Capital Improvements and Maintenance
Thank you to all my neighbors who have joined the dialogue on this important topic. And thank you in advance to those voting members who remain in good standing and plan to vote on the upcoming, and or any variation that may arise, $21 million loan and assessments. Your vote is so important. Please take the time to consider all of the information and what makes sense to you. Talk to others. Attend or view the replays of one or both Open Sessions, review past Open Sessions and Club Governance documents as needed.
These are important decisions that require us to carefully consider “how”, and “why now.”
Some would still like to argue what and why, and I respect that, I am simply sharing my personal perspective in this forum.
I like each of the projects proposed. I was especially pleasantly surprised by the golf plan, and to learn that questions and suggestions I had brought forward in an earlier open member session (March 2022 I believe) had been incorporated.
Where I remain unconvinced is that our club, or better “we”, who have not retired all our debt, “have no remaining hard asset collateral against which to borrow“, should make our personal selves the collateral for this sized loan — during a time of highest interest rates in years, hovering/pending/actual (pick your adjective) recession, based on somewhat insubstantial data (example - charts on YOY home sales in Haig Point represent a very small number of homes that range significantly in price, yet we regularly use “average” as a metric and can‘t throw out the outliers because we would no longer have enough data points. Said differently, one 2.9M home sale to an existing Haig Point homeowner skews the data in a year significantly.)
After digesting the information provided in Club communications, Monday’s Open Member Session, the member website and conversations with other members (including some I am meeting for the first time) I am increasingly convinced that the proposed financing plan is not the right option for these projects. Capital projects have been bundled with maintenance projects based on a premise that maintenance is overdue or was neglected. That is not a proper justification nor manner in which to raise or allocate funds In my opinion.
We must bring forward new options for timing and funding.
Thank you to the outgoing board for presenting all of the projects in a way that garnered the attention of a large majority of members. You had to compete with the most beautiful surroundings and extraordinary amenities for our attention, and you succeeded! We are listening. Thank you in advance to the incoming board for the likely time you will spend on options b and c.
The committee plans are impressive. This process and their proposals have motivated me more than ever to join a committee (if they will have me) to increase my contribution to this wonderful community.
Please call, text or email me if interested in discussing. Evenings are best.
Elizabeth W Stone
404-272-7984
I love these ideas. Also (and before the naysayers rip my suggestions apart, consider them a baseline to improve upon) what about the following:
Occasional special offers with golf clubs located within a certain mile radius - for a group of golfers to visit for a Haig Point weekend. Here is an example I will base on my primary residence:
Atlanta is 4 1/2 hours' drive to Embarkation (if you time it right.) No beach. Limited access to the Chattahoochee River. These folks crave water! So, though they have their home golf course, the combo of water + beach..is a draw.
Private golf clubs generally host Member|Member and Member|Guest tournaments. Would a nearby club also be interested in creating a club sponsored weekend golf trip to Haig Point (number limited to however many foursomes you tell me -- my "golf math" needs work) and ....just for fun, the winning pair(s) of one or both of the above-mentioned tournaments have their golf and lodging (mansion/lighthouse/rental homes) paid for. (So this "comp" is like the cost of advertising.) The rest get a "special" package rate - but they do pay. Should be well above a break-even for the club and should also be at a peak time when the club is at its most desirable for someone to say "hey I'd like to buy a membership and house here."
This could be men's group, women, couples, families, junior golf program (parent+child). Lots of combinations. The hotel formula is to always get the "couple" there...so something to think about too.
The idea here is: Immediate revenue generation through some additional non-member golf, AND marketing to potential homebuyers through low-cost advertising (I've been seeing a lot of Charlotte, Atlanta, and drivable locations on the photos by the General Store lately), without disruption by overrunning dining or greens to the exclusion of members (i.e., not a private/closed event.)
If this resonates with the Golf and Marketing Committees, I'd be happy to float with some Atlanta club members to see if there is an appetite and brainstorm the mechanics, or provide contact information to the Committees if preferred.