HEATHER HILLS ACQUISITION COMMITTEE

The Heather Hills Acquisition Committee is an independent group of people looking to purchase the Heather Hills Golf Course. This entity is independent from residents of El Rancho Village, Golf Lakes Estates, and Heather Hills Estates. While the majority of individuals that comprise this group are residents of the three parks there is no affiliation or requirement for residents. The information that follows is for those interested in participating VOLUNTARILY in the Golf Course Acquisition.

For further information regarding the Heather Hills Golf Course acquisition you may contact Bill Wagner. His email address is billwagnergolf@verizon.net

To send check.
Make payable to Heather Hills Golf Course Acquistion
Mail to:
El Rancho Village Inc.
508 44th Avenue E. Lot K13
Bradenton, FL 34203
Attn: Bill Wagner - Golf Course Acquistion

UPDATE AS OF 1/1/2010

Last Chance

Submitted by Michael Gist, Manager

The project to buy the Heather Hills Golf Course is definitely going forward with very good participation from residents in the surrounding parks. Initial contact has been made with the owners of the property and activity is nearing the serious negotiation stage.

To-date a half million dollars has been received from Charter Members. The committee is hoping to raise at least another $250,000 in the coming weeks to ensure an even more solid financial base. At El Rancho Village 40 residents have paid in full and another 14 have indicated their commitment with a partial contribution. More than half of the members to date are not golfers. Should the “Acquisition Committee” not be successful in its efforts to buy the property all of the money on deposit will be returned to the contributors.

The threat that the property could become mixed residential housing is quite real. A decision on such a zoning change could be only months away. Take a moment to let your-self imagine the effect of having 200 or more families of all age groups and life styles in that space instead of the quiet green space that we now enjoy. This is the reality that could happen! We ALL need to support the effort to obtain control of the property. The objective is, clearly, to keep the property as a Private/Public golf club operation.

If you're already a member, THANK YOU! If you've made a partial donation, please complete your Charter Membership.

If you have not yet made your decision to become a “Charter Member” – now is the time to join in (whether you are a serious golfer or not). It's up to each one of us. This may well be our last chance. Register your Charter Membership at our park office ASAP. (Even a partial donation will signify your commitment).

UPDATE AS OF 6/19/2009

Neighbors, Friends and Fellow Golfers

Summer is upon us here in sunny Florida. Our efforts to acquire Heather Hills Golf Course must not go on vacation. We have a lot of recruiting to sign up new share holders and to collect the pledges from original shareholders. At the moment, a large majority of our shareholders have fulfilled their pledge to buying the golf course. We still have 40 individuals that have paid only their deposits. We would appreciate if these people would step forward at this time and complete their $5000.00 commitment to this worthwhile undertaking. Our committee would like to have the pledges completed before the snowbirds return so we can concentrate on new shareholders. It is never easy asking for money but we would hate to see our hard fought efforts wasted.

Your committee feels that we are approaching a dollar figure that will allow us to make a legitimate offer on the course. Talk to your friends and neighbors so they too can be a part of owning a great Golf Course. Heather Hills Acquisition Committee

UPDATE AS OF 6/8/2009

Checks continue to trickle in as residents who had contributed smaller amounts to signal a commitment to buying the golf course fill out their 5-thousand dollar Charter Memberships. It’s impossible to accurately report the total in the escrow account from this vantage point, but we will clearly have something in the vicinity of a half-million dollars in the escrow account by the time fireworks are appropriate. While activity ebbs during the summer, you can check for developments by visiting the www.golflakes.com or www.elranchovillage.net web sites and clicking on Heather Hills at the top of the page

As of this writing, there has been no move on the part of the owners of the course to renew action on their application to change the comprehensive plan designation from Recreation/Open Space to Residential. That would be the first step toward converting the course into a condominium site. The pause gives the Acquisition Committee and our communities a bit of breathing space in the push to raise at least a million dollars for a down payment and course operations in the first year. However, the potential of development remains real…as does the need to sustain fund raising momentum.

One misconception needs to be cleared up. Charter Members will have no continuing financial responsibility to the operation of the course…no assessments. Through professional appraisals, we’ve seen nine-years of its financials and we’re confident the cash needed for debt retirement, upkeep and improvement can be covered by course revenues.

