When you have three losing businesses (AGI) being subsidized by the Residents with 100’s of thousands of dollars, would it be expected that the Residents should be able to see how their subsidy is being spent? Certainly and hopefully, these businesses are being tracked as to their expenses and revenues with an accounting program, e.g. Quick Books. At the click of a computer mouse, this information is readily available, e.g. Journal Entries, a Ledger, a P&L Statement, and a Balance Sheet.
The Board sets a budget to take the Residents’ funds for huge and continuous subsidies for AGI, but the Residents are refused when requests are made to see the AGI financials, which is simply a click of a mouse.
Where is the accountability of how these businesses are run? Without a transparency of the financials, there is no way for the Residents see any level of Board accountability.
This Board behaves as a total Autocracy; it does not behave as the servant to a community that is expected to be treated as a Democracy, which the State Statutes and the Aquarina By-Laws and CC&R’s require.
Here is a sample list of actions to maintain our community that certainly makes more sense than incurring unnecessary costs by moving a work out/gym facility, which caused a renovation of the Admin Building, and then dumping a $400K assessment on the Residents to upgrade an acceptably working Golf Maintenance Facility at a money losing golf course.
- All common element buildings with A/C’s should have annual maintenance contracts on the A/C system, which will provide annual service to keep the system going for the year with a low risk of failure.
- The exercise equipment should have an annual maintenance agreement or new or leased equipment could be purchased with such an agreement. Probable Resident approval or not by vote would be required.
- Have twice a week janitorial service to all the common element bathrooms, gym equipment, and weekly window and interior cleaning at the Beach Club House.
- Acquire an estimate and a Resident approval or not by vote to install a stainless shower tower with multi-heads to be placed on a cantilevered extension of the deck crossover. The current hose is not commensurate with the Beach Club. A photo of this shower is posted below.
- Curb Appeal is Real Estate 101. The paver entrance to Aquarina is 35 years old. The pavers need to be reset and power washed.
- The dumb waiter type elevator needs to be updated to be commensurate with the Beach Club House. A Resident approval or not by vote would be expected.
- A professional audit and not a sole Board investigation is needed to determine the costs and any possible savings involved in adding a well to irrigate the golf course. Keep in mind that if Aquarina Utilities loses the irrigation revenue, the lost revenue will need to be replaced by possibly raising the rates of the potable water supply. As a public utility, the State will allow Aquarina Utilities to charge its users a fair amount to cover their costs and make a reasonable profit.
- The Board needs to distance itself from the AGI businesses and have them more responsible to run themselves, which would reduce the communities financial risk. This approach would also mitigate possible collusion among the Board and the businesses. For example, Brassie Grille’s Josh is a college educated Chef, and Aquarina is lucky to have him. He should be provided a step process to an independent run restaurant where AGI collects rent from him, and AGI is released of overseeing a profit/loss restaurant. The same approach can be applied to the golf and tennis businesses. Golf Pro Jonas has a college degree in business, and should be given more latitude to run the pro shop. A Tennis Pro should be allowed the same freedom at the Tennis facility. In addition for golf, the maintenance of the Golf Course can also be farmed out to a golf maintenance company. AGI needs to put itself in a position to collect checks from these businesses and not write checks to them.
These bulleted items are a direction the Board could be addressing and taking, and not the direction of past and current costs that have been wrought and burdened on the Residents.
BTW – Check out a shower appropriate and commensurate with Aquarina.
