KEY DAYS -SATURDAYS

May 5^th      May  12^th

10 Am to 2 pm

Come to the pool to pick up your key for the 2007 swim-tennis season, sign up for swim team, 

meet the coaches,  meet board members.  Bring friends who may be interested in associate memberships

—applications will be available for families recommended by you.

            If you have not yet paid your annual assessment,  please bring that, too. 

Keys will only be given out to paid-up residents and associate members.

 

ALSO COMING up:_______________

Ladies Book Club - May 3^rd,  Thursday,  7 p.m. See paragraph below.

Ladies Water Aerobics – whenever the water warms up!  Call Becky (860-5113) or Sandy (863-4944) for info.

Woodbridge Board Meetings –

May 17, 2007,  7:30 p.m. at the pool house.

June 21^st, 2007, 7:30 p.m.   at the pool house.

 

WOODBRIDGE SWIM TEAM SEASON BEGINS!

Spring Break and the Masters are over so that means it’s time to turn our thoughts to swimming. 

The Woodbridge Key Days (sign-up days) are May 5^th and 12^th at the pool from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. 

There will be a representative from the swim team at each Key Day for swim team sign-up and to

answer questions about the team and the schedule.  

 

Practice will begin on May 14^th this year.  From the 14^th until school is finished, practice is Monday

through Friday after school  as follows:

 

4:45 -- 6 p.m. for all swimmers

                        Beginning May 21^st,   the summer practice schedule Monday-Friday is as follows: 

10:45 a.m.--12 noon  for all swimmers

5:45 p.m. – 7 p.m. for anyone who can’t make the morning practice times.

 

Swim meets are on Tuesday evenings and automatically reschedule to Thursday night if we get rained out.

            Swim Team membership costs are:

                        $50 for the family’s first swimmer

                        $40 for the family’s second swimmer

                        $30 for the family’s third swimmer

 

As usual, families living outside Woodbridge must purchase an Associate Membership in order to participate

on the Woodbridge swim team.

 The coaches this year are: 

Head Coach:           Leigh Gunnels

Assistant Coach:      Justin Purucker

Assistant Coach:      Megan Duffin

Parents, please remember that we love to have your young swimmers, and we really

need the littlest swimmers this year.  They must be at least 4 years old, and be able to

swim the length of the pool by May 23rd, the first meet.

 

Any Questions?     Call Jennie Mischel: (706) 650-8947. 

 

 

We are looking forward to a great summer. Please tell any friends or neighbors about this opportunity for fun and excitement. See you at the pool!

 

 

LADIES BOOK CLUB May 3^rd ,  Thursday,  7 p.m. 

We are reading:

Annie Freeman's Traveling Funeral

 

All  Woodbridge women invited. The more the merrier. Meeting at the home of  Winter Stakely on 8 Woodbridge Circle,   706-210-1130.

 

SWIMMERS ………

Please close the gate behind you to keep the area secure and fellow swimmers safe.

It is not closing itself.

TREASURER POSITION STILL OPEN – There will be no one to pay the bills if no one volunteers!

Well, actually, we will have to hire the work done.

It will cost the WPO at least an additional $3,000.00 per year for accounting and payroll. 

The Board of Directors  already uses an outside  firm to do the taxes. 

Next board meeting we will discuss how this affects the proposed 2007 budget. 

We will probably need to adjust the annual assessments in order to cover these additional expenses.

 

 

UPDATE-WOODBRIDGE DAM

            Cranston Engineering Group, our engineering company,  submitted construction plans for the dam repairs to the

Georgia Safe Dams Commission  on time.  We are waiting for the Commission’s review and further instructions.  

This could happen very soon,  or it could take another six months.  Once the plans are approved,  we have only 180

days to accomplish the work.  We will have to have a state-approved contractor ready and the funds to pay the work right away.

            Woodbridge board members are currently considering loan proposals from two local banks.

