Before I begin the bulk of this Editorial, I want to bring the Community attention to two (2) recent articles on the BCMatters.org website. The 1st is a jointly written article, “About that Chimneys renovation and the visual deception . . .“, by Wayne Huey (former Big Canoe staff architect), and Patricia Cross (publisher of BCMatters). It is important to note that these are very well respected members of the community, with well over 30 years of residency between them.
Just this morning this newspaper noted that a supplementary BCMatters article had just been written, “POA President requests retraction of Chimneys article . . .“
The articles speak for themselves, but FOBC feels the need to weigh in and share some additional information, so the following observations are offered up:
(1) A Quick recap on the Chimney’s project in general.
It came out of nowhere, and the planning that led up to the sudden vote was shrouded in deliberate secrecy. The first time property owners heard about this was minutes before the vote. That isn’t accidental. The suspicion regarding the motives of this action increase when one realizes that this actually goes against the Village Plan, has no parking capacity attached, and has been represented in a dishonest way.
(2) Amy Tropfenbaum’s Undisclosed Interest.
It is relevant for people to understand that POA President Amy Tropfenbaum’s home is literally the most impacted home in the entire community when it comes to this Project (the Chimney’s). Her home sits almost directly in front of (at angle) from the lakeside rear of the Chimney’s. As far back as I can remember (having been here 23 years), the Chimneys has always been acknowledged to be Prime Real Estate in the community due to it’s lakefront and lake view position, across from the Sconti Clubhouse. Discussion of uses have revolved around taking advantage of these Prime Real Estate features as an Events location, Restaurant etc. So I was shocked to see the following reasoning given for the current Chimney’s redesign:
Excerpt from February 2022 Board meeting:
Timestamp 1:01:15 ~ “we’re not going to do events there. it’s a terrible place to do events because there’s no parking for big groups and you’re in the middle of houses so every time we do an event public safety gets yelled at and they have to come over and deal with noise problems so that’s not really ideal.”
There are only two homes within any substantial distance that are in direct line of site from the Chimney’s. Directly to the right is the home of previous board member Wayne Crawford. Let’s look at the Map of homes to see the other owner that may be engaged in yelling at public safety:
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will leave it there. Well…. one more point.
(3) There is a fabulous resident of this community named Jan Murphy. Jan is a member of the Big Canoe Hisorical Society (many videos at this link), as well as the Pickens County Historical Society, and that sort of thing is one of her passions. Most people aren’t aware, but the Chimneys is perhaps THE most significant historical building in Big Canoe. About a year ago Jan put together the most amazing historical video of Big Canoe. Jan’s video, “Big Canoe History”, which is is 43:26 minutes long, contains numerous references and bits of information about the Chimneys, and it’s early days in the 1970’s as the central community restaurant and gathering spot. I can guarantee that for those of you over 60, it will be a poignant reminder of our shared past (and of perhaps happier, simpler times). ENJOY! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IECBTMOxX0
I will close by echoing the words of Patricia Cross and Wayne Huey, asking property owners to join in this appeal (by directly contacting our board of directors) for an immediate halt to this $1.250 million renovation of the Chimneys along with a requirement to complete the Village Master Plan utilizing community involvement prior to any changes or renovations to the existing buildings.
This Article Shareable Online at our FOBC Public News Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FocusonBigCanoeGA
Peace,
– david / publisher
Focus on Big Canoe, GA
* a publication of The Mountains Voice
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