Water Project Update - Everybody's grumpy.

I haven't written about our water project in awhile because quite frankly everybody is grumpy.  This long cold winter is taking its toll on people and the last thing I want to do is provide more "fuel" for the "grumpy fire".  However, Spring is sneaking up on us and it's time to put out the grumpy fire and start a fresh conversation on this important project.


Last summer, when test well number one was being drilled, there was excitement and curiosity throughout the membership.  People were into the project and the energy was positive and inquisitive.  After this long winter, the time people have on the conversation seems embroidered with more skepticism and second-guessing.   It's also tough to have a serious conversation about sprinklers in the dead of a snowy winter.   It may sound weird but I honestly feel we will be in a much better frame of mind in the spring to look at our project with a positive and optimistic light.  The course will be open, Vitamin D will be coursing through our veins from the sun, and people will be back in their optimistic and inquisitive frame of mind like last summer.

I'm not going to lie, things are going more slowly that we had hoped.  I had dreams of getting the plan finalized and off to a membership vote before the end of 2013.  Unfortunately we were unable to pull that off and the reason is simple.  We (myself, the board, the contractors, the committees) want to get it right.  The worst thing we can do is rush the process and not get as many answers as possible to all the questions people may have.  There are a lot of entities involved in this planning process and a lot of "cats" to herd and quite frankly, it's going to cost a good amount of the club's money.  This is the biggest and most important project the club has taken on since the building of the pool.  If we are going to move this project forward, we need to proceed carefully and thoughtfully and we are doing that.

All that being said, here's where we are.  The plan has not changed.  We will dig a second well, hope that there is as much or more water than well number one, plumb it into a new pump house with a new pump station and hook it up to the sprinkler system.  Install a new electrical supply that is safe and true to code.  Simple.  No more damming the creek, no more wires in the creek, and an endless supply of fresh, clean water that will serve the golf course for decades without being at the mercy of the quarry.  Simple.

What has changed are some options available to us through Toledo Edison.  With help of a former member who knows the electricity business, we are exploring some options with Edison that could potentially save the club thousands over the years with an increase in up-front cost.  Unfortunately, as I have lamented in the past, getting concrete information from Edison can be like trying to squeeze apple juice out of chicken turds.  Despite this, I feel it is important we do our due diligence and fully explore the option.

We are approaching this the right way.  I hope that as a member, you would appreciate a methodical approach  knowing that we had the best plan possible before seeking approval from the membership.  This is an important, necessary, and expensive project and we are doing our best to make sure we do it right.