(Please note: The following summary contains some limited editorial comments. I did not have time to figure out a way to separate that material from the background information.)<\/p>\n
The following assumes you have read the two announcements from the POA Board that came out on March 25 and 26 respectively; both having to do with the proposed LiveWell assisted living facility in the club cottages.<\/p>\n
In the March 26 e-mail, the Board suggested that residents who \u201cwished to express their opposition or support for the plan should e-mail the company directly\u201d<\/span>. The problem is that residents probably don’t understand the \u201cplan\u201d; since very little information has been offered to the residents by the Board and none by the company itself.<\/p>\n Hopefully, this will help readers determine what, if any, action they wish to take.<\/p>\n Who and What<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n First, let\u2019s start with the basics. Who is buying the cottages, and what is being proposed? The sum total of what residents have been told by the Board was contained in the January Splinters. It referred to a presentation made by LiveWell company representatives at the “Representatives of LiveWell Care, Inc. described their proposal to provide concierge style eldercare solutions for Governors Club residents and their families. Their preliminary plans would involve the potential purchase of three of the Club Cottages to be utilized in developing a pilot project to provide independent living support services for approximately 4 residents per cottage.<\/span> That limited amount of information was probably not enough to form any opinions. Furthermore, it said that this was in the \u201cformative\u201d stage and strongly implied that more information would be forthcoming. (More on that below.)<\/p>\n In addition, it said that the plan was to be presented to some residents to \u201cassess the desirability of this type of service within the community\u201d<\/span>. If this was actually done, I am not aware of it. To my knowledge, the company has given no indication that any such presentations were made.<\/p>\n The March 26 Board e-mail was the first to provide enough information to allow a little research to be done on the company. Here is the link to this company\u2019s main web site: http:\/\/www.livewellcares.com\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Based on the home page information, operating communal, neighborhood oriented assisted living facilities does not appear to be their primary business. In fact, it appears they operate only one facility, and it happens to be located in Chapel Hill. The fact that they operate only one facility could arguably call into question their overall experience in creating and running such operations.\u00a0 Here is a link to the services provided by the Chapel Hill facility: http:\/\/livewellcarehomes.com\/our-services\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n If you wish to assess the suitability of this type of facility, I suggest reading that page very carefully and imagining how it would work in the proposed location. As to why, please consider one example.<\/p>\n It appears that the existing Chapel Hill facility is centered on dealing with Alzheimer patients; which might lead one to ask whether the cottages offer a suitable environment for that purpose. Those buildings have no gardens, and the back sides abut the golf course or driving range. Therefore, one might legitimately ask where such patients would, for example, take the daily walks described on that page.<\/p>\n Viewed objectively, the parking lot of the country club (essentially a large commercial operation) is hardly a traditional \u201cneighborhood\u201d. And one could legitimately question whether this assisted living operation could ever create a suitable \u201cneighborhood\u201d in this location given the lack of accessible, suitable outdoor areas.<\/p>\n Community Feedback?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As noted above, the limited information in January Splinters implied that more information would be forthcoming. I think I can speculate as to why that impression was conveyed, and I believe this is a very important point.<\/p>\n I was present when the company representatives made their presentation at the January Board meeting. One key statement caught my attention; that being their sentiment that they would not want to locate within a community that did not want them there. In other words, they appeared to desire some sort of \u201cbuy-in\u201d from the community.<\/p>\n I logically assumed that this meant more information would be forthcoming, and I would not be surprised if the Board members had the same impression. I assumed the community would be hearing from the company with further details on their proposal. After all, it\u2019s hard to have an opinion if you don\u2019t have any information.<\/p>\n Therefore, I was very surprised when I heard that they were about to close on the two cottages; and I suspect the Board members were surprised, too. Granted, I don\u2019t have any information on the contracts between LiveWell and the developer, and it is quite possible that they are not irrevocable; in other words, that there are still conditions that need to be met before the company is committed to owning the cottages.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the fact that the company is moving forward without making any effort to talk to the community is disturbing. I heard their message given in the January meeting, and I now tend to question its sincerity and accuracy. On the face of it, this company would appear to have no interest in the views of the community at large. That is probably not the best way to start off a relationship with your neighbors.<\/p>\n At least that is how it appears right now. Perhaps they plan to engage the community in the future. But, if that is the plan, it wouldn\u2019t hurt for the community to know that today.<\/p>\n What to Do<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The Board has suggested that concerned residents write LiveWell directly. The Board members have not indicated what they are doing, but, I suspect they are not ignoring the situation.<\/p>\n So, should you write to this company? That is obviously your decision. I simply wanted to provide a little more information to help readers decide what to do.<\/p>\n As for my view, I have no problem saying that the company\u2019s actions to date have left me feeling very uncomfortable. If they truly meant what they said to the Board in January, they would be engaging the community, providing information and seeking the \u201cbuy-in\u201d which they claimed to want. I don\u2019t see any of that happening. And I plan to write them to express those concerns.\u00a0 Because, absent additional information, I question whether this is a suitable location for such a facility.<\/p>\n If you are not comfortable with this proposal, I believe it would not hurt to write them and say so. Perhaps they meant what they said in the January meeting; in which case community opinions may mean something to them. The contact information given by the Board was as follows:<\/p>\n Zack Fraley: \u00a0\u00a0 zack@livewellcares.com<\/p>\n Please remember that the Board has said that they wish to be copied on anything you send.\u00a0 And, even if you do not wish to write the company, it can’t hurt to let the Board members know how you feel.\u00a0 Our directors need to know the general community sentiment toward this proposal.<\/p>\n Other than writing to express your concerns, it appears we simply have to wait until either the Board or this company decide to provide residents with more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (Please note: The following summary contains some limited editorial comments. I did not have time to figure out a way to separate that material from the background information.) The following assumes you have read the two announcements from the POA … Continue reading
\nJanuary Board meeting and read as follows:<\/p>\n
\nTheir plans are currently in the formative stage and are being presented to the Board and to some community residents to increase awareness and assess the desirability of this type of service within the community.”<\/span><\/p>\n