Your departing Board president signed off on a $700,000 Plus contract to expand the money losing Brassie Grille. As with construction remodel contracts, any unforeseen work (which typically occurs on remodels) that arises is an added expense, which means an open expense. In addition, there is a list of finalized finishing items that will be added as further costs. The $700,000 sign off will certainly balloon into a higher total amount. You can count on that.
Let’s look at some other matters to question.
- Thousands are being spent by our Board on a computer voting system. With about a total of 400 plus property votes, do we need a computer voting system? Globally, there is much controversy on the security of this type of voting. France has paper ballot voting and hand counting, where the voting and tabulating is less subject to manipulation, which has been proven over and over again with computer based voting. This is an extravagant expense, with a system that can be vulnerable to manipulation.
- Having a Green Turtle buffet dinner is nice, and if it is successful, it would be a more cost-effective way to offer this type of eating affair rather than placing the cost of it all on the Residents, i.e. by way of a Brassie Grille expansion to host and prepare for such an affair, in addition to a having a paid staff to service the affair. The Club House provides a suitable venue with kitchen facilities, space, and rest rooms. There is no financial risk since it’s prepaid and catered by an outside professional. The setup and cleanup can be manned by a limited staff that serves the current Brassie Grille, which would remain in its current format, a comfort food sports type bar.
- The golf course may be better served with a management style that encourages more public play, e.g. a golf management company. It’s so obvious there is a need for more public play like exists with the Spessard Holland Golf Course just up the road, which always has a full parking lot compared to a consistent only scattering of parked vehicles in the Aquarina Golf Course lot. The Residents are subsidizing a virtual private course that offers itself to the public, but does it really? Based on its play, the Aquarina Golf membership should be at a higher price to cover all its costs.
- Having a sub-Board, i.e. AGI, to handle the Brassie Grille and the golf course has resulted in a trail of poor management and a pile of debt for the Residents. We have a group of folks who have placed themselves in management positions of areas where they have no experience, i.e. restaurant and golf, and the Residents have had to bail these folks out of their mishaps time and time again. In addition, the specific financials for the AGI have been hidden from the Residents, with the excuse that these financials are privileged to the Board. Hmm. Per Florida Statute, the Residents should see how every penny is spent. Let’s see those journal entries. Let’s see the financial books. At a recent Board Meeting, even the Board Treasurer questioned the Food and Beverage financial presentation where costs could not be reasonably explained. What!
An excuse of inflation, with the rise of costs for food and beverage supplies, was used for explaining the losses. An expected business response to this situation is to raise the prices of goods sold to cover the any product price increase. And further to this scenario is, guess who pays for the shortfall and resulting loss? Yes, the Residents with their maintenance fees, which diminishes our Reserve growth to repair and replace Aquarina’s infrastructure. But of course, the Board needs to stroke its supporters, and prevent any inflationary costs for its Brassie Grille patrons to bear.
- Huge insurance costs are coming. Some of the insurance policies are conditioned on roof repairs, e.g. Beach Club House, bathroom buildings on the golf course, and the pool Bath House for Blue Heron, Egret Trace, and Spoonbill Villas. Have we seen or heard of any ongoing repair work for these facilities? How about the Beach Club House service elevator that actually should be a pedestrian elevator? It’s been “Temporarily out of service” for years. Yet, in our country’s present economic state of affairs, e.g. rapid inflation being fed by irresponsible government spending, our Board feels the priority is to expand the Brassie Grille. Unbelievable.
- It appears that more time is spent on entertainment matters than infrastructure and community presentation matters where the priorities should be. Look around as you drive our community. We are approaching 40 years in age, and it shows. There are communities of less cost that have presentations and upkeep much better than ours. Is there a base of new leadership within Aquarina that can recast the current focus of entertainment to a focus, which is an immediate need, of responsibility and action to repair and replace our tired infrastructure?
More to come . . .