Dear MVCMA Board Members:
The Cottage Owners Association was surprised to learn—after the fact—that fall leaf collection will be handled differently this year and that leaves around each cottage will not be picked up as they have been in past years.
This change was implemented without advance notice to cottage owners. There was no prior communication that a budget concern existed or that this long-standing service was under review. The explanation provided informally through the Dec. 12 newsletter as an update from Buildings & Grounds leaves some questions unanswered.
For cottage owners, leaf collection is an important and relied-upon service. Most owners are seasonal and closed their cottages for the season with the expectation that fall leaf removal would take place, as it traditionally has. Shifting responsibility to individual owners without advance notice creates challenges, including increased leaf accumulation and related fire-safety concerns. Because leaf removal is most effective when addressed comprehensively across neighboring cottages, a piecemeal approach undermines both effectiveness and safety.
We recognize that budgets require tradeoffs. However, it is difficult to reconcile the Board’s decision to discontinue routine leaf removal at the cottages—an ongoing maintenance and safety necessity—on the grounds of cost, while simultaneously entertaining a high-dollar expenditure for the land management study by a landscape architectural firm that was presented at the August leaseholder meeting. This disparity raises reasonable concerns among cottage owners about how maintenance needs are being prioritized and how budget decisions are being made.
What concerns cottage owners is the lack of communication surrounding this decision, including:
- No advance notice — this could have been communicated in the summer or earlier in the fall
- No opportunity for input — including whether other options were considered
- Lack of acknowledgment that the leaves originate from trees owned by the MVCMA
- No explanation of the budget shortfall involved
Cottage owners reasonably expect that changes to long-standing services—particularly those related to safety, accessibility, and property upkeep—will be communicated clearly and in advance, along with an explanation and an opportunity for questions.
The Cottage Owners Association requests:
- An explanation of the budget decision and prioritization that led to this change
- Consideration of alternative approaches
- A commitment to advance communication for changes that affect cottage owners
Our goal is to work collaboratively with the board to ensure that future changes are communicated in a manner that reflects the realities of cottage ownership and supports a positive, cooperative relationship going forward.Regards,
The Cottage Owners Association
CottageOwnersAssociation@gmail.com
CottageOwnersAssociation.org
Cottage Owners Association 