There is much to talk about relative to the upcoming campaign season. That said, we’ve become aware of yet another area to highlight to all our readers.
An overview of the Town Hall meeting is included in the current issue of Smoke Signals. One sentence caught our eye:
“Because the roundabout property is not covered under the covenants and restrictions, the land can be sold without property owner voting to market the property." Tidwell, W. (2018, Aug). Big Canoe internet upgrade and pricing presented at Town Hall meeting. Smoke Signals, p. 3A.
For this committee, the statement infers the POA Board could proceed and do as it wishes relative to the 14.4 acres known as the “Roundabout.”
This parcel of land has an interesting short-term history as it relates to Big Canoe Property Owners. Consider the following:
2016 appraisal = $575,000 (go to Big Canoe POA website / Governance / POA Land Purchase / Land Purchase Appraisal)
2016 purchase price for this parcel = $749,462*
Current value per Pickens County tax records = $505,050*
Another interesting tidbit - when Big Canoe Company acquired the land in 2002 the sale price is listed as “$0” with the reason stated as “trade.”
Conclusion #1 = we paid nearly $250,000 more than we should have for this piece of property
Conclusion #2 = The Big Canoe Company REALLY made out on this deal – they paid ZERO for the land and received a whopping $749,462 for it!!! Ok – what they traded for had some value (which we’ll never know) but something tells us it was still quite a deal for them.
Why bring this up? It’s over and done with. We bought the land and it’s time to move on. Please consider these two takeaways before going there….
Takeaway #1 – If history regarding land acquisition decisions are any indicator, Big Canoe Property Owners MUST be kept informed regarding activity related to the Roundabout DESPITE what the covenants and restrictions state. Shame on the Board should they move forward WITHOUT full transparency and under the guise they do not need to according to the covenants and restrictions. It’s called doing the right thing.
Takeaway #2 – It’s been said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. This hits at the core of why this committee was formed and the blog you are reading was created.
As Property Owners we want to be sure to elect the most qualified individuals for the open board positions and, quite simply, the current election / campaign process does not allow us to do so.
Until next time….
* qPublic.net for Pickens County, GA ~ parcel number 048 031 004
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