7/11/2007 3:52:00 PM
County homeowners form group

By ANDREW UJIFUSA
Assistant Managing Editor

Several county housing developments have come together to create a collective voice for residents regarding residential issues and concerns.

The Federation of Madison County Homeowners Associations (FMCHA), which began its preliminary meetings in February, is comprised of residents from 18 subdivisions. About 2,800 residences have registered membership with the group so far.

Homeowner associations that are part of FMCHA include: Lake Caroline, Deerfield, Bridgewater, Bear Creek Crossing, and Twin Cedars.

According to its members, FMCHA is designed to give homeowners a voice in government as the county grows and new residents and businesses move into the area.

The group is designed to give broad representation to homeowners on a variety of crucial issues, including education, the environment, safety, increased property values, and planned growth.

FMCHA officially announced its formation at a press conference at the Deerfield golf course clubhouse Monday evening.

"We are pro-homeowner not anti-government or anti-business," said Bridgewater resident Doug Wilson, an automobile dealer and a spokesman for the group. "We want to band together and give voice to the community."

FMCHA recently received its non-profit charter from the Secretary of State's office.

"When issues vital to our community are being considered, FMCHA will draw upon all its members because a collective voice is a strong and loud one and will surely be heard," read part of the group's statement prior to the press conference.

The group is not intended to focus on just one issue or advocate one point of view, but rather to educate homeowners and keep them involved.

"We're so busy and lots of times we don't even know our neighbors across the street. There was no single issue or reason for this being birthed...you choose what you want the issues to be," said Wilson.

"Someone brought up the subject of rental property in our first meeting and they were able to brainstorm together and get ideas," said group member Melissa Dempsey of Annandale, by way of example.

Lynette Hegwood, the acting secretary of the group, said that she moved to Lake Caroline in 2002 and had watched the commercial and residential boom in the county with a mixture of pleasure and concern.

While she said that the growth has been great for Madison County, she said that it was important for homeowners to come together to express their desires.

Hegwood said a good set of homeowner covenants and covenant enforcement are crucial, but don't address general issues that affect residents and their homes, such as law enforcement, fire protection, and smart growth.

"We just want to be at the table with the management and growth that's going on around us," said Hegwood.

FMCHA includes both large and small neighborhoods, in order to get as many different perspectives in the group as possible.

According to Hegwood, the smallest neighborhood association in the group has only 38 homes, while Lake Caroline has the largest membership at over 1,000 homes.

Each homeowner association can send up to five delegates to represent their neighborhood at FMCHA meetings.

District 1 Supervisor Doug Jones, who helped to organize the group, said that he envisions the group eventually representing anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 people who belong to homeowner associations.

He said that the group could join the Madison County Foundation, the local chambers of commerce, and the Madison County Economic Development Authority as another strong voice for county interests.

"If everyone will play good together, we've got four great pieces of the puzzle," said Jones.