Waccabuc Landowners Council

by Linda Broudy, Membership Chair

The current WLC Membership form is attached as a link on this website. Our annual dues are $235 and have been for years and years. Unlike everything else around here, they don’t automatically increase every year. The membership form is mailed every January. Although dues are technically due by March 1^st, there are always reminder mailings that need to go out. If you haven’t yet sent in the 2008 dues, perhaps you’d consider printing out the attached form and sending it in…

And just what do you get for those dues?

Glad you asked. WLC maintains the charming historic U.S. post office at the corner of Mead Street and Post Office Road. About 15% of the annual budget goes towards its maintenance. The U.S. Postal Service actually leases the building and property from WLC. The original structure was built in 1879 (and was about the size of the present-day lobby), so as to receive the mail that was delivered by four-seated wagon from Katonah, traveling along the “post” road that wound its way from NYC to Danbury and beyond.

You get the benefit of many volunteers’ hours in our 10 committees (see the membership form or the other link on this website). Of course you can join in the fun as well. We are always looking for fresh ideas and it’s a very nice way to meet your fellow Waccabuceans.

We welcome new residents to the community by reaching out and delivering a “Welcome Bag”, which contains the following useful goodies (or something very similar):

• honey or jam from Salinger’s (a local orchard)
• Post Office note cards with envelopes, in packs of 5
• WLC membership form
• Westchester mag comp subscription
• Backyard Harmony pamphlet
• Mail-a-Map of Lewisboro
• Lewisboro Answer Book booklet
• The Waccabuc Report newsletter
• The Lewisboro Land Trust flyer
• Walking Wild Lewisboro pamphlet
• 2008 WLC Service Directory
• 100 Things to Do in Lewisboro booklet

We have an email which we use to notify our members of upcoming events, or other note-worthy items of interest that the WLC Board feels should be disseminated. The emails go out on a blind cc basis, to protect privacy. And it is a very timely way to reach folks with breaking news.

We have this lovely website, but you already know that don’t you?

And last but not least, we have The Waccabuc Report – a 4 color, 8 page glossy paper newsletter, published and printed by yet more volunteers from within our community. It is mailed semi-annually to our members in late Fall and late Spring. It recaps in both word and photos the many and myriad social activities of WLC, eg. the annual Dinner on the Lake, the WLC Annual Meeting and Progressive Dinner that follows, musical and literary events at the Mead Memorial Chapel, new residents to the community, interviews with interesting people, articles written by local residents on Waccabuc-specific items of interest and so forth. It helps you stay informed. Or gives you a small frisson seeing your name or face in print….

Please consider joining us!

Backyard Harmony pamphlet

2008 WLC Service Directory

One of the principal activities of the WLC is to support and maintain the Waccabuc Post Office facility, located at the corner of Mead Street and Post Office Road. But it has a wider charter as well: to exclusively involve all Waccabuc residents in promoting the best interest of the community. To that end it has 10 committees to help assist in this endeavor. Won’t you help us help you? To quote the WLC By-Laws:

The Audit Committee shall:

• Be chaired by a current Board member who is not an officer and whom the President will select. The chairman of the Audit Committee will in turn select two additional committee members who have not served as Board members during the previous two years. It is recommended that one person shall have served on the Audit Committee previously.
• Audit the Treasurer’s financial records on a yearly basis as soon as possible after the end of the fiscal year.
• Oversee that all accounts have been properly recorded and justified.
• Submit signed Audit Committee Statement of Findings of audit and all books and material to the new Treasurer.
• Provide a copy of the Statement of Findings to the Board of Directors.

 The Land Preservation Committee shall:

• Protect and preserve the environmental resources – natural, historic, and scenic – of the Waccabuc community.
• Work to preserve the quality of life of Waccabuc in such a way as to educate our children and protect our property values.

 The Social Committee shall:

• Organize social events for the membership.
• Make arrangements for the annual meeting with the Board of Directors’ approval.

 The Security Committee shall:

• Be a liaison between the membership, New York State police, local police, and security firm.
• Oversee the security firm.
• Negotiate the contract with the security firm and present it to the Board of Directors for approval.
• Organize, promote, and oversee the neighborhood watch.

 The Membership Committee shall:

• Maintain a current list of all Waccabuc residents and members and distribute it to all Directors, as needed.
• Provide mailing labels for all WLC mailings.
• Create and distribute a yearly membership drive brochure, reflecting WLC’s purpose and its functions.
• Collect WLC dues and give checks to the Treasurer for deposit.

 The Beautification Committee shall:

• Encourage all residents to keep Waccabuc cleaned-up and beautiful.
• Organize a Spring and Fall Clean-Up Day.
• Organize holiday decoration on street signs, entry signs, and Post Office.
• Plant and maintain the window boxes at the Post Office.
• Maintain the Route 35 entrance.
• Coordinate with the Tree Committee.

 The Newsletter Committee shall:

• Accept submissions from various committee chairs.
• Publish and distribute the newsletter quarterly, or as determined by the Board of Directors.

 The Tree Committee shall:

• Monitor trees and shrubs on right-of-ways within Waccabuc, with special attention to Mead Street
• Replace and supplement trees and shrubs within Waccabuc, as needed.
• Organize a Work Day at least once a year.
• Coordinate with the Beautification Committee.

 The Post Office Committee shall:

• Negotiate with the U.S. Postal Service.
• Organize and approve any repairs and maintenance to the property.

 The Sign Committee shall:

• Keep an inventory of all WLC street signs and their condition.
• Organize repair and maintenance or replacement of signs and/or posts as necessary.

The physical boundaries of Waccabuc (once again, as defined by the WLC By-Laws) are not the same as those of the actual Post Office routes for the 10597 zip code. Nor is it officially defined anywhere within the Lewisboro town code. Back in 1981 when WLC was formed, they had to draw the lines somewhere…..if your house is within these borders, you are entitled to become a member of WLC.

The geographic areas which are served by the Waccabuc Landowners Council are as follows:

Mead Street to the North Salem line and all the streets off of Mead; Schoolhouse and Chapel Roads and streets off of it to Route 121; Long Pond Road and streets off it; Rampart Pass and streets off it; Post Office and streets off it to Benedict Road. Any streets that are constructed in the future and have access off the above will be included in the area served by the Waccabuc Landowners Council.