WE MADE THE NEWS AGAIN?

from ctwatchdog.com

Farmington Woods Condo Budget Battle: Golfers Versus Non Golfers

April 19, 2012

By George Gombossy

A divisive battle is taking place at the giant Farmington Woods Condo complex in Avon where a minority of the golfers want the whole complex to pay millions of dollars to install a new irrigation system owned by the tax district, which represents the complex.

The following is written by Lee Lagasse is Chairman of FW Resident for Fiscal Responsibility and blogs about this issue at www.farmingtonwoodsinsider.blogspot.com.

As a non-golfer and as someone who believes that private golf courses have no way to go but downhill, he opposed having his district taxes increased by 18 percent for the benefit of golfers. He thinks there are many other maintenance priorities that the money should be used for. He is including photos of that in this article.
Others who feel differently are welcome to state their views at CtWatchdog.
Whether you live at Farmington Woods or in any condo, or considering buying a condo, you need to read this to know what kinds of issues you might face.

By Lee Lagasse

On May 10th Farmington Woods Condominium residents in Avon, CT will vote on two separate bond proposals which, if passed, will increase yearly district taxes by 18% or an average of nearly $500 per unit.


As it is, residents here are overburdened by town taxes, condominium fees, the aforementioned district taxes and a $30.00 monthly restaurant minimum. And if opening your yearly property tax bill causes your eye to twitch and your hands to tremble, consider that for residents here town property taxes amount to just one third of their total tax liability.


The proposed bonds, totaling $6.8M with interest, are for the purposes of installing a new irrigation system for a failing golf course located on the property and making improvements to the money losing clubhouse including an elevator, redesigned entranceway and a horseshoe bar for the restaurant.


Originally bundled together and presented at informational meetings in early February with a scheduled vote in March, residents were able to convince the board at a Public Hearing to delay the vote until May 10th and unbundle the two bonds so that they could be voted on separately. 


The board is facing some unusually stiff opposition from this normally laissez faire community in the hills of Avon, but as has been the case in the past, they think they have the votes to win. They have said so publicly. But this time the outcome could be different.

THERE ARE TOWNS AND THEN THERE ARE “TOWNS”

If Farmington Woods was a town, its population of roughly 2000 residents would outnumber 10 towns on the list of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities. But it isn’t a town, it’s a condominium community with 1,084 homes spread over 375 acres of what used to be apple orchards and two “real” towns, Avon and Farmington. It may not be a town as such, but it does have two forms of government: a condominium association and a tax district.
Unlike those 10 smaller towns on the list it doesn’t have an elementary school, a senior center, a library or parks with statues of Revolutionary War heroes. There wouldn’t be funds available for those things even if residents wanted them. There is, however, an enterprise at Farmington Woods that is never without necessary funding, even in years when membership is waning, and that’s the golf course that winds through the hills and valleys surrounding the units.

The course has been running in the red for the past six years. Between golf operations and the adjoining clubhouse, losses have totaled more than $1.3M over the last six years but both enterprises have been sustained by condo fees and district taxes for operational and capital improvements respectively, since about 2005.

Ironically, 2005 was to be the year that the twenty year, million dollar bond that funded the purchase of the course in the 80’s would finally be paid off. At a cost of $100K per year over the twenty year bond period, residents were looking forward to spending the money on other capital improvements such as sidewalks and upgrades to community property including among other things a small fitness center at the clubhouse

Unfortunately, the tax district had other ideas for the money: providing $68,000 to replace sand traps, improve irrigation and remove trees on the golf course. When a resident group brought up the fact that $20K had already been spent for a new bathroom on the 14th tee, the board countered by saying that the bathroom funds had been approved in the previous budget and were therefore not part of the this particular discussion. End of story. Two years later a moratorium was placed on building new sidewalks.
How is it that the needs of a community of close to 2000 individuals get overshadowed by those of a relatively small special interest group? And why does the condo board have the power to use resident fees and taxes to subsidize a golf club operation with resident membership of 89? To understand you have to familiarize yourself with the political and cultural makeup of this small “town”.

