After hearing about a new marketing proposal at their work session last week, the POA board of directors approved only a portion of it at their monthly meeting on Thursday.
Dave Barfield wanted more information about the plan that was created by the new marketing manager, Ashlee Napier. She had advocated changing the way the POA refers to itself to "the Village."
Barfield said "rebranding" the Property Owners Association is like putting "new lipstick on a pig." He wants to know the cost of changing the logo and tag line to "The Village, a recreational community," before he can approve it.
After the meeting, he pointed out the association's demographics changed dramatically while they were using the current logo, which Napier said is similar to logos used by nursing homes. Many young families were attracted by the cost of housing and the amenities in spite of the oak leaf, he said.
Other board members were ready to move ahead. Bob Brooks said the current situation is like "selling road kill." He argued that a new brand would be needed before any further steps are taken.
"That's what companies do," General Manger Tommy Bailey said, explaining that because of the association's bad reputation in the region, it's time to change the brand.
When director John Nuttal made a motion to accept and act on Napier's plan, including the new name and logo, it did not pass.
Director Brad Morris made a second motion to amend the budget so the marketing department can begin work, but not to accept the new logo, and that motion passed.
After the meeting, Napier said, the funding is a good first step.
"I'm excited," she said. She will go ahead with hiring new staff and begin advertising with the money the board approved. If the logo change is approved, it can be done later, she said.
In other business:
n BUDGET CHANGES -- The board looked at their restricted funds and acted on the general manager's suggestion to move some funds out of the restricted category.
In August 2013, more than $1 million dollars was set aside to repair flood damage. While most of that work has been completed, not all the funds have been spent. The board voted to move $550,000 from that fund to a new fund to be spent on repurposing the Branchwood Golf Course. The course which has been closed since August 2013, will become a multi-use park.
Another $100,000 was reallocated to golf cart path repair. Other funds will go into the POA's general funds.
n BRIDGE REPAIR -- The first step in repairing a bridge near the 18th hole on the Berksdale course was taken at Thursday's meeting. Bailey reminded the board that an inspection had found safety concerns with the bridge and engineers recommended a different type of construction so debris is not caught in the bridge during flooding.
The bridge could probably be repaired, but another major flood would damage it again and may shut down the course, Bailey said.
The board authorized Bailey to contact engineers and get the information needed to send out bids. But he will need further authorizations before the bids can go out and the project can continue.
n OPEN FORUM -- During the regular Open Forum a member who said he's the owner of an unimproved lot who spends time fishing, complained about the new price for a photo ID.
In November, when the board approved changes to the fee schedule, the price went from $35 for a photo ID for all members to $131 annually for members who own unimproved lots. The difference, $96 each year, represents the difference in assessments between improved and unimproved for one year.
Many owners bought unimproved lots in order to have access to the lakes for fishing, the member said, and they plan to form their own association.
"There's strength in numbers," he said, pointing out that there are twice as many owners of unimproved lots as improved lots. Many of them will continue to fish, but without a photo ID.
General News on 03/25/2015