Either with The Brassie Grille or the Lakeside Pool, there’s Only One Choice from the ACSA Board. Is a Change Needed?

COMING SOON.

BATHHOUSE STATUS DISCUSSION

THE BRASSIE GRILLE

The Brassie Grille was intended to be a comfort food eatery.  After a round of golf or a set of tennis, you could swing up to the Grille for a cold one and a burger.  Other choices were on the menu, which all worked for the folks.  It was the type of eatery you find at any other golf facility. Aquarina Golf, Inc. (AGI) managed it, and its effort was a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.  If it ever broke even as a business, then it was a success, but breaking even was never certain. However, aha, the AGI had the Residents’ fees to always support its expenses, i.e. subsidized them. What was needed was an experienced Chef/Manger to run it and pay rent, which never really materialized because of continued AGI meddling its way to control The Brassie Grille. The Aquarina political cabal required subservientness to its selfish needs resulting in management and employee relations always being a constant struggle.

Matters continued to spin out of control, when cabal demands were made to have fine dining, which then led to the current expansion, i.e. a bigger and better kitchen, more accommodating furnishings, and more space to accommodate all those dinner parties, and other social/dining events. The cabal moved forward with now $1M plus contracts for the expansion, and more moneys are needed. No problem there, the cabal offered an Aquarina investment opportunity whereby folks can invest in mortgages carrying a healthy interest rate. These five figure investments were instant cash for the cabal spenders, and the Residents, through their maintenance fees, would pay the mortgages back. It’s interesting, the Board can decide to allocate funds for Reserves (to maintain our infrastructure and community maintenance) or “Betterments”, which are to create costs for choices like The Brassie Grille expansion. It would seem with the age and needs of Aquarina that allocation of funds to “Betterments” is a selfish and irresponsible indulgence.

Keep in mind now that these majority of cabal Board of Directors had voted to spend a $1M plus dollars of the Residents’ fees without the Residents having a voice of choice for this expenditure.  Did we come to Aquarina to be in the restaurant business? We are not on a desert island with no restaurants conveniently available.  There are at least six very good restaurants within 10-20 minutes from Aquarina. Trust me, there is no way the revised Brassie Grille will compete with them. Most of them have been here for decades.  Further, the $1M plus restaurant was created with our dollars, and a hopeful, restaurateur, was to lease it and run it. Well, that collapsed, and now the cabal is trolling for a tenant.  One may have been found, but its history may need scrutiny.  Meanwhile the Residents have a huge debt with payback from a maybe profitable restaurant business.  This is the community priority? Hmm.

As we all know, we are in strenuous financial times, countrywide inflation is rampant, Florida insurance premiums are out of control, and our nation’s debt continues to recklessly rise. What does the majority of the ACSA Board do? It decides to place a $1M plus debt on its Residents on a completely discretionary decision to expand an existing and functioning restaurant. When you can indiscriminately spend the Residents’ money without recourse, why not – right? The ACSA Board Directors took an oath to serve the Residents and pledge a fiduciary responsibility to oversee the Residents’ funds.  Has this occurred with their actions?

I would hope and think that among these Board Members there exists a small voice of reason; however, it appears that these voices have been squashed and intimidated with a politically cabal majority, who have their own selfish and reckless behavior to create and oversee.  An election of Directors appears on the horizon; may there be an opportunity for change in Aquarina’s future direction or will complacency continue?

THE LAKESIDE POOL

Yet another “My way or the highway” without discussion, is the Lakeside Pool fiasco.  A premeditated brouhaha occurred at a Pool Neighborhood meeting on Pool Area matters, where the ACSA later conveniently appeared to calm the apparently uncontrolled situation. Keep in mind, the three Pool Neighborhoods had overseen the Lakeside Pool for over 30 years without incident, since the Developer at the time bequeathed exclusive use of the Pool Area to the three Pool Neighborhoods.

An ad hoc Pool Committee was assembled with previous and new Members to provide structure to a Pool Area maintenance process that had been successful for these past 30 years. This Pool Committee was diligent and prepared, and documented an administrative structure for Pool Area maintenance, which previously was a Laissez-faire yet efficient process.  Politics ensued, where the ACSA infiltrated the Pool Committee and removed some of its Members, when it was determined that this Committee intended to continue with the pool maintenance process as it had been handled for the past 30 years.

The ACSA (it had quietly been on the deed for the Pool Area) would not hear of this approach, since after 30 years of silence on pool matters, it now decided to take control, in every way, with how matters will be handled. The Pool Area was quickly closed because of structural repairs that needed to be addressed at the Bathhouse, and non-professional, unlicensed, and alarmist opinions that the pool itself may be sinking into the ground. BTW – the original Pool Committee was in the process of overseeing the structural matters, but was stopped by the ACSA. The addressing of these matters by the ACSA has been slow walked over the months with minimal communication and no remediation action taken to open the Pool Area. It was determined during this time that the pool was not sinking away, and a decision was to replace the Bathhouse. It was also determined by a licensed building contractor enlisted by the Pool Residents that any Pool Area repairs, e.g. the Bathhouse, could be resolved in two weeks, and the Pool Area could be opened for the interim to the Pool Residents, while the administrative process to replace the bathhouse was underway, at least a six month period. This remediation was turned down by the ACSA without explanation, other than stating this remediation was not ACSA supported. Ninety Pool Residents, who would pay for this fix, agreed to this remediation approach with a100% vote to proceed with the repair and opening, were stifled.  

The Pool Area continues to remain closed.  It has been a year of closure, where its landscape maintenance had been ignored, and Bathhouse’s roof tarp was waving in the wind, until protests to its neglected condition were finally acknowledged for correction by the ACSA. In 30 years, the Pool Area never experience the neglect that has been currently put upon it.

The decision to replace the bathhouse, based on the county process, and the slow walk of the ACSA over Pool Area matters, will most likely result in at least another six months or more of Pool Area closure. This closure, of the Pool Residents’ paid for amenity, the pool, was taken, and the result has injured these Resident units’ with sales, with  rentals, and with their personal use.  Many used the pool for physical therapy, and with the Pool Area taken away, certainly now is even more of a direct burden and injury for some of these Residents.

Selected and possibly prejudicial treatment are quite obvious, where the Board’s “all hands are on deck” motto was followed to subsidize the loss of The Brassie Grille with dinner nights and Club House food service, while the Pool Residents are left with a taken Pool Area and no near end in sight for its opening. The Pool Residents did have a path to open the Pool Area as previously explained, but the ACSA Board voted not to support it, which says you’ll get your Pool Area back at our pace and with our conditions.

With ACSA Board Director positions coming up for a vote this spring, may some of these injured Pool Residents participate in offering Board Director Candidates to offset a Board majority that has its own agenda rather than an Aquarina agenda for all its Residents, or will the complacency on which the Board feeds prevail?

Fortunately, with yet another ACSA Board re-assembled Lakeside Pool Committee, there appears to be some appointed members that have the will to monitor and to speed up the administrative process for permitting to occur sooner than later for the bathhouse replacement. Hopefully, these pool advocate members will be heard and not ignored.