November 2006 Grapevine Archive

11/30/2006

Member comments are positioned at the proper location according to Robert's Rules of Order. Members can have all items on the agenda prior to the meetings, anyway. The agendas are available at the office.

This writer cannot find anything in Robert's Rules of Order that describes when or how member comments are presented in a meeting.  However, it is the opinion of this writer that for the last couple of years Robert's Rules of Order have been used to confuse LFPOA meetings, not clarify them.  That is a violation of Robert's Rules of Order.  Reasonable men and women in small groups can conduct business effectively without having to look up every procedure in a book.  Once we replace our current president, we will probably find that meetings move along much more efficiently.

11/29/2006

You failed to mention the discussion the other night about election reform.  Clint Martin brought the issue up.  There have been allegations that in the last couple of LFPOA elections, there were some who may have been altering proxies.  In fact, we have heard that at least one of the state's backers has even bragged about it regarding their plot to remove the former president.  Mr. Martin suggested that the issue needed to be studied so the board established a committee.  Two people in the audience the other night, Ed Kirby and Roger Davidson, immediately volunteered and were appointed to the committee.  I have a few suggestions.

  • Only official proxies distributed by the association should be accepted

  • Altered proxies should not be accepted

  • The wording should be clearer indicating the member's wish that the proxy not be used to vote on any measure other than those the member selected

  • Proxies should only be accepted by mail, by individual delivery to the office or by individual delivery at the annual meeting.  Proxies should not be accepted in batches from someone other than the member.

I think it is obvious that procedures like the ones we have used in the past would have never been accepted in a real political election.

Regarding that discussion, one of the directors made the statement that at a previous annual meeting a member had to go to court to have an item added to the agenda.  That was not an accurate statement.  It was never necessary to go to court.  However, the member thought it was and we went.  This writer and the attorney were the only ones there representing the association.  The member had about ten or fifteen others with him including several who were part of the "slate" at that time.  The member made his demand that he be put on the agenda.  I informed the judge that members do not determine what is on a meeting agenda in Lake Forest and that the agenda might change right up until the start of the meeting.  I told him that our agenda always had a item call "Member Participation" or "Member Comments" at which time any member could make a presentation to the meeting, say anything he or she wanted, make motions, or discuss any other type of business the member desired.  I informed the judge that the board had no intention of preventing the member from exercising his right to speak and that the board would absolutely allow him to say and present anything he wanted during that Member Participation segment.  After a short discussion, the judge ruled that the member would be allowed to speak at the time indicated for member comments as we had already planned.  No agenda was changed and the member's name never appeared on the agenda.  It is unfortunate that there are those who think that people in authority cannot be trusted to do the honorable thing.  Of course, the board at the time was followed with a new board that set the record of "Executive Sessions", so maybe there is something to that suspicion.  That was also the last meeting at which the president and general manager gave reports to the membership on the state of the association.  Our board never had any intention of preventing that member from speaking, even though the majority of the board and the membership at large did not agree with the member's opinion.  At the time this writer thought that the member had just confused an "agenda" with a "proxy".   He never asked to have anything placed on the proxy.  

11/29/2006

Seems like this Board doesn't want any member comments on it's decisions. Why else would they put the member comments before the actual business at hand other than to avoid any questions, comments, or criticisms of their decisions?

11/28/2006

Last night's stated meeting of the Board of Directors had a few interesting moments.  First of all, there was a pretty good crowd.  That in itself was unusual.  As it turned out, most of the audience was there because the user fees for 2007 were on the agenda.  Everyone in the audience, who came for that reason, was there over concern for the golf fees.  The order of topics in the meeting has been changed this year.  The agenda started out with committee reports and then member comments before any old business or new business was discussed. 

