Where are we now?

Communications

Communications between the Board and MCA Homeowners have been limited and strained since TMCC announced the early termination of the lease on March 20.  Homeowners questioning Board actions have sometimes been cut-off for being off-agenda, whereas Homeowners with supporting off-agenda comments can continue.  Notably, the TMCC President is given unlimited speaking time.

Having and abiding by reasonable speaking rules is necessary, but enforcing them consistently is important.

Townhall meetings were initiated Chris Perone early this year with appropriate fanfare and excitement.  That was a significant and important implementation to facilitate dialogue between the Board and residents. But there has only been one since the new Board and Executive were elected on March 3.  There have been more Board meetings, but those are designed for Board discussions, not interactive discussions with residents.

On May 8,  the Board voted to place in abeyance an estimated $790,500 of expenses previously allocated and approved under the 2025 budget (approved Dec. 12, 2024).  This is intended to fund the operation and maintenance of the sports facilities while a new lessee could be secured.  Astonishingly, the Board did not approve a budget for either The Meadows Sports Complex Inc. (formed April 10) or the sports facilities.  Not doing so is a breach of Articles VIII, Section 9, Article IX, Section 2, and Article X, Section 2 of the MCA Bylaws as well as Florida Statute §720.303(6).

Transition of facilities from TMCC

Shortly after TMCC announced the early termination of the facilities lease, MCA Board leadership promised the transition of operations from TMCC to MCA would be seamless, despite not understanding the challenges ahead, and having no understanding of how cooperative TMCC might be.  Although TMCC promised to be cooperative, their very short notice of the lease termination indicated otherwise, and it quickly became apparent that they would not be cooperative because requests for information to plan transition were not fulfilled.

On April 6 MCA Board leadership created a small Transition Subcommittee led by Don Breece.  The subcommittee included two CPA’s with significant private golf club committee and Board experience, and an executive who was highly experienced in dealing with distressed companies.  They met almost daily to develop and report a transition roadmap and short list of key tasks.  This was done before the subcommittee was terminated 8 days later on April 14 without explanation by the MCA treasurer.

The committee members who had been properly appointed to the Finance Committee by the Board were also dropped from the Finance Committee by the MCA President. This is not allowed under Bylaw Article IX, section 1. We understand the last remaining financial professional appointed by the Board to the Finance Committee has been removed by the Treasurer, again in-compliant with MCA Bylaws.

Virtually none of the recommended roadmap or key tasks have been completed almost 2 months later.

Transition Committee Recommendation	Status
Create Newco to operate any of the golf, tennis or dining facilities.	Complete
Take all steps required to be able to accept payments from customers.	Banks accounts were opened. MCA leadership sought to take over TMCC’s payment receipt systems but TMCC was not cooperative, seeking unacceptable terms (like legal indemnification). Eventually Director Alex Peake implemented a new simple payment receipt system to open tennis operations (this was the approach envisioned by the subcommittee).
Inventory all TMCC assets on the premises, especially maintenance equipment as soon as possible. On May 1 take possession of all assets under Clause 16 of the lease (Footnote 1).	Was not completed prior to at least mid-May. MCA Board is now proposing transferring all TMCC assets to MCA, almost a month and a half after May 1.
Identify all TMCC leases and determine which the MCA would like to take over (some leases, like clubhouse chairs and printers may not be desirable). Negotiate the transfer with the vendors.	Was not completed prior to April 30. Identification has been completed. Unknown whether decisions have been made on which leases to keep or progress on vendor negotiations.
Negotiate a “skinny” agreement with ICON for short-term management of whatever operations MCA chooses to offer. Do not take over TMCC’s agreement with ICON (has a $100,000 termination fee)	Appears that the TMCC/ICON contract remains in effect, but MCA is paying the bills despite dormant functionality (other than greenskeeping). This is where a lot of MCA funds are being spent.
Hire a golf industry expert to guide and assist the MCA Board in its decisions about operating the facilities (or not) and its goal of leasing the facilities. This has consistently been recommended by residents for more than a year.	Not completed. Initial expert interviews were competed almost 2 months ago, but no further action was taken for many weeks. Eventually MCA Leadership recommended a golf course sales broker. (more on this below)

In its brief existence, the subcommittee did not have the data to understand, analyze and report on the financial implications of operating the golf courses (how large the losses might be), but closing the courses was one of the options under discussion.

A few weeks ago, the Board received some information on the costs of TMCC operations and former members of the subcommittee quickly completed independent work on the MCA Board’s options for the golf courses.  It became very apparent that operating the courses was the highest cost/highest risk approach.  Shutting down all operations other than basic course maintenance was the lowest cost/lowest risk approach that would give the Board time to make the best-informed long-term decision for The Meadows.  This work was provided to the Board and then to the community via Facebook and our website.  It was tersely rejected by the MCA president.

At this point there is still no indication of a plan for the golf courses, whether it is to operate them, remain ready to operate them, or just maintain them.

