February 2023 | The Ledger

Hello Ledgewood neighborhood! Welcome to 2023 and our Winter Ledger Issue. It is time to get to know your Ledgewood board of trustees. 

Vice President and Pool Trustee - Holly Zadony

Greetings from your 2023 Ledgewood Pool Trustee! My name is Holly Zadony and I am very happy to be serving again on the Ledgewood Board.

My family and I have been Ledgewood residents for over 10 years and my husband was fortunate enough to grow up here. We have three awesome kids who are very involved with our neighborhood swim team and are always out and about around Ledgewood. You have probably seen them zipping up and down the neighborhood streets on their bikes and scooters!

I am not a winter weather fan, as I'm sure many of you are not either! We are looking forward to summer and hot, sunny days spent at the gem of our neighborhood - Ledgewood Pool. The winter leak is still an issue, so we have not put the winter cover on the pool. Our pool filters just had their sand replaced and will be good to go for the season. We are hoping to again host the Annual 4th of July Neighborhood Pool Party, Annual Christmas in July Pool Party, and Late Night Swims. Swim Team (SSL - Strongsville Swim League) will also be back, as usual. Be on the look out for flyers and information regarding sign-ups to go out sometime mid to late March. The team has been growing so much over the last few years and WestLedge (Ledgewood swims with Westwood Farms) placed 3rd at Champs last year. We hope that all of our swimmers return this summer and are looking forward to welcoming new swimmers to our team!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at pool@theledgewoodassociation.com Wishing you all a very healthy winter! Stay warm and think spring...and summer!!! Pool season will be here before we know it.

Common Ground Trustee - Ken Tocco

My name is Ken Tocco and I am the Common Grounds Trustee. I am a retired Supply Chain Manager and have lived in Ledgewood for over 10 years. I took over this responsibility in August of 2021 when the trustee at that time resigned. I was elected to a full 2-year term in November of 2021.

Even though I’ve lived here for over 10 years I was surprised when I took a look at the full map of Ledgewood and realized how many Common Ground areas there were and how much territory they encompassed. They are my responsibility, but I count on residents to report dead, damaged, or diseased trees that could damage their property or any other potential hazard that they see. In addition, I take care of the playground and tennis courts, negotiate pricing with certain vendors and coordinate the work of Ledgewood’s maintenance staff.

There are currently 32 landscaped intersections within Ledgewood. Many, if not all, are in need of upgrading. The Board of Trustees recently voted to relandscape these intersections at the rate of 8 per year beginning this spring and summer. With the assistance of some resident volunteers, we’re in the process of selecting the first 8 locations. This work will be done by professional landscapers with an emphasis on choosing the appropriate plants that will look good and require minimal maintenance. We are always working within budget constraints, but this is a Board of Trustees’ responsibility. Residents are requested to not remove existing plants or take it upon themselves to plant anything additional or ask residents to contribute work or money to the project.

As always, our goal is to keep Ledgewood looking beautiful.

The Board of Trustees has specific responsibilities and limited enforcement powers. I strongly encourage you to read both the Bylaws and Regulations and the Covenants and Restrictions so you can get a clear understanding of what the board can and cannot do as well as what residents need to take care of. Both are available at theledgewoodassociation.com. Feel free to contact me by submitting a Common Ground request.

A few more notes from the Common Ground’s area:

• Ledgewood is involved in a City of Strongsville program headed by Natural Resources Coordinator, Jennifer Milbrandt. Once spring arrives, you'll see several new trees planted across from the clubhouse/pool parking lot. Ledgewood is participating in Strongsville's effort to increase the tree canopy of the area as many current trees are aging and have been damaged by storms.

• Please note that Ridge Creek Road and the part of Falling Water that was repaved this past fall will not be salted during snowfalls. The reason is that new concrete requires a year of curing before salt can be safely applied without causing damage. The city has placed small reminders on stop signs for the road crews.

