PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE CONT. | DAVID WILKS
Throughout this process, we did our best to keep you abreast of developments to the extent that information was available. In response, we heard from you. We listened to you and considered all your criticisms, suggestions and encouragements alike. We challenged our own assumptions over and over and we thought through all the risks. Why did we do all that? Because that is what the Club’s leadership since at least 2008 expected us to do when the irrigation system was at its end (which is now). It was incumbent upon current leadership to see this endeavor through and to avoid investigating it would have been negligent. I personally do not have a dog in this fight and neither does a single member of the Board. As others have pointed out, I don’t even play all that much golf. Same with a number of Board members. We pursued this undertaking, because we thought it would be in the Club’s best long-term interest. So, why did we table it? For the reason that I mentioned in my message in the October Bulletin. Because we are, first and above all, a club. We are a community. This is a place for us to come and enjoy ourselves and each other. In the sometimes-heated rhetoric and unfounded rumors that accompanied this investigation, we started losing some of that. And, in our view, no project is worth that. The outcome, therefore, is that late next year we will commence a replacement of the irrigation system across our entire 320 acres, including both golf courses, the racquets facility, entrance drive, clubhouse and everything else. Some have suggested that other clubs have bought irrigation systems that cost a fraction of $11 million. Please rest assured that none of them have the scope and complexity of our system. The work will be staged and begin on the South Course, which of course is closed in the winter months. The project will take 12-15 months to complete. Our funding committee worked hard to model a number of solutions and settled on one that finances the project with debt to be repaid through capital dues and a contribution from new stock purchases. Interest will be paid primarily from our operating budget. The goal is to have the debt retired within five years. Capital dues devoted to this project will increase on January 1 by about $1,000 per year for a senior member and approximately $1,800 per year for a family of four. Contributions in future years may vary a bit, depending on a variety of factors. No one will be happy about having to pay for this, but it is a capital expense that cannot be avoided any longer. An important side note: most of the opposition to the North Course project focused on the fact that we have 10% fewer senior members than we had ten years ago. Why is that the case? The local economic picture contributes, but there are other factors at play also. We cannot do anything about the former, but the Membership Development Committee is addressing the latter. Please give them a hand in their work, since their success will benefit all of us. And please bear in mind that the issue is not at all insurmountable: if only 10% of our senior members would propose just one new member, we would be at what most feel is full capacity. If our membership rolls convinced us to forego an important project, let’s all pitch in and do our part.
And if in the future the Club feels that a North Course renovation would be timely, we have a beautiful set of drawings to work from. Until then, we will take care of the necessities and we will celebrate our 125th year as a community of friends.
David Wilks
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