MAYDAY, MAYDAY, LAST CHANCE TO SPEAK UP

I hate to move Kay's letter even an inch down the page because of it's importance and relevance to this whole matter. But besides the bond vote on Thursday May 10th, tomorrow, May 1st ranks only behind the actual budget vote on May 17 as the most important date on the calendar this year at FW. We need to show up and let the board know how we feel about an 18% tax increase.


In the meantime I want to thank the "snowbirds" for doing their part to keep the whole process as democratic as possible. When these folks found out that the vote was originally scheduled for March, they sent a blizzard of emails north to leaders here who had no choice but to relent and reschedule for this month.


And it doesn't matter to me which way they plan to vote. I thanks them for their efforts.


As for me, I've been trying to do my part to educate anyone and everyone who would read or listen. It's what I do. I'm a retired teacher and that part of me will never die. 


This whole process has been about keeping people informed so that they can vote as informed voters, not be left in the dark subject to propaganda.


We need change at Farmington Woods. The golf course has the potential to be a wonderful asset to the entire community. But it won't be as long as a large group of residents resent funding something they are told they own, but don't get to use unless they pay thousands to do so. Unfortunately, we own a losing enterprise and we're all paying for it whether we play here or not.

AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL RESIDENTS OF FARMINGTON WOODS

I'll be honest. For sometime now I've had a theory that there's been a plan in place since the Ad-Hoc Select Committee to Study Golf announced in 2009 that despite the fact that the Farmington Woods Golf Club had lost money five out of the previous six years, residents would have to make up any shortages incurred by the golf/clubhouse operation when membership could not sustain it. They put forth the rationale that the course, like the pools, tennis courts and sidewalks for that matter, was an amenity that benefited all residents. 

That logic falls short with me, since we pay for pools, tennis courts and sidewalks with district taxes and condo fees. The Golf Club is not an amenity given the fact that residents have to shell out thousands to be members. The only "benefit" we get from these operations as "members" is that we get the privilege of paying $360. per year in what I call "Taximums" to a restaurant that still can't make a profit.

Anyway, this letter from Kay Olsen is the missing piece of my theory. The next step in the aforementioned plan was to hold focus groups, put a few golfers in here and there and voila: Instead of results being reported as "Residents overwhelmingly want golf to be self-supporting" we get an investment offer in January, with plans to rush through a vote in March so that you and I could start to receive the benefits of a state of the art irrigation system and horse shoe bar for the clubhouse by summer I guess. All for the low, low price of a what I like to call a "20 year debt sentence" in the form of a $4M bonding proposal. You spoke, they listened. Or so they like to say. Here's what Kay has to say:

Dear Residents of Farmington Woods:

Irene Loretto wrote a letter this weekend that residents received regarding the two bonds. She used my name throughout the letter and indicated that she had asked me to moderate the focus groups, the results of which culminated in the plan to replace the course irrigation system and enhance the clubhouse with an elevator and horse shoe bar.

Technically she is right. These items were in the results... Along with a ton of other items that have been ignored for the most part. 

The 300 residents that attended the focus groups asked that items be investigated and evaluated. They understood that all items could not be accomplished and that an analysis needed to be done to determine feasibility.  We got lost somewhere. 

See you at Monday's District and Board meetings!

Kay Olsen


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

WHAT THE POLLS ARE SAYING

If you received the packet of letters from Farmington Woods Tax District as I did today you are getting what amounts to a pre-vote poll result. By my count there were 11 letters against and 5 for the bonding issue. If you use the method that Harvard came up with in a recent study, for every person that speaks up, either yay or nay, there are 26 others who just won't bother. 

In this case that translates to a theoretical final vote tally of 286 NO and 130 YES. Notice I said theoretical, because the total vote will hopefully be much larger. If we're going to live in a community with democratic principles rather than rule by the few, the more residents who participate in the vote, the closer we get to that ideal.

Another admittedly unscientific poll being run by AvonPatch at http://avon.patch.com/articles/poll-farmington-woods-spending-proposals-yay-or-nayshows the NO's leading at present with 56% of the 85 votes cast. I have to thank AvonPatch for covering this story to the extent that they have. We are grateful. 

The comments section contained some real gems, but those by Thomas were priceless. He doesn't mind coming off heartless and mean spirited when he insults residents of this community with children, by proclaiming that "there is someone out there who will rent it from me, say....someone who cares nothing about a community, just want's cheap rent so their child to go to the Avon or Farmington School systems!"  

