Why does the playground committee and Fred Brooks want a playground over by the pools so badly when 3 of the four people don't live anywhere close to the area, only one lives fairly close but still not that close to the pool area. I would like these people to have the new playground as close to their house as possible so they can keep an eye on it. If the committee would take this grant money and fix the ones we already have instead of ignoring the run down look then that would benefit all home values in those areas. If the playgrounds were vandalized then it wasn't recent because these areas have been run down for many years. Grass is allowed to grow high around these areas and no one has even tried to repair or fix the appearence for a very long time. Some residents might have bought close to the playgrounds for their own kids and now you want to take them away. If you plan on a high fence around the new playground will protect it, then why not refurbish the existing playgrounds and put a fence around them which by the way is someone going to be responsible to lock and unlock the fence? The nice flat commons in the first addition would fit a playground nicely, so why not there? Instead of tearing up the commons by the pool, lets re-invest in the ones already here. For the person who doesn't swim and wants to take out the pools then lets just take out all the playgrounds instead and the money for them can be used for the pool repair. The pool area commons is very dark and the new security lights that some council member instructed the electrician to point down to the concrete was a total waste of money from our council members. They don't display the pool building at all and definitely won't protect a new playground next to the pool. Fred needs to quit checking with the new housing areas to raise the dues because there is no comparison. Those areas are highly taxed and houses there are extremely larger and newer. Some of those areas have less amenities because of the higher costs. If Fred wants willo-esque to look like the new housing areas then maybe he should move over to them. This council seems to want to spend a lot of money and will end up costing all the homeowners here. I'm all for new but lets do the projects one at a time with the money we have from the dues. In closing we do not need a new playground by the pools just refurbish the existing ones. People climb over the pool fence all the time and I'm sure they will on the playgrounds also.

Thank you Larry for your input. I really like your energy and enthusiasm about how we can make Willo-Esque an even better neighborhood than it already is. Your Willo-Esque Board is working hard to improve conditions and amenities that have deteriorated over the years that are starting to impact all our property values in a negative way. It's pretty well documented that buyers not only evaluate the house they are looking to buy but also the condition of the amenities in the neighborhood. You might not have kids at home any longer and neither do I, so I can understand your thoughts about a playground. However, people who do and are looking to move into the neighborhood, it's a big decision factor. The life blood of any neighborhood is getting younger people to move into a neighborhood to replace older folks like you and me when it's time to downsize to another home; etc. You know Larry, there comes a time when everything after so many years and so many repairs, that it's better to rebuild. You can replace broken boards and posts on old fences but eventually it's time to replace the fence. Your obviously are not aware that Roger Sackreiter and others have done a great job of repairing and trying to maintain our 40 year old playground. I also believe that over time, things change to the point that we need to always evaluate whether those decisions made 40 years ago are still the right decision to make today. I think the location of the playground is one of those decisions. I agree with your point about we can do a better job sometimes of killing the grass around the playground; as well as, sidewalk cracks and other areas. As a mater of fact, that's one of the areas we discussed this year. We did put in a couple of new security lights at the pool and the reason we pointed them down was because we got complaints from some of your other neighbors that they were shinning in their windows. I agree the pool area is still too dark and could use a couple more lights on the sides but we can't point them up so high that it negatively affects the houses around the pool. I don't use a lot of the amenities myself but I do want my house to keep it's value when it does come time to sell. I've lived in Willo-Esque for almost 30 years and have no intention of moving to another neighborhood. Not all neigborhoods that I look at are high dollar houses or fancier than Willo-Esque. I will always continue to look at other neighborhoods and talk to other HOA boards to better understand common issues and factors that affect our property values. I believe that's part of my fiduciary responsibilty as a HOA Board member. I welcome your input on these; as well as' any other topics you would like to discuss in more detail. My phone number is on this web page 943-9307 and my address is 6705 Loconia Circle. If you haven't been coming to the board meetings, I personally invite you so we can get your input first hand. Sounds like you have a lot of ideas and I also personally invite you to join or lead one of the other committees to improve things in Will-Esque. I hope to hear from you Larry. Fred Brooks

Has anyone thought, if the BoD is so intent on installing a new and improved playground, to simply place it where the existing playground is (by the double tennis courts.) There is electric already nearby, the area is already suitably placed by walking paths, already a known location to those seeking such, less cost, etcetera. Simply put lets make use out of what we already have, no real need to disrupt a clean open area. 

Thank you for your input Dave. Yes, your WEHOA board did and continues to discuss different options for locations of potential new playground equipment including the existing area where the old equipment is located. No definitive decision on location has been made at this time. All options will continue to be reviewed and the final decision will be based on best location to protect our homeowners investment from vandalism and utilization as part of your boards fiduciary responsibility.