Charter Membership is valuable to all communities residents…golfer and non-golfer alike… by sustaining a recreational enhancement and preserving the 55-and-over character of the neighborhood. For the charter golfer, the committee intends that the member will pay a reduced daily fee…or a reduced annual fee if the member feels that’s more appropriate. Protection of our parks is still up to each one of us, so continue to “sell” the purchase of the Heather Hills golf course in your communications with friends and neighbors this summer. No advertising is as powerful as word of mouth, friend to friend.

UPDATE AS OF 5/11/2009

We’re continuing to chart momentum toward the acquisition of the Heather Hills golf course. More than half the goal has been reached in terms of those giving at least partial checks toward charter membership. 130 individuals have put in up to 5-thousand dollars the goal is 200. As checks continue to come in, the escrow account has climbed past 420-thousand-dollars. That’s enough that the Committee has designated two of its members to begin talking to banks.

We’ve also formalized the committee structure. Up to a dozen people have attended committee meetings so we won’t list all the participants but it is significant that the Presidents of all three Residents’ Associations are members.

Acquisition Committee

Chairman - John Bauman, retired News Broadcaster, resident and Board member of Golf Lakes

Vice Chairman - William Wagner, retired Fire Fighter, resident of El Rancho Village….

Secretary Treasurer - Sonja Accetura, retired Business owner, resident of El Rancho Village

Member - D’Arcy Van Nest, resident of El Rancho Village

Member - Boyd Rader Board President-Heather Hills

Member - Warren Jorena, Board President-Golf Lakes

Member - Tom Ladd, Board President-El Rancho Village

Member - Pam McFarland, Park Manager-Golf Lakes

Member - Michael Gist, Park Manager-El Rancho Village

Related information;

Legal Consul - William Korp of Abel-Band

Audit and Accounting - John Dowd of Dowd-Whittaker

Bank - Bank of America, Bradenton

Signing Officers - any two of John Bauman, William Wagner, or Sonja Accetura

Contact information;

Michael Gist, El Rancho Village 941-755-8909, mgist@elranchovillage.net

Sonja Accetura, El Rancho Village 941-751-2130, joesonja@hotmail.com

William Wagner, El Rancho Village 941-758-7444, billwagner232@verizon.net

John Bauman, Golf Lakes 941-756-3669 madgolf2@aol.com

In a real sense, everyone who sees the value of this drive to protect the green space adjoining our communities is a member of the Acquisition Committee. All of us have a stake several couples with 10-thousand dollar stakes in convincing friends and neighbors, golfers and non-golfers, that they too should want a role in this citizen initiative. Please continue to spread the word.

UPDATE AS OF 4/8/2009

I picked up four checks in one neighborhood this week because one couple had dinner Monday night with another couple who then talked to another neighbor and so on…

Not everyone comes to coffee…or attends communication meetings. So not everyone understands the problem or the hoped-for solution.

If the Heather Hills Acquisition Committee can’t make the deal, you’ll get your money back but I don’t think anyone wants that to happen.

Help the cause make a pot of coffee and invite a neighbor or several neighbors and if you think it would help, invite me and I’ll help answer questions. It’s really, really important. Just ask the people up in Parrish.

UPDATE AS OF 3/31/2009

Summary of Presentation Of the Acquisition Committee to Interested Parties Held March 31 2009 at Golf Lakes Community Centre

The meeting was chaired by Mr. John Bauman a board member at Golf Lakes who also presented a major summary of the issues and status of affairs of the Heather Hills Acquisition Initiative as follows;

“Thank you all for your interest and your enthusiasm for problem solving. The Heather Hills Acquisition Committee is bumping into a deadline for action and this is probably our last chance to talk with you this season.

First things first I’ve asked our host for this meeting, the President of the Golf Lakes Residents Association to offer a few thoughts ladies and gentlemen, Warren Jorena:

Thanks Warren. Just to point something out…I’ll note that the Presidents of the other two communities most affected by the fate of the Heather Hills course…Tom Ladd of El Rancho and Boyd Rader of Heather Hills Park…are also here, as members of the committee. I’m a member of the Golf Lakes Board…and our three communities are giving moral and logistical support even though they can’t, by law, invest.

