Oakwood Property Owners Association held a special meeting this morning to vote on adopting new covenants to assist in the sale of the Oakwood Inn property to the Dr. Rex Parent family.

Prior to the start of the meeting, 94 percent of the property owners voted by proxy to accept what is called the Global agreement. “I’ve been president before, Rick Williams has been president before, so has Dennis Lomax. We’ve never had this kind of turnout, even for annexation,” said Larry Lane, current president of the OPOA. “I think people just wanted to move this forward.”

The Global agreement provides the property owners with some of the rights they have always had, with a permanent 30-foot easement to the beach and access to the chapel, memorial gardens and the playground. The OPOA will also be able to lease piers in the channels for 10 years with an option to purchase at the end of the lease.

Approximately 17 people attended the hour long meeting.

Lane told the group the Parents are very excited and property owners should expect to see a lot of activitiy around the inn this winter. He then reviewed work that several association committees are working on, such as parking and piers.

With the parking, the OPOA will be working with the Parents and the town on addressing several parking issues in the park. The pier committee will begin its work soon since it will have 30 days after the property closing to take the piers over.

The neighborhood watch program in the park will also be ramped up to a higher level in the off season.

Ian Rolland, receiver for the Oakwod Foundation, told those attending the meeting that he hopes to close the sale of the property yet this month. The Parents want to open the hotel and restaurant open next season.

J.R. Parent has already been at the property cleaning up the landscaping and mowing the lawn.

Rolland is in the process of writing his 12th report to the court and has a hearing scheduled with Kosciusko County Superior Court I Judge Duane Huffer on Monday, Oct. 15. At that time, the judge has to make a number of decisions, one being approving the changes to the covenants.

“He’ll be happier this time than he was the last time we met,” Rolland said. “The number of people here today is indicative of the lack of controversy.”

Rolland explained that the foundation still existed, but it currently has no directors. Huffer ordered all foundation directors removed when Rolland was named receiver. When the closing takes place a new foundation with representation from the Parents, OPOA, the town of Syracuse and others will be put in place as an oversight committee. It will also be a 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization so it can take charitable contributions.

When the closing on the property takes place, the foundation will be activated. “I’ll be out of a job … finally,” Rolland said. He also told those attending the meeting, “I think Howard (Brembeck, an Oakwood patron) would be happy with this. He left a fund that is available and overseen by his daughter and grandson, that as long as they approve it, can be used to help fund some of these activities (planned for Oakwood).”

For more in-depth coverage of this morning’s meeting, see the Oct. 10 issue of The Mail-Journal.