BUDGET HEARING: NOT ONE, BUT TWO ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM

If you attended the Public Hearing on the 2013-2014 FWMA and Tax District budgets tonight, you saw why I attend very few meetings here at Farmington Woods. The degree of cognitive dissonance in the room was so high I was looking for the thermostat to turn it down. Instead it got me heated up and I ended up spilling my frustration onto the crowd, which wasn’t overflowing, but sizeable.

After hearing our President’s rather lengthy introduction to the meeting tonight we were subjected to the usual mind-numbing review of the budget, department by department courtesy of our new GM. You know the story: This department’s forecasting a loss but hey, they pay rent to the district so it’s a net gain for us. Except when you realize that all the money paid from one department to another comes from one source: us.

One department success story involved the restaurant that is projecting a $22K profit this year versus last year’s $4K net gain. Of course what the power point presentation didn’t highlight is the fact that before unused restaurant minimums, which are assessed from all of us at $30 a month, were factored in there was a loss of $122K. That’s right, because 37% of us choose to forgo the pleasure of the restaurant those unused assessments mean the difference between losing $122K and making $22K. 

How would that scenario ever work in the real world? Really.

Other departments of note included the golf department with this year’s $129K deficit built into the budget (and $50K more to come in January if past history is any) with no mention that the golf department hasn’t had a profitable year in the last ten. There were charts and graphs of fees over the years and fees other condos were paying, but missing was the one that showed that losses for the operating expense of the course were entering their fifth year of plus $100K deficits.

When the comment portion of the meeting commenced people were allowed to ramble far beyond the two minute maximum announced beforehand. There were comments about the overall appearance of Farmington Woods and the fact that while, according to a resident realtor, home prices in Avon in general were rising, Farmington Woods condos were decreasing in value. High condo fees were cited as the reason.

Concerns were voiced about tree removal and other mundane issues but the most contentious topic of the night, the allotment of $5K in a budget of over $6M for a “playscape” and other recreational amenities for youngsters and a basketball court for all ages.

There were actually people who said that although they approved of the budget as a whole and were ready to vote in favor of it, they had changed their minds because of, and I repeat myself intentionally, the expenditure of a measly $5K in a budget of over $6M!

At one point during the budget presentation I had to escape. If there had been a room with paint drying in it, I would have preferred to be there watching it dry as opposed to being where I had been. I left the room and went into the bar area to get some popcorn and take a breather. I sat, ate my popcorn and started to see elephants, even though I hadn’t had a drop to drink besides water!

As I sat there, looking out over a mostly empty dining room and a filled to capacity bar, with golfers enjoying their drinks after a carefree day on the links, I couldn’t help but reflect on the folks upstairs and their concern about the damage that an expenditure of $5K would do to our community. Oh, the maintenance costs. And, oh the increased liability. And, oh the damage that outside kids could do if we constructed such a thing. The rationalizations were mind bending.

It was at that moment that I decided I couldn’t stand in that room full of people, a lot of whom were content to front the golf operation $129K to keep it operating, while making some of the most mean-spirited, selfish comments I have heard coming from supposed adults in my entire adult life.

So if you missed what happened next you missed the reason I write a blog rather than stand on a soap box lecturing. I guess it’s because when I see not one but two elephants in the room and others see nothing, the level of cognitive dissonance reaches critical mass and I can't take it any more.

The experience of witnessing grown human beings looking right through those two huge elephants and focusing only on a mouse, in this case a child, sitting quietly in the back of the room, got my Irish blood boiling.                        

To summarize: 

-subsidizing a group of fewer than 89 resident adults and their pastime with losses to exceed $129K this fiscal year, Check.

-Providing amenities for resident children, of which there are in excess of 80, at a cost of $5K, Not Prudent.

To be frank, not only do I now see two very large elephants taking up most of the room eating everything in sight, I smell a red herring in all of this. I smell discrimination. I smell selfishness. I smell the ghost of the miser himself, Mr. Scrooge. It’s not his season, but he’s happy to share his misery any chance he gets.

As one mom asked, why should I have to drive my child outside of this community to access recreational activities? Answer, according to the grinches is “take them elsewhere or move.” I wonder if we presented that same deal to the 80 of so resident golfers what their reaction would be?

I wonder if we told them we weren’t going to subsidize their losses for the fifth year in a row and that as a result they would have to play golf at one of the many area courses within five miles of Farmington Woods because we just couldn’t afford to support them any longer, what their reaction would be.

Might be a nice reality check.

By the way, those two elephants are still there. If you can’t see them, you could be in the throes of a severe case of cognitive dissonance.  Better get help.

