Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] President Randy Zielsdorf has lately been the sole voice offering progress reports on the negotiations between the Association and the Seven Lakes Country Club [SLCC] over the implementation of the three-year-old “Driving Range Agreement.”

Recent statements by SLCC?President Steve Ritter in a Club membership meeting had some members of both the Club and Association asking whether Zielsdorf and Ritter were on the same page regarding the negotiations.

The Times interviewed Ritter by phone on Wednesday in order to offer our readers a better understanding of the Club’s position.

The five point Driving Range Agreement was signed after controversy erupted when the community learned the Club was interested in selling the old driving range, which lies between Seven Lakes Drive and Devonshire Avenue, to a residential developer.

But the recent talks have been more cooperative than controversial, Ritter told The Times.

“I?believe what is good for the Club is good for the community, and what is good for the community is good for the Club,” Ritter told The Times, adding that he and Zielsdorf have developed a cordial, productive working relationship.

Ritter admitted, however, that the process of implementing the three-year-old agreement has taken far longer than some might have liked.

Members of the Seven Lakes West Landowners Association [SLWLA] will gather on Wednesday, December 15, for a Special Meeting on the closing of the roadway over Lake Auman Dam.

But exactly what will take place during the meeting — the second member-called Special Meeting in the Association’s history — remains very much an open question.

No agenda for the meeting has been published, no ballots have been issued, and the meeting’s parliamentarian is not sure what, if any, question might be put to a vote of the membership during the proceedings.

What is clear is that members who hope to vote, speak, or otherwise participate in Association business conducted during the meeting better arrive early in order to find their place in the registration line.

Community Manager Joan Frost told The Times that CAS, Inc.will pull in extra staff to handle registration for the meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm.

“We will begin registering landowners at 6:00 pm,” Frost said, “and we will stop the registration at 7:00 pm.”

Members will need to know their lot number, in order to place themselves in the proper registration line, Frost said. They should also bring photo identification.

Each lot is entitled to one vote at the meeting, so husbands and wives or other co-owners of property will be able to register only once.

Members holding proxies that entitle them to vote on behalf of a landowner who cannot attend the meeting may register those proxies the evening of the meeting, or may drop by the SLWLA office during regular business hours to register their proxies in advance, Frost said.

In addition to establishing that they are Association members, Frost told The Times, registrants will be asked whether they support the Board’s decision to permanently close Longleaf Drive over Lake Auman, or support the position of the Dam Road Group that the road closure should be put to a vote of the membership, or are undecided.

She explained that many members likely already have a firm position one way or the other, and knowing that up front means CAS personnel will not have to have everyone in attendance queue up again for a vote count.

Members who may have stated one preference or another will be able to change that position, if they desire, once a formal question is on the table, she added.

In an unexpected announcement during the Monday, December 6 Work Session of the Seven Lakes Landowners Association Board, President Randy Zielsdorf announced his intention to resurrect the Lakes & Dams Committee, a group he disbanded in April 2009.

In previous meetings, Zielsdorf explained that decision was based on his desire to shift responsibility for the monitoring, care and maintenance of the dams from volunteer to management’s supervision – in effect, swinging back the pendulum after the committee was created and provided exceptional proactive service following many years of deferred maintenance and what many characterized as minimal oversight by former manager Dalton Fulcher. Zielsdorf acknowledged that failure, but cited concerns that at least one committee member had been working with contractors on behalf of the Association in an inappropriate manner and that while substantial funding had been channeled into dam maintenance, he was not convinced that every expense was warranted.

Responding to criticism this Summer from former committee members, Zielsdorf agreed to a meeting in October between himself, Treasurer Denny Galford, Community Manager Alina Cochran, and several representatives from the former group. Discussions included a comprehensive five-year review of dam expenditures and joint approval of an eight item action list of regularly scheduled dam maintenance projects.

During Monday’s Work Session, Cochran noted that new information would require an adjustment to one of those items.

“There is some concern that mowing the grass when it has grown too long smothers the grass underneath,” Cochran explained.