If you're alright with people living here for the good schools (as if that' not a selling point) he follows with the only thing he thinks can trump logic, fear:"Without a course it will become low income housing!" If that's the case Thomas I'm selling today. On the other hand, I love it here and I care about the long term financial health of this community and I'm not going anywhere.  

You all know how I feel about the bonds, but you probably don't know that I'm not pushing to close the course; I just want it to be the "self-supporting" enterprise that it was described as when I bought my place in 1999.

This is a turning point in the history of Farmington Woods. We can make the changes necessary to make Farmington Woods a financially viable community for the next 20 years or we can let our "leaders" sign us up for a "20 year debt sentence." against our will. See what I mean by turning point?

We're in the home stretch. The vote is 12 days from now. As my good friend, Jeff McInerny, head football coach at CCSU likes to say:  Fire Up!

AND THEY TOLD YOU THIS WAS A COUNTRY CLUB

I have to apologize to Tom Morrow for pushing his entry down on the page. As a golfer with a 7 handicap, I think what he has to say about Farmington Woods Golf Club is extremely relevant. But I like history and thought you folks might enjoy reading about Farmington Woods from a different perspective.  


from ctwatchdog.com

FARMINGTON WOODS: CONDOMINIUM OR COMPANY TOWN?


When a business runs a town, it’s a company town.



When you think of company towns what usually comes to mind are dirty coal towns like Claghorn, PA, smoky steel towns like Gary, Indiana or if you you’re up on your history, a little place called Pullman, IL, where in 1880, just as the Robber Baron era began, George Pullman built 900 tidy row houses for the workers who produced his Pullman sleeping cars, luxury railroad conveyances, at the factory located in his “ideal” factory town.



Unlike some of the filthy coal mining towns owned by unscrupulous mine owners who built them for their workers with the intent of draining every last drop of capital from their labors, Pullman’s town was neat, clean and orderly. Because he was acquainted with the issues of labor unrest and poverty that other company towns, with their tenements, drunkenness and of course prostitution, Pullman built his town so that his workers would remain happy and productive. But like every other company town of its day, every home, business and amenity belonged to the Pullman Company. But I’m getting ahead of myself. This article is about Farmington Woods Condominium. I’ll get back to Pullman a little later in this column. (CONTINUE READING HERE: http://ctwatchdog.com/finance/giant-avon-condo-complex-has-curious-rule-finances-are-kept-secret-from-condo-owners-who-pay-the-fees.

IT'S NOT GOLFERS VS NON-GOLFERS

The board would like to make this an issue of golfers vs non-golfers. I've heard from many golfers who live at Farmington Woods that are furious about this bonding plan. Let's see what one of them has to say.

It is my understanding that first; the golf course does not even have 200 members. It is somewhere around 185. Out of the approximate 185 members only 100 of those are Farmington Woods residents. Those of us opposed to this initiative feel that this is socialized golf with only a privileged few benefiting. The membership savings for living in Farmington Woods is 7.5%. Not much of a value for someone who is already subsidizing the golf course.

It was brought up in our meetings on this subject at Farmington Woods that there has not been a study to prove that the golf course increases our property value. It was stated in our meetings that a local realtor suggested that Farmington Woods put money into the exterior residence structures instead of the golf course to increase values of the properties. I personally have a pesky woodpecker that is tearing up the trim on the back of my condo which on average takes 6 months to repair and has never been painted.

I  am also a golfer who has played Farmington Woods. I have golfed in several states at several top rated golf courses both private and public. During those rounds, I never played a top rate country club that has an Astroturf tee box on one of their holes as Farmington Woods does.

As for those who say that you knew what you were getting into when you move into Farmington Woods that is not exactly true. Realtors in the area do not always disclose the District Tax that is assessed on each unit. My condo fees at Farmington Woods are around $450/mo. This gets me access to pools, tennis courts, and a mandatory fee for a restaurant that cannot turn a profit or break even and a secure gate system that my grandmother could get past.

We pay taxes to Avon for upkeep on the town roads and then have to pay upkeep on our own. Please realize that tax districts are set up to provide services that the local town cannot provide. We have several golf courses in the proximity of Farmington Woods. Some of them top notch courses such as Golf Club of Avon.

As for those of you who say let it go and see what happens, there are a lot of us that think building additional condos is an option along with tastefully allowing the open areas to go back to a natural state (with some help). Using wood chips from landscaping clean up could be used to create additional walking trails along with swing sets and other park like equipment to accommodate the changing demographics in Farmington Woods.

