Perpetuating the illusion to themselves and the world that we, the property owners, voted in approval of the $8 million expenditure, (1) the Big Canoe POA Board of Directors held the August 28th board meeting in the newly renovated clubhouse that included custom made light fixtures, commissioned artwork and a horseshoe shaped bar designed with the Indianapolis Colts logo in mind. (2)
When asked by a property owner to justify why dollars were spent on custom designed light fixtures, the POA President abruptly responded, “it was in the budget”. (3a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qetQ2wxcpWA at 1:37:50
About those financials . . .
And as noted in the previous post on this site, (4) https://bcmatters.org/lines-in-the-sand/ the amenity performance slide was once again omitted from the General Manager’s financial presentation indicative of management’s continued overt deception to the community regarding the Association’s financial performance.
While noting that July expenses were higher than plan due to labor costs associated with the opening of the clubhouse, the GM failed to mention that food & beverage (“F&B”) actually posted a $68k loss for the month of July with the YTD loss now at $431k. (5a)
Perhaps that explains why the GM has elected to remove the amenity performance slide from his monthly presentations.
Note: Additional chatter has been observed by property owners insisting that the amenity information be reinstated in future presentations as it has always been done in the past. Kudos to those individuals for protesting this obvious maneuver to withhold vital financial details. It is hoped that this insistence will continue until those slides are returned.
Aimed to mislead . . .
While using the same unconventional non-GAAP format that was introduced in the previous month’s financial presentations, the GM emphasized an $81k improvement in net income (before depreciation) over 2024 as highlighted in his YTD through July Financial Summary – Cash from Operations slide. (6) The floor was then purposefully turned over to one of the directors (current liaison to the Election Committee) for additional comment who in turn gushed that the improvement over 2024 was “really remarkable”. (3b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qetQ2wxcpWA beginning at 27:25
Perhaps in his haste to applaud management, this director failed to observe how that improvement came about. Had he done so, he would have ascertained that the improvement was actually attributed to a $275k YTD increase in general operating revenue fueled by $239k in property owner assessment increases (5b) as the amenities at ($138k) and operating departments at ($57k) both posted negative variances to 2024. (6)
Think about it.
Perhaps the real kudos should have been extended to the property owners and their very deep pockets.
Funding of ordinary capital expenditures with debt . . .
It might be noteworthy to first mention that the YTD report of capital expenditures was also omitted from the GM’s financial presentation.
Although it requires additional effort on the part of the property owner, these totals can be determined by adding the previous YTD totals to the July totals included in the GM’s presentation. That mathematical exercise reflects $5.4 million in capital expenditures not related to “Renew Big Canoe”. However, according to the GM’s newly designed, non-conventional cash flow slides, (7) only $3.036 million has been deposited to the Capital Fund this year excluding the draws against the Wells Fargo line of credit at $9.5 million. Thus, after including the fund’s $923k balance at the beginning of the year, it is apparent that line of credit funds have been used to fund ordinary capital expenditures rather than being held for the construction of the spillway. (8)
This is a most disturbing fact.
Looking at the capital expenditures another way . . .
Using the GM’s continued emphasis on “cash is king”, (3c) one must only look to the cash generated YTD at $2.9 million as shown on the YTD through July Financial Summary – Cash from Operations slide (6) plus the capital assessments at $1.2 million (5c) less principal payments on debt at $712k to arrive at a total of $3.3 million which is significantly less than the $5.4 million in capital expenditures not related to Renew Big Canoe (funded by the Wells Fargo Credit Line). This example clearly demonstrates that the Association continues to spend more than it takes in.
Meanwhile, there’s still that looming Lake Petit Dam spillway expenditure with no line of credit remaining for the Association to fall back on.
And has the Finance Committee now become the Board’s latest proxy? . . .
A quick review of the August 22nd Finance Committee minutes certainly proved to be enlightening as it seems the committee is now approving contracts and capital projects in amounts that have been restricted to the board for approval. (9)
More specifically, a $132k contract for cleaning services for the renovated clubhouse was approved and awarded by the committee. The company appears to be located in Suwanee, GA in proximity to the GM’s Molly Maid franchise and does not appear to have a website or other public presence. An Ask the POA inquiry has been submitted requesting additional details. However, no response has been received as of the date of this posting.
Note: There is no reference in the board minutes of any approval of this contract as required by Board procedure 152.1.
Further, in a 7-0 vote, the committee approved the relocation of the Wildcat Fire Station and awarded the $190k project to Rhino Construction. Once again, there is no documentation in the board minutes of any approval of this project or the selection of the contractor as required by Board procedure 152.2.
One must seriously ask, who is running the show?
Eligible votes? The real confusion . . .
And as a side note, despite previous claims that amenity performance slides had been omitted and other reports redesigned due to property owner suggestions and/or confusion, the real delirium may be currently rooted in management and leadership’s discombobulated discussion of eligible votes in this primary election.
While characterizing details found on social media as “misinformation”, the POA Vice-President and the GM attempted to diffuse the confusion via a slide titled Eligible Votes by Member Type . (10)
However, they failed to recognize that according to Section 3.5 (e) of the Association bylaws, the developer as a Type “D” owner is not allowed to cast votes in an election yet those votes were acknowledged and included in the “eligible” totals.
