Message from the President

A series of amendments has been submitted for consideration to the members of the Lake Forest Property Owner’s Association.  All association members have been given information about those amendments and will have an opportunity to decide whether or not they think that they are needed.  Then at the annual membership meeting this month we will be able to vote for or against incorporating them into the by-laws.   The amendments were presented to the Board of Directors in early September and to the rest of the membership very soon thereafter.   Simply put, the purpose of the amendments is to make it possible for the Board of Directors to function more effectively for the benefit of the community.  However, anytime a change is suggested, it seems that there are some who must immediately make their objections known in the Sound Off or Letters to the Editor.  As a member of the board, I listened to the original proposals and I have been reading and listening to the opinions, objections and suggestions that have been made since.  I am convinced that the motive and goals of the individual who wrote the amendments were honorable and necessary and that most of the proposed amendments are fine.  At the same time, some of the objections to one or two of the amendments are reasonable and well founded.  On the whole, I still hope the membership will support the proposals.   All the members have received a proxy and, if they are unable to attend the annual meeting, can either mail them in or drop them off at the country club.  Those members who have lost their proxy may pick up another at the Lake Forest Country Club. 

In the grand scheme of things all of this is so trivial.   But, today, in politics whether at the national, state, local and apparently even small private club level, it seems that every issue is required to have a sinister side.  One party is supposed to have stolen an election.  Another wants to cheat the process through an unfair recall.  And, someone wants to make changes to by-laws for Heaven knows what low-down reason.   Reputations can be ruined and ambitions can be destroyed.  Well, there is nothing so important going on with this issue.   Most of the letters to Sound Off and elsewhere have verged on being downright silly, which is usually the case with that particular feature of the Mobile Register.  For example, in one of them the writer said that he or she was a “citizen of Daphne, who just happened to live in Lake Forest.”  For the life of me, I’m not sure what was meant by that but in response all I can say is that person made a very wise decision when he or she decided to buy a home in Lake Forest.  He not only gets the benefit of the services and amenities provided by the city such as excellent police and fire protection, a library, ball fields, parks and many other things, but he also receives benefits that others in Daphne do not such as swimming pools, very low cost golf, tennis, covenant protection and more.  By the way, the services offered by the city cost the member much, much more than anything that Lake Forest charges for its dues, user fees or assessments.  An editorial in another local bi-weekly paper amounted to little more than sour grapes from a suspended member.    

A recent Letter to the Editor, however, requires a response.  The reason developers create deed restricted communities like Lake Forest, Timber Creek, and Rock Creek with amenities is that they sell lots.  The reason why people buy homes in those places is to be able to enjoy the quality of life offered by such communities.   To suggest that most of the residents do not want to be a member is just not reasonable.  Why would anyone buy a home in such a community in the first place if they didn’t want to be a part of such an arrangement?  Not everyone uses every amenity.  That much is true.  However, there is such a wide variety of amenities to enjoy in Lake Forest that there is something for everyone.  This writer rarely plays golf.  In fact, if the reader has all his or her fingers, then he or she can count the number of times I’ve played golf in over a quarter of a century on his hands.   But, I do like the quality of people that move to this community for its golf.  Having most of them around enhances the quality of life for my family.  I do play tennis.  I do enjoy watching the sunset from the Yacht Club.  I do enjoy a sandwich at the 19^th Hole.  No one in my family uses the pools much anymore but when the children were younger, we enjoyed those pools very much.  And back then there were members whose children had also grown up and who also no longer used those pools but who, through their support of this association made it possible for my children to swim.  Just because my family is no longer into swimming doesn’t mean that I no longer feel a responsibility to support those pools.  Quite the contrary, I feel a great responsibility to continue supporting all of our amenities. Those amenities and the association of property owners that owns those amenities have made Lake Forest a wonderful place to raise a family.  Ours is a nice community.  It is really a well kept secret because if everyone along the coast knew what a great deal a home in Lake Forest is, we’d have to beat them off with a stick.  Fortunately, we have a few people who feel obligated to go to the papers and really misrepresent the community so that those that don’t know any better often go another way.  

The amendments that have been presented for our member’s consideration will actually impact us very little.  No one is going to raise dues to $50 a month.  No one is going to slap us with a giant assessment and no one is going to go out and borrow a huge chunk of money for the association for any reason.  If any controls were lost because of any of the amendments, this board member promises to work to put them back.  And, I believe that the rest of the Lake Forest Board of Directors will support me on that.  Lake Forest is a beautiful and safe place to live.  And, in spite of anything anyone may write in the Sound Off, it is so because of its amenities and its association of property owners.

Mitch Davis

President, Lake Forest Property Owner’s Association