Tensions between Warren County and a neighborhood property owners group remain over the subdivision’s funding and maintenance.
County Administrator Edwin Daley said by phone Thursday that the county could present a draft agreement to the Board of Directors of the Property Owners of Shenandoah Farms Inc. for the management of the Shenandoah Farms Sanitary District.
But board Chairwoman Tracie Lane pointed out in phone interviews on Thursday that county representatives still haven’t met with the property owners group in the past several years to discuss funding and maintenance concerns.
“There’s still some communication issues … and they’re still refusing to meet with us,” Lane said. “I mean it’s a good sign that we have gotten this communication but the issue is not resolved and we have a long way to go before we are able to work as a team again.”
The property owners group submitted a proposed budget last June of about $60,000, which Lane said would have covered maintenance and other expenses. The county has yet to allocate the funds, according to the group’s board.
The county recently paid the insurance premium on the policy covering common properties in the Shenandoah Farms Sanitary District. The county’s payment, with money collected through a fee charged to sanitary district property owners, prevented the closure of the common properties.
The Property Owners of Shenandoah Farms Inc. Board of Directors warned residents in a letter in early December that, without insurance, nine of the common properties in the Shenandoah Farms Sanitary District would close effective Jan. 1 The letter states that the properties would need to close because county supervisors had “refused to allow your Sanitary District funds to be used to maintain and insure your common properties.” The closure would have affected nine common properties including a boat landing, several parks, two lakes and the community center.
In response to the county paying for the insurance on the common properties, Lane said in an earlier phone conversation Thursday morning that the payment came “at the last moment.”
In an email to Daley on Thursday, Lane acknowledges the county’s payment on the insurance.
“We are pleased that the county stepped up and paid the common property insurance premium,” Lane stated in an email to Daley.
But Lane goes on to state in the email that, without an agreement that provides in writing what maintenance of the common properties involves, the cost to the sanitary district, and the administration of maintenance, the board of directors does not want county staff to perform the maintenance on those common properties. In the email, Lane states that her board invites Daley, a sanitary district representative and a member of the Board of Supervisors to meet and discuss a potential agreement.
In the first eight years of the county managing the sanitary district, the property owners group received monthly financial reports from the county showing how the district funds were being spent. In 2019, then-Deputy County Administrator Bob Childress, who also served as sanitary district manager, retired. The county failed to provide any monthly finance reports for the next two years despite the board’s repeated requests, Lane said by phone.
The property owners group notified county officials last spring that it would leave the 10-year-old sanitary district management agreement effective July 1.
Some Shenandoah Farms residents opposed the group’s decision and voiced concerns about the property owners’ group taking over maintenance of the subdivision. Opponents of the move spoke in support of the county’s handling of the sanitary district maintenance.
In the wake of the property owners group leaving the agreement, supervisors created the Shenandoah Farms Sanitary District Advisory Committee and appointed members. Property owners Matt Devine, Sarah Saber, Todd Tennant and Charles Thilking serve on the five-member committee. Bruce Boyle recently resigned, leaving a vacancy for the supervisors to fill.
Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.