Once mowed on a regular basis for aesthetics, over the last few years the grass on the dam faces has only been cut twice or thrice each year to prevent soil erosion. Cochran recommended that instead of limiting cuttings to a predetermined number, that the action item should be amended so that grass is mowed when it reaches a specified maximum height.

Following her report, Zielsdorf announced his decision to reconstitute the Lakes & Dams Committee and said he is seeking four interested individuals to serve. Specifically, he noted the committee would be useful in providing guidance for special requests related to the lakes that do not fall under already established committee interests of security, recreation or infrastructure. He anticipated an initial meeting in January and at least one more meeting prior to the new Board members being seated following the Annual Meeting in March.

[CORRECTION - An earlier version of this story reported that CommissionerJimmy Melton's election as Vice Chairman of the Board of Commissioners was a a continuation of his service in that post last year. In fact, Cindy Morgan served as Vice Chair last year. The Times regrets the error.]

Nick Picerno of McLendon Hills will return to the Chairman's seat on the Moore County Board of Commissioners, placed there by the unanimous vote of the Board to approve a nomination made by new Commissioner Craig Kennedy and seconded by former Chairman Tim Lea during the Board's Monday, December 6 meeting. Picerno served as the county board's Chairman in 2008, the first year of his term; Lea has served as Chairman for the past twelve months.

On a motion by Larry Caddell, seconded by Kennedy, and unanimously approved, Jimmy Melton will serve as the Board's Vice Chairman. Caddell and Melton were both re-elected to the Board in November. They, along with Kennedy, who successfully challenged Cindy Morgan in the Republican primary, were sworn in at the opening of the meeting.

Picerno wasted no time in assuming the mantle of leadership, laying out what he jokingly called "St. Nick's Christmas List" -- seven ""ideas" that he said he would "like the Board to consider" in the coming year. He asked his fellow Commissioners to explore:

• Selling the Village of Pinehurst the portions of the county water system that serve the Village, using the proceeds from that sale to extend county water service to the rest of the county.

• Partnering with the Town of Robbins to make it a source of water for county customers, by preparing a concrete proposal and asking the Town to do the same, exchanging those proposals in a public meeting, and beginning serious negotiations.

• Giving taxpayers a one-year break from paying the two-cent Advanced Life Support tax, which is dedicated to funding county emergency services. Picerno noted that the tax has produced a current surplus of $5.1 million, creating the opportunity for a one-time tax break.

• Using a portion of the county's fund balance, currently just under $19 million, to retire some of the county's debt that carries higher interest rates.

• Taking a second look at last year's reconfiguration of the county's longevity and performance bonus system for rewarding its employees. The rewrite of the system, which eliminated bonuses given solely on the basis of longevity, "May have gone too far," Picerno said, noting that it may be impossible for employees to reach the highest performance rating in the system.

• Continuing to reduce the number of county employees through attrition, using the savings realized to provide a pay raise for the remaining employees.

• Forming a citizen's task force that would review the ordinances proposed for the county's proposed Unified Development Ordinance and make recommendations to help make Moore County more business-friendly.

Picerno's list, offered at the very end of the meeting, provoked no public reaction from his fellow Board members. He joked that he didn't want his fellow Commissioners "to have too much of a holiday."

Though they will not meet again in December, the Board of Commissioners have a regular meeting scheduled for January 4, a work session on January 6, a retreat on January 13 & 14, and another regular meeting on January 18.

Final details on implementing the three and a half-year-old driving range agreement between the Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] and Seven Lakes Country Club [SLCC] may be resolved by the end of the year, with attorneys from both sides meeting during Thanksgiving week to work out a few remaining differences.

“We’re very, very close to the covenants being finished and agreed upon,” President Randy Zielsdorf reported at the SLLA Open Meeting on Wednesday, November 17.

As the only current Board member who participated in the contentious 4-3 split vote that approved the agreement in July 2007, Zielsdorf has indicated his interest in seeing the matter finally put to rest.

Prompted by the SLCC’s desire to sell the old driving range for residential development, the agreement lays out five bullet points concerning the future use of the five acre tract and the Club's other landholdings.