Amongst all the partying, volunteering, playing, and socializing, there is also the brick and mortar of the community, i.e. its infrastructure, its landscaping, its homes, and its entrance, and what is expected when this entrance to our community is seen for the first time. It is a reflection of how the community and its HOA oversees itself. After all, the folks are paying to be in a community with an expected maintained and attractive entrance, with all its amenities, other than a community without these perks.
There are several other HOA communities that have a “statement” entrance, and all of them show pride in their appearance, i.e. they display an ongoing maintenance policy, e.g. well irrigated green grass and shrubbery, and pressure washed monuments and roadways. BTW – the fees of these communities are much less than in Aquarina, even when factoring in amenities, which they do not have to the extent as Aquarina. But unfortunately, in spite of its stature and higher costs, Aquarina falters and lags behind these other HOA communities in its “statement” entrance. Just glance at these other entrances when driving down Hwy A1A to your Aquarina home.
The Aquarina entrance has not been changed since its inception in the mid 1980’s, and it shows its age not only in style but in its tired condition. The photos below attest to this perception. As you know, the golf course appearance, and the golf infrastructure and its support mechanisms have been improved from our funds. Why is our entrance, which impacts the whole community ignored? As this Blog has continually expounded, our community and its Board have been hijacked by a selfish and self-serving cabal of folks whose agenda is for a golf oriented social community. This cabal has blind eyes to Aquarina’s total amenities and needs, where a measured application of effort and funds should be allocated, e.g. Aquarina’s dying entrance, which is the curb appeal for our whole community. The entrance can add to our community’s value or it can detract from our community’s value. At this time, our community’s value has been diminished because of neglect and being ignored by a Board which has the fiduciary responsibility to maintain it.
Some of the immediate items for remediation are:
- The irrigation system needs to be totally checked for repair and replacement.
- New sod is needed where existing grass areas are dead.
- The Entrance monument area needs new colorful planting and precision cutting. Maybe a water feature can be installed in the future seen by passing motorists and the general public.
- The monument lettering needs repainting or replacement as does the signage at the entrance to the golf club.
- The roadway pavers need pressure washing, resetting, and in some areas, replacement, e.g. spilled tar and paint cover them. In addition to the presentation, aren’t you tired by the bump, bump, bump, as you drive through the entrance? It’s annoying and cries out for fixing.
- The electric lighting should be totally checked for repair and replacement.
- Roadways need to be black top coated and gutters pressure washed.
- Re-striping of the roadways is needed.
These remediation efforts will serve the whole community by adding value not only to the community at large, but to the community’s home values too. BTW – the cabal Board voted to put off roadway work for future years. What happened to providing and funding yearly reserves for the remediation items listed above? Our nearly $1.5M of paid yearly fees for the Board’s Budget is spent, not on building our reserve funds, for what is desperately needed, but on splash for the golf course, and subsidizing the golf business, the restaurant, parties, and events.
