General Manager’s Update

Dear Landings Association Members,

I hope all of you are happy and healthy as you read this message, and staying as cool as possible while we battle the heat and humidity that is summer in The Landings.

Much work has been underway throughout the community recently…some projects more visible than others. Atlanta Gas Light continues its project to increase natural gas capacity within The Landings. Once that work is complete, The Landings Association can restripe the road behind the Main Gate and remove the traffic barriers and stanchions. Georgia Power is finalizing power cable upgrades. LiveOak Fiber has completed the residential portion of the fiber to the home internet project, with work remaining to connect Landings Association facilities, as well as Landings Golf & Athletic Club facilities.

At Landings Harbor Marina, the new, above-ground fuel tank installation is now complete. This one tank replaces three underground tanks that had reached the end of their useful lives, and which could have been subject to leaks. This larger tank also allows for a larger fuel delivery truck, leading to lower per-gallon prices. Work remains on the hardscaping and landscaping to restore that area.

Within the past few weeks, the right-hand column as you enter Tidewater Square has been stabilized and repaired. Longer-term residents will remember when this column had to be shut down as a safety hazard due to its brick separations and leaning. Public Works staff consulted several different vendors with several proposed solutions over the past two years. The vendor chosen successfully completed this work well under budget and also addressed some driving surface issues on the brick roadway.

Now attention moves full speed to the annual storm drain repair program. The budget for this year’s work is just more than $1 million. Once this year’s program is completed, the entire storm drain system in Marshwood, the community’s oldest phase, will have been addressed.

Such large projects as these take years of planning as well as building reserves. Each year, as part of the budget process, staff put together work plans to address capital expenditures as well as required operational items. Liaisons from the Finance and Audit Committee work with staff to challenge assumptions, look for alternatives, and overall focus on how best to spend the Association’s limited dollars. A separate Reserves Subcommittee does the same, focusing not only on next year’s expected expenditures, but also projecting as well as possible 20-30 years into the future.

Speaking of committees, one of the most inspiring and energizing outcomes of working for the Association is learning from the experiences and expertise of our many volunteers.

If you have some expertise to share, or if you just have a question, please let me know (karls@landings.org). I am here to help, as is the rest of your TLA staff.

Finally, thank you to the entire community for your commitment to making The Landings a great place to live, work, and play. Over the past few months, we have received many supportive and suggestion-filled emails regarding a myriad of subjects, from speeding to the ongoing Courtesy Campaign. Your feedback helps us improve our processes and often includes ideas that we had not considered. On behalf of the entire TLA Team, we send you a huge SkidaWave (If you know, you know. If not, please see  page 18 of the August edition of The Landings Journal)! We are grateful that you are a part of “Our home, Our family!”