PREVENTING A FIASCO ON TRUMPETS.
Why is the board rushing to judgment today on selecting a Trumpets operator?
Warning, don’t drink the water. Oh my gosh, today, Thursday the 22nd of January, members of the board are about to vote on a potential operator for Trumpets. Whatever has taken over the minds of our board members on Trumpets, everyone needs to watch out and be careful not to get too close. You too may become infected. Was it in the water? No, that’s not likely. Most likely, the symptoms being exhibited by the board at this time of year are more akin to something commonly known as election fever, a serious malady appearing as it does on the eve of the start of official campaigning for reelection to the board. Is election fever catching? Unfortunately, it can be catching. Look, see what we board members have accomplished for our homeowners. You’ll be happy with the outcome, and, please think about us when you cast your vote, wont you?
Not so fast. Someone on the board has opted to cast aside their common sense, with other board members sitting on the sideline more than willing to follow the leader. Now, please don’t get me wrong. If I had the slightest inkling that the board is in possession of their senses, and has high confidence in what they are proposing to do on the Trumpets matter, I would be among the first to offer my support and congratulations. But my fear is that the board is rummaging in the waste waters of formerly rejected candidates or another merely to come up with something, anyone in time for the start of the election campaign.
What I would like to see, but am not seeing at all, is some very elementary, even rudimentary effort by the board to actually perform a reasonable search of potential candidates to operate Trumpets. That, to my knowledge, has never been considered or even done. The question is, why not? Instead, the board has been seemingly paralyzed if not stuck on a handful of previously rejected or less than adequate possible vendors?
If the board is not truly interested in seeking the best possible vendor for Trumpets, then by all means proceed as planned full speed ahead with your already chosen vendor for Trumpets. But, on the other hand, if the board just might be interested in seeking the best possible choice of interested vendors, then stop, take a deep breath, and start looking, seriously.
At today’s board meeting, the board should table their existing agenda item on Trumpets as incomplete and deficient. The board should then proceed to send a letter, and actually visit possible vendors, such as The ABC Restaurant, inquiring whether they, or someone else they know of, might be interested in running a turn-key restaurant operation at the top of hill in Sun City Anthem. Someone, of course, is going to beg the question, by asking to whom the letter should be sent?
For a mere $500, the board, or any interested party, can become an allied member of the Nevada Restaurant Association, thereby entitling them to acquire at no charge a database spreadsheet listing the names and addresses of all members of the Association. In addition, a member can freely advertise, for example, for a Trumpets operator, in their bimonthly newsletter.
Of the over 900 members in the Association, one can easily cull the list down by eliminating companies with multiple establishments, like McDonalds and similar enterprises, and companies with chain restaurant operations that would not be interested due to their minimum size requirements, like those in the Darden restaurant enterprise. Say, you end up with a mailing list of 300-500 Las Vegas restaurant operators. If you fail to get 30 viable and financially qualified interested operators, I’d be very surprised. After all, we only need a couple of really great candidates to choose from.
In this way, we can be reasonably sure that the board has done their due diligence in attempting to serve the needs of Sun City Anthem homeowners, rather than in attempting to meet the needs or preferences of this or that board member. Should the board be doing anything less?
Let us hope that more reasoned heads will prevail on today's board consideration and vote on taking action on a prospective Trumpets operator.
Ron Johnson, January 22, 2009