Woodlake News

To all Woodlake Villa Owners:

The Annual Meeting for the Woodlake Villas POA is being held on Saturday, December 3^rd at 1:00 p.m. in the conference room of the Hilton Head Public Service District #1.  Unfortunately, due to ongoing repairs and safety concerns, we could not hold the meeting at Woodlake.  Recovery efforts are on track and it won’t be long before things are back to normal.  We hope to see as many owners as possible at the meeting, but if you cannot attend, please be sure to send in your proxy to insure we have a proper quorum for conducting business.  If you have not returned your proxy, you can still send it to us by email or fax.  Thank you for your cooperation and I will see all of those in attendance Saturday!

Michael Hawanczak

Regime Manager – Woodlake Villas

An update from management…

Hurricane recovery efforts are continuing and measurable progress is being made.  A total of 47 villas were affected by the storm with the damage ranging from small roof leaks to substantial roof damage and flooding.  Flooding was far and away the biggest problem with 40 units requiring water remediation.  This process requires removing any materials that received and maintained high moisture levels.  Several moisture readings were taken to determine where to remove flooring, drywall, insulation, cabinets and any other necessary building material.  Once that is done drying equipment is installed and all areas treated with a microbial solution to eliminate and prevent any mold growth.  The drying process is approximately 80% complete and all units should hopefully be done within the week.

The reconstruction process will soon begin and materials are already beginning to arrive on the property.  This process is being handled by a Belfor, a national company that specializes in disaster/property restoration.  This project has been a challenge given the widespread geographic area that Hurricane Matthew has affected, spreading the available resources and materials thin.  However, as noted earlier, the project is moving forward on the predicted timeline.  One of the next steps is securing the proper permits from the Town of Hilton Head so that the reconstruction can begin.  The time frame for this project is 2 to 3 months per villa depending upon the extent of damage and required repairs.  The process is being pushed as fast as it can to get our displaced residents back into their homes as soon as possible.  Communication with the Woodlake insurance carriers is ongoing to help expedite and process claims.

Aside from the building damage, the trees on the property suffered substantial damage.  It is estimated approximately 15 to 20% of the trees have been damaged or removed to eliminate safety hazards.  The pruning/trimming/removal process has just been completed and now the process of debris removal has begun.  Woodlake does not meet the set stipulated conditions to qualify for FEMA assistance and is attempting to seek approval through different channels and appeals.  In the meantime, Woodlake has hired private contractors to haul away the debris and that process is slowly moving forward.  Future updates will be provided as progress continues and a full report will be given at the upcoming Annual Meeting.

FEMA has provided the following information for registering for individual disaster assistance. Click the link below and print as needed.

To Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance, 1

To Register for FEMA Diaster Assistance, 2

Below is the letter to the editor of the Island Packet written by Bob Arundell, Woodlake Property Owners Association Treasurer, in response to a misleading article published by The Packet on October 20th about Woodlake’s hurricane recovery efforts. Mr. Arundell’s letter was published on October 26, 2016.

To the Editor:

Imagine my surprise when I read your article about Woodlake and found my name. More surprising is that no one actually spoke to me nor did anyone speak to the President of the Woodlake Owners Association, regime manager, on-site superintendent, or office manager – any one of which could have given you accurate and verifiable information about Woodlake’s recovery efforts. (In fairness, the Packet did leave a message at the manager’s office but he was out of the office organizing recovery efforts.)

Also surprising is that none of the residents quoted bothered to contact any of the people listed above nor read the notices posted to their doors nor give the office contact information once they left the property.

In truth, Woodlake had workers on-site beginning tree removal to unblock all roadways on Sunday, the day after the storm! On Monday, arrangements were being made with several flood recovery firms. Management contacted FEMA seeking assistance. Shortly thereafter, bottled water and food were being dropped off throughout the property. Maintenance staff began clean up on the 11th. On the 12th, staff went door-to-door to inspect each and every unit for damage. Water extraction and carpet/pad removal crews began work on the 13th. By the 14th, Belfor Property Restoration was on-site beginning work on the most damaged units. By Saturday, Caldwell Tree Care was on-site cutting down trees and limbs that posed safety risks. Through all of this, notices were posted on all doors almost daily, and the entire staff was all working overtime. Does this sound like there is a “lack of an organized recovery effort”?

As one of those “30 displaced neighbors” whose unit was one of the hardest hit, I commend the Woodlake management and staff for their immediate response to the storm and the speed with which the recovery efforts have begun.

