The Board President continues the spin and spend policies that have been foisted on Aquarina and its Residents ever since his self-aggrandizing coronation, which he believed. However, he and his acolyte and discipled Board (BTW – not every Board member is an acolyte and discipled, but the majority are) have financially scorched our community with selfish, unethical, and irresponsible spending actions.
Now let’s talk about this well.
When the well is discussed, the first matter that should be addressed is Aquarina Utilities, Inc. (AUI). Have we heard anything about AUI from the Board when the well is attempted to be justified? With this well, the argument will be from the Board that the AUI irrigation cost, which had doubled, will be gone. Really?
Remember that the Florida Public Service Commission oversees utilities, like AUI. The commission does not want utilities to fail as businesses. A utility may seek rate increases it charges customers to maintain its financial viability because of equipment replacement, water treatment costs, AND lost revenue, e.g. golf irrigation revenue.
The golf irrigation revenue was nearly, if not, half of the revenue AUI received from Aquarina. The irrigation well will eliminate that revenue. Do you think that AUI will apply to the Florida Public Service Commission for a potable rate increase to make up the loss from the irrigation revenue that will be gone? The whole community of Aquarina will be paying for the AUI’s lost revenue from golf irrigation.
AGI, which includes Aquarina Golf, or even just Aquarina Golf alone, should pay for the lost golf course irrigation revenue that AUI will now charge all the Residents, after all, it’s a golf business expense, and not a community expense.
BTW – rather than negotiating the irrigation cost with AUI, and maybe gradually changing to grass that is tolerant to dry conditions, the Board creates another common element (the irrigation well and pump equipment that will require added maintenance and funded reserves). Further expenses for the Residents.
It is so obvious that a small group of active golf inclined Residents have taken over the community’s funds (about $1,500,000 per year in paid fees), and they have shamelessly created expenses to service the golf business over everything else in Aquarina that needs attention and maintenance.
We really need more voices to champion the whole Aquarina community over the golf cabal. There needs to be a challenge and interface with the golf cabal to explain the unfairness and imbalance of the Board’s spending and priorities. This Blog has introduced a point of view, which I hope is supported by the silent majority that we all know exists in our community. We need to talk up in the neighborhood about what is being neglected and what is being unnecessarily thrust upon us.