January -- Finance:

The LHOA Board is very pleased with the response from our residents for our 2024 survey.  We received over 400 responses and 66 pages of comments from this survey.

The Board wishes to respond back to several comments/questions with information and detail answers. Over the next few months you will be receiving a summary of responses to these comments/questions to help you keep informed of the Board's focus on the main areas of concern.

Assessments:

First up are comments on assessments, voiced by several residents. 

• "I do not use the pool, the tennis nor pickleball courts." " I also don't have convenient use of the lakes." "I feel I am subsidizing other households in Lochmere." "I would rather see a per use fee paid by the users of these facilities than have my HOA subsidize them." "I have no issue with paying for landscaping and trails, but why should I pay for upkeep for facilities I don't/can't use as readily as others (e.g. those who live on the lakes.)"

After his analysis, Board Treasurer, Joe Jones, has put together some very informative and detailed information which the Board hopes that all residents will review.  A detailed response is available HERE.  The three primary reasons for our current assessment process are:

(1) The LHOA covenants stipulate that everyone pays a uniform rate within Lochmere. These covenants are available at lochmere.org or in the above linked document.

(2) Taxes in general and Wake County property taxes specifically are collected from everyone for a variety of uses regardless whether that taxpayer actually uses them. The secondary and primary school system consume over 50% of these property taxes and are collected regardless of whether the taxpayer has anyone attending school. Please see the detailed response for more information on Wake County property taxes.

(3) There is great value in living in Lochmere. The linked document has a chart that tracks the value index for the past several years. Any real estate agent will verify that the amenities available to all in Lochmere contribute to the overall value of our community.

Thanks for your participation in the survey as it greatly assists the Board in many decisions. 

Please direct any questions or concerns to your Board at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
                  

The Board continues to respond back to several comments/questions that our residents made on the 2024 Resident Survey with information and detail answers. Over the next few months you will continue to receive a summary of responses to these comments/questions to help you keep informed of the Board's focus on the main areas of concern. 

February -- Pools:

Last month we discussed comments on Assessments.  This month we will focus on clarifications regarding some Pool concerns. 

Throughout the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 the Board, Recreation Committee members and Andy Siouville created an RFP and interviewed Pool Management companies.  We considered the input of Lochmere residents who were adamant about lifeguard coverage and stressed the importance of safety at the three Lochmere pools. 

Pool Hours:

• Safety, insurance and public satisfaction requires ample coverage by managers and lifeguards.  A calendar was included that mapped out pool hours and coverage for the entire season, day by day, week by week.  Some items were eliminated (Grill night) and others were added (the popular early Sunday morning opening).  The Board continues to examine the data and will be making adjustments in the 2025 season in concert with that information.
  

Grill Nights:

• In 2025 we will consider adding back into the schedule Grill Night and some evenings with music. We all need to keep in mind that additions to open days or hours results in budgetary ramifications and we aim to balance out requests with budgeted funds. Adding additional days or hours will require us to go outside of the contract and, therefore, adds significant costs to the pool operation costs.

Safety:

• A number of you have suggested going to attendant-only or swim at your own risk pool hours.  The Board, much of the public, and insurance demands continue to be our guiding force and we will NOT consider anything but a full and safe pool environment.

Snack Bar:

• The snack bar is another topic that received a number of suggestions.  The snack bar is a loss leader feature of the contract that AMG provides: they staff, control the inventory, and retain the revenue for this feature. No funds are returned or credited to Lochmere.  Adding hot or cooked food opens us to the Health Department guidelines and would require costly changes to the kitchen which, again, are not cost effective. Adding healthier selections have been suggested and implemented in the past and resulted in a loss of revenue for AMG as “healthy” just doesn’t sell.

As we continue to review the survey comments, we intend on making a few changes which will be reflective of the public comments. We continue to make safety our primary concern for all who use these facilities.

Next month we will be responding to landsaping concens and comments.

March -- Landscaping:

Earlier this year we provided our residents with information and detail answers regarding comments and questions received from the 2024 Resident Survey pertaining to assessments and pool operations.  Now it is time to turn to landscaping to answer questions and concerns which you our residents voiced and to give you an overview of what the Landscape Committee has planned for the next few months.  

 We are fortunate to live and play in the Lochmere Community where we have so much nature-our trees, our lakes, our 10 miles of trails, and 1966 homes spread with common property throughout!  This adds up to many acres of beautiful trees and plantings that our HOA is responsible for maintaining.  According to our Lochmere website, our community encompasses “grounds of two Recreation Clubs, six playgrounds, 93 traffic islands, and 28 road medians and is estimated to include approximately 51 acres of turf in parks and along roadways and right-of-ways, 20 miles of edging, and 10 miles of woodland trails." After a steep learning curve, Ruppert Landscape Company is finally developing an understanding of the massive amount of HOA property here and the Landscape Committee's expectations, in order to meet all of our Homeowner’s expectations.  We have had regular walking meetings with their management teams as well as their new supervisor. Their maintenance is improving and we are hopeful we all will notice a difference this year. 