20,000 PAGEVIEWS: SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN

Nothing like a little controversy to bump up the numbers: hitting 20,000 page views shows that things are heating up around here and it's not just the late arrival of spring that's responsible. 

When you draft a budget with projected losses of :

-$130K for golf (usually increased by the following January) 
-$60K for golf infrastructure, including new irrigation and another cartpath 
-$60K for a new clubhouse roof 

THAT INCLUDES:

-$1.1M in salaries for these two money losing operations

AND

-post a "profit" of $22.5K for the restaurant courtesy of "restaurant common fees" (otherwise known as unused monthly minimums) of $145K out of $390K residents contribute in restaurant assessments in this and every fiscal year,

it's hard not to get upset when a line item for a measly $5K, chiseled down from $15K, for a playscape and a basketball hoop cause ageing males to play Kojak with resident children on bikes and flyers to be passed around, anonymously and unbelievably "person to person", that show nothing short of contempt for the children of Farmington Woods and their parents.

"They will move on" say the detractors, as if they themselves, won't be moving on anytime soon. It's not easy getting old, I ought to know.  But to me children represent light, life, laughter and vitality. I'm sorry some folks see them only as an irritant.

I just hope this is not the "way of life" that our newly elected President wants to "preserve" as stated in her profile statement from last fall's campaign: continued deficit spending on the golf and clubhouse operations, with a penny-pinching, Scrooge-like approach to the needs of those who will inherit the future and the loving parents who will guide them there.

MARCH BOARD MEETING: STATUS QUO NOT GOING OUT LIKE A LAMB

This month’s report is rather long so I’ll keep my comments short and to the point, not an easy task for me as some already know.

As usual I think I’ll start with a short history lesson, this time involving golf and how it’s funded. Contrary to what many would have you believe, when we purchased here in 1999 we were told that the course was self-funded. While that may have been true until about 2005, things changed drastically that year.

Around that time golf started losing money on an annual basis. At first this was covered by profits from earlier years. But by 2009 things got so bad that a committee was formed to address the problem.

After reviewing all possible uses for the course and admitting that it was now losing money and membership on an annual basis, the Ad Hoc Select Committee to Study Golf, a group made up entirely of golfers came to the conclusion that for the time being residents were going to have to make up for any shortfalls encountered by the golf operation.

They also stated that this temporary fix should be evaluated yearly to measure progress in both increasing membership and stemming the tide of the losses. Supposedly that approach has been taken every year since 2009. That makes five years now that residents have openly been supporting the course.

Something else happened in 2005. The 20 year bond floated in 1985 to purchase the course was due to be paid off leaving us with about $100K to use on other things. And we did. That year $75K was used to replace the pump house that serviced some of the course. That didn’t sit well with some residents and a minor battle ensued. The district won in the end.

Then, as we all know, last year a plan was announced to bond $4M dollars, again over twenty years for course infrastructure and clubhouse improvements, including an elevator and a much needed horseshoe bar. That boondoggle was voted down by an overwhelming 2-1 majority in May of 2012.

And yet here we are in 2013, five years after the “select” committee announced that residents were now responsible for golf operating shortfalls, a decision that was to be reviewed annually, while the tax district funds the very improvements to the course that residents rejected almost a year ago. 

It’s part of the 10 Year Stategic Plan that was produced after a series of Focus Groups showed that residents' number one concern in 2011 was that the course be self-sustaining. Now that's responsive government!

This was supposed to be short and I would end it here, but now there’s a new twist. Last year, a small group, known as the Mom’s of Farmington Woods was formed. They had the idea that since so many young families were moving here for all kinds of good reasons the demographics might now call for a playscape to be built for the 80 or so children now residing here. After all, 89 residents have a golf course of their own.

That turned out to be a big mistake. When you read the following report you will see that not much changes at Farmington Woods. Fees can go up, taxes can increase and golf can lose all the money it wants, but if a group from a new demographic requests a pittance, say $5K to build a playscape, well they have declared war on the powers that be here.

I’ve gone on long enough with this and the story just disgusts me, but apparently some individual or group of individuals thought it would be fun to pass out flyers anonymously that showed their contempt and downright animosity for the parents and children of Farmington Woods. Since I’ve gone on long enough, if you want to see the flyer and get a different slant on how this is playing out you need to visit a blog I recently discovered at http://livinginfarmingtonwoods.blogspot.com/.

Some philosopher, I believe it was Machiavelli was fond of saying “It is not enough that I succeed, you must fail.” I think we have a small group of people at Farmington Woods who are not happy taking from residents to support their lifestyle, they want residents to suffer as well.

To them I can only say be careful. As a student of history I recall a lawsuit being filed a few years ago that involved Farmington Woods barring children from some of the pools. I remember the outcome of that. I'm not sure that the aforementioned group does.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT HERE, MOVE


March's minutes give us a look at how some residents of Farmington Woods view children and it's not pretty.