The finance chairman read off so many numbers that most people seemed to pay little attention to them.  One comment regarding that report came from Bryce Cocke who said he would like to see a return to the Finance Committee report format that compares the current year to the previous year.  This was started when Sarah Coxwell was the Finance Chairman and she had a BLY (Beat Last Year) column in her report.  Of course, not everyone agrees that the information is beneficial.  Our old friend, Bob Underwood, spoke during the member comments period and specifically criticized the idea.  Of course, Bob took his usual position on finances, which shows that he has little understanding of how our association is supposed to work.  This was even though he quoted the former General Manager, who said that the association is not in the golf business.  Jake believed that we are in the dues business.  Basically, our association should try and provide all of the amenities at as low a user cost as possible while still maintaining an overall positive financial picture at the bottom line.  Bob and some others would like for every amenity to be self-sustaining.  There is no amenity in Lake Forest that could do that and none that should as long as the association is covering its bottom line.  One of the other speakers, a golfer, did express the issue perfectly when he said that the idea of Lake Forest was that we could all enjoy amenities like ours for very little out of pocket expense to anyone because the costs are shared among over three thousand members.  That is exactly right.  There is something in Lake Forest for everyone.  Bob did make one point with which this writer agrees.  One of the recent issues that has come up is the unexpected tax bill that we have as a result of an error in past collections.  Some are suggesting an assessment.  This is something that should be avoided if at all possible.  In the opinion of this writer, the assessment should be reserved for special capital projects.  However, as Bob pointed out, while the board does not have the ability to raise maintenance fees, it does have the power to charge certain other kinds of fees based on association need.  For example, included in our monthly bill is a special $2.50 fee that a board added some years ago to create an escrow to cover the annual property tax bill.  This was created at another time when an error was made regarding the association's obligations to paying taxes.  Because the taxes were beyond the control of the association and required by an external entity, the government, legal council advised that the by-laws do allow for the board to add certain fees to deal with them.  This new tax problem is exactly the same kind of thing, so perhaps one option would be for the board to add a dollar to the monthly tax escrow fee to cover this latest event.  It could be removed later on when the bill has been paid, not that anyone would really expect that to happen.

A humorous incident occurred during Clint Martin's recreation committee report. He asked what should be done with the old Swim & Racquet Club building now that it is mostly unused except during the summer as restrooms for the swimmers.  Bryce Cocke popped up and said, "Well, we could always use it to create a teen center."  This one was a hoot! When they were trying to run of the board, several of the old slate had participated in the grossly unfair assault on the previous teen center.  Clint said he certainly would not support anything like that. 

Regarding the comments about user fees, everyone who spoke was doing so on behalf of golf and annual golf members only.  A couple suggested that an increase of any kind was unnecessary.  There may be something to that  position, because as one member, Mr. Norris, pointed out, one option to consider is a reduction in expenses.  There could be some merit to some of the suggestions made last night.  One caution, though, that this writer would like to offer is that many, many people in Lake Forest support that golf course operation without actually using it.  They deserve consideration for that.  They pay their dues without complaint and should expect some benefit in return.

Another humorous note, one lady stood up and criticized those who are severely delinquent.  While she was doing so, she was standing right in front of a man who looked remarkably like Ben Cruitt, a man for whom the previous general manager wrote off thousands of dollars in delinquent dues.  She and others in the group also said that they would like to see the delinquent list published in the newsletter again.

Let us hear from others who were at the meeting. 

11/28/2006

There is a meeting of a group that calls themselves the Walkable Communities Study Group.  Thomasina is passing the info around.

11/28/2006

Jim Moss does have a problem with speaking.

11/27/2006

There is a stated board meeting tonight.  Rumors are running rampant that there is an assessment in the works.  Director Moss in particular has been spreading the word.  The interesting question that I heard posed to another member by a director was "If we had $180,000 in extra cash, how would you suggest we spend it?"  Isn't that backwards?  If we have to figure out how we need to spend the money, then we don't know enough about the problem to even ask for it.

11/22/2006

Have a pleasant Thanksgiving!  Forget the diets!  Eat everything you see and worry about it later!  Your webmaster will be visiting family, so there won't be anything new posted until he returns.  Send in your reports. 

11/22/2006

Information has come in that a couple of submissions that were put on earlier today are not accurate, so they have been removed. 

11/21/2006

There are some new community announcements under the Headlines panel on the Home Page.  Be sure to check them out.

