July 9, 2007

Residents hope for strength in numbers

Homeowners group to be unified voice of Madison County residents

By Elizabeth Crisp
elizabeth.crisp@clarionledger.com

WHEN, WHERE Who: Madison County Federation of Homeowners Associations. When: 5 p.m. today. Where: Deerfield clubhouse. More information: District 1 Supervisor Doug Jones, (601) 259-9285.

An alliance is being formed to pool resources and represent all those who live in Madison County subdivisions.

The Madison County Federation of Homeowners Associations will hold its first meeting at 5 p.m. today at the Deerfield clubhouse.

Lynette Hegwood, a Lake Caroline resident who has been active in forming the group, said the organization will focus on quality of life issues such as education and safety.

"When issues that are vital to our members come up, we will be able to provide a collective voice for them," she said.

The county's homeowners associations over the years have been expanding beyond issues of covenants and landscaping and have become advocates in talks concerning issues such as annexation and new residential and commercial developments.

After a month of getting homeowners associations involved on a grass-roots level, the newly formed federation already represents about 2,800 homes, Hegwood said.

"If you think of it as two residents per property, then we are representing approximately 5,600 people already at this early stage," she said.

Madison County has seen steady growth over the last few years and reached about 87,419 residents in 2006, according to census estimates.

"This group is going to represent a very large group of people," District 1 Supervisor Doug Jones said.

Jones said he considers the group to be similar to such groups as the Madison County Foundation and the Madison County Chamber of Commerce in that all represent a key section of the county's growth.

"You have the chamber of commerce representing businesses and commercial growth and the Madison County Foundation representing infrastructure and bringing industry in," Jones said. "This group brings another piece of the puzzle in - a group representing the citizens."

Most of the group's efforts at this point have been geared toward organization and membership, Hegwood said.

The federation has attracted 18 homeowners associations that either have given an official commitment or assisted in forming the group, she said.

"Those are just the ones that we've been able to get in touch with about it in the last month or so," she said.

Some have not been able to officially join the federation because homeowners associations have to vote in favor of joining, select delegates for the federation and fill out an application.

"We have to rely on the participation of their boards of directors, and you don't always have access to that information," Hegwood said.

Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler and Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee said they were not formally made aware of the organization or of the meeting today.

McGee said he suspects the organization will work much like the Federation of Reservoir Homeowners, a group that has, among other issues, opposed selling Reservoir water to Nissan and worked with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to find solutions to sediment, bacteria and erosion in the Reservoir area.

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To comment on this story, call Elizabeth Crisp at (601) 942-9019.