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For weeks I’ve been trying to find out who maintains what around here. We have four streets that border the Woodlands and all four sides to our beautiful community need help. After our neighborhood meeting in May, the corner near Section Two at 64th Ave and Commercial Boulevard was going to be addressed by the city. From what a Section Three neighbor has told me, Peyton with the City of Tamarac said that this corner belongs to the City of Lauderhill. Lauderhill says this corner belongs to the City of Tamarac. So who does it belong to?

Steve Culotta with Ambassador Management has looked at the property boundaries and went over this with me today. The corner of 64th Avenue belongs to the City of Tamarac. This is owned by them and should be maintained by them. This does not include resident’s property that backs up to this area.

What about the front of the Woodlands? The entire stretch on Commercial from 64th Avenue to Rock Island is brown and has weeds. This is the first thing residents and club members see when driving along Commercial Blvd. Steve said that this area is owned, and should be maintained by the Woodlands Country Club. He explained the reason for the dead grass: There is no irrigation in place on the entire berm. I couldn’t believe it. Not one sprinkler head is installed on our front berm area. This doesn’t include the area on Woodlands Blvd near the fountain, as this has a sprinkler system. Besides the lack of irrigation, there is no landscaping around the chain linked fence towards Rock Island Road. There should be some sort of greenery there, at least something to cover the fence and offer some privacy for the golf course.

Steve explained that the WHOA has been trying to work with the country club to improve the looks of the berm and install a sprinkler system, but so far nothing has been done due to money issues.

On our eastern border down Rock Island Road, Steve explained that this area is owned and maintained by Broward County. Some time ago, they trimmed the hedges and have come out occasionally to pick up trash, but this whole block still looks unkempt.

The entire southern border of the Woodlands is owned and should be maintained by the country club. I have never seen a country club perimeter look as bad as this. There are weeds (or vines) growing on the entire stretch of fence along the course. There is no landscaping at all. Once you get to Lauderhill, you are welcomed with a beautiful pink wall that surrounds their homes. Also, the maintenance entrance is poorly kept where a broken padlocked gate is hanging at an angle.

Think I’m critical or a bit nit picky? I’m not ashamed to say I am because I love this community, and I know it could look so much better to our residents and our guests. I drive through Plantation and Davie a lot and the perimeters around their homes are beautifully landscaped. Are they better than us? Pay more taxes than us? No, these are developments who have homes priced equal to ours.

There is good news. On July 15th, the maintenance of the medians along Woodlands Blvd will no longer be maintained by the country club. In a contract that was signed by the city and the country club back in 1991, the country club would maintain the landscaping at the front entrance and along Woodlands Blvd for 20 years. This also included maintenance and upkeep of the front fountain. At the time of signing, the country club believed that they could do a better job than the city could do. In the past 8 years, the city has improved their own median areas around the city by planting trees, grass and adding irrigation, therefore, Culotta believes they will do a good job at maintaining ours. This change of hands will save our homeowners $20,000 a year, and has been already been adjusted into this year’s budget.

On Monday evening June 13th at 7 pm in the Section Seven Clubhouse, the WHOA has put the maintenance of our community on the agenda. Please attend if you are interested in the beautification of the Woodlands.