At the pre-meeting question and answer session, half a dozen individuals spoke out against the proposed playscape for children. One resident stated that the majority of children at Farmington Woods belong to parents who are renters or young starter families that have no intention of staying here anyway, so why make such an investment? She told the audience that just five minutes outside our gate are plenty of places for kids to play, so she didn’t want it in her back yard or funded with her dime.

Another resident feared that the maintenance and liability of such an investment would only hurt Farmington Woods as a community. She was extremely concerned about maintenance costs of the playscape, stating that we can’t currently maintain the green area next to her house on Eagles Glen.

Either way, the overwhelming feeling in the room that night was that playscapes for kids did not belong in Farmington Woods; the general manager smiled and nodded as each resident spoke out against it.

Interestingly, this is a $5K line item in the budget, the same amount added to the golf club’s already six figure budgeted deficit. The irony contained in the fact that the playscape screamed investment while the golf course cried loser was lost on this crowd.

(Mom’s, you need representation at these meetings; it appears you are being hoodwinked by our GM. His job is to say yes to you but his alliance is to the board that hired him. And although we do have new members, five of the old guard still reside on the board and block every effort for change that new members bring forward. This is evidenced by the budget information two paragraphs down.)

One very brave resident named Lou stood up with a series of questions but was only allowed to ask a couple. So he chose wisely and asked, “Why are we still investing in an irrigation system when it was overwhelming voted down last year?” No real response for him other than to tell him his time was up. He was told he could ask the question at the end of the meeting.

By the way Lou, you’re right,  not only was the irrigation system voted down, so was the 10 Year Strategic Plan and yet it seems like we are on course to squeeze it through somehow, by any means possible. Get ready for the elevator ride next. And the return of the horseshoe bar!

It was reported that the clubhouse has plans for some improvements of its own. Clubhouse locker rooms will be updated for 89 resident golfers while 80 resident children will just have to wait for their playscape, or move. 

The budget was the big ticket item and 4 board members voiced strong opposition to it. One member insisted that her comments go on record. Another talked about all the empty units in her area because of high fees and fixed incomes. Her point was affordability.

Despite the resistance, the budget passed 5 to 4 with the additional $5K allocation to the golf course’s projected loss for the next fiscal year, for a total of about $129K of resident funds going to a once self-sustaining golf operation. This has been going on for years now.

Yes, our budget was calculated to accommodate a loss to a project that was voted down. And you should expect the loss to be higher by the time this budget is all said and done. The MA’s budget is projected at $4,386,130.00, an increase of $120,648.00 for a 2.83% increase while the FWD budget projection is $1,928,275.00 an increase of $99,729.00, a 5.45% increase! The proposed budget packet should be coming in the mail soon.

We were once again told the tale that we have NEVER had a special assessment at Farmington Woods but that is categorically untrue. There has been a monthly assessment in place since 1998, delivered to us by folks who were tired of paying restaurant minimums and decided to spread the burden of the restaurant around to all residents, not just golfers. These are minimums that 43% of us don’t use but must pay regardless.

One resident mumbled in disgust, “we get nothing for it” which led to another rather rude resident blithely responding with “just move!” I guess she thought she had come up with the perfect solution to the problem. But can you imagine if all of those who disliked paying the minimum just moved? 43% of all Farmington Wood’s units would be empty.

Irene Lorretto countered by saying that many area condo’s had a special assessment for snow removal during the last blizzard and we are lucky because we didn’t. We also didn’t have snow removal for three days so many residents shoveled out their own driveways. Should we be pass that assessment on to the MA?

Margaret Darby gave a power point presentation on her idea to make golf profitable. She calls it the Platinum Program, kind of like the American Airlines rewards program. The idea came to her while she was on vacation watching airplanes fly overhead. I'm assuming it was an American Airlines plane.

The plan goes as follows. Basically, if you play golf here for 10 years, you would have a fixed annual rate for golf for the rest of your life. It would include bag and golf cart fees with average annual membership of $3,500 for single and $5,500 for a family.

She says there’s already interest in the program and some residents have signed up. It’s also open to non-residents. The program is designed to retain our long time golfers with some kind of reward.

Not quite sure how that’s going to attract new members, but I guess it’s a good deal for those who already have a good deal here at Farmington Woods. Ah yes, life is good.

As the meeting ended, they thanked us for coming and announced that a budget meeting was about to take place. Apparently they were going to tweak the numbers before the packets went out to residents. Expect change.

There is hearing scheduled April 18^th to discuss the District Budget in the North Lounge of the Clubhouse. If you care how your taxes are being spent, you should attend.