On Thursday morning, hours before the results of the assessment election were revealed, the POA board held its regular work session.
One item on the agenda was critical, general manager Tom Judson said, encouraging the board to vote on the fate of the Berksdale bridge near hole 18 without a clear indication of where the funds would come from.
The bridge and the nine holes of golf have been closed since damage to the piers was discovered in June 2019. Recently, more damage was discovered and Judson believes the bridge could fail completely and fall into the stream.
Golf maintenance director Keith Ihms said he was able to crawl under the bridge to assess the damage and at least three piers are no longer functional. The next big rain event might cause the remaining piers to give way.
The POA already has an estimate on the cost to remove the bridge‚ $75,000. That estimate was received along with estimates to repair or replace the bridge, but Judson said the additional damage means that repairing the bridge is not an option. If the board is interested in replacing the bridge, the old one will need to be removed anyway, he pointed out.
There is one other bridge that has been closed due to similar damage. It will eventually need to be removed. The board considered adding it to the contract to remove the #18 bridge. There may be some cost savings by combining the two projects, Judson said, estimating the POA would save $20,000 if the two were done together.
Other bridges on the course are newer and were built as arches without piers in the stream that can be damaged by floodwaters.
Board member David Whelchel said, in order to speed up the process, the POA should limit the work to one badly-damaged bridge. That decision could be changed later if necessary.
Ihms will find the $75,000 in the golf budget, although that might mean limiting maintenance somewhere else.
Several members addressed the board during the open forum. They were expecting the board to discuss a policy that the Lakes Committee sent about wake boats, but it wasn't on the agenda.
First, the Rules and Regulations Committee has to write the policy according to the Lakes Committee's recommendations. That will probably take place at its next meeting, Jerry Hover, the Rules and Regulations chairman said. Once the policy is presented by the committee, the board will vote on it during two consecutive meetings to approve.
board vice-chairman David Bradenburg, who was running the meeting, commented that the policy must be a true compromise since both the wake boat owners and the group trying to limit wake boats are unhappy.
General News on 01/22/2020