Equestrian Center operation to continue:
GCA signs lease with CADEAUX SHOW STABLES
By now, we trust that you have had an opportunity to review the
Glenmore Farm, Inc. annual report for 2016 to the Glenmore Community Association provided in the Annual Information Packet recently distributed in support of the upcoming Annual Meeting. The report concludes with the following:
"Based on 28 months of operation, and considering the submitted GFI 2017 budget for the GFEC operation, the GCA Board is now considering a number of options for the future of the equestrian center, including leasing the property to a 3rd party and shutting down the business. The path forward must preserve or enhance the value and desirability of the Glenmore community, yet limit the financial burden on the Community. A number of non-discretionary repair and maintenance items have been identified, such as replacement of the membrane roof on the barn addition. The GCA has allocated reserves for these items, and they are underway.
A decision on the future of the GFEC will be made by the GCA Board prior to the Annual Meeting and communication will be forthcoming."
The purpose of this communication is to bring Association members up to date on subsequent decisions and actions, as well as provide background information used by the GCA to make these decisions. After significant data gathering, analysis and deliberation, we are pleased to announce that
the GCA Board has entered into a 3-year lease of the equestrian parcel and Glenmore Farm equestrian facility with Cadeaux Show Stables. On March 1, The Glenmore Farm Equestrian Center will become
Glenmore Cadeaux Stables. Zach Parks is the owner/operator of Cadeaux Show Stables. Mr. Parks has a strong reputation throughout the horse community. You can find information on the experience and capabilities of Mr. Parks
here.
Over the past few years there have been a number of lessons learned from operating the Glenmore Farm Equestrian Center. They are captured in the
attached document for your review. These lessons learned assisted the GCA Board in developing the path forward for the property. The Board considered a number of options regarding the future of this valuable asset. These options were shortlisted to two viable options: 1. Lease to an outside party, or 2. Shutdown the facility. In assessing the options the Board considered the following criteria:
- Preserves or enhances Glenmore property values.
- Preserves the pastoral entrance of the Glenmore development.
- Maintains the reputation and desirability of Glenmore.
- Maintains a balanced investment when considering other GCA assets/common areas and the benefit to the community.
- Requires on-going financial investment not to exceed that required to maintain the property without an equestrian center.
- Minimizes risk exposure to the GCA/Glenmore Community
- Streamlines information sharing, communication, and decision- making.
- Maintains the GCA's ability to control, use, and access related common areas, such as multi use trails.
Both options require the GCA to invest in repairs and/or replacement to address the condition of the property and facilities. This investment is approximately $60,000 for the Lease option and $48,000 for the Shutdown option. The GCA has allocated reserves that will be used to cover these costs. Under the lease agreement the GCA will realize a positive operating income for all three years prior to depreciation/reserve contribution. In year two and year three the operating income will be used to build back the reserve account. Finally, by year three with a positive net income (i.e. after depreciation) the GCA can begin to recover the five-year $20,000 promissory note that was loaned by the GCA to the GFEC early on. If we were to shut down the facility, we would not have a means to generate revenue with which to rebuild expended reserves or recover any of the $20,000.
The GCA Board is acutely aware that some members of the Association believe that they should have been party to the decision-making process. While the rules and regulations that govern our Association do not require this, and we agree engaging the membership is generally the 'right thing to do', we were guided by a number interrelated factors, including, but not limited to - minimizing cost exposure/loss to the Association through loss GFEC staff and/or clients resulting in continued erosion of the business, moving swiftly to take advantage of the opportunity to engage Mr. Parks, and affecting a clean transition to a new GCA Board. We believe that it would have been a disservice to the Community, the GFEC clients and staff, and to the new GCA Board to delay a decision in order to engage the membership.
The GCA Board continues to work with the GFI Board to affect a smooth transition during the next few weeks. If you have questions please email them to
commns@glenmore-community.org. These will be addressed at the Annual meeting on February 23rd, 2017.
GCA Board: Diana Ferguson, President, Ron Baellow, Jim Colbaugh, Bill Dunne, Nancy Gansneder, Mike Monticello and Art Peters
