The Walnut Grove Covenants update is almost complete!
In our Summer 2020 News In A Nutshell, we detailed the work of the WGHA Board to take input and changes from neighbors about how our neighborhood wanted to modernize our governing documents. As part of that process, we sent out a survey to the neighborhood that asked for feedback on the limited changes being made through this process. The participation in our covenants survey was tremendous, and we thank every single neighbor who took the time to provide their thoughts and feedback. The survey results and analysis can be found here. With the guidance from the neighborhood, the Board updated the newly drafted covenant amendments to include a cap that will rise with inflation over time and made other smaller changes. The updated covenant amendment is now in legal review with a local attorney.
Once the legal review is complete, we will be asking neighbors to review and sign off on the amendments to the WGHA covenants. Due to the recent spike in COVID-19, this will primarily be a contactless, online process executed in a legally approved manner. For neighbors who wish to sign but are unable to complete signing online, a physically distanced drop off and pick up procedure can be arranged on a case by case basis. While we are committed to completing this process before the end of the year, we want to make sure that everyone is safe when signing!
As a reminder, this process was implemented after the 2020 Neighborhood Meeting in January where the Board presented the state of our neighborhood’s finances and the challenges we would have faced if no action is taken. Our key goals of the Covenant Amendment, as originally proposed at our January 2020 Annual Meeting, are:
- Adjust the dues cap to keep the neighborhood financially stable ($150 indexed cap based on survey majority)
- Promote transparency by requiring budget information be shared prior to the annual meeting
- Modernize to clearly allow for digital communication
- Unite all 8 additions of Walnut Grove with one clear, consistent update
Make sure to watch your email for the amendment to sign later this Fall!
To find out more about the WGHA Covenants and the proposed amendments, you can visit these helpful references on the website:
Updated Draft Amendment to the Covenants (October Draft in Legal Review)
Survey Analysis shared in July and WGHA Dues Survey Results
Guide to the Amendment
By-Laws
10-Year Budget History
Current Covenants can be found here https://rod.countyofdane.com/plat/index by entering “Walnut Grove” into the search box.
Map of eight plats and the eight sets of covenants
Prior posts regarding this process: August, June, May