           

Special assessments.   In accordance with our covenants, special assessments over and above the annual dues

are capped at 50% of the current annual dues.  This year we will bill each property owner an additional $215.00,

payable no later than September 1^st,  towards payment of the loan for work on the lake and dam.

The bills for this payment will be sent out in July.

Please be prompt in your payment of the annual assessments and the special assessment.

Our homeowner association’s demonstrated ability to collect its fees in a timely manner and to pay its

obligations on time will affect how banks will view us as a loan risk.

 

F.Y.I.         Joe Wheeler, our VP for Lake and Dam, recently asked our state representatives to have the state of

Georgia re-assess whether our dam should properly qualify as a “Class I”  dam.  Here is a copy of the text he sent:

 

TO:  ben.harbin@house.ga.gov, jim.whitehead@senate.ga.gov 

Gentlemen,

I've copied you on notes to our county commissioners seeking help for an ongoing siltation problem on the south end of our lake. 

 I'm now asking you for assistance with addressing an extreme financial burden related to the dam at the north end of our lake. 

The GA Safe Dams program of the GA Environmental Protection Division classified our dam as Category 1 on November 21, 1980.  

A Category 1 classification means that there would be loss of life downstream in the event the dam was breached.  This classification

was the result of visual inspection and hand calculations.  In talking with my contact at the agency, Tom Woosley, I asked if there was

a mechanism for having this classification revisited.  He said that a 30-day appeal period was missed in 1980 and that our only option

was to have an engineering firm on their approved list to do a dam break analysis at an approximate cost of $10,000.  In other words,

there is no burden on the agency to defend a classification done 27 years ago.  The onus is on my neighborhood's property owner's

association to spend another $10K to try to avoid spending $200,000 to satisfy this agency's requirements.  The reason I'm raising this

issue is that neither the Windmill Plantation Lake nor Silver Lake which seem to be of equal or greater size have dams classified as

Category 1.  Both of these seem to have homes or businesses immediately downstream yet as far as I know, they appear to be of no

concern to GA Safe Dams.  So what am I asking from you?  I think, given the age of this classification and the impact that this

classification is having on my POA's finances, that GA Safe Dams should be required to re-assess our dam or pay to have it done. 

I think until such time as either of the former are completed, the consent order under which we currently are obligated should be nullified. 

The advances in technology alone since 1980 should call in to question the accuracy of the original classification and the agency should

be required to re-substantiate it.  However, there is a kicker.  Time is of the essence.  Our POA submitted to a consent order that requires

us to complete an estimated $200K worth of improvements 180 days from the agency's approval of our construction plans. 

They estimate approval will come within the next 2 months.  Please consider looking into this issue. 

Please contact me ASAP for questions or clarifications.  Thanks for your attention.  

----------------------
Joe Wheeler

NEIGHBORS – WILL YOU WRITE? 

            Below please find below a note I sent to 3 of our County Commissioners, our State Representative and our State Senator.

The note contains a link to an interview in the Metropolitan Spirit with Tom Mercer on Bowen Pond in Westlake.  

I encourage you to read the article and take the time to send a similar note to the folks on the "To: " line below. If we are to ever

get any assistance from the county with our siltation problem, I think it will take a coordinated effort from all our neighbors

contacting our commissioners with their concerns. 

            FYI, Mr. Cross has replied saying that our (Westlake/Woodbridge) situations are fundamentally

different in that Bowen Pond was donated to the county for their Greenspace Program.  My understanding

is that the county does now own it but since there is and will be no public access, the residents of West Lake

and Stevens Pointe will feel no ill effect.  In other words, West Lake and Stevens Pointe residents will still

have exclusive use of Bowen Pond but their siltation problem will be corrected at the expense of county taxpayers.

            Mr. Cross did suggest that if we want to donate the lake to the county that we should contact the

Director of Community and Leisure Services to discuss.  I don't think turning the lake over to the county is the

answer at this point.  I do think we need to convince our county leadership to work with us and explore some alternatives to

solving this problem.  With your help, hopefully they will come to understand our side of the issue.  Contact me if you have questions. 

Thanks.

