the community stagnates and will not be the best community possible.”
Freiert emphasized the changing demographics of the West Side -- along with aging infrastructure -- as two factors that support the creation of a community Vision and Master Plan.
“Seven Lakes was established with a vision,” said Freiert. “Today we lack that clarity.”
Having a plan in place, he said, will give Board members a guideline in making decisions.
Kirst: Plan would keep Board focused
Westsider (and former SLWLA Treasurer) Kathy Kirst agreed with Freiert, saying Board members change every year -- and so do the projects they champion.
“If we don’t have a plan, we are at the mercy of a Board every single year,” said Kirst, “We need your opinion, and we need everybody else’s opinion, because that is what we need for a master plan . . . and if the Board doesn't agree with it -- tough.”
Freiert said much of the feedback received so far expressed concern with the cost of the project; many have asked that the Vision and Master Planning process be handled in-house.
He explained that, over the next fifteen years, the community will spend $7 million on capital items -- that is, to build and maintain community infrastructure. The $40,000 cost of hiring a consultant to facilitate a planning process will cost each voting lot $23.50, he noted.
“The [Long Range Planning] committee thinks that it's a wise investment to make sure we are going in the right direction,” said Freiert.
In-house attempts to gather community input have not always been successful, he added. A community survey sent out last year to 1,900 members garnered responses from only 200.
“We did not have a broad-based response with that survey,” said Freiert, arguing that Clarion Associates will work to obtain higher levels of input from the community.
For example, Clarion's process will create a steering committee made up of twelve to fifteen individuals from various community organizations.
A Vision and Master Plan will allow the Board to ensure that annual budgeting priorities are in sync with the long range planning goals of the community, Freiert said.
Currently, projects are budgeted annually, and some money is set aside in a reserve fund. But a Master Plan will allow projects to the budgeted in advance.
“We have got to get those tied together much stronger in order to manage the finances of this organization,” said Freiert. “Remember: we are the developer. We are the community.”
Pros & Cons from Members
Westsider Fred Young agreed with the need for a Vision Plan.
“I am impressed with what you have done,” said Young, “And think it should have been done long ago.” Young explained that, with two new housing developments planned for areas west of Pinehurst on NC Highway 211, Seven Lakes West will have to set itself apart.
But Young urged the Board to extend the planning process beyond the gates of Seven Lakes West.
“We have to make the investments,” said Young, “It is imperative that we work together as a greater Seven Lakes community . . . We must work together or we will fail together.”
Young’s comments were met with applause by those in attendance, but not everyone in the audience thought the Vision and Master Plan was a good idea.
Bruce Macdonald said he would need to see a cost-benefit ratio before agreeing to spend $40,000.
“What we need on the Board is a garden club mentality that says you have to make this place pretty, otherwise nobody’s going to want to invest any money and build in here,” said Macdonald. “Not only that -- if you have that kind of mentality, you will make it attractive to the people who already live in here, by saying you are actually supporting maintaing our property values.”
Freiert agreed that making things look nice in the community is necessary, but emphasized that some less-aesthetically-oriented projects have to be done -- like replacing culverts before spending money on repaving the roads.
“Bruce has the right idea as far as the beauty of the community is concerned,” said Westsider George Jenner.
Former SLWLA Board member Ron Sickenberger said, “I think you are on the right track in trying to go slowly on this, but I think you have to be very careful.”
Sickenberger said utilizing the Long Range Planning Committee to create a Vision and Master Plan would be the best approach to avoid “an excessive kind of consultant fee.”
Freiert said that fact that Seven Lakes West is comprised of thirteen different subdivisions, each with its own by-laws, covenants, ARC guidelines, and rules tends to “be a problem” for Seven Lakes West.
One of the objectives of Clarion Associates will be to study this collection of documents and streamline it as best they can, he said.
The Long Range Planning Committee will hold a second Town Hall meeting for community feedback on Thursday, July 19 at 7:00 pm in the West Side Park Community Center.
The Board is expected to hold its first vote on the proposal during the Tuesday, July 24 work session, with a final vote possible on Tuesday, August 14. Members may also comment on the proposal during those meetings, as well as through email and the SLWLA website.