It is spring! The winter months were a good time to prune trees, shrubs and some perennials.  We had Ruppert spread 6 TOC drops of mulched leaves around trees and some shrubs in LochHighlands. This will significantly help our tree and soil health, as well as soil erosion. Additionally, we hope that Ruppert now sees where to blow leaves!  

 We will be adding hardwood mulch to the islands at the entrances off Lochmere Drive and Lochmere Highlands as well as other select spots.  Some of our islands enjoy well seasoned natural leaves and pine straw and do not need more mulch.  Hopefully Ruppert is learning to utilize our natural tree leaves and pine needle resources.  Mulching goals include soil improvement, enhanced water retention, improved aesthetics, and future flexibility for possible reseeding. 

 The Bahia grass, which contributed to our turf looking like it was not being mowed this past summer, will be chemically eradicated this early summer in some trial areas. Hopefully this will give the grass/fields a more appealing appearance this summer and fall.  

 We have noted several comments regarding the Kildaire Farm Road area and our Lochmere entrances looking poor. Regarding the Lakeside entrance, we understand from Andy Souiville, our HOA manager, that this project is not yet completed. We are in meetings with TOC to better understand the level of landscaping TOC is willing to provide on medians and oversight of construction along sidewalks on Kildaire Farm Road.   

 We are addressing the height of some of our overgrown hollies and shrubs this year. Many of our holly trees and other shrubs along roads, islands, and walkways should have been kept at 12 feet or far less for proper maintenance, as all landscape companies have a 12 foot height limit for regular maintenance. With significant growth past this point, we are faced with expensive use of extra charges to have a bucket lift for pruning or pruning has resulted in a top heavy balloon looking overgrown shrub. As some of you will notice, we have decided to remove 14 hollies on some of our interior streets for many reasons.  We have had complaints about the  sight line of vision when pulling onto the main Lochmere roads or out of driveways.  We have also noted that some of these hollies have overgrown the space and brush against vehicles.  We have tried growth inhibitor which added to landscape expense and did not work consistently.  Our plans for replanting these islands is not complete.  The extremely poor soil will be amended and the ground stump chips will be spread.  New plants will be considered for planting in the fall.  These plants need to be sustainable due to lack of irrigation and they will be more appropriate for the size of space and location.  Additionally, we are focused on shifting our major Lochmere entrances to more native and perennial plantings to reduce maintenance and to increase sustainability of our plantings.  

 The tree maintenance budget is $40,000 a year which has increased over the last few years with an aging community. However, we always seem to need more funding in this area. The Committee has often left fallen trees next to trails and common areas to save on funds. The Committee may reconsider this approach going forward.

 The total expenditure for these 3 actions concerning trees 

1.  taking down/removing of dangerous or dead trees including the Arborvitae along sideways and our walkways or common property, 

2.  improving the health of trees by removing low hanging branches or extra weighted branches to prevent rippage and damaging trees by trucks and wind along the main drives, and 

3.  clean up after high velocity storm rips through our common property.

has totaled in 5 years = $228,212 or average of $45, 642 per year on trees in Lochmere.  (This is somewhat an estimate as this Committee has only been working on Landscape for 2 years) .  In the months of March and April we will have removed only 3 trees to the tune of $7,000.  

 Another improvement we believe is our rejuvenation around the gazebo at Lake Lomond.  Riprap was added in front where it had washed out.  The soil was improved and native plants added to enhance the visual interest to the highlighted amenity.  We also added two Bald Cypress, which will increase the beauty of this area over time. A nearby resident has kindly allowed the Committee to access their water. We have also added an attractive rope and wrought iron visual barrier hoping to keep people and pets out of the area! If you observe this, please kindly ask them to refrain from stepping into the planted beds.

 The Committee is excited to report that Lochmere has been awarded a $5,000 Neighborhood Improvement Grant from the Town of Cary for the Piedmont Prairie project in the Highlands. The Town's acknowledgement of the value of this project to not only Lochmere residents, but all TOC residents, speaks volumes. This action was generated by Committee member Megan Holler!

We respectfully request that homeowners NOT add their yard debris into the HOA common property, including the natural areas (e.g. traffic islands, along greenway trails). This necessitates more work for our landscapers.  Please blow leaves and take sticks to the curb in front of your home.  

 If you have specific concerns regarding downed limbs, poor sight lines due to low branches, or missed maintenance, please email our HOA manager, Andy Siouville :  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so these issues can be communicated to our landscape contractor and to the Landscape Committee.  

 Our thanks to Committee Chairperson Susan Coulter (email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and her Committee for all their hard work. 

April/May -- Recreation:

What is the Architecture Committee, why do we have it and what do they do?

