SANJAY VEDULA
IN WHICH VILLAGE DO YOU RESIDE , AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A MEMBER OF LLA ? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE LLA YOUR HOME ?
I live in the Hamptons village . I built a home here a little over two years ago with my lovely wife . For me , living here was an easy call . Beautiful community with a lake view with tons of amenities and it ' s located close to Baltimore and DC . Just a perfect fit for us .
V O T E R
G U I D E
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE TOP 3 PRIORITIES FOR THE BOARD IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS ?
To me they are ( 1 ) transparency , ( 2 ) fiscal accountability and a little closer to home ( 3 ) improving amenities .
Let me start with transparency . I am not sure anyone in our community knows what the Board is really up to . Take the recent contingent purchase of the restaurant in West Winds .
Why didn ’ t the residents have a say ? Why did they only find out through Facebook posts ?
We have to do a better job communicating and dealing with an open hand .
Then there is fiscal accountability . Every year our dues go up . Why ? Are we negotiating the best long-term deals ? Are we spending our money wisely ?
That money doesn ’ t belong to the Board , it ’ s the hardearned money of each and every resident . Lastly , we need to take care and protect the amenities that make this community great . Let me give one example .
Lake Merle and Linganore you can ’ t swim in the lake , it sometimes smells , and it looks dirty . We need to focus on improving the lake from getting its fountains to keep the water flowing to other remedial acts .
Who wants a community with dirty lakes ? Not me and I am guessing not anyone .
HOW MANY LLA BOARD MEETINGS AND WORK SESSIONS HAVE YOU ATTENDED IN THE LAST YEAR ? IF NONE , PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO RUN FOR THE BOARD , AND HOW YOU WILL EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT THE ASSOCIATIONS ’ WORK OVER THE LAST YEAR .
While I have followed the developments with the Board , I have not been to any Board meetings to date . I was motivated to serve , because of my concern that the interests of all residents are simply not being taken into account . I was originally brought into HOA discussions when our village was hit with a large dues increase , and I remain concerned that villages are being assessed differently and it ' s not based on amenities and quality of life . I understand why villages are assessed this way , but I was always taught that just because something is the status quo , doesn ’ t mean it has to be that way . We can do better , and I hope I can be a part of making that happen .
CONSIDERING LLA ' S VISION OF NATURE AND SUSTAINABILITY ALONG WITH THE TODAY ’ S BUYER PREFERENCE FOR A “ TRADITIONAL ” COMMUNITY , AS A BOARD MEMBER , HOW WOULD YOU NAVIGATE THE DEMANDS OF BOTH PRESERVING THE INTENDED PLANS FOR LAKE LINGANORE WHILE MEETING THE NEEDS AND WANTS OF MEMBERS WHO HAVE LIVED HERE FOR DECADES AND THOSE OF RECENT AND FUTURE MEMBERS ?
The first step is an easy one and something I don ’ t think our current leadership has done enough of . You need to get out there and talk to residents and hear their concerns . I am proud of the relationships I have made in this community , and I am proud of the amount of listening I have done . I understand that this is a very diverse community with people who want all different things . You can ’ t make all the people happy all the time , but you can make people be heard . And I am running for the Board to make that happen .
LAKE LINGANORE ASSOCIATION IS HOME TO 17,000 + FREDERICK COUNTY CITIZENS . MOVING FORWARD , WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP DO YOU FEEL LLA SHOULD HAVE WITH THE GREATER FREDERICK COUNTY COMMUNITY ? WOULD YOU FAVOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND EXECUTIVE ? IF NOT , WHY ?
This is quite the softball question . Every resident should want to engage more with the greater Frederick County community . It ' s through relationships and coalitions that things get done . Let me give you one example . Many of my neighbors have golf carts . Right now , you can ’ t technically drive golf carts on roads . Given the terrain of the paths , that not only makes no sense , it ' s also dangerous . I would love to lead a group and reach out to County Executive Fitzwater and others to get them to have the legislature designate our roads as roads that golf carts can travel on . We lose nothing through this effort and the benefits from a safety perspective and an environmental perspective are obvious .
14 LakeTalk April 2024