Unanswered Questions About the HOA

Please note: I originally wrote this post sometime late last year after attending a board meeting, but never got around to posting it. These topics have been talked about before and it would be nice to know the answers, but its not the end of the world if they don’t get answered. So they probably won’t! But if anybody does know the answers, please leave a comment! Thanks!

These are off the top of my head, so they are in no particular order:

1. Our “lakes”. Back in early 2024 I made a Facebook post that pretty much said this, “if we pay for a CDD that builds our lakes and ponds, and we pay for the irrigation pumps and use our money to repair those irrigation pumps and pay for the installation of our homes’ irrigation systems and pay the HOA an irrigation fee, why does the county get to tell us when we can water and when we can’t water?” So, I got an answer from an informed resident and he pretty much said “the county pumps water into our lake system when it runs low.” So that’s why they get to tell us when to water, or not to water. BUT, now I see a Facebook post from our resident representative on the Hampton Lakes HOA Board that says our lakes are just fed by rainwater. SO WHICH IS IT?
2. Cost of the Amenity Center. Whatever year the Amenity Center gets turned over to the residents, are the residents going to have to pay something for it? And, if so, how much? A ballpark figure would be nice! I’ve asked this to the main developer guy and his repeated answer is “we don’t have a crystal ball!” So if he said this, that kind of means we are going to pay something, they just haven’t settled on a number yet, right? There are some residents that think the HOA already owns it and that turnover just means we are now in control. But if you look at the Country Club side, the HOA doesn’t own the golf course. They are going to have to buy it. Plus, the Caloosa Grill, Bunker Bar and the new, heated pool! Apparently, the HOAs don’t own anything?
3. Are we a gated community? The gates are very controversial, aren’t they? I don’t know how much money has been pumped into them because of all the problems we’ve had with them. I saw a bill for more than $2,000 for a camera and then you hear that the resolution is so bad, you can’t make out a license plate! What? The back gates are also interesting. They break too. Many times I walk by there and they’re stuck open or an arm is off. I’ve used the back gates a couple of times and don’t see the attraction. If I wanted to go to the Rum Bucket, I still wouldn’t go that way because of all the slow twists and turns. At one board meeting people were complaining about how the front gates are open more than they are closed and we supposedly live in a gated community and we want to keep the riff raff out. The reply from our resident Board member was if criminals want to get in here, they will and we already have criminals living in here so why worry about gates that are open all the time. If there was ever a decision made to get rid of the gates and live in an open community, then make sure the streets are turned over to the county because if this isn’t a gated community, I don’t want to have to pay for street repairs.
4. And that leads us to the streets. Potholes. Patches. More potholes. More patches. The developer doesn’t want to pave the streets because there is construction going on. Have you seen the new first layer of asphalt on East Hampton Circle between Mistflower and Palmetto Prairie? It was so filled with potholes and patches and a sewer cover that ripped the oil pans off of cars, that the developer finally got tired of all the calls and had the road ripped up and a new layer of asphalt put down for a very large stretch of road. That’s almost two years ago and guess what? The road still looks fantastic! And that’s where ALL the construction traffic goes. Its a load of BS that the road is going to crumble away with the construction traffic. The developer just doesn’t want to part with the money! Pave the roads already!

So this is probably the last time I’ll talk about these things. As new people move in and ask about these things on Facebook I’m just going to keep quiet, live peacefully and just keep walking around the neighborhood! See youz out there!

BTW, I’ve added some new things to the website. I added some games like sudoku, a picture puzzle and a quiz. Plus, local news from other publications and also a weather app so you can check on the weather in Alva really quick. I also added links to my social media accounts on Instagram and Youtube, which mostly deal with food and/or cooking videos that I made back in the day when we had a restaurant. Enjoy! And please spread the word about the website and the connected Facebook page.

Thanks again!