A PLACE TO BE
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Survey Valuable To Who?
It appears that Village owners may soon pay well over the promised fifteen thousand dollars for CRA's pre-dredging survey. This study is suppose to provide where and how much sediment there is in our canals, along with approximate removal costs. This first of many expenditures will be just the tip of the iceberg in the CRA proposal whose singular goal is to accomplish full dredging.
When this survey was first postponed in order to gather owner input, Director Bergsma became upset and ignored that this input showed that only three out of one thousand twenty four owners were having canal navigational problems. All three piloted deep draft boats and one of them was said to be looking to sue our Village if dredging maintenance isn’t done.
Last month Director Bergsma was said to have begun his own legal action against our Village, but recanted prior to December's Regular Meeting, a meeting in which the Board had clearly displayed they had succumbed to his wishes.
It seems clear nothing short of a full dredging decision will be acceptable to Director Bergsma and Chris Ransome the owner of CRA who looks to profit big.
That being said, has anyone stopped to think just how valuable this pre-dredge survey is to one seeking a canal maintenance lawsuit? It would drastically improve the validity of their legal position and we, the owners are picking up the tab.
Our membership does not need a pre-dredge survey or anything else until it first makes a decision on how much money if any it wants to spend towards dredging.
Our Board should not surrender to anyone who threatens our Village with legal action nor should our Board strengthen a legal opponent's position. If this pre-dredge survey begins it will mean our Board has done both.
When Director Bergsma, MO Berry, and CRA convinces everyone to do this survey, be prepared to either pay through the nose for full dredging or lose a lawsuit you had helped them to win and then pay through the nose.
Comments
6 comments:
Joey, Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the CRA proposal a package deal? All or nothing?? I doubt they would be willing to piece it out ie; so much for a pre-dredging survey. Then, if we vote to dredge, they would charge us so much for an after survey. I believe if our board votes to accept the proposal...they will, in essence, be obligating us to the dredging & after survey as well.
Please, PLEASE send an email to all the board members today. They need to be bombarded with NO SURVEY at this time letters. We are being denied input--and it's OUR money!
Any Board Member that does not put the health, welfare and safety needs of our community ahead of secondary needs is subject to recall of the community and is liable for any death or injury as a result of their irresponsibility.
Don't we need to take care of seeing that an ambulance can get across our dilapidated swing bridge in an emergency FIRST?!
Re: Joey, correct me if..
The proposal consists of four “Tasks” with the first Task being the pre and post dredge surveys. The pre-dredge survey is a selling tool that commits a client to use the other three Tasks. The proposal is not an all or nothing package, but the pre-dredge survey will effectively sell clients a need to dredge. Add to this your pre-dredge survey investment you don’t want to lose, your survey’s 90 day shelf life that sells urgency, and then letting CRA get their leg under the table to sell you once again their survey results, their expertise, and all the other sizzle that surrounds a dredging scenario makes this a slam dunk formula.
Joey
Wasn't a dredging survey done about 10-12 years ago, which cost just a fraction of this currently discussed price? Seems there was a sounding done of all the canal depths, and the cost did not approach anywhere near the tens of thousands dollars being discussed here.
Furthermore, didn't LIV have some of the LIV canals dredged back when PI had a dredging contractor doing the Fingers about 8-10 years ago? I thought LIV had the same outfit dredge some of our canals...or maybe my memory's failing?
re: dredging 8 10 years
it was not that long ago 4 to 5 did some spot dredging don't remember if all the canals were checked or surveyed. the cost as I remember was less than $75,000 and paid for by all owners out of the general fund. all of the sea cottage owners were offered by the dredging company, to have their boat lifts cleaned up. some took the offer, at their own expense, others did not
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