Bob Arundell,

Treasurer, Woodlake Property Owners Association (and Displaced Resident)

A message from the Treasurer:

Woodlake Villas was hit by a Category 2 hurricane in the early morning hours of October 8^th.  Storm damage is prevalent though out the property.  Thankfully, most buildings were spared the damage wrought by fallen trees.  Still, there are dozens of trees down across he property, many units were flooded, and it will take a Herculean effort – and time – to fully recover.  All of this damage does not come without a price; still, there is some good news to report:

• Due to Woodlake’s strong financial position, there will not be any special capital assessment due to the storm!
• Our insurance carriers were notified immediately after the storm and damage assessment is already in process.
• We have already contracted with BALFOR, a professional disaster recovery firm, whose representatives are already on the property assessing damages.
• Water extraction, carpet cleaning/removal, and tree crews are already on site and recovery is underway.
• A complete tree inspection by our professional arborist has already begun so as to identify trees and limbs that may not have fallen but pose a safety risk.  These will be removed as soon as possible.
• Through coordination with FEMA and the Town of Hilton Head, pallets of bottled water and MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) boxes were made available to all residents.

ALL residents are urged to take the following steps immediately:

1. The Woodlake Master Deed requires all owners to carry an HO-6 policy.  This policy covers damages not covered by Woodlake’s policies (such as damage to furniture, personal belongings, etc.)  READ YOUR POLICY!
2. If you have any possible damage that may be covered by your HO-6 policy, you should file a claim with your insurance company immediately.  Also, some HO-6 policies provide reimbursement for out-of-pocket hurricane evacuation costs such as hotel, mileage and meals.  If you have such coverage, be prepared to document these expenses.
3. Document all damage as best you can.  Take pictures.  Prepare a written list with as much detail as possible.  This documentation will be useful in processing any claims.
4. Notify, in writing, the on-site office of any damages to your unit.  Please submit your damage report by October 18, 2016!
5. Damage to automobiles is not covered by Woodlake’s policies nor is such damage covered by an HO-6 policy.  If your auto has suffered any damage due to the storm, you should notify your automobile insurance carrier as soon as possible.

Some not-so-welcome news:

• Despite everyone’s best efforts, complete recovery is going to take time.  For example, if 25 units have carpet damage and we repair 2 units a day, someone will still have to wait about 2 weeks before someone gets to them.  Please be patient and cooperate with Woodlake staff.
• While the Woodlake POA has sufficient cash to cover all Association deductibles and to pay for damage recovery, we will have to gradually replenish our deductible reserves to be ready for the next storm.  It is likely that there will be a reasonably prudent increase in monthly regime fees beginning in January 2017.  More news on this in the annual budget letter to be mailed to all owners in early November.

Thank you.

Bob Arundell,

Treasurer of the Woodlake Property Owners Association

We have completed our initial walk through of the property and units to determine damages and areas requiring immediate attention.  As you can imagine, we have a very large task ahead of us to clean-up and get the property back together.  While we may have spotted problems for repairs, such as roof issues and water intrusion, we also realize we may have missed some in the initial inspection.  Please use the damage form available on this website or at the on-site office to report any issues that you may have experienced from the recent hurricane.  We will take these forms and compare them to our findings to see if we need to conduct further inspections and add additional items to our list of repairs.  If you have no areas of concern, you do not need to return the form.  Please drop your form off at the on-site office if it is open or place it in the mail box near the door if the office is closed.  All forms must be returned to the office by Tuesday, October 18^th.

The initial inspection for damage by inspection may be found on the owner’s password protected page of the website, as well as the form mentioned above to report further damage. If you are an owner and need the password, please contact us via Facebook message. Once ownership has been verified we will provide the password.

It has been a rough few days, but roads and sidewalks are cleared, all major inspections have been completed, and repairs started. Contractors have been lined up and will start work tomorrow. Water mitigation for flooded units and repairs of major roof damage will be addressed first, but everything should move forward quickly from this point.

Your support of one another and the Woodlake Villas community has been greatly appreciated during this trying event. The community is grateful for those who helped clean up the property following the storm and the many others who shared first-hand reports of conditions helping put the out-of-town owners minds at ease – thank you!

There is much work to be done to return our community and a number of individual units to their proper condition, so your continued patience and understanding is greatly appreciated. Please be sure to communicate any concerns during this recovery period directly to the property management through the on-site office so that we can be sure that we have a full accounting of all damages.

For Owners: The unit-by-unit damage inspection was completed this evening. You should expect to see a damage report on the the password protected owner’s section of the website in the next day or two as it will take some time to compile all of the inspection findings for 224 units. If you do not remember the password, or you are a new owner and do not have the password, please send a message to the Facebook page for Woodlake Villas.