I think we all know what we face. In a thumbnail: The Copeman family wants to get out of the golf business…They’ll sell to us…or to a developer after a rezoning. The threat is 168 to 279 low to moderate income families in two or three story condos occupying what is now a green space recreational facility. Mr. Copeman has sent a letter setting a May 15^th deadline for action indicating the likelihood of a renewed pitch for a zoning change this summer.

There are some obvious questions and I’ll try to answer some that have already been asked.

We’ve settled on five-thousand dollars and would like to see 200 and more on the initial membership rolls. So far, 50 of us have signed on. We’re still examining financial models but feel 200 would give us room to move ahead in coming up with a reasonable and fair offer for the properties including the driving range, equipment and buildings. So we need your help.

Why should we buy the course….and why should I be a part of the acquisition…particularly if I don’t even play golf.

For the golfers, it’s the promise of reasonably priced golf on a course that will get better and better over time as the profits go back into improving it under a not-for-profit corporation run by golfers.

As a charter member, you’ll have a voice in its operation. In the short term, you’ll also benefit from being a charter member in other ways. We’re looking at annual fees in the 500-dollar range and reductions in trail fees, cart and locker rentals.

For the non golfer, a charter membership protects your property value by guaranteeing forever a green space buffer against overcrowding. You’ll have a voice in the operation of the course and its improvement. And there’s the prospect of including the membership as an asset in the sale of your home or the transfer of the membership and its benefits to the son or daughter who comes here in retirement.

Charter members will elect a nine-member board serving staggered three year terms…in other words, we all will own it and run it just as our resident associations have been operating for years. It’ll be a public-private course and we’ll aggressively encourage public play to support its operations. Charter members who golf will pay an annual member fee…again, we hope to trim that to about 500-dollars and expect the Board to pare other costs as well, depending on expenses.

Big Question: If I give you 5-thousand dollars, is the money safe is there a way to get my money back and what if you can’t get a purchase agreement.

The money is safe it’s all going into an escrow account in the name of our state licensed corporation. Charter members would hold certificates of ownership in the corporation which might eventually be saleable back to the corporation but that would hinge on operational needs. There’s no income from the certificates and no promise of enhanced value. However, over time as loans are paid off complete ownership will accrue to certificate holders as will control over annual operational earnings of the course.

If we can’t get a purchase agreement, you’ll get your money back. I think the committee will be able to cover any expenses from our own initial contributions.

What if you buy it and it fails for some reason? First of all, I can’t imagine anything we own “failing”. Pride of ownership is a powerful force evident in our communities and I’m confident about the future of Heather Hills Golf if we buy it. However should it fail, pro-rata reimbursement of net remaining assets would be distributed to certificate holders of the day. Two quick anecdotes one I’ve told before: A neighbor told me I can lose 10-thousand dollars in the value of my home or spend 10-thousand to buy a golf course. I’d rather spend than lose. And another a non-golfer said he’d gladly volunteer to work on beautifying and improving the course. Pride of ownership!

Who is the Acquisition committee? We’re just a loose set of volunteers…mostly golfers, all neighbors…who picked up the challenge when it proved impossible for our community associations to pursue the purchase. We can always use more volunteers.

I filled out one of those “Heather Hills Investment Surveys” months ago and haven’t heard from anyone since. Why not?

The short answer is…we’ve dropped that ball. We’ve been so busy trying to establish basics, like cost and form and business models and well, that’s all an excuse. We haven’t quite figured out how to spread our wings but we’ll focus on organizing a wider base in the immediate future and hope we can tap your enthusiasm too. Sorry.

To this time, CPA John Dowd of Dowd, Whittaker & Associates and attorney Bill Korp of the Abel-Band firm have been donating time and advice so our not-for-profit corporation hasn’t rung up any expenses. We’ll need an updated valuation analysis before proceeding with the formal offer but any expenses will come from the escrow account in a proportional and equitable manner.

Now, those are the questions that I’ve caught over the last month or so but I’ll bet there are others. We have volunteers with mikes to catch your question and we’ll try to provide answers.”

Boyd Rader, Heather Hills Estates Association President also addressed the meeting with strong support for the initiative.

Tom Ladd the President of the El Rancho Village Association concluded the meeting with a “stem winder” of support.

Bill Korp of the Abel-Band legal firm
William Wagner - El Rancho
Sonia Accetura - El Rancho
D’Arcy Van Nest - El Rancho