HOA forms communication committee

LAKEWOOD RANCH — When Edgewater resident Eileen Amesbury moved to Lakewood Ranch, the community’s system of governance proved cumbersome, at best.

And although she believes residents need to inform themselves about how their community operates, she also realizes the community needs an easier way to disseminate information.

“That’s such a big subject,” said Amesbury, who is chairing the Country Club/Edgewater Village Association Ad Hoc Communication Committee.

Under the direction of CEVA President Ned Richardson, about 50 CEVA community chairs and other guests attended a daylong strategic planning workshop March 29. At the end, communication emerged as the No. 1 concern, resulting in the formation of the CEVA Ad Hoc Communication Committee, which has spent the last few months researching the issue.

Amesbury and other members of the committee attended Lakewood Ranch Community Development District agenda-review workshops and meetings in September to better understand the roles of the boards and their relationships with each other, the HOAs and residents. Amesbury said the goal is to understand how information flows under Lakewood Ranch’s governance structure and determine what improvements can be made.

“We’re spending time on who does what and how does the information flow,” Amesbury said, noting there seems to be a disconnect between the HOA, CDDs and residents.

Amesbury and the Communication Committee will address CDD boards at their October meetings to further stimulate conversation about how communication can be improved.

“We want to get the conversation started to see how they look at it,” Amesbury said. “What are their needs? We all want to talk to each other.

“Everyone needs to start thinking big picture,” she said.

The committee is considering topics, such as whether CDD meetings should be friendlier or have a more standardized format. They also will discuss changing the order of the agendas so residents have an opportunity to provide input before votes are taken.

Amesbury said Lakewood Ranch Town Hall Executive Director Eva Rey, who is serving on the ad hoc committee, already had begun to address several of CEVA’s communication concerns before the committee formed. For example, Rey is updating pamphlets that explain Lakewood Ranch’s governance structure, providing supplemental agenda material for residents to review at CDD meetings and working to create a website for the CDDs and HOAs.

Rey said she came to Town Hall with several ideas for improving communication, but the committee’s ideas mirror her own.

“By forming this committee and bringing residents together and including Town Hall in those discussions, you can’t help but have a positive outcome,” Rey said.

The Communication Committee is playing a role in the development of the proposed CDD and HOA governance website. On Sept. 27, it recommended hiring Association Voice for website services to the CEVA board, which would make any recommendations to the CDDs.

Rey said a contract with Association Voice will be recommended to CDD supervisors at their October meeting.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].