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Please join me in welcoming Steve Ring to the KWPOA Board of Directors. Steve and his wife Nina, along with their Redwood sophomore Aidan, live on Ridgecrest and have been in the Woodlands for 17 years. During Steve's career, he has held local and national positions on real estate-related boards and committees, including President of the Local Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) board. He has served with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), the advisory board of the California Business Property Association (CBPA), and with then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom as Chair of his Mayor's task force on sustainability-related issues to commercial real estate. In 2015, after the death of his father, he started his firm, Fulcrum Real Estate and Development. Inspired by his father's search for quality elder care, his firm, located in Sausalito, focuses on the development of assisted living and memory care sites in the Bay Area, including one coming up in Marin. He currently enjoys spending time with his family while also chairing the local Boy Scouts Troop 59 Committee. His son Aidan is now working on his Eagle Scout, has played RVLL baseball and CYO basketball, and is currently playing football and mountain biking for Redwood High School. As an Eagle Scout myself, it's encouraging to hear of others pursuing this path. I am excited to work alongside Steve and the other dedicated volunteer members of our board while we pursue several important priorities here in our wonderful neighborhood.
Insurance has, unfortunately, become a hot topic in Kent Woodlands. I've recently learned that many of you have had your insurance dropped and are scrambling to secure coverage, while potential home buyers have also been struggling to obtain the coverage needed to satisfy their mortgage requirements. Our very own Woodland Sponsors (a group of about 100 women who reside in Kent Woodlands) are presenting “Insuring Your Peace of Mind: Navigating Home Insurance in Fire-Prone California and Fortifying Your Home for Coverage Success.” To learn more about the evolving insurance landscape in Kent Woodlands (and California as a whole) feel free to join the Woodland Sponsors’ online presentation. You'll hear from a panel of home insurance experts organized and moderated by Bitsa Freeman. The date is June 19 from 7-9 pm. To register for this Zoom meeting, please contact Ann Becker, President of Woodland Sponsors, at annbecker@comcast.net.
Thanks to the many of you that attended our March KWPOA board meeting, where PG&E addressed undergrounding power lines. We learned that this is likely not going to happen in Kent Woodlands anytime soon unless PG&E decides to prioritize it. The cost would be well into the six figures per home and PG&E is focused on undergrounding other areas in California which they deem as posing a much higher fire risk. With this said, they shared a multitude of other steps they are taking to mitigate the risk of fire in Kent Woodlands. If you would be interested in joining the sub-committee on undergrounding that might be formed as a follow-up to this meeting, please email us at info@kwpoa.com.
Thank you for the feedback regarding the proposed increase in design review fees. The change is necessary because the current design review fees do not cover the direct costs required to administer the process. For instance, last year, the Association had to access our cash balances (accumulated from prior years' membership dues) in order to cover the design review shortfall of about $30,000. The Board believes the applicants should cover the costs of design review, not the membership at large. Please keep in mind several activities can be completed without approval by the Architectural Committee, including, but not limited to: rooftop solar panels; removal of dead, diseased, or hazardous trees (with an arborist’s report); repainting with the same colors; re-roofing with the same materials; rebuilding decks, fencing, bulkheads, etc. in the same location/height with the same materials.
Finally, we have received several competitive bids for the proposed entrance project at Woodland Road and College Avenue. During our March meeting, we discussed the budget line items and next steps. In short, we were pleasantly surprised with bid totals and expect to be coming to all of you within the next several months with a detailed ballot to allow all of you to vote whether you believe we should proceed with this project or not. Either way, we'll be satisfied that we've heard how our membership believes we should proceed.
I encourage you to join our next KWPOA board meeting either in-person or via Zoom on Monday April 15th at 6:00 p.m.
Sincerely,
Jeff Leh, President
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