Kay Miller’s views (letters, Nov. 21) of the proposed agreement for the Twin lakes homeowners to subsidize the Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club do not reflect the great deal the golf club gets and the loss of value of the homeowners’ dues.
I am not interested in golf, and I suspect most of the homeowners that are not already golf club members are not interested either. And the privilege of eating at the club is overrated. So as a personal matter, I and others like me get little to no value for the money.
As for the claim that saving the golf club is an investment in maintaining our property values, I can think of much better alternatives. Giving over $420,000 per year to a failed business to maintain the status quo is a giveaway of the worst sort. That money handed over every year is lost. I suggest that if this business fails, we could invest in the property to maintain green space and partner with developers to ensure quality, density and membership in the HOA. It’s money spent that retains value, instead of a giveaway to maintain a private club for a few privileged members.
Nothing in this agreement prevents the golf club from returning in later years for larger subsidies, always with the threat that they will sell to a developer. Perhaps if we do not bail out this failed enterprise, the golf club will find ways to add value and attract customers. If not, as I mentioned earlier, the HOA can mitigate without throwing good money after bad.
While Ms. Miller considers $25 per month a small price to pay, it more than doubles the current HOA fees. A 100 percent increase in what is essentially a tax by our most local government. I imagine there are some homeowners who have lost income and struggle in these times. Ms. Miller’s cavalier attitude toward the burden being placed on already stretched household budgets shows a lack of empathy and skewed priorities.
Lastly, I think the HOA representatives are likely golf club members. The deal they constructed is so biased toward the golf club, and such a bad deal for the HOA, it begs the question: Whose interest do they represent?
Richard Perry, Twin Lakes