It might seem that by the facilities closing on May 1, the lack of action to keep them open happened to get us to the most desirable approach.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case.  The result of no decision is that we are burning through large amounts of cash, paying ICON to do nothing (other than basic golf course maintenance).  Maybe ICON is doing work wrapping up TMCC as well, but TMCC should be paying for that, not MCA.

Golf Course Expertise

No one on the MCA Board has any experience operating golf, tennis or dining operations.  While they have a variety of skills and experiences, none are in those areas.

For more than a year, this website and an overwhelming number of residents have been asking the MCA Board to hire a golf industry expert to provide information and advice to the MCA Board for the very important and difficult decisions they had ahead of them.  Upcoming decisions on the future of the facilities are likely going to permanently shape the future of The Meadows.  We are at a loss as to why this advice has not been heeded.

In early April, the Transition Subcommittee completed initial interviews with 3 golf and club industry expert organizations.  All included at least one Board member and some of these interviews included MCA Board leadership.  Strangely, MCA Board leadership indicated they did not believe that expertise was needed or worth the cost.

At the most recent MCA Board meeting it appeared that the MCA Board had finally turned the corner and was willing to obtain expert assistance.  However, MCA Board leadership advocated for hiring LIPG which is a golf course broker (expert in assisting the purchase/sale of golf course properties).  This significantly misses the mark in areas the MCA requires assistance, such as:

• Immediate decisions on whether and how to operate the golf courses or just maintain them.
• Ensuring that the terms of any lease address and protect the needs of the Meadows.  (one of the experts interviewed cautioned that a long-term lease is not a silver bullet, that there are many pitfalls, and ongoing management of the lease is very important).
• The experts that were previously interviewed also know the marketplace and players in the market which Board leadership does not know or understand.

When MCA Leadership that advocated for LIPG because the contract was “performance based”, it was clear they did not understand the draft contract terms including a minimum fee (higher than the other 3 golf consultants recommended by the Transition Subcommittee), and MUCH larger fee if a lease contract was completed.  Still, the Board voted to attempt to negotiate a lower fee contract with LIPG and we will hopefully receive an update at the next Board meeting.  

What needs to happen as soon as possible

Hire a real golf industry expert from among the candidates interviewed.

Subject to advice from that expert, commit to keeping the golf courses shut down, but with minimal maintenance.  Contract with ICON for this only (possibly a few tennis staff if player response indicates it can be operated at minimal net cost).

The Board needs to approve an itemized budget for The Meadows Sports Complex and/or the sports facilities as soon as possible to comply with the MCA Bylaws and FS §720.303(6).  This budget needs to be made available to all residents and should be monitored by the Finance Committee which should measure performance against the budget.  Ideally, the budget should be prepared retroactive to March 21 when the TMCC gave notice of the lease termination.

Once efforts to open the golf courses (or other facilities) cease, energy can be focused on doing a thorough search for a long-term lease partner (the Board has indicated that thus far they have only received expressions of interest and have not contacted potential partners).

A quick note on CCL: Private golf club dining is a money losing endeavor even during peak season.  In the summer with fewer residents, no beer/wine/liquor sales and no club members, losses would be much higher.  It would also take a lot more effort than re-opening tennis and distract energy from the most important goal: Finding the right long-term lease partner.  We understand some residents would like it to be re-opened but it isn’t the right choice at this time.

Reminder to former TMCC members

If you prepaid your dues for 2025, contact TMCC for a refund of the unused 8 months of your membership. TMCC is required to pay this to you under TMCC by-laws. While full payment of the amount due to you is unlikely (as their liabilities exceed assets) but something is better than nothing. The TMCC President is likely the best point of contact for this.  

The next MCA Board meeting is Thursday June 12, @ 2:00. Dates for upcoming meetings can be found HERE.

Footnote 1 – Extract from 2024 MCA/TMCC Lease.

16. CONDITION OF PREMISES UPON TERMINATION:

Upon termination or expiration of this Lease, the Club shall leave the Premises in as good a condition as at the date of execution of this Lease, except for the effects of reasonable wear and tear, alterations and repairs made with the concurrence of the MCA, and property damage due to fire, wind, storm or other natural causes, and other perils insured in contracts or policies of fire, extended coverage and vandalism insurance in current practice.

Except in the ordinary course of business, the Club shall not have the right to sell, lease, transfer, lien, encumber, convey or assign any of the Personal Property (as defined below) owned by the Club and located on the Premises. In the event the Club is in default hereunder, or if this Lease is terminated for any reason, all of the equipment, furniture, furnishings, inventory and other personal assets of the Club on the Premises (the “Personal Property”) shall become the property of the MCA. In addition, the MCA shall have the right to sell all clubs, carts and other property of members stored on the Premises, with notice to the Club, after it has been stored for a period of THIRTY (30) days or more, the proceeds of such sale to be applied first to the cost of such sale, second to the payment of the charges for storage, and third to the payment of any other amounts which may then be due from the Club to the MCA, and the balance, if any, shall be paid to the Club.