READ ON HERE:  http://ctwatchdog.com/finance/farmington-woods-condo-budget-battle-golfers-versus-non-golfers

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

I waited patiently to give my input at the budget meeting last night and by the time I got to stand in front of the microphone a lot of tired people had left and the rest of the tired people's eyes looked pretty glazed over. The meeting lasted more than an hour and a half and several people were so incensed that they had spoken two or three times before I got up to speak. So if you were one of those who left early or one of those that wish they had, here's what I had to say. It's a true story.

Clubhouse North Lounge, April 19, 2012

I can vividly remember being in this room almost seven years ago waiting to vote on a controversial tax district budget that contained $68K for capital improvements to the golf course. The year was 2005 and the twenty year bond that was taken out in 1985 to buy the golf course was about to be paid off, leaving us, we thought with extra money to use for upgrades to the common areas, like new sidewalks and  perhaps even a fitness center in the clubhouse.

Actually when I first moved to FW 13 years ago sidewalk was a dirty word and I don’t mean because people spit on them or dropped their gum there. A lot of residents here didn’t want sidewalks constructed and if you said something about it they would tell you that if you wanted to walk you should join the golf course. I guess they were recruiting members in those days too.

As it turned out, instead of the $100K being made available in 2005 for uses that benefit the entire community, the board chose to spend at least some of the money on the shining jewel of Farmington Woods: the golf course. There was quite a backlash to this. A group was formed that passed out flyers urging us to vote NO and on the night of the budget vote this room was packed.

But alas, the energy put forth by the opposition to the budget was for naught and it passed anyway. Rumor was that the golfers had their friends sign a pledge to vote for the budget. That seemed too preposterous to be true, but it was never determined whether it was or wasn’t.

Now we’re sitting here seven years later talking about budgets again and the conversation is still about the golf course and the club house and how far in the red they will be this year.  An ad-hoc committee was formed in 2009 to study the golf situation and come up with alternatives, if any. The report revealed a couple of things and came to one particular conclusion: first, that golf both here and most other places locally were in trouble. Membership was falling. Now we know it’s a worldwide problem according KPMG.

The other thing they decided was that the course was a benefit to all FW residents and as an amenity like pools and tennis courts should be supported by them whenever membership numbers were too low for them to support themselves. There are currently 89 resident golfers. We probably should thank them for their financial support; but they might want to think about thanking us for supporting their recreational endeavors.

In the end the committee came to the conclusion that until golf operations could pay for themselves the community should use condo fees and district taxes to help support the course whenever a shortfall occurred. Because the problem wasn’t going away any time soon they were emphatic that the problem and possible solutions should be addressed yearly to be certain we were headed in the right direction.

It’s 2012, we’ve had three budgets since that report was written and we’re reviewing our options, one of which is to float bonds that if both pass, would keep us indebted for another 20 year period. (I call it a 20 year “debt sentence”.)The golf course and clubhouse are still losing money, but we are asked to believe that if we just spend more, things will get better. It’s not gonna happen.

I talked to the owner of an area landscape company yesterday who is very familiar with the golf business; his father ran Farmington Country Club and he himself worked in the golf industry for 15 years.

Bottom line, according to him: private golf clubs are in a death spiral in this area. Farmington Country Club has 190 members and courses have declared bankruptcy in New London (which ironically enough floated a $4M bond for improvements a year before they went under), Bloomfield, and in Woodbridge there were two.

The town of Woodbridge bought Woodbridge CC in 2009 to keep developers from building track homes and overwhelming their school system. But now they’re trying to trim $2M off the $7M they financed so that ironically enough they will have funds to make improvements to their schools and the police department. They have Billy Casper Golf running the operation; using golfing fees over the last three years they have so far only managed to pay off the dept service.

Do you really believe that a small government entity, whether a condo association or a tax district can run a golf operation efficiently enough in these economic times to break even without coming back to the well every year for more and every 20 years for even more? According to my sources in the golf industry that’s called “free money” and it’s too tempting to pass up.

If you really want this to continue, it’s also a free country, VOTE YES.  I plan to vote against the bonds and the budgets, but if your side wins, I believe in democracy and I guess myself and others that think like me will just have to suck it up and go along for the ride. 

WHAT A MEETING!

