If you haven’t already read my last article on the true cost of the Big Canoe Golf Program, then I suggest you stop and read that first, as it details a program that is being subsidized by property owners to the tune of about $300K/year in losses – to support a very small minority of golfers.
While we are waiting for the Board to figure out how to ask Property Owners to approve a multi-million dollar welfare program bailout of the Golf Program (as proposed by the Bergen report), I decided to look at another massive expenditure that is even now being secretly executed….. A Complete Golf Cart Fleet Replacement.
You may ask, didn’t we just completely replace the Golf Cart Fleet just 3 years ago? The Answer? Yes, we did! But an excerpt from the April 2019 Golf Committee Minutes shows they have already started taking bids. Looks like they want to upgrade the entire fleet, including an upgrade to expensive Lithium Batteries, and GPS Systems. The last fleet cost us a reported $380,000 after trade-in. No telling what this new upgraded fleet of Golf Carts will cost.
The first question that arises… is 3 years a reasonable time frame for us to be spending so much money to again replace the fleet? Let’s look at some excerpts from: https://www.golfcartreport.com/how-long-do-golf-carts-last/
“The average lifespan of a golf cart will vary heavily based on a multitude of factors. For example, some experts estimate that the average golf cart has a useful life range of about 5-7 years. That said, golf carts can still be used for 10 years or more depending on how well they are maintained and how much money a buyer wants to put into their vehicle….. That said, some manufacturers claim that the average golf cart will last 30-40 years if the engine is properly maintained, repaired, or even replaced. While the typical golf cart frame may last for 30-40 years, the average battery won’t last anywhere near that long. Experts state that a fleet cart battery typically ranges between 4-6 years before it needs to be replaced. By contrast, a private golf cart battery often lasts between 6-10 years.
Looks like the Big Canoe Golfers expect the Property Owners to foot the bill for a new upgraded fleet, almost 2 years before the low-end of the replacement cycle timeframe has expired. It will be interesting to learn what the final bids are, to trade in and replace the existing fleet. Last time it was almost $400K, and that was without the additional bells and whistles they are looking at this time. It should be noted that replacing the batteries (which still shouldn’t be needed so soon) would cost less that $100K. It should further be noted that we have a small army of Golf Maintenance Employees that we are spending a fortune on. I sincerely hope that we have the capability of maintaining our very expensive Golf Cart Fleet at top condition. Property owners should be able to reasonably expect our capitol investments in this area to have a life expectancy towards the higher end of the range – not a need to be replaced years BEFORE the lower end of the life expectancy range.
Here is another seriously troubling aspect of this deal…. the Non-Transparency & Secrecy of this whole thing. Let’s do a little walk back in history to late 2015, when the last Golf Cart Fleet purchase was authorized. A review of the Golf Committee Minutes shows that the decision to upgrade the entire Golf Cart Fleet was first discussed in the October 2015 Minutes. The very next month, in the November Board Minutes it is referenced for the first time by the Finance Committee and Board of Directors – as they announce they have…. well, let’s just read exactly what is said:
“Action 11.18.15-06: A motion to approve the purchase of new Club Car golf carts in the amount of $380,000 was made and passed unanimously 7-0.”
That was it! That is the entirety of commentary on the matter, and $380,000 was spent. But of course the Community was aware of everything, and there had been discussions, polls, community coffees or something to discuss such a large expenditure, right? RIGHT? Well, I reviewed the Smoke Screen Newspapers for the months before and after that time frame, as well as the Inside the Gates publication. NOTHING! The first reference of public mention I can find is 2 sentences in the January 2016 Smoke Screen Newspaper- 2 months after the purchase had already been approved, and apparently ordered! $380K spent, secretly, without a word to the Property Owners. Then in the April 2016 edition of Smoke Screen Newspaper, another “Single Sentence” which stated:
“The new golf carts are on site and Brownell reported “they are getting great reviews from golfers.”
And then silence, as this major expense is quickly moved off the radar of property owners. I thought to myself, surely that wouldn’t happen again, not under this Board, the “New and Improved Open & Transparent” Board. But you know what…. a review of the Smoke Screen Newspaper, and the Inside the Gates publications for April, May and June 2019 – again shows no mention of the fact that the decisions have been made to upgrade the Golf Cart Fleet (well before life expectancy is reached), and that the bidding process is already well under way.
So here is my concern…. that this is going to be approved in a closed session of the Board, and nobody will even know about it until the deal is done, and the minutes published AFTER the fact. If history repeats itself, this could happen BEFORE the June Board Session, so I suggest that people demand answers starting immediately, following up with specific questions in the June Work Session.