And again . . .
And finally, little if any of the information included in this post was discussed in the August 28th board meeting. Because of that these additional details are not found in the Smoke Signals recap.
That said, sincere kudos are extended to the staff of Smoke Signals for issuing this clarification and disclaimer at the end of their August summary.
“ This summary is provided solely as a convenience to our readers. It is a recap of statements made during the Big Canoe POA Board meeting and does not include research, fact-checking, or independent verification. The content reflects only what was said at the meeting and should not be interpreted as investigative journalism or an endorsement by Smoke Signals. “ (11) https://smokesignalsnews.com/news/big-canoe-poa-board-meeting-summary/article_70ff6305-518e-402e-b79c-a48af7439ac8.html
Keeping that in mind . . .
Only by viewing posts such as this, reviewing financial statements and meeting minutes and/or asking questions can this important information ever see the spotlight. And even then, it is apparent that there is so much more to be discovered as our elected leadership is either ill-equipped to analyze basic information or vital details are being deliberately hidden in order to control the narrative.
In closing, perhaps it’s time for the POA Board of Directors to discard these dog and pony shows and conduct a real board meeting with appropriate detail and honest information.
Just a thought.
. . . . .
Should you be interested in the governance and financial information often found in these posts and wish to see additional articles posted in the future, please subscribe for an email notification or check back frequently. And as always, feel free to contact me directly at thepcrosses@gmail.com for questions or further discussion. Meanwhile, take care, stay safe and thank you for your readership.
Patricia Cross
10438 Big Canoe
References:
1) “Guest Spot: Wayne Huey on the upcoming clubhouse renovation trainwreck”, July 10th, 2024, bcmatters.org, https://bcmatters.org/guest-spot-wayne-huey-on-the-upcoming-clubhouse-renovation-train-wreck/
2) ““New Clubhouse impresses early visitors”, Smoke Signals, August 26th, 2025.
3) Big Canoe POA board meeting, August 28th, 2025, video on youtube at: a) 1:37:50; b) 27:25; c) 22:15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qetQ2wxcpWA
4) “Lines in the sand”, August 19th, 2025, bcmatters.org, https://bcmatters.org/lines-in-the-sand/
5) July 2025 Financial Package, a) Income from Operations, pg. 5; b) Summary of Operations, pg. 1; c) Consolidated Statement of Operation, pg. 6 (POAwebsite>login>POA>financials>2025>July)
6) YTD through July Financial Summary – Cash from Operations slide.
7) Cash Flow Slide1 and Cash Flow Slide2
8) Big Canoe POA board meeting, June 26th, 2025, video on Youtube at d) 1:10:55
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdQMEC0UVzU
9) Finance Committee Meeting Minutes, August 22nd, 2025 (POAwebsite>login>POA>Committees>Finance>Minutes>2025>August)
10) Eligible Votes by Member Type
11) “Big Canoe POA Board Meeting Summary”, dated September 2nd, 2025, Smoke Signals. https://smokesignalsnews.com/news/big-canoe-poa-board-meeting-summary/article_70ff6305-518e-402e-b79c-a48af7439ac8.html
$8mil Club House, next million dollar Hotel! When does the millions Stop??
Can’t wait for the ASSMENT TO COME to a Retirement Community. Divk
I will dispense with details of how long I have been a homeowner at BC and the evolution of what was once known as the “Sconti”. I have just seen photos of the new Clubhouse in BIG CANOE LIVING.
Could they have tried any harder to make it so hideous? Nothing to do with the North Georgia Mountains, sorry. I am appalled.
Folks, this is getting serious! Enough with the dog and pony show and the not-so-skillfully managed shell game.
There are serious issues at work here and the board and GM continue to ignore and/or “misexplain” facts and figures.
Patricia Cross is not making this up. Her points are well presented by documentation from regs/rules/minutes/statements from our governance, board and GM.
It seems the board is digging a deeper hole which will negatively affect property owners.
It’s time to take control of our community.
I realize I just posted but I would like to add a “PS” to my previous post. I am a Big Canoe homeowner who has lived part time between Big Canoe and various overseas assignments for very many years. The news of Tom Cousins passing reached us here in July 2025 in the German press. Such was the reputation of this man who created not only the community of Big Canoe but projects all over Atlanta. He was a visionary and his reputation was global.
Where is is name enshrined in this new “Clubhouse”?
Such a visionary who created the place we love should be honored in some way.
Sometimes important matters are ignored around here. Perhaps a Cousins Hall could honor this great man. There’s a lot to be said for celebrating our history. Visitors would be interested in learning the impact of the beauty Mr. Cousins preserved.
Everything Patricia Cross says is spot on & brilliantly sourced. Just one problem: the POA board & GM do not care & will carry on as they wish. I suggest we name a commemorative drink at the Horseshoe Bar for GM Auer. Call it the “Manure Martini “ cause that’s what he’s full of.
The new Clubhouse is good!