P.S.  I only have ~110 email addresses for our 185 neighbors.  Please forward this information to any neighbors who don't get this message but would be willing to participate. 

P.S.S.  Please cc: me (JWheeler3rd@yahoo.com) if/when you send the note.
----------------------
Joe Wheeler
Home: (706) 863-8162
Office: (803) 725-8344

From: Joe Wheeler <jwheeler3rd@yahoo.com>
To: tmercer@columbiacounty.gov; rthigpen@columbiacounty.gov; ben.harbin@house.ga.gov; jim.whitehead@senate.ga.gov
Cc: minglett@columbiacountyga.gov; ptucker@columbiacounty.gov; tomgrant@metrospirit.com
Sent: Monday, April 2, 2007 8:52:43 AM
Subject:

Sirs, I refer you to this article re: Bowen Pond in Columbia County in last week's Metro Spirit:

http://www.metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1993101074458954&ShowArticle_ID=11012703070835721

 

            My name is Joe Wheeler.  I am a 40 year resident of Columbia County.  I live in Woodbridge subdivision and serve on our property owners

association's board of directors as Vice-President in-charge of Lake and Dam.  You may be interested to know that our POA is poised to

spend ~$200K on state mandated modifications to the lake's dam.  Our lake provides a major stormwater retention benefit for landowner's

north of Woodbridge who live along Mount Enna Branch, the stream that feeds our lake and drains an approximate 1K acre watershed to the south. 

             I believe our lake is in a similar situation to that of Bowen Pond due to the failure of upstream developments to adequately control

their stormwater runoff.  Our POA soon faces an additional $30-$50K in dredging costs to bring the south end of our lake back to adequate depths. 

Although I think our lake provides an almost free benefit to the county in terms of stormwater retention, I also believe that we are responsible for

the maintenance and upgrades to our dam.  However, given the article above (and a couple similar articles in the past), it seems a precedent is being

set in terms of dealing with siltation and sedimentation.  Accordingly, I would submit that "what is good for the goose is also good for the gander". 

Who should I speak with to discuss a similar dredging project for our lake?   I believe representatives from our POA have attempted to start a

similar dialog with county officials in the past without much success.  I hope we can start some constructive conversation on this topic very soon. 

             Thank you for your time and attention.

----------------------
Joe Wheeler

 

Woodbridge Residents: please remember that if your annual assessments were not paid on time,  there is a 10 % late fee.    

Payments not received by 30 April 2006 will:

 1.  Add a 10% Late Charge ($43.00) as authorized under Article VII of our Covenants.

 2.  Add Interest at 1 and 1/2 % per month effective 04/01/2007, as authorized under Article VII of our Covenants.

 3. Revoke the privilege to use Woodbridge amenities as authorized under Article II (c) of our  Covenants, thus restricting property owners,

family members and guests from using the Woodbridge Lake, Pool, Playground and Tennis Courts until such date that assessment payments

IN FULL have been received by the Association.

 

Covenant Review Committee

The protective covenants expire on August 29, 2008.  Nearly ten years have passed since the last review, amendment and filing. 

We will need to renew them, update them, and perhaps make additional changes given changes in the neighborhood.  

Cathy Royal has volunteered to chair a review committee, which will research,  amend and submit the covenants to the property owners for approval. 

Four more committee members are:  Charles Schuman, Ed Sanderson, Bruce Cameron and Frank Plumley.

If you have a concern or an idea about how the protective Covenants can be improved,  you may call anyone on this committee. 

Our phone numbers are in your Woodbridge Directory.

 

 

Burning Ban Starts May 1

 A State mandated ban on open burning is in effect annually from May 1 thru September 30. 

No residential burning is allowed during this time.

            This weekend may be your last  chance to burn “small sticks and leaves”  until October!

Remember that smoke is bothersome to many  residents, so if you are planning to burn yard debris

before the ban takes effect, please let your nearby neighbors know when you are planning to burn.  

Also, make sure you dry the material and burn very small piles to produce less smoke. 