11/21/2006  

Did anyone else notice a problem with the water Sunday evening/Monday morning? While filling a glass with water late Sunday evening, I noticed a brownish tint to the water! Dumped it and drank bottled water - but Monday the tint, though less noticeable, was still there in AM. While driving to work, I noticed a fire hydrant open and water running into the street. Upon returning from work, the tint was even less and by dinner time was gone. Was there a problem with Daphne Utilities and the water system?

I saw the open fire hydrant, but not the tinted water. 

11/21/2006

We've received several contributions regarding the former Party Coordinator that cannot be published because of a lack of the author's name.

11/20/2006

I have to concur with the comment about Miss. Annie and Miss. Juanita. Yes, one can easily tell that these are two exceptionally nice Christian women. They are fast, efficient, multi-taskers who do it all while being gracious and entertaining at the same time. There are very few people among us who could even attempt this type of job, much less do it with flying colors. What is interesting to me though is what you will notice when you get into a conversation with these women. Both are highly intelligent with IQ's definitely in the gifted range. Quick wit is the first tell tale sign among others. Lake Forest is definitely lucky to have these ladies. In life its the relationships that matter, not your bottom line. They know me and you and I'm sure would miss us if we were to pass on to that great reward in the sky. I think my golf game may even be better on the days I see them, I know my blood pressure is lower. "Laughter does a heart good like medicine." At this Thanksgiving season, I am thankful to God for these two fine women.

Wow!

11/19/2006

If you haven't tried the 19th Hole at the Lake Forest country Club, you are missing out!  My wife and I had lunch there again today and were reminded just how nice Miss Annie & Miss Juanita are and just how well they serve our members.  These two ladies are a real treat and the food is good too!  Do yourself a favor.  Stop by there occasionally for lunch. 

11/18/2006  From a director ... Regarding the tax liability

A tax accountant was counseled about this issue. The taxes are due and owing, no doubt about it. The GM and board would not just blindly accept the auditor's opinion. It was verified as correct and proper. The troubling part is some years ago, these taxes were collected.

  Some years ago we did not lease golf carts.  We owned and maintained them.  The former GM and a former board decided to go the lease route around 2000/2001.  Maintaining the carts over the years had been a real problem, so the GM worked out some great lease contracts.  It is possible that there was confusion regarding the tax requirements, when they went to the new lease program.  The leases were for four years at the end of which the company picked up the golf carts and gave the association a large lump sum.  I believe that the last lease ended two or three years ago at which time the association received a lump sum of almost $90,000.  It does make for a nice periodic windfall.  A new lease was completed at that time which has a similar buyout deal at the end.  That one should be finishing in a year or two at which time the association will receive a large cash settlement that can offset the tax expenditures that apparently will have to be paid now.

11/18/2006

This was a COUNTY audit according to the GM.  The County Auditor went back 6 years, again according to the GM.  The GM also stated that she had consulted with a CPA who specializes in Taxes and was told to pay the bill ASAP.  No mention was made about taking this to the current LFPOA audit firm.  As a matter of fact, the question arose as to whether or not the LFPOA audit firm should have caught this?  Henry stated it was something to look into as their contract was coming up for renewal, and maybe a change was needed.  I'm paraphrasing but that was the jest of the statement.  Which, of course, would finish the goals of the disgruntled ones-Jake's gone, you're gone, Jay Ross gone, and now the auditor.  I wonder who is really running Lake Forest behind the scenes? 

The building report didn't say much more than the original.  He had pictures of several places in the building that the wood was deteriorating, on 2 places where the actual steel structure needed repairs.  There is one place, I think it is the stairwell on the West side of the Bayview, that he said there was a dangerous situation that a wall needed to be removed.  It was hard to follow, but that's what I thought I heard. He asked the GM if anything had been done, and received a negative reply.  He pointed out some mechanical problems with cover plates being left off compressor on the roof.  And some electrical issues with breakers not working but not removed.  Moss asked if this was a maintenance issue, insinuating that Kenneth hadn't been doing his job, but the inspector suggested it was most likely the repairmen doing shoddy finish up and/or taking short cuts. 

