History of Colony Woods
Jennifer Horn, former CWHA Secretary
As Secretary of the Colony Woods Homeowners Association, I became the owner of three large and very disorganized, dusty boxes of old records of CWHA. I decided it was time to straighten out these old records and determine what needed saving for posterity and what didn’t. I didn’t expect, though, that I would find this project so fascinating! What a history we share as members of the Colony Woods Homeowners Association!
Imagine my surprise to find the minutes to the first meeting of the CWHA; dated April 14, 1980. And, imagine my further surprise to be able to, through these records, compile a list of all the past Presidents of the CWHA Board, major events that have shook the Board and changed the course of the Board, recurring themes of complaints, and a nice look back at the “old” way records had to be kept (moving from type, to dot matrix, to fancy font!).
- Who was the first Board President?
- The first President was Jerry Dellacqua, who no longer lives in Colony Woods. He served as President from April 1980 to April 1981. Since 1980, CWHA has had 21 different Presidents. Until the By-laws were revised in 1998, Presidents served for one year, although there were a few occasions where a President did serve for two years as no one else stepped up to the position. As of 1998, Presidents are expected to serve for two years. The four most recent Presidents—Jim Forry, Tim Bennett, Bill Dinnin, and Kevin Schmidt—still live in Colony Woods. Past Presidents Dick Crane (1988) still lives in Colony Woods; none of the other past Presidents still reside within our streets. Jim Forry is the only President to serve twice in non-consecutive years, having served as President in 1981; making him also the “oldest” President still living in the neighborhood.
- What is the most recurring complaint made to the Board?
- The most recurring complaint was dog refuse left in neighbors’ yards when people are walking their dogs. Clearly, this has been the bane of many past Boards as they’ve struggled to make residents accountable for their own dog’s refuse. Unfortunately, there isn’t much the Board has been able to do besides raise awareness about how much it bothers people to find dog refuse in their yards that isn’t their own pet’s, and inform residents that if they do catch anyone red-handed to approach them directly. If anyone can think of any other ways to help make dog owners take responsibility for their own dogs, this Board—like all the past Boards—is willing to hear those suggestions!
Other very common issues over the years included some that weren’t a surprise, like maintenance of the neighborhood fences (which, at first, were maintained by the property owners and not the CWHA), barking dogs (especially before the Town stepped in and made a law on this), and speeding on our streets. Some surprising recurring complaints included the notorious “lawn jobs”; for those not ‘in the know’, lawn jobs are when someone drives over a neighbor’s lawn and leaves deep ruts in the grass.
- What is the longest running CWHA event?
- The longest running event in CWHA’s history is the Christmas Posada, which has been a neighborhood event for all the years of CWHA’s existence. The second longest event is the Garage Sale, which started in 1989.
- A few events have come and gone over the years, such as the Fall Dance for adults that changed from a Barn Dance to a Square Dance to a 50’s Dance but died out in the mid 1990’s. The Golf and Tennis Outing also died out after a strong run during the 1980’s. The current CWHA Block Party has its roots in one historic event—the Kids’ Back to School Bike Parade and Festival. The newest CWHA event is the Perennial Exchange, which is held in May.
- How much were the first CWHA dues?
- Believe it or not, the first dues were only $5.00! The first dues were also voluntary, as the CWHA at that time was a voluntary membership. Dues were raised to $7.00 in 1984, with the rate more than doubling in 1985 to $15.00. In 1990, dues were raised to $20.00, and then again more than doubled in 1993 to $50.00. The dues have been $100.00 since 1997, giving the current rate the longest period of time without an increase in CWHA’s history.
- What year were the CWHA covenants revised?
- The covenants were revised and approved by the majority of Colony Woods residents in November 1999. This revision was required by the original covenants, which stated that the covenants would run until 1999 and then had to be either accepted as is by the neighborhood or revised and approved by the neighborhood.
- The process of revising the covenants took almost two years, and the vote occurred on a cold night in November, with the votes tallied at the St. Francis Church. Essentially, the changes to the covenants made to the covenants served one of three purposes:
- 1. to develop one set of covenants for the entire neighborhood since up to that time, there were five sets of covenants across the neighborhood;
- 2. to make the covenants more specific and less vague with respect to the architectural requirements; and
- 3. to make dues mandatory given the increasing financial demands of maintaining the neighborhood.