To preserve and maintain the property values and the natural beauty of the Lochmere development, the Lochmere Master Covenants establish the Architecture Committee (AC) within the Lochmere Association (HOA) to oversee and manage the architecture review process for the Lochmere subdivision and all sub-associations. 

A part of the charter of the AC is to maintain and promote consistent standards while remaining open-minded to changes in our neighbors’ and our lifestyles. The Lochmere Architectural Standards and Specifications (LASS) is intended to be a flexible document that allows for individual creativity of design and aesthetics, with each request being reviewed on its own merits. The document is not intended to be comprehensive; rather it is a guideline for residents considering modification to their property or exterior of their home. The standard is subject to periodic revision and homeowner suggestions for process and requirement improvements are welcomed and will be promptly considered by the AC.

The AC is composed of three members selected from Lochmere  Association (HOA) member volunteers, approved and appointed by the Lochmere HOA Board of Directors. The committee normally conducts its business via periodic meetings, electronic mail, internet based request management system and teleconference. The primary purpose of this communication is to review architectural requests received by the Committee and to approve or decline requests.   The request review process is to evaluate homeowner architecture request compliance to the LASS. Exterior aesthetics of property modifications and home improvements are the primary consideration.  While there may be subjectivity in some cases, the process is intended to be as objective as possible with the requirements described in the LASS.

The Architecture Committee has the final interpretation and is the final authority on what is compliant to the LASS. The provisions of the LASS apply to a wide variety of aesthetic considerations in the neighborhood. Every attempt has been made to include in the standard those considerations that have the potential to affect property values. 

The LASS describes the types of changes, additions or deletions that would either (1) require submission of an Architectural Request Form, (2) not require a request, or (3) be prohibited. While every effort has been made to identify aspects of changes requiring approval, homeowners who have any doubt if their situation requires a request, should contact the HOA management for guidance. When in doubt, assume a request is required. 

The architecture review process and committee deliberation is inherently detailed and can be lengthy at times. While the AC strives to respond as quickly as possible to every request, the committee has 30 days from the date a complete request is sent to the AC by HOA management to respond with a decision. It is the responsibility of each homeowner to plan in advance and allow for the AC response time. 

As a reminder, the AC is composed of volunteers working on their own time (e.g., nights and weekends). We understand that it is challenging to schedule contractors and trades to complete work and do our best to ensure *every* request is processed as quickly as possible. Please help us:

1. Review the Lochmere.org Architectural webpage and the LASS sections most relevant to your home or property improvement during your planning phase. In particular, please review and follow LASS Appendix 1 for mandatory information and the request form.
2. Contact the Lochmere Architecture Admin as early as possible to get assistance with determining if a request is needed, completing the request form, providing the required information and submitting your request.
3. Submit your request as early as possible *before* starting work. A request approval is typically valid for one year from date of approval.  
4. Please only submit information directly relevant to the AC evaluation of the request. e.g., only exterior elevation drawings of a screened porch are needed, not the entire construction plan and interior specifications. 
5. Please try to keep the request as concise as possible e.g., for tree removal, mark the tree locations on the plot/survey with the tree diameters on the same page.
6. If there are circumstances you believe require a variance to the LASS, please explicitly make the request in writing with specifics. e.g., "the porch requires a variance to the LASS 6:12 roof pitch to keep the porch roof under the 2nd story windows."
7. be as specific about your improvement as you can.  e.g., "The shutters will be Sherwin Williams 6454 'Shamrock'" vs "The shutters will be dark green".
8. Please be assured that the AC is responding to each request as quickly as possible. Please minimize or avoid requests to expedite or get an early response.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to the Lochmere Architecture Admin for help.

Thanks for your cooperation and support,

Dave Sinicrope

Chair, Lochmere Architecture Committee.

June -- Parking:

We appreciate the comments on the subject of parking on the street and the parking policy for the Recreation Club facilities.

The Lochmere covenants give the Association the authority to prohibit parking on the streets. Regular parking on the street has resulted in residents being called to a Hearing with the Board, and fines have been imposed in some cases. That is not something the Board wants to do, and so it encourages residents to park in the driveway or garage.

Overnight parking when you have guests coming into town for a short visit has been seen as acceptable. 

When it comes to a resident parking on the street on an ongoing basis, it causes safety concerns and creates a norm that most neighborhoods do not find acceptable.  If there was a unique reason for a longer-term parking need, (for example a construction/renovation project)  then the parking policy would come into play.

The Board created the Recreation Club parking lot policy so as to control who was parking in our lots. . There is a fee for this and a pass is issued to the resident.

Initially the fee was $50 a month. After the survey results came in and the Board reviewed comments, it was decided that a fee of $25 a month was more reasonable. We have noted that some residents have taken advantage of this when overflow parking is needed.  

Thank you to Board Member Al Ragland for this response.