So the finance chair, the board president and the general manager all say we have no right to know what salaries the people running this place are pulling down, but they can't direct us to the written policy for this. And it's not their fault that FW bought the course in 1985 and it's now failing. To be honest its not fair to fault them for what happened in the past, but it is now their responsibility to make it profitable. I'd like to see that happen but I'm highly doubtful it will. They've had the last seven years to do it and haven't been successful. Golf is in trouble world wide and in Connecticut four courses that I know of have filed for bankruptcy in the last year or two: New London CC (not long after borrowing $4M for improvements. Sound familiar?), Tumble Brook in Bloomfield, Woodbridge and Oak Lane CC in Woodbridge.

In prosperous times golf flourishes, but in this economy people have neither the time nor the money for it and when they do they don't want to be stuck playing on the same course every weekend. Farmington Woods may be a challenging course, but it isn't suited for the "grip and rip" crowd thereby reducing its potential member base. Ask a resident golfer who doesn't golf here why he doesn't. They all have their own personal reason for playing elsewhere and more than a few of them are not happy paying for a golf course they don't use. And there are plenty of courses to choose from.

TIME TO VOICE YOUR OPINION

It's time to let the folks in charge know how we feel about the new budget which contains more pork (no pun intended) for the clubhouse and golf operation:

Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 7pm

Public Hearing
2012-2013 Proposed Budgets for Master Association & Tax District

Let's get the budgets under control. We can do this.

EVERY 20 YEAR BOND OR SO WE MAKE THE NEWS

CTnow  
link to video:
http://shar.es/r5FZa

Farmington Woods Residents Consider Proposals To Improve Golf Course, Clubhouse

By BEAU BERMAN, FoxCT
The Hartford Courant
7:20 PM EDT, April 11, 2012


FARMINGTON — A battle is brewing at the Farmington Woods codominium complex as its residents are being asked to approve plans to make improvements to the community's golf course and clubhouse.

The complex's residents have long enjoyed a golf course and next-door clubhouse in their community, but the course's failing sprinkler system needs to be replaced and the clubhouse could use an update. So the condo association's board of directors is proposing borrowing a total of $4 million — $2 million for the course improvements and $2 million for the clubhouse renovation.


Over the 20-year life of the bonds, the complex would pay a projected $2.8 million in interest, bringing the total cost of the work to $6.8 million. The vote on the two proposals is scheduled for May 10.


Straddling the Farmington-Avon border, Farmington Woods is home to nearly 2,000 people, but fewer than 200 of them actually play golf. That's the argument some residents are making against the proposals that would fix the course and clubhouse and would increase the costs of living in the community. "I feel like they're asking us to bail out a losing business," said Amanda Barboza, a Farmington Woods resident.

Barboza is representative of the complex's changing demographic — young families who live here not for golf or the clubhouse — which have lost a combined $1.3 million over the past six years.
"The majority of us aren't golfers. I'm in Avon because my son is 2. I want him to go to Avon schools."


After the condo board announced the proposals at a December meeting, condo owner Lee Lagasse was upset. He started a blog to engage residents ahead of the May vote. "It's not making money and it's been losing money and they want the citizens to pick up the tab," he said. "It's just not right," Lagasse said.


But board President Irene Loretto, who has lived in Farmington Woods since 1975, sees it differently. "The golf course is very important to the community because it does enhance our property values," said Loretto, who fears that the course will fail and owners will sell their condos if the bonds are not approved.


Lagasse pointed to other failed or struggling courses in Woodbridge, New London and elsewhere. "What's going to ruin your property value is a golf course that's bleeding money and high condominium fees, which we have."

FOCUS GROUP INSIDER'S REPORT

So the focus groups were held last year to decide what residents wanted to include in a 10 Year Strategic Plan for FW.  Sounds like a great idea until you realize that focus groups don't always focus on the people they're supposed to be focusing on. (The Ford Focus got it's name from a focus group which had grown bored and impatient and the irony of this was not picked up by the marketing team.)

Back in April 2011 I attended the District One Focus meeting for the Strategic
Needs Long Range Plan. There were approximately 8 or 9 owners. Some suggestions
were a bypass lane at the Guard-House; Residential roofing and painting; a physical
fitness work-out area, a reading/library area, and minor improvements at the Clubhouse.

