The Center Bait and Switch

Are ECA members being snookered again? Is the Hoopla about the Center structural problems a manipulative move to build a luxury restaurant/bar/clubhouse with a GM Suite?

The current condition of the Eastman Center is and has been the responsibility of the current general manager for the duration of his 11 years at Eastman. We as members of this community who pay all costs for capital and operating expenses to maintain our community's infrastructure are entitled to a complete accounting of how the Center, a 16 yr-old building is in the supposed poor physical shape that has been portrayed. Simply put, the general manager needs to be accountable for the current state and what has created the portrayed dilapidated condition of the Center building.

Before any Council vote to spend millions of Eastman's capital monies occurs, all Eastman owners, are entitled to a full disclosure of the following financial information.

STEP 1: Financial History--Accountability that includes a detailed inventory of all capital expenses for the building done since it was built including:

•          Cost of the tavern addition

•          Cost of the upgrade work that was done for the kitchen and the furnishings for Brian McKenzie (Pleasant Lake Inn) when he agreed to a contract to operate the restaurant. In that contract were stipulations to upgrade the facility which included:

◦       Upgrading the kitchen

◦       Renovating and upgrading the furnishings, light fixtures etc.

•          Cost of the Draper Room re-designs and re-decoration which has been done at least twice.

•          Cost of upgrading the building air-conditioning system

•           Cost and scope of all repairs and upgrades that have been done in the entire building including the pizza ovens, the kitchen air-conditioning, the septic system etc. since the building was built.

•          Cost of all major operational/maintenance items which have exceeded $10,000 (in the past 3 years alone, we have paid almost $500,000 to a corporation owned by a unit owner and a unit owner for repair and maintenance—Note M Audit Report FY2011, 2012, 2013)

STEP 2: Capital Improvement Requirements--Before any Renovation or Build -New Plan is authorized by any governance entity, we're calling for a required second step.  This second step would be as follows:

• The detailed cost list in priority order of required renovations categorized as follows:

a.    Must do: 0-12 months / Dollars per major item  

b.    Need to do: 0-12 months/ Dollars per major item

c.    Want to do: 0-12 months/ Dollars per major item 

d.    A similar list created for 12 to 60 months

These detail costs need to be fully disseminated and fully vetted with the entire community.  

 It is expected that most of this information would be contained in the Annual Capital Budget Requirements. In the Annual Budget there is a Capital Projects List in priority order with a line drawn after a given proposed “capital-spending amount”. (FY2015 Budget p. 107-108).  We are unable to find any Center Projects listed for the Center in the FY2015 Budget, which indicates that, the F&B Committee and the Board have collaborated and decided unilaterally that they will replace the Center. 

The Board’s decision was made when they approved the FY2015 Budget in February 2014. This is contrary to Mr. Goldman’s assertions at the April Council Meeting that “neither he nor the Board has taken a position regarding the proposed CETF project. A decision will be made by the recommendation of the Council and then forwarded to the Board.”

We need to stop the Center Project now. What has occurred to date is nothing more than an emotional play on Eastman Owners to hoodwink us into building an unnecessary and opulent facility for $300 sq/ft. totally omitting appropriate due diligence and full disclosure. The beneficiaries are primarily golfers, the restaurant concessionaire and staff. The burden of the cost and debt falls squarely on 80% of Eastman owners who are not part of the beneficiaries.

Submitted by Robert Logan--40 year resident of Eastman