Golf Course Sale: Important Update

​Dear Sky Lakes Section II Residents,
 
I’m writing this letter to inform residents of Sky Lakes Section II that our recent Sub-Committee— a group of resident volunteers who came together to explore solutions for the sale of the former golf course property— is no longer exploring an option for our neighborhood to buy the land.
 
To help break down this decision, I’m going to catch everyone up to speed on the past six months. Should you rather skip to where this leaves us as a community— feel free to fast forward to the “2021 OUTLOOK” section of my notes.
 
2020: RECAP
 
At the end of 2020, we presented to the community what we believed was the most viable solution to stop the property from being sold to an outside group. This was an “everyone-pitch-in” plan to collectively purchase the land from the Lewis family that would cost each household around $830 annually (or around $70 per month) over the course of fifteen years.
 
This plan was met with mixed reviews—the less-favoring ones revolved mainly around the cost increase of “neighborhood dues” raising from around ~$50 per lot per year to this dramatically increased new number.
 
In such reviews, some residents let us know that they literally could not afford to pay this due to their household incomes— or simply would not pay this out of the objection that they didn’t feel it was to their benefit/ a justified price increase for them/ etc.
 
This point is truly where the viability of this plan began to decline for us as a sub-committee. The key to an “everyone-pitch-in” plan is that we would need for everyone to do just that—pitch in and pay their part. We started asking ourselves…
 
What would happen if residents simply refused to pay? Due to our neighborhood’s low-cost annual fees, we simply don’t have the means to pursue legal action against residents who don’t pay. Could the rest of us make the notes without these individuals? Possibly, but if not, then what? If we were to default on the loan, what would that look for us?  
 
2021: OBSTACLES & DECISION
 
When moving into the 2021 year, our goal was to explore all possible options to lower the per-household annual cost (that $830 number.) We talked to new contractors about lowered maintenance cost (mowing/ maintenance of the former golf course is one of the biggest line item expenses in our calculations.) We explored new financial routes without avail. In short, our small neighborhood as an organization isn’t set up to access the line of credit we would need to make this a more desirable, smoother transaction for all (in short: a loan.)
 
During this course of time, our sub-committee also dwindled from an original 8-10 person collective down to two volunteers. (I’d like to note that I hold no bad blood about this— most members had to exit due to understandable circumstances— and I am thankful for all of the help we were able to get during the 2020 year.) Yet, I’m sure most can understand that it is very difficult to make ground on large issues such as this with only two volunteers.
 
We did express this need for volunteers to the neighborhood through our community’s Facebook page as well as through the neighborhood newsletter. Yet, we were not able to gain any additional volunteers to help us continue exploring solutions.
 
The true “beat of the gavel” for a decision to stop pursuing a solution comes from this: the cost in everything is rising. We truly could not have found ourselves in a harder season to explore cost-cutting alternatives. Property values are through the roof. The local cost of land is at an all-time high (which leaves little room for negotiations on purchasing price, even of “heavy floodplain” land.) The current cost of any type of outside labor is extremely high.
 
In short, we now realize that we are unable to return to residents with the “notably less expensive option” that we set after in 2021. The numbers and community-purchasing solution that we presented last year remains the best option that we feel has any remote amount of viability for us as a neighborhood. (And, even that one would still need more dedicated volunteers to bring to fruition.)
 
2021: OUTLOOK
 
The biggest question: where does this leave us as a neighborhood?
 
First and foremost, I don’t want to elude anyone into thinking that there will remain an extensive effort behind to stop the sale of this land to an outside party.
 
As disappointing as it is for me to report, there are no plans at this time to continue exploring an option where this land finally becomes a formal part of our community.
 
We truly feel like we’ve come up on a dead end—having explored everything short of a private resident/ a group of private residents taking out personal loans to buy the property and help us with expenses/ maintenance. (And, at the end of the day, asking one person to hold that weight and take on something like that to benefit the rest of us is simply too big of an ask for me.)
 
While there have been discussions around private residents acquiring “parts” of the former golf course in multiple different scenarios/ capacities—but, none of these have been fruitful to date. (To be honest, scenarios like these face their own large hurdles… one of many being that re-platting is an expensive, elongated process.)
 
I want the biggest takeaway to be this: If any resident feels the “call-of-duty” to keep this movement alive— to find a viable solution to hinder the property from being sold to an outside party— we will gladly pass the baton onto that person... we will help that person… we will catch that person up to speed… whatever help we can give that person will be freely given.
 
The Lewis family and their realtor, Bill Byrd, have been open-minded throughout this whole process. They’ve been a listening ear for our neighborhood and I truly believe they have considered our point-of-view since our initial conversations in early 2021. I know they would still be open if other residents were to come to them with alternative solutions, etc.
 
FINAL THOUGHTS
 
When I started helping with this effort in late 2019, I immediately decided I wasn’t going to judge the success/ failure of our efforts on whether or not we were able to “get” this property. As I reminded myself back then, the property remains actively on the market and can sell at any time that the Lewis family pleases to do so.
 
Instead, I knew—even back then—that I wanted to judge its success on whether or not we could walk away from this having the peace of mind in knowing that we truly gave it our best effort to find a solution… knowing that we did our best possible job to bring forward the best possible solution we could think of to our neighbors in order to stop the sale of this large chunk of property that borders so many homes here.
 
Today, I can honestly tell you that I feel like everyone involved gave it the best effort that we were able.
 
-------
 
PS:  I’d be committing a lie of omission if I didn’t write that I still have this looming anxiety of the unknowns and the “what-could-happens.” But, the best some of us can hope for is that either A- good future neighbors; whoever buys the property will be considering of those that already live here, or B- someone reading this is inspired to think of a solution beyond our bounds.
 
-------
 
If anyone has more questions on this or would like to speak to me directly, I would welcome that conversation. My number is 832-266-8246. Please feel free to call or text.
 
Best,
 
Sara Noll
Sky Lakes II Sub-Committee