The last roofing job he showed certainly was less than professional.  They laid the roof over PVC drains, causing water to stand on the flat roofs around the wood compressor supports.  Also showed gutters that were full of debris and needed attention.  The engineering for drainage on the roof was correct, plenty of outlets to the guttering, but poor roofing repairs had caused the engineering to fail as the water cannot get to the outlets to prevent the standing water.  This poor drainage, and a leaky ice machine, is what is causing the back of the bar in the Bayview to appear to be falling down.  However, this is a matter of replacing rotten wood structure below the area.  Probably the most problematic area is below the walk-in cooler in the downstairs kitchen.  The sub-floor had gotten wet due to condensation and is rotting.  The guy didn't point it out, but the condensation is due to the cooler floor not being insulated therefore the floor is cooler that the basement area below it so when cool air meets warm moist air, condensation occurs on the sub-flooring.  Surprise surprise. 

Other issues, John Peterson stated that the City of Daphne had received a matching grant to do work on the area East of the Bayview bridge.  The work would be to remove vegetative growth, and I think stabilize the drainage base in that area.  I took that to mean clear out the area and probably put down large rocks in the area to reduce erosion, but that's just speculation on what I thought they would do.  John wanted the board to ok having Henry sign a hold harmless agreement from the City when LFPOA attorney and City attorney came to an agreement on the wording.  Board voted not to do that but to have the agreement brought to them to approve.  I'm guessing if they're not careful, the City will take their money and use it elsewhere.  My bet would be on Peterson to have gotten the agreement he wanted that would have protected the LFPOA before he gave it to Henry, and they should have let him.  My guess is they won't know what they've read after they get it.

User fees were on the agenda, and apparently there is was a proposal given to the Board, but it wasn't made public.  Can someone enlighten us on what that proposal is? 

11/17/2006

This one is just too entertaining to wait until tonight's posting.  I came in the Highway 90 entrance a while ago and the Information Sign announced the following.

IRAN BOWL PARTY

What an interesting idea.  We can call tomorrow's Iron Bowl game a Football Jihad!  I wonder who will end up the martyr, Tommy Tuberville or Mike Shula? This is much more interesting than just saying it was a typo.

11/17/2006 From a director . . .

The executive session was not concerning the contract for the attorney. It was for other legal matters. The contract will be discussed at an open meeting.

11/17/2006  From a director . . .

The amount of the tax due was the $13,880. The amount would have been more had the penalties not been waived.

It would seem that the current management would be well advised to give the former GM a call about this matter.  I am sure he would be glad to help and offer advice.  An auditor, IRS or County, is not there to look out for your interests.  There could very well be another side to this story.

11/16/2006  A Clarification of the Audit Issue

The state did an audit of the club this year. It was our first audit in 7 years. One should try to find out about Michelle leaving and the involvement of Henry's wife. We have lost 2 this month how many more do you suspect if things keep going this way.

Is this the audit that is causing the current problem?  Should our external auditor have caught this before now?  Perhaps not.

11/16/2006 Report on last night's special meeting

Apparently the Director comments of the 15th didn't know what direction the Special Meeting was going to take, as Jim Moss suggested the group consider an assessment to cover the tax liabilities from the county as well as anticipated state and city taxes owed. The county audit was for for a balance due of $13,880 less $3,600 of penalties and interest abated by the auditor or a total of $10,280. According to the auditor these are taxes not paid on alcohol sales, cart lease mainly. It is estimated that the city and state amounts will be $40 to $50K in addition? This is when the "assessment" word was brought up by Moss . Noting that the "slate" had run on "no assessment", but needed to consider it due to the taxes and the building needs. By the way, whoever the director is on the 15th statements, they need to get the terminology correct. Directors have NO control over maintenance fees. Only a vote of the members can change those. The board does still have the authority to do an annual assessment of UP TO $50 per year. Finally, the meeting STARTED with an "Executive Session" for "legal matters" according to the agenda. Apparently the legal matter was the contract renewal for the attorney. Why shouldn't the members know about what is being spent for the attorney?

