A Message for the Woodlands Homeowners Association

The Woodlands front fountain has been broken since the first week in July 2011

Submitted column from a concerned Woodlands Resident

The Woodlands Country Club community has been a source of pride to many homeowners since the inception in the late 60’s. The most distinctive symbol of identity and pride to many of the neighbors is the magnificent fountain, a welcoming feature to the Woodlands community.

Over the past 20 years the fountain has been maintained by the Woodlands Country Club and the Woodlands Home Owners Association or WHOA.

However, according to the contract between the two, the maintenance of Woodlands Boulevard became the full responsibility of the City of Tamarac on July 15, and since then they have done a good job of trimming trees and bushes as well as mulching the entire median on the boulevard.

However, the question has to be asked, who is taking care of the fountain?

The fountain stopped working the first week in July 2011 and from all accounts, the city nor the country club have any interests in maintaining the aging fountain. The financial records of the WHOA and the country club will testify to the thousands of dollars which have been spent to repair the fountain, to the tune of over $12,000 in the past few years alone.

It is time for a re commitment of funds to make our landmark fountain part of the next 40 years of enjoyment for the residents of the Woodlands.

A recent estimate to replace the entire workings of the fountain from the company who installed it was requested for consideration for around $9,000. This would make the fountain a permanent fixture for the next 40 years of pride and enjoyment.

If this is a hard pill to swallow for the WHOA, then certainly repair the existing old fountain.

At the September WHOA board meeting, funds were approved by a motion of the board members for minor landscape work and repainting the entrance signs. While no motion was brought before the board officially, conversations were had that gave the endorsement for making the fountain work again.

That was almost three weeks ago, and why has NOTHING happened?

Since the WHOA no longer has to pay for Woodlands Boulevard maintenance there should be plenty of funds to get the symbol of pride for our neighborhood up and running again.

Most of the homeowners who live in the Woodlands take pride in their homes. They trim bushes, they mulch flower beds, they paint their homes, etc. The least our monthly WHOA funds can do is take care of the public street scape with needed repairs, replacements and maintenance.

We do not want the new “normal” in our community to be mediocrity.

Our community is better than that, and we want it to stay that way.

Our property values depend on it.