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Many residents may not realize the importance of the dam until the day that you put your home on the market. Just ask any realtor, and they will tell you that the lake is considered a major factor in keeping our property values among the highest in south Hillsborough County. This is true even for homes in our neighborhood that do not have a lake view. So, it is in all our interests that the dam stays intact and continues to maintain our property values. The Shadow Run Dam Corporation (SRDC) was formed in March of 2000 for the sole purpose of maintaining the integrity of the dam that is at the northern boundary of Lake Grady. The SRDC is a non profit corporation that is in not connected to the Shadow Run Homeowner’s Association (SRHA). The only real connection is that by virtue of owning property in the Shadow Run Subdivision, the property owner is a stockholder of the SRDC, to whom the SRDC is solely accountable. The SRDC is managed by a Board of Directors who are all volunteers (and your neighbors) that offer their time and effort to ensure that the dam is maintained and continues to perform its primary function.
We operate as any corporation does, with by-laws, articles of incorporation, and annual meetings. Since our annual meeting is at the same time as the Shadow Run Homeowners Association (SHRA), the two meetings can seem redundant and often confusing. The SRDC does not collect dues or any type of money from the resident/members. At the time the SRDC was formed, a fund was established from the sale of properties held by Hillsborough County. This resulted in approximately $100,000, which has been invested in certificates of deposit (CDs) in an attempt to create some revenues to offset the expenses of operating the dam. Now you are probably saying: “Wait a minute! What can it cost to operate a dam?” Well, we’ve spent two of the past three years complying with a wetlands decree from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SFWMD, a.k.a. “Swiftmud”). We were required to hire an environmental company to survey the wetlands area in question, and then a contractor to plant the recommended plants and vegetation as directed. Then there is the monthly maintenance of the wetlands area as required by SWFMD – there’s another $1,200 a year we spend with a company that specializes in lake maintenance. There is an annual inspection which needs to be conducted by a certified engineer. That costs a couple of thousand dollars. There’s liability insurance, CPA fees, state filing fees, well I hope you get the picture now. And this does not include any capital improvement or other maintenance projects that need to get done. When tropical storm Gabriela roared through, lake levels rose a few feet over the top of the spillway. The result was that our floating barriers to keep boats or debris from entering the spillway wound up going through the spillway themselves, and have been sitting on the bank downstream for years now. This is a typical maintenance project, and there are several of them. Needless to say, the SRDC certainly meets the definition of a “Non Profit” organization. Our investment continues to dwindle each year as our need for capital improvement and maintenance grows. This year, and for the first time in the history of the SRDC, our annual budget will include outside revenues to fund specific projects that we will have identified with cost estimates. The Quorum Needs to be Changed We’ve known for some time now, ever since 2001 as a matter of fact, that we have needed to change our extraordinarily high quorum requirement for voting on matters that affect our corporate governance. The dilemma is that in order to get the quorum changed to a lower and more acceptable level (30%, instead of the existing quorum of 66%) than how it is now spelled out in the current By Laws. It’s difficult to get 30%, and darn near impossible to get 66%, as each year we have dogmatically tried in vain. This year, please be on the lookout for our proxy that will come about the same time as the SHROA proxy. When you get it, please, please, please fill it out and return it so we can move on with our needed business. There will be a slate of officers to vote for, along with a proposal to change our quorum percentage requirement. If you are interested in running for a position on the SRDC Board of Directors, please contact Dave DeVelder, whose contact information appears in this publication. If you are interested in helping us out with any of our projects, or are just interested in what we are doing, we invite you to come to one of our monthly board meetings. We meet on the same day of the month as the SRHA (3rd Monday of the month) at 6:00 p.m. at the Riverview Civic Center. We hope to see you there, and we will welcome any support and assistance you wish to offer. |