An attorney contract is not grounds for an executive session.  Since the audits have been done every year by the county,  did they happen to explain why the error was just discovered this year?  When you say "according to the auditor", what auditor are you talking about, the county's or ours?  Our accounting staff should probably double check all this with our own auditing firm.  Was there anything new regarding the building inspection?

11/15/2006 Party Coordinator Resigns

We have just been told the the Party Coordinator for Lake Forest, Michelle Hartsfield, has resigned.  We wish her well in her future endeavors.

11/15/2006  From a director . . .  Regarding Special Meeting tonight

There will be no additional monthly dues for the association discussed at this meeeting or any other in the near future. The report is being given for the benefit of the new board members. You can include some additional information in the report about the roof situation and the air conditioning system at the country club. In all, you will see the need for a capital plan for that facility to repair the roof, replace/repair the air conditioning, and perform many cosmetic fixes. In all, the association will need a couple hundred thousand dollars over the next few years to keep the building from having water problems and more damage. Capital planning and the need for money may be an issue. I do not think you will see anyone speak about raising dues for the future. Although, when you compare our amenities to other communities in the area and then compare the association maintenance fees for those associations, you will find that Lake Forest is, by far, providing more facilties and services than any association in the area and, on top of that, our fees are really low in comparison. Does that mean we should raise them? No, it simply means that we cannot expect perfect amenities and superior maintenance when there is not enough to fully support it. Limited resources to fund needed personnel and capital investment is clearly our biggest challenge.

11/15/2006

Sad news coming up.....well, I sugt that the board did not like the inspection report in that they do not think repairing all the problems we have is worth it. I feel sure they want a new club house, not a repaired one. Where is the money going to come from? They can only borrow $100,000 annually, right? Here comes the $75 per month assessment! Look out folks....

Unless I missed something that has changed, the by-laws limit the amount that a member can be assessed to $50 a year.  According to the board's published statement, the inspector, himself, will  making the report tonight.  So, we should assume that the report will be the same as the one he gave before the annual meeting, which did not support the demolition of the building.  Your webmaster has a previous commitment tonight, so someone please contribute a report on the meeting.

11/15/2006

Please provide info & price for renting pools, Charter Room @ Yacht Club, etc. to members for parties.

That information may be found HERE.

11/14/2006

Could someone please tell us the time and date of this special meeting.

Wednesday, November 15th @ 7:00p.m. at the 19th Hole

11/13/2006

Apparently, things are very quiet around Lake Forest right now.  That probably won't last long.  A special meeting is scheduled for in a couple of days.  The sign at the front entrance said the "Building Inspection" meeting.  Since, the inspector made his report at another special meeting right before the annual meeting, one has to wonder why another is needed.  Could there be a different perspective offered other than the positive one provided by the inspector?

11/10/2006

I know for a fact that the apartments are doing the surveying and will be using that to plan their expansion. They will be building some 80 additional units and renovating and improving the existing ones. The expansion/renovation will upgrade that area substantially and there has been one meeting with the owners concerning buffering and plantings along the common lines.

Thank you for that confirmation.  Some years ago, the same apartments wanted that expansion, but they were blocked by the City because there was concern that access was not good enough for emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances for the added units.  At that time, the apartment management tried to get the association to provide them with emergency access from Golf Terrace, around the back of the Country Club between the clubhouse and the 9th hole of the Lake Nine.  The Board of Directors at that time refused for a couple of reasons.  One was that we did not want a road running between our clubhouse and the 9th hole.  The second was that Lakefront Drive already has a great deal of traffic from the apartment complex and our members were concerned that adding eighty new units and possibly a hundred and sixty more cars driving in and out all day would greatly aggravate the high traffic flow down that street.  These apartment tenants would not be LFPOA members.   One wonders if anything has changed.  Note: Over the years this writer has been told by some who live on Lakefront Drive that the apartment management is very good and considering the number of people living in there, problems have been few.

11/10/2006

Lake Photo Album updated.

