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Westchase Removes Board Member

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By JASON GEARY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 17, 2007

Updated: 10/15/2007 07:44 pm

WESTCHASE - The Westchase Community Association continues to feel tumultuous change as it loses yet another board member and faces financial scrutiny from residents.

Amid allegations of bigoted remarks, Westchase's voting members removed Gene McArthur from his position as a board member for the WCA during a meeting Oct. 9.

According to the homeowners association's official newsletter, some voting members asserted that McArthur made sexist and racist remarks. McArthur said the allegations were not true and called them bunk.

A majority of voting members agreed to remove McArthur, and Nancy Sells was voted in to replace him.

During a meeting Thursday, Ruben Collazo, president of the WCA, requested that WCA board members also remove McArthur from any community committees. His motion was unanimously passed.

'With this, I hope we can close this unfortunate chapter in Westchase history,' Collazo said.

In a statement, Collazo said McArthur's removal from the board because of 'bigoted comments' proves that the community cares about who its elected representatives are, and he was sorry the episode put a blemish on the association.

McArthur's removal was the second abrupt departure of a board member in recent weeks.

In September, during a heated board meeting in which McArthur told a Westchase resident to 'shut up,' WCA board member Jim Mills abruptly resigned, citing acrimony on the board as a reason for leaving.

Mills' position remains vacant.

The two sudden departures come when the WCA has been trying to approve a budget with some controversial items, in particular whether to build office space for the deed-restricted community's property manager and her staff.

Westchase's property manager and its two community development districts share space in a warehouse off Linebaugh Avenue.

For more than a year, the WCA has been pursuing the concept of building office space near the Village Swim and Tennis Club.

Along with office space, plans also call for the building to have conference rooms for Westchase residents to use.

In addition, some board members had hoped to set aside space inside the new building for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to use as a substation for deputies and increase law enforcement presence within the community.

However, Westchase officials said the sheriff's department doesn't have enough resources within its budget to make such a project happen.

During Thursday's meeting, more than two dozen residents were in attendance. These monthly meetings usually draw several people.

Most wanted to discuss the budget - especially why building office space that could cost more than $200,000 to finish is necessary.

Some suggested getting more information about the overall cost of maintaining such a structure before going forward or checking to see whether renting office space could be a more cost-effective option.

Keith Heinemann, who serves as a voting member for Radcliffe, said the majority of homeowners within his neighborhood contacted in an e-mail poll were against building office space.

With the WCA's annual assessments going up, some audience members suggested residents might get 'priced out of' Westchase as taxes, insurance and other costs continue to rise.

The WCA board members did unanimously approve the budget Thursday, which includes plans to move forward with building office space. After some adjustments, the annual assessment for homes in the community changed from $342 to about $320.
Voting members could still call a meeting and reject the budget.

In other matters, a few residents complained to board members about the noise generated at the recent Oktoberfest festival held at the Westchase Town Center off Linebaugh Avenue.

'The sound was so loud that it rattled the dishes,' Tom Lewis said.

Reporter Jason Geary can be reached at (813) 865-1505 or jgeary@tampatrib.com.

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