The Master Association feels that even if the golf course goes back to a natural state, it would still need watering. I have yet to go to a National Park and find a watering system to keep the area green.

Farmington Woods Master Association seems that they have a better plan than Tumblebrook Country Club. Tumblebrook has a much nicer clubhouse and is a much nicer golf course (I have played both). They could not sustain their upgrades and had to file bankruptcy.

Farmington Woods Master Association HAS proven that they cannot run the golf course or the restaurant at a profit. For those of you who say that the golf course brings in money, in business, you must bring in more money than you spend in order to be financially sound. This is not the case at Farmington Woods.

Farmington Woods Country Club cannot prove sustainability over the 20 year life of this bond. If this bond passes and the country club is not sustainable we are stuck with the balance of the payments on the watering system for what? NOTHING!

Run the golf course at a breakeven proposition with no subsidies from the residents and then introduce a bond. Until then I see this as our national healthcare bill, nothing but a black hole.

Tom Morrow, Avon

NOT A FAN OR A SUPPORTER

IF YOU DON'T STAND FOR SOMETHING, YOU'LL FALL FOR ANYTHING-Public Enemy

This is why people at Farmington Woods have been reluctant to speak out or stand up to the boards about the golf course and clubhouse while these operations were losing our hard earned money over the last six years. It's reminicent of the two older "ladies" who took the time to harass my neighbor while she was walking her adorable two year old son in front of her own unit the day after the report aired, just because she was concerned enough to appear with us on Fox61 news. "Are you giving autographs", asked one. Moments later the second "lady" drove by, slowed down and told her "If you don't want to live on a golf course, why don't you move?"  This happened on her own street in upscale Avon. On her own street.! While walking her adorable two year old son! Stay classy ladies.

Hey 2chewman,  
Why are you wasting your time trying to distroy the fine community that we have at FW?  You are passing around your propoganda that is unsigned because you don't have the guts to show you face.  The junk that you are passing aroound is just your opinion.  You claim that this information if factual, but you give no references as to your sources.  If you think these small projects will bring down property values, wait til the local real estate agents tell prospective buyers that the residents of FW are against any improvements that are needed in our community.  Then try to sell your unit.  And another thing.  When there are meetings held by the MA, all people talk about are the idiots that disrupt these meetings with their screaming and yelling.  Your behavior is making your propaganda even less credible. If you owned a home, you would have to make improvements that would be costly.  Why don't you want to improve this community. I don't use the pools and tennis courts, but I wouldn't be against future improvements that they may need.  Didn't you see the golf course and the clubhouse before you bought your condo? Did you think it was all free?Stop being so selfish and think about  the damage you and your buddies are doing to Farmington Woods.           
A concerned resident,  Al Raducha

Just so Al knows, I'm against wasting two to four MILLION dollars on the course/clubhouse because that money would be better spent improving our NEIGHBORHOODS. It's a zero sum equation: every time the golf operation runs low on money and gets an advance of say $56K as they did in January after budgeting a $125K loss last July or the clubhouse gets to spend $140K of unused minimums as they did last year, that's money that won't ever make it to a fund to actually improve the residential aspect of this community.

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

SOUND FAMILIAR?

IT'S AMAZING THAT YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE WEST COAST TO FIND THE LAWYER YOU NEED ON THE EAST COAST.  THANKS FOR THE REFERRAL, DICK!

Lee,

I got your info off the blog concerning the problems with the Condo Association/golf course. I read about the overall problem in the Golf Dispute Resolution Blog http://www.golfdisputeresolution.com/. 


I am a property owner in a 520 property owner development in western Washington. The home owners association owns an 18 hole golf course with club house. Only 250 of the members actually use the facilities and with the down turn in the golf industry & real estate there is growing resentment among the non golfers towards supporting the golf facility.

In our situation the golf course is primarily funded by HOA dues. Golfers & non golfers pay the same dues and there is no "user green fee", so the golfers get unlimited golf while the non golfers just get to pay the dues & have use of the club house (but it is open to the public as well). Does this sound familiar?

Our BOD consists of hard core golfers so we have little chance of negotiating a change. Unfortunately most of the non golfers are non residents and are difficult to communicate with.  How is Farmington Woods Golf Course supported? Have you talked to an attorney to see if there is any potential to force a change? I would like to stay in touch to learn how your situation plays out.

Thanks, Dick