11/9/2006

I could be wrong but it is my understanding that the apartments are surveying their property. The surveyors are using set benchmarks on the course. That is my understanding.

That is more like it!  Apparently the surveyors were having a little fun.  Let's hope this last version is the correct one.  It is so nice that when misinformation makes it out here, that our other contributors can quickly correct the report.  The other story is probably circling all around Lake Forest.  Maybe this will take some of the steam out of it.

11/9/2006

Mitch,

My boss, XXXXXX XXXXXX, told me yesterday that he played the 9 hole at Lake Forest this past Saturday. He said that there was a crew surveying land on the no 1 hole. When he stopped one of the surveyors and asked them what they were doing, he was told they are getting ready to build a new golf club down there. I’m not sure, but I think that is on some pretty low lying land. Possibility that a new clubhouse down there might flood sooner or later.

 Does Henry have one ounce of common sense? It does not appear so.

This contributor is a man I have known for years.  I know him to be a responsible and intelligent gentleman.  I am certain that this report is true.  Now, of course, we don't know whether the survey crew was leveling with his boss or not.   However, this does make watching what is going on in our association that much more important.  The Board of Directors needs to ask themselves, "Are we being included in the decision making around the association."  For example, did Henry come before the board last year and ask for authority to have the general manager order a study of the existing building? 

This brings up another issue that we have been meaning to discuss.  We have been told that Toni has reported that she works for Henry.  That is not true.  The general manager works for the Board of Directors.  The President is supposed to be the one who conveys the Board's instructions to the GM and brings back to the Board recommendations from the GM.  I would not want to be a part of a Board on which the President thought he owned the place.  In spite of what anyone may have heard, this former president brought EVERYTHING back to the Board of Directors.  By the way, that includes teen center issues.  Think about that one.

11/9/2006

We just heard that Scott, our assistant golf pro has resigned.  We wish him well in his future endeavors.

11/9/2006  From a director . . .

The General Manager spoke the truth about the food service certificate required for each kitchen facility. There was a lapse at the time of inspection. That was a part of the low score. With re-inspection, the score was above a ninety without the certificate in place. I think the points deducted for that offense was five. There is no reason the GM would mislead anyone about the inspections. They are posted at the facility and you can read them yourself and see where the problems were. All offenses are clearly marked with a points deduction recorded.

11/9/2006  From a director . . .

We know the city has the money to pave our roads. Here's what we need to do: E-mail each Council member who represents a part of Lake Forest. These are Districts 3,4,5,6 and 7. Let them know that Lake Forest will no longer take a backseat to capital spending.  Let them know that we are a powerful voice in Daphne. Let them know we want our roads improved.

Put these e-mail addresses in your contact list and e-mail them until you get an answer on why our roads have not been improved. We run a great risk of being overlooked again this year for capital improvements (roads), so we need to act fast. I am not happy at the way we are treated when it comes to capital spending. And, I hope others will join me to make our voice heard, loud and clear. - Clint Martin

11/9/2006

The Lake Photo Album has been updated.

11/8/2006

Tuesday Night’s Improvement Committee Meeting Report

Although this writer was unable to stay for the entire meeting, the main topic of the night was the walking trail/sidewalks project.  Jim Moss hosted the evening and did a nice job of moving things along.  The guest speakers were Ken Eslava, Director of Daphne Public Works, Ron Scott, Daphne City Councilman, Terry Redfern – President of the Baldwin County Trailblazers, and Charlene Lee – Executive Director of Smart Coast.  There were about 15 to 20 in the audience including directors Clint Martin, Henry Lawson, Sherri Weller and Jim Moss.