The first and most critical step to legally burn is to obtain a burn permit from the

Georgia Forestry Commission before burning or you will face fines.  This can be done by three methods:

Ø      Call 1-877-OK2-BURN  (1-877-652-2876)    

Ø Get an online permit at www.gatrees.org

Ø      Call Columbia County Forestry Services at (706) 556-3962    

·         Burn  permits are issued only for natural vegetative materials and are good only on the day they were issued.

·         Yard debris, such as leaf piles and small limb piles, must be 6’ by 6’ or smaller.

·         You should be sure that material is dry to reduce the amount of smoke that is produced.

·         Fires cannot be initiated before 8a.m. and should be completely extinguished before dark.

·         In highly populated areas, burning should be conducted from 10:00 a.m. until 30 minutes before dark.

·         It is unlawful to burn man-made materials, such as tires, shingles, plastics, paper, and household trash.

·         Permits will not be issued on days where the fire danger or fire danger forecast is high.  (Class 4 or 5 is considered dangerous.)

        

NOTICE: Columbia County is currently in Drought Response Level 2: No outdoor watering from 10:00 AM-12:00 AM (Midnight) Tuesday-Sunday. No outdoor watering permitted on Monday.

 

Even-numbered addresses (those ending in 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8) may use water outdoors on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays ONLY between the hours of 12:00 AM (Midnight) -10:00 AM;

Odd-numbered addresses (those ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) may use water outdoors on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays ONLY between the hours of 12:00 AM (Midnight) -10:00 AM; and

Outdoor water use is prohibited on Mondays.

 

For water conservation tips, see: http://www.columbiacountyga.gov/Index.aspx?page=2662

“GARDENING  AT  LUNCH SERIES”

2007 SEMINARS

May 9               “Propagating Plants”

June 13            “Drying Flowers”

 

These lunch seminars will take place in the Columbia County Library, 720 North Belair Road, just off Ronald Reagan Dr., Evans, Georgia from 12:10 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.  Please bring a sack lunch or enjoy refreshments from the café on the premises.  The seminars are free and open to the public.   Reservations are not needed. Hope you can join us! Bring a friend along.   Thank you for making this program series a continued success.

For more info, please contact County Agent Charles Phillips,  706-868-3413.

April  28, May 12
8:00am-12:00pm
Evans Town Center Park
(corner of N. Belair Rd. and Ronald Reagan Dr. in Evans)
For more information, please email us or call

(706) 312-7192 or (706) 312-7194

NEIGHBORHOOD MESSAGE BOARD

 

Rising High School Seniors and Juniors:

Do you need a Senior Project?

How about a community newsletter?

Truly a service to your local neighborhood and at the same time  you can learn & apply all sorts of skills:

   writing             web surfing

        editing             printing & publishing

layout & design             web site building

     customer contact         email

     Microsoft Office Word/ Open Office

          database management

I’d be happy to teach you skills you need for the project.   Flexible length of service. 

 I’ll sign off on your community service hours.

                   Call Cathy at 706-651-0721

                   Email:  royalgc@comcast.net

 

 

Dear Folks:  This is the spot where I usually ask for your email address,  so that I can e-mail the newsletters.  

We have roughly 2/3 of Woodbridge on distribution by email. 

However,  on behalf of the Woodbridge Board of Directors,  I am making one more appeal.  

If you have an active email address,  please send it to me  at royalgc@comcast.net.  

The reason is:  we may not have a regular newsletter for a while. The Board would like to 

have as many email addresses as possible so that you may be sent special notices about the dam repairs, 

requirements by banks for loaning us the funds,  emergencies, etc.   

Your email address will not be given to parties outside Woodbridge;  

it will only be used for matters concerning you as a Woodbridge resident.  Thanks for your help!                  

                                                             --- Cathy

 

Need a photographer for that  special occasion? Holidays, Weddings, Senior student portraits, formal or informal,  business or personal, reunion, graduation,  birthday,  recital …or a pet?

Call  Tom Klose, 706 -863-2400.