The most dominating suggestion was made by a gentleman who spoke at length and with thorough knowledge of the present Golf Irrigation System and the need to rebuild it. It appeared to be prearranged.

Then on February 8_, 2012, I attended an informational meeting on an appointed Priority List which was # 1 A NEW GOLF IRRIGATION SYSTEM, # 2 CLUBHOUSE ELEVATOR/NEW DRIVE-UP ENTRANCE, proceeding with new golf equipment, district buildings, roads, and # 6 on the list was our Residential Buildings.

May I point out that in the Proposed Budget 2011-2012, only $401,400 was
allotted for Buildings Maintenance & Repairs compared to a combined $1,118,908 for
Restaurant & Golf Staff Expenses.

On February 21,2012, I attended the Public Hearing where I heard mostly
negative remarks for the Golf Irrigation & Clubhouse Changes. I asked a week later for
minutes of the Hearing and was told there were no typed minutes, but I could pick-up a
audio disc of the meeting, which I did.

From the audio disc of the Public Hearing approximately only 10% to 15% either
mentioned or had favorable remarks of either of the two Bond Proposals.

Our Residential and other buildings, plus roads and paved areas should come
before a GOLF and RESTAURANT BUSINESS, and I hope the silent majority of
owners/residents VOTE NO on May 10^th against both PROJECT PROPOSALS.

Joseph N.Caggiano
7 Crocus Lane

A TALE OF TWO LETTERS

If you've ever written a letter to the editor to your local newspaper you know that it gets edited before it gets printed for everything from improper word usage to just plain too many words. They usually attempt to leave the spirit of your letter intact, however.

The following two letters, the one submitted and the one printed in "In The Woods" are from the same person obviously. This person had some strong feelings about the bonds proposed by the FW Tax District. See if you can tell if the spirit of the letter was left intact in this case. Everything in red was removed from the letter before it was printed. The printed letter follows this one.

From: Richard Coffey, 23 Cottonwood Drive

To: Farmington Woods “In the Woods”

• I write regarding the proposed $4 million borrowing by the District in order to upgrade the golf course and club house. I am strongly opposed to the proposal for several reasons:
   
• I can’t imagine any project for borrowing such a vast sum of money to be less worthy than one that has to do with leisure time and recreation.  There are other more pressing needs.

• Already the golf course has become a debt to the non-club member homeowners, and that is egregious enough.  The golf course and the club must become self-supporting by those who make use of the facilities.  If that is not possible, I recommend the closing of the course, with the land become meadow or wild-flower beds, and the closing of the club house (thus relieving all home-owners of the perpetually frustrating monthly charge no matter how little one makes use of the restaurant, if at all).

• Eliminating the course and the golf club would reduce Farmington Woods expenses far and wide, including staff, maintenance, utility consumption, excessive traffic, and wear and tear on the property.

• The present club house could be put to much better use by the 1100 home-owners by creating a fully equipped health/workout center and a well-stocked store for the purchase of food items, toiletries, supplies, and other of life’s daily needs.  The facility could still be available for renting on a per-use basis.

January 21, 2012

   

Sir,

I am opposed to this proposal for several reasons:

• There are other more pressing needs than those dealingwith leisure time and recreation.

• The golf course is already a debt to the non-club memberhomeowners. The golf course and the club must become
  self-supporting by those who make use of the facilities.
  If that is not possible, I recommend closing the course,
  allowing the land to become meadow or wild-flower
  beds, and closing the restaurant, relieving home-owners
  of the monthly charge.

• Eliminating the course and the golf club would reduceFarmington Woods expenses far and wide, including staff,
  maintenance, utility consumption, excessive traffic, and
  wear and tear on the property.

• The present clubhouse could be put to different use bythe homeowners; for example, a fully equipped health/workout
  center and/or a convenience store. The facility
  could still be available for renting on a per-use basis.

Richard Coffey, 23 Cottonwood Drive

Kinda makes you want to sit down and write a letter to the editor, doesn't it?



Comments? You're welcome to email me at 2chewman@gmail.com.