The first speaker was Ken Eslava who more or less just brought the audience up to date on matters that he had discussed with them in the past and have already been posted on this website.  Ken said he would be meeting with Mayor Small to go over the capital budget for this fiscal year and that there were a number of Lake Forest paving projects that would be included.  Anne Talton asked Ken about a specific timetable for the work.  She pointed out that we had been told that it was going to happen soon and yet never seemed to.  She said he had said “this year” and that this year was nearly over.  Ken pointed out that he was talking about this “fiscal” year which goes from October to October and that the work would be done this year.  She also pointed out that the “microsurfacing” technique used on Main St. and Windsor did not seem to be very good and wondered if that was what the city intended to do in the rest of the subdivision.  Ken said that they had learned a lot from that first project.  For one thing, they found that microsurfacing did not cover ripples very well.  He said that they will apply what they have learned to future projects and he expects them to be much better.  It was pointed out that Ridgewood and Bayview are full of holes.  The question was “would microsurfacing be used there.”  Ken said it would be a combination of techniques. 

Next, Ron Scott spoke on the City’s desire to assist in Lake Forest in any way they can.  He said that Lake Forest was very important to all on the council.  When asked about the walking trails and sidewalks, Ron said that the City had to prioritize projects based on available money and the infrastructure, streets, would have priority.  He said, however, that if grants became available, the City would certainly find a way to come up with its share.  He pointed out that the City of Daphne has never turned down a grant.  A young woman, Victoria, (and I’m sorry that I don’t know her last name) asked some questions about the two projects, streets and walking trails.  She said that it would be great if both could be done at the same time.  Ken pointed out that there would be nothing in the capital budget for sidewalks.  Ron said, however, that if a grant became available, that the City would find some money for the project.  This writer asked for a clarification.  Has there been a grant applied for?  No.  So, there is no money in the capital budget for the project and there is no grant in the works.  Both Ken and Ron agreed.  A little fun was had with Ron because at one point he said that “fortunately there will be no City schools”.  This writer said that he was a little hard of hearing and asked Ron if the word he used was “fortunately”.  Sherri Weller is an advocate of the City school system idea.  Ron took the prodding well. 

The next speaker was Terry Redfern of the Baldwin County Trailblazers.  He gave a very nice presentation on the “vision” of the walking/biking trail around Lake Forest. He pointed out that Alabama was second from the top in child obesity and made a good case for the benefits of having sidewalks that would allow children to walk to school.  He also suggested that a school should actually be in Lake Forest.  He said that the Trailblazers were experienced at acquiring grants and he held up two that they had applied for.  However, he pointed out that a grant could take three years to complete and actually result in cash.  He held up a plan that the city had done showing a four foot wide sidewalk around the subdivision.  He said that was unacceptable.  According to Mr. Redfern the trails should be eight to ten feet wide.  He said that they would need to be wide enough that one side could be for pedestrian traffic and the other side for bikes.  Clint Martin asked if there was room for a large trail like that.  Mr. Redfern said that Lake Forest residents would have to accept that such a trail would require the removal of a great many trees.  He said that part of the project should include landscaping to make the area look nice.  The word “vision” popped up several times when talking about these walking/biking trails.  Well, there are visions and then there are other visions and sometimes the different visions do not match.  Trailblazers like Mr. Redfern may have the vision of beautiful, wide walking and biking trails.  Others may have a vision of tree-lined medians with four foot sidewalks meandering through and still others may have a vision of naturally tree-lined medians with nothing.  The tree-lined streets of Mobile and Lake Forest have always been considered by most residents and visitors to be a lovely feature of the community. The residents should probably have a say in what vision is actually implemented.

The next speaker was Charlene Lee of Smart Coast.  Unfortunately, your reporter had to leave so the report will have to end here.

11/8/2006

I was told yesterday by a resident of LF that our Manager stated that one of the food servers had let her food service license or certificate, whatever, expire and that was one of the reasons that the numbers were so low upon inspection. She had said that was 10 points right there....why hasn't this been pointed out before, is this the truth, or is our manager trying to fool the members.

11/7/2006

There's an Improvement Committee meeting tonight.  We are told that it may be interesting although we don't know why. 

11/7/2006

While the Webmaster may share the same sentiment as some of our writers, he believes he will leave the football opinions for the Sports Page Sound Off.  ;)

11/72006

  Yesterday, I was talking to one of our members who has a long history of Lake Forest activism.  He is convinced that we will be seeing an assessment soon.  It is highly unlikely that most of the new directors knew what they were getting into.

