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WCA Board Changes

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By JASON GEARY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2007

WESTCHASE - With three spots up for grabs, voting members on Tuesday elected three residents to the board of directors for the Westchase Community Association.

After the ballots were cast, one incumbent and two new faces joined the seven-member board, and this year's president was bid adieu.

Brian Ross, who has served four years as a board member and this year's president, failed to gain enough support for re-election.

During Tuesday's meeting, candidates were given time for opening and closing remarks. Voting members also wrote down questions for them to answer. There are 29 villages within Westchase, and each has a voting member who participates in the selection of the association's board. Voting members from 24 of the 29 villages attended the meeting.

Ross said he got involved on the board to serve his community and because he didn't like how Westchase was being portrayed in the media.

'I'm a big believer for conducting business in an open, neighborly way,' he said.

Ross said he has felt that enforcement of the community's rules should be 'reasonable, predictable and swift.' The board should also take care of the community's assets, he said.

Mary Griffin, a Westchase resident for more than five years, was re-elected as a board member, a position she has served in for the past two years.

Griffin said her most important contribution has been reviewing the association's annual insurance costs and working to create 'fairly large savings.'

Stephanie Georgiades chose not to seek re-election.

John Schmidt, who has lived in Westchase for about two years, was elected to the board. His community involvement has included serving as a voting member for the association and a member of the swim and tennis committee.

Schmidt said security should be improved in Westchase, citing problems with people hanging out late at night near one of the community's two swim and tennis centers.

'It's become a real issue,' he said.

Ben Reinhart, who was also elected to the board, has been a voting member for the association.

He has been a member and chairman of the swim and tennis committee. He has also served on an association facilities evaluation committee and office space committee.
Reinhart said he would like to focus on improving oversight of the property management and budget. He said he wants to find out whether residents want to build office space.

'I think there are many, many alternatives,' he said.
Voting members did ask candidates whether office space should be leased, bought or built for Westchase's property management staff.

Currently, the property manager and Westchase's two community development districts share space in an aging warehouse off Linebaugh Avenue.

The previous board has been pushing forward with building space near the Village Swim and Tennis Club.

Other questions covered a range of topics, including how candidates would handle discussions with people they might 'detest' and what were past board policies that they didn't agree with.

One controversial question asked what were the two biggest 'failures or mistakes' of the 2007 board of directors and who was responsible.

The candidates seemed to avoid pointing to specific people but did comment on issues.
Reinhart spoke about how the board chose last month to keep its current property management company, Greenacre Properties.
Reinhart said he disagreed with how the process took place.

The board didn't allow further analysis of two competing companies, he said. The decision wasn't deferred until after the elections so the new board of directors could make the choice, he said.

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

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