Architectural Review Trustee - Michele Dunn

My husband Brian and I moved to Ledgewood in 2017 with our two daughters, who are now 8 and 6 years of age. Upon seeing the neighborhood and all the beautiful trees we knew this was where we wanted to settle.

As an architectural review trustee, I look forward to helping keep the Ledgewood feel of our community that we all enjoy. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns at architectural@theledgewoodassociation.com.

I am happy to help!

Architectural Review Trustee - Anthony Koenig

My wife Tracy and I moved to Ledgewood in September 2021. We have a daughter Julia who graduated with a Master’s Degree from Cleveland State and works in the medical field. Our son Joe works for Bella Cement. We love the neighborhood and all that Ledgewood has to offer starting with the pool, clubhouse, newly renovated courts, and best of all our wonderful neighbors.

I look forward to working with my fellow board members to keep Ledgewood a great place to live.

Clubhouse Trustee - Ari Jakstas

I have been a resident of Ledgewood for more than 15 years with my husband, two boys, and a cat. We never want to leave our beautiful neighborhood, and I love spending summers making memories at our pool with my family. I am excited to serve the community I love, and walk through most days!

President - Zarina Melik-Stepanova

My husband Dirk and I, and our sons Aidan and Pearce have lived in the neighborhood for 8 years. This is my second term on the board, and I am honored to serve as your president. My husband and I are both professors at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. I am a piano professor and invite you to my performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Baldwin Wallace Wind Ensemble on April 14th of this year.

Unlike Holly, I am a big winter fan, and I love spending my winters watching the snow fall through the windows of our Ledgewood home. I equally love watching the seasons change while walking through the beautiful woods of our common grounds. I relish the giggles of the children at the playground, and the screaming and splashing of the residents at our glorious Olympic size pool in the summers... despite the leak. I even embrace the never-ending blowing and raking of the leaves during the fall. I adore our neighborhood and all its beauty. But what I look forward to the most when I take a walk through our streets is seeing all of you, smiling, saying hello, waving, and taking your time to acknowledge your neighbors. Thank you.

In the next few months, I am going to look through our website and with the help of the board, make some changes to clean it up and make it as user-friendly as possible. I would like to bring your attention to several important aspects that already exist.

• If you want to contact the board, the fastest way to get an answer would be to go to the website www.theledgewoodassociation.com and click on CONTACT US button, located on the homepage.

• The Homepage also includes a Frequently Asked Questions section, which I find to be very useful. Please take a look and if you think of another FAQ, please shoot me a message at president@theledgewoodassociation.com and we will include it.

• If you would like to update the exterior of your home please fill out the Architectural Review Request form found on the Maintenance page of the website. Either Michele or Tony will be in touch shortly.

• If your lamppost needs work or if you see one out, please fill out the Lamppost Outage Submission form also located on the Maintenance page.

• We will be updating FIX IT page, but if you have a contractor or a home improvement company to recommend, I would love to hear from you.

The Ledger will be coming up regularly, so more to come soon. Stay tuned.

Finally, although she is not a board member, but an employee of the association, I thought it would be appropriate for you to know Carleen Sundvall, who has been an important part of Ledgewood for many years.

Recording Secretary/Treasurer - Carleen Sundvall

I have been the Ledgewood Association’s Recording-Secretary and Treasurer for many years. I am a former board member serving as President and Pool Trustee/Ledgewood Swim Team.

I am constantly busy, engaging with the Ledgewood Board as well as residents. I work approximately 25 hours per week. Besides paying bills and collecting assessments there are several other tasks that my job entails. I handle all correspondence generated by the board, attend monthly meetings, write the minutes, handle all finances, and handle payroll. I also answer emails and phone calls from residents on a daily basis, title company requests when a unit sells, just to name a few. The association is like running a small business.

I don’t think there is an association issue that I have not heard of before. I try to keep the trustees updated on all current and past issues. I have worked with many trustees over the years and have enjoyed being involved. While in retirement, it keeps my mind going and I love it.

I like to travel and visit my teenage granddaughters in Chicago several times a year to attend all of their extracurricular activities.