Following the Annual General Meeting, we now have a new Committee in place. Congratulations must go to previous Committee Members who have dedicated an amazing amount of time, trying to make Silverwoods a better place for all of us.

There have been several issues over the past year or so which have caused concern amongst the Owners and Residents and it is clear to the new Committee that the major issue is lack of communication. Not knowing what is happening and receiving incorrect or misleading information from non official sources, created concern and we aim to make sure that this does not continue. It is important to note however, that there are things that happen day to day which may not seem important to the Committee to pass on, but if anyone has an issue, please let Glenda at Ross Hunt know and she will ensure that your concerns are dealt with.

It is important that any concerns regarding the estate including repairs required, damage to property, noise or nuisance, building or landscaping standards etc., that these are sent to Ross Hunt to be placed on the Agenda for the Committee to deal with or to be dealt with directly by Ross Hunt.

Your Committee are in the process of reviewing the list of items left as important items, by the previous Committee and creating a list of priorities to be dealt with over coming months. We are reviewing matters raised at the Annual General Meeting by Owners in relation to various matters and events. Suffice to say, we understand there are some important matters to be dealt with and we are committed to ensuring that the performance of the Committee is in accordance with the Owners Corporation Act and that in all matters, we act within the Act and in the best interests of the Owners.

In the previous couple of months, there has been a delegation to Moira Shire Council in relation to Silverwoods and in particular the inequity we see in the rating system, which sees Owners meeting 100% of the costs of maintaining Parks and Gardens within the estate. We have made several submissions to Council previously, but this is the first time we have had an opportunity to push our case with Councillors. The feedback was very positive and we hope that the 2017 estimates will see the Parks and Gardens within Silverwoods included in Councils normal rating program which will lead to some subsidy to the OC for maintenance of the parks and gardens. Ultimately, this would lead to reduced OC fees for all Owners if successful.

Considerable work is also being done by Lotus in relation to varying the Section 173 Agreements to remove Roads and Footpaths from the agreements. Currently all maintenance of roads falls on the OC and while this has not been an issue to date, as the roads get older, the maintenance burden will increase. Lotus are negotiating with Council and a variation agreement is currently before Council for their approval and we hope for a positive response.

The Golf Course is amazing and with the new Clubhouse well under construction and plans for the Resort well under way, we look forward to the coming year with excitement. We have waited a long time to see progress and it is fantastic to see so much activity from Lotus and also homes being constructed all around the estate.