My summary of today’s Board meeting may not be posted for five or six days. In the meantime, I want to post this interim note for anybody interested in the upcoming road reconstruction project. Please read this information very carefully. That is a plea. I have condensed this as much as possible, and I am concerned that skimming it will cause important points to be missed.
Cost estimates for the project were discussed in some detail at today’s meeting, but no numbers have formally been made public. The Board has scheduled a community meeting on Tuesday, March 26th at 7:00 PM at the clubhouse; at which time they will present the latest information, numbers and financing options.
If you are interested at all in this project, you should do your best to attend this meeting.
Most importantly, the Board is looking for feedback at this meeting. From what I can tell, they intend to make decisions the following day which may, in part, be based on what they hear from the community at the meeting. You may not have a chance to express your views in writing unless your e-mail goes out before the Board meets again on Wednesday afternoon.
At the Wednesday meeting, it appears the Board may make decisions related to the financing of the project (discussed further below). Therefore, if you think you might have something to say on this issue, the community meeting might be your best opportunity.
Although some numbers were discussed at today’s meeting, I am not comfortable relaying that specific information here. Before you get upset with me, please consider my reasons; and then consider the important general information I have provided below (which will help you see the importance of this upcoming meeting).
First, the reasons:
- The numbers are still fluid and may change before the Tuesday meeting. Therefore, any specific numbers I provide here may confuse the issue when you attend that meeting.
- Understanding the numbers requires a detailed explanation of numerous issues which were only superficially discussed in today’s meeting. Given that, I do not feel I can provide an adequate explanation here.
- The Board members should present this information; not me. They have been working on this project, and they deserve the opportunity to present the information as they see fit.
However, it is important to explain why this meeting is worth attending.
It appears that reconstructing the entire road as a single project will cost substantially in excess of the $2.0 million figure which, to date, has been used as a guideline. Therefore, it will require a special assessment, borrowing money or a combination of the two. Several different possibilities were discussed today, and the Board wishes to present these options at the community meeting.
In addition, they will present options having to do with possible alternative access during the time period when the road to the front gate is completely closed.
And, most importantly, the Board wants feedback from the community on all these options.
That is why you may want to attend this upcoming meeting.
(Editorial comment: After listening to their discussion, it did not appear to me to be a dire situation. Yes, the numbers are not exactly as expected, but I can’t see any reason to fault anybody on the Board for that. This is a complicated project and, unlike new construction, not something where costs could be easily estimated. Roy Thornton appears to be doing an excellent job of thinking through all related issues to ensure the least disruption to all our lives, and the Board appears to be thoroughly considering all aspects of the project with our best interests in mind.
From what I heard today, it appears to me that there are viable options available that would allow this important project to go forward. I’d encourage anybody to come to the meeting with an open mind and consider these options.)
Thanks for your patience with this. I’ll post the rest of the meeting summary as soon as I can.