Thanks for your thoughts and for the web site and everything else you do.

I don't think my understanding is incorrect. By making all amenities individual profit/loss centers the Pines altered the definition of amenity. They were never created to make money or avoid loses. They were established to make the Pines an attractive reasonable cost seasonal investment. And it still was when we arrived in 1998. It made sense to buy packages of amenities even if usage of every amenity didn't justify the price. Golf, tennis, pool, beach packages were the norm. You couldn't do everything but the package price was so reasonable that why not? Sure, the amenities were subsidized by the annual OPA fee, but that fee wasn't bad and still isn't.

As the Pines attracted more full-time residents and many of these were younger working families with children, the tone and direction of board candidates seeking election became more focused on controlling or cutting costs and this led to the p&l basis for amenities. It's been down-hill ever since. Instead of reducing cost they've driven away most of the golfers by making the Pines golf more expensive and more difficult to get tee time. There are still lots of golfers living in the Pines but they're playing at other courses in the area that cater to their needs and pocket-books. That includes me. I'm willing to drive 35 miles round trip from the Pines to OCGC to avoid the nonsense that the Pines powers-to-be have produced.

But I still don't want to lose the Pines golf course and am willing to pay whatever it costs to keep it going and providing a quality experience. I hope that someday they'll figure a way to get me to come back but like many, once the decision is made to go elsewhere, it'll take something special to get us back.