Quick Observational Note: The Big Canoe “Smoke Screen” newspaper didn’t alert property owners to the enormous golf cart expenditure in 2015. You won’t find them reporting on it now in 2019 either, nor any of the other enormous Capitol Expenses that are routinely snuck through. My guess is they will however have some slick “Get The Vote” coverage when the Board finally figures out how to spin a multi-million dollar request for a new golf course remodel, or a remodel of the money-hemorrhaging Clubhouse. I further predict you won’t see any coverage, mention, nor analysis of all the money these programs are losing property owners, nor any tough questions in those regards, nor any serious editorial discussion on the matter from a solutions standpoint. You would think that a “News”Paper would at least have one dedicated journalist to do a monthly review of the actual NEWS in the community they serve – including coverage of the Board, Committees and Financial activity – and summarizations of Board & Committee Meetings and Minutes of Meetings etc for the property owners. One might even expect they would take it a minimal step further, and that they might engage in actual investigative reporting on the property owners’ behalf. Alas, instead of Smoke Signals sending helpful, educational, and insightful messages to the property owners – we get Smoke Screens creating cover for the often questionable activities of the Board, Developer, GM and various Committees. It seems the fire of journalism has gone out, and no number of fancy awards for “pretty graphics” and “advertising creativity” can replace the basic and fundamental loss that a community suffers, when it’s watchdog slumbers.
PS… I want to make it clear that my observational notes regarding the Smoke Screen do NOT extend to the many fine and wonderful volunteer Smoke Signals writers that produce such fantastic community interest stories each month. That portion of the Paper is very well done, and a lot of wonderful effort goes into that. My observations are EXCLUSIVELY aimed at the Editorial Staff and Board.
On one last note regarding Golf, and specifically the financial bombshell we are all awaiting as a result of the Bergen Report. Many people have commented negatively regarding how the Board of Directors itself is sharing “news” and “information” on the subject. The Board and Committee Insiders have had the Bergen reports for months. They know the costs involved, but have not authorized that to be made public. All of the Golfers have been provided with lengthy presentations regaling them with the benefits of the newly designed courses – as that core group is used as a premarketing tool to disseminate support into the community. But for the average property owner (which outnumber Golf Members 7 to 1) – we are provided information in the form of an almost 2 hour long video. NOBODY has time to watch a 2 hour video to be updated on this stuff. The Board KNOWS that. The Board, in conjunction with the Golf, Long Range Planning and Finance Committees, need to immediately quit playing games – and release a simple few page summary report of what they are going to ask us for, how much it is going to cost, and how they intend to pay for it – instead of playing political games and teasing this thing out.
Telling property owners to watch a 2 hour video, 90% of which is mostly crap that non-golfers don’t care about – instead of putting the basics into a simple written summary – is an insult. Now that people are awake within the community, they are easily seeing through the manipulations. The Board needs to pivot to a more direct, honest, and upfront approach when dealing with property owners, because what they are doing now isn’t working, and I predict their current approach will backfire on them. Treating property owners like children is just increasing the level of frustration within the community.
In closing – I suggest everyone immediately start contacting the Board regarding this Golf Cart Fleet replacement issue. If history repeats itself, they could be days away from approving this excessive and unnecessary expenditure in a closed door session. Spending this much money long before even the lowest end of the replacement cycle is up – deserves some public discussion and explanation. Show up at the Board Meetings this month and express your concerns, ask your questions. AND – you might want to ask the Board why the really interesting parts of the last several Board Meetings – the Q&As at the end – are being deleted from the Board Session Recorded Videos that are presented to property owners. I am told that there is stuff going on in those final 30 – 45 minutes of the sessions that is quite embarrassing to the Board. That being said – Property Owners deserve to see ALL of the Boards interactions with the property owners during these recorded sessions. Selectively censoring what we see and hear is a step down a dangerous path.
Next up in this series….. a lengthy, factual and data rich overview of Big Canoe’s Golf Welfare Program….. where 85% of the Property Owners subsidize 15% of the Property Owners’ Golf habit. We will also analyze several potential solutions to the dilemma we find ourselves in with regards to the Golf Program. And we will look into which aspects of life in Big Canoe, that the 85% favor, are being sacrificed on the altar of the Golf Subsidy. For example, why can’t we afford a decent indoor activity center for the community children; why can’t our Dog Owners (that far outnumber golfers) have a state of the art Dog Park; and why are the Tennis Players not deserving of properly resurfaced courts? The community is actually awash in funds – but the Golf Budget gets the overwhelming lion’s share – often WASTING it on clubhouse and golf extravagances – to the detriment of almost every other community need. We will explore this in great factual detail.
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/FocusonBigCanoeGA/
Also, if you are receiving notice of these articles by email, you are encouraged to forward them to your friends. Too few people still know about these issues. Continuing to sweep them under the rug is not going to solve anything.
I expect a large turnout for the June 13 2019 Board Work Session. Anyone wanting to be part of the solution, has almost a week to prepare their thoughts. Don’t be afraid to bring the tough questions, or to expect real and straightforward answers. Also, anyone is welcome to submit a Letter to the Editor here. I am not guaranteeing I will publish everything, but if I see a well thought out and well presented case for a course of action, or simply a very wise observation, I can’t imagine I wouldn’t print it.
Good luck. Peace,
– david / publisher
themtnsvoice@aol.com < tipline and submissions for letters to editor
