July 5, 2025  4 pm Special Member Meeting

Motion:

That the membership approve a $15,000 increase in the budget of the Facilities Improvement Committee (FIC).  Moreover, that the membership authorize the Board of Governors (BOG) to use its discretion to approve any future modification of the FIC budget necessary to complete the planning project.

Background:

During the September 2024 General Membership Meeting, members voted to authorize the FIC to proceed with planning for the Clubhouse Renovation.  Two design alternatives were considered, and the membership vote included the choice of the larger square footage plan, called the “Basic Plus Plan.”

In the motion, the FIC proposed a budget of $52,000 “as the funding needed to complete the renovation project final design and engineering and complete the required building permit(s).” 

The background to the motion included the following: “The architect will provide all the final engineering and build-to drawings, and the civil engineer will provide all the documentation and liaison with the various government agencies to obtain the necessary permits.  …. The contractor will refine the current cost proposal and a contract will be presented for membership approval at the 2025 Annual Membership Meeting.

Since the drafting and approval of the FIC budget and tasking, some things have been learned:

• The County’s review of the project concept plan submitted by the engineer mandated that it include a Stormwater Management Plan, an unanticipated and unfunded requirement.
• The Engineers original proposal to the FIC was based on the smaller Basic Plan, rather than the Basic Plus Plan.
• Building Permit applications are usually created and managed by the construction contractor after an approved site plan is in place and a contract is signed.  W.M. Davis, the contractor, expects this process to take 60 days.
• Neither the September 2024 motion or its background information discussed the needs for detailed financial information, including specific bank income criteria, proposed interest rates, etc., nor a requirement to provide the membership with financing options. 

Budget increase request:

The requested increase is necessary to fund additional engineering services for revising the Concept Plan to develop the mandated Stormwater Management Plan ($11,000) and to incorporate the larger square footage design of the Basic Plus plan ($3,000).

This table summarizes the FIC planning budget status.  Note that the Engineering services are being billed as they occur, while the architect and bank fees are expected to be rolled into the new mortgage. The committee needs another $15,000 in budget authorization only, not additional cash.  Should the membership vote to terminate the project, costs listed as “liability only” will become due and payable, using the full $66,900 planning budget.

Conclusion:

The FIC will be unable to deliver the complete package of designs, plans, permits (including building permits) and a proposed builder contract for the members in September 2025 as specifically called for by the 2024 motion. 

The inability to authorize the additional engineering work has delayed the permitting process. Current timelines, assuming the additional budget is granted, anticipate a county approved Concept Plan in September and an approved Final Site Plan in December. If the additional budget is not granted until September by a vote of the members at the annual meeting, those timelines extend to December and March 2026 respectively.  If the additional budget is never approved, the Clubhouse Renovation project is essentially dead.

The build-to drawings are on schedule and will be available to the builder, W.M. Davis, in July.  Assuming County approval of the revised Concept Plan is in a mature state, the FIC will press for a new project cost proposal from Davis.  Concurrently, the FIC will pursue bank financing estimates and provide those to the Planning and Budgeting committee for their consideration of possible financing options. 

With this additional funding, the FIC’s current goal is to provide sufficient information to the members at the 2025 annual meeting to motivate an approval of the project.  Otherwise, a special membership meeting will be necessary, likely in the spring of 2026, once all the data originally contemplated in the 2024 motion (less building permits) is available.