11/6/2006

What a coincidence that the "interesting and SAD news" comes out AFTER the election. Can't wait to hear what that is. What do they want to tear down now? The Country Club again? Or will they announce that the association is penniless and assess everyone for their poor fiscal management?

11/6/2006

Regarding the pending improvements expected in the area of food health inspections now that G.M. Fassbender is aware of the problem; why on earth was she not aware before we were blasted by the County Health Inspectors.

11/6/2006

That's alarming news (about the sewage spill)!  I kayaked there yesterday & had my hands in the water.  What does "Take Caution" mean.  Any idea where that manhole was?

11/6/2006

I'm confused was the grill, etc in the 19th hole dirty or the kitchen in the club house central?  I saw a cleaning crew, that was obviously hired, doing a spectacular job at the clubhouse on Garden Club day...these kitchens have never been clean,,,,the sinks are always dirty and never sanitized the way they look, years ago, cooks had to clean the entire kitchen before they could turn out any food at all!

11/3/2006

Garden Club Plant Sale is tomorrow at the high school.  Also, the fund raising golf tournament for the high school is Sunday.

.11/3/2006  From a director . . .

The health department has re-inspected our facilities. The ratings were all above 90 this time. The staff and GM have worked to identify and correct most of the issues. In another week, additional training will have been attended and the ratings will go even higher. Now that Mrs. Fassbender is aware of the issues, it appears that we can expect improvement in these areas. Now, we can move on to more pressing issues facing our association. There will likely be a Special Meeting next week on several of these. The agenda will be published and it looks like we will hear some interesting, and sad, things. Stay tuned.

11/3/2006

The following was breaking news on the Mobile Register site yesterday.  This has happened many times before.

The Baldwin County Health Department issued a health warning to Daphne residents today after about 200 to 300 gallons of sewage spilled from a manhole into Lake Forest Lake.

Residents were advised to take caution if using the water for recreation purposes. Department officials also warned residents to thoroughly cook any fish or seafood caught near the waters and to wash their hands

11/3/2006

Here's another local story from the Mobile Register.  Don't you just love government work!

Three employees of Bishop State Community College, on paid leave after being charged with the combined theft of more than $75,000 in financial aid money, got raises ranging from 5 percent to 10.8 percent when the new fiscal year started Oct. 1.

11/2/2006

My wife and I were watching some of the political debates on the public TV channel the other night.  We saw the Lieutenant Governor’s debate and also the one between the candidates for Attorney General.  Watching these things and reading the stories and campaign ads in the paper and on television, one has to wonder how in the world democratic politics could have managed to slide so far down into the scum of negativity.  It seems that both sides are spending all their time and money talking about how lowdown their opponent is.  If both candidates are not spreading the manure, then one or the other has to devote so much trying to repudiate the trash that has been put out by the other side that he cannot take the time to tell us about his real qualifications and goals.  Can you name one national candidate that you would classify as a “Statesman”?  You know, a Statesman is one whose actions are based on his or her perception of what is best for the country, not necessarily what is best for the individual or the party.  I think we have a few.  Unfortunately, they seem to be drowned out by the true politicians.

When did American politics lose all of its class?    There has always been some negativity in politics, but now it seems that there is nothing else.  Somewhere along the way the campaign managers came to the conclusion that negativity works. At the same time, it seems that we lost those with the personal character to say, “Works or not, this is beneath us.”   Negative politics is not new.  I had thought that the first really successful cheap shot was the “Little girl picking daisies when the nuclear blast went off” ad that Johnson used against Goldwater.  Most of our members are probably too young to remember that one.  It was, though, a totally misleading ad with no basis in fact that effectively won a presidential campaign.  Was that the one the started it off?  Or, was it the attack campaign that caused Nixon to give his “Checkers” speech.  That one didn’t work, which leads me to believe that it was the Johnson ad that really started American politics on the path to the cesspool.  Here's a message for the politicians.  We just want to know what you are going to do to solve the problems.  Let us worry about what a dog your opponent is.