Dan Orrico was appointed the new president of the Walden Lake Community Association’s board of directors on Monday, April 18.
Orrico was nominated for the position by Ray Page and seconded by Rich Glorioso. Orrico faced no opposition.
This is Orrico’s first time as president, and he was initially elected to the board in April 2015. After former Vice President Dave Sollenberger resigned to move out of state, Orrico was appointed vice president.
At the April 18 meeting, Sharon Philbin was named the board’s new vice president.
"I feel honored to be elected vice president of the Walden Lake Master Association," Philbin said. "I love and believe in this community and will continue to do my best to contribute to the future success and the many planned improvements in the works for our community."
“With Bob’s aggressive agenda, we took on some tough issues this last year, and we were very effective as a board in addressing them. All the decisions made on agenda items were the board’s, and were passed in accordance with the WLCA documents. None of the decisions made by this board were made solely by Mr. Hunter.” –Dan Orrico
Alicia Powell was voted secretary, and Heather Updike will be treasurer for another term. Jan Griffin was appointed parliamentarian.
The board thanked former president Bob Hunter for his work over the last year.
“Although the board did not agree on everything, we discussed and debated all agenda items fully prior to voting,” Orrico said. “Once the board made a decision, we moved forward. I would say Bob (Hunter) set a very aggressive agenda as president of the WLCA, and I have very big shoes to fill.”
“He (Hunter) worked at it seven days a week,” board member Ray Page said. “Mr. Hunter did not get the credit he deserved for the job he did. He gave it everything, believe me. He was a good president.”
As the new president, Orrico is focused on making sure the community is competitive with the new neighborhoods
being planned in north Plant City, including Varrea and North Park Isles.
“I want to continue to focus the board on preserving the values and amenities of the homes in Walden Lake and to execute the maintenance of Walden Lake common areas,” Orrico said.
In Other News
— The WLCA is deferring to the polo field committee the idea of creating temporary parking passes for guests of Walden Lake who use the field to attend events, such as birthday parties or Little League practices. The polo field committee will discuss passes and likely report back to the board at the monthly meeting in May. Temporary passes would keep guests’ vehicles from being towed.
— The WLCA is considering a forensic audit to be done spanning multiple years and multiple WLCA boards. The WLCA board of directors will discuss the need for such an audit in an executive session before making a decision.
“It is important for this community, our newest members on this board and the board members to follow us that everyone can have confidence in the board,” Vice President Sharon Philbin said. “This board should be complimented for taking on the tough issues and insuring that if any mistakes were made in the past, they are not repeated. This community deserves an association that they can trust and be proud of."
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.