July/August 2024 Newsletter

July 15, 2024    News, Uncategorized   

TUNED-IN

A Visit with George Igualt

By Dale Dauten

“You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.”

Tina Fey

 

“Going down the chute” came to mind when visiting with George Igualt, head of the park’s management company, as he reminisced about jumping into the project to bring high-quality internet/cable to residents: “After hiring multiple different experts with multiple solutions, we came close to giving up. But, it was Al’s vision [Al LaCanne of the parks’ ownership group] that got us started, so we kept going. If we’d known all the issues we’d run into, would we have jumped in? I don’t know. But I know that with the help of Jesse Castro and his team, we are finally there.” (As Jesse put it in a recent article, describing the increased speed of the parks’ internet, “It’s like getting out of a go-cart and into a Mercedes.”)

 

Mention of Al LaCanne gives us a reason to bring back a favorite photo: George (L) and Al (R) in 2022.
We had come to meet with George for our annual update on park improvements planned for the off-season. He began by explaining how expensive infrastructure work for the internet continued to require a major portion of the improvements budget: “It’s not something that you see when driving around the park, but we are proud of the systems upgrades that mean we’re able to include the service for all our residents.”

 

(We reviewed Jesse Castro’s work in a recent newsletter. If you missed it, you can find it here: Click Here to View Last Month’s Newsletter )

 

As for the other changes residents will see, George began by describing his process of developing this year’s improvement projects: “We’re constantly assessing what needs to be done, but it’s in the Spring when we get really focused. I meet with staff, of course, but I also like to keep my ear tuned-in to what residents are thinking. For instance, this year I heard that we needed better lighting for pickleball. We had lights, but after meeting with pickleballers, we decided, let’s get some real lights. Now people will be able to play throughout the evening in a safe manner.”

 

There are also continuing upgrades to the softball field. George recounted efforts by the head of the parks’ maintenance team, Mike Hacker: “We have had a terrible time with crabgrass. It’s green and looks okay, but it grows faster than other grass and it changes how the ball plays. Mike has made it his mission to eliminate crabgrass. However, to get rid of it, you have to dig out sections and add new dirt and reseed. It looks terrible now, but he’ll be getting it back before Fall.” You can see in the photo below the effort required.
(Speaking of grass, for those of you venture over to Silveridge for lawn bowling, they’re changing up the lawn. “When I met with the lawn bowlers at Silveridge,” George explained, “they wanted to change the grass. For years we’ve overseeded with rye and we get a beautiful lawn, but in visiting other places with lawn bowling, they’ve determined that Bermuda grass is better for the sport, even though it dies down in the winter. So we’ll be seeding Bermuda this year.”)

 

Back at The Resort, George had a list of other upgrades. “The pool reopened after being resurfaced, and there’s new LED lighting in the Billiards Room. The library is getting new carpet and we’re working on new computers.” And, as George told us, “We have the last roof repaired – we couldn’t figure out a leak in the Quilting area so we finally decided to just redo the whole roof.”

 

As for other Resort maintenance, it continues over the summer, with work accelerating just before the new season starts. George explains, “For example, there’s the tennis courts: we have an alternating schedule, redoing half the courts each year. We fill cracks and reseal and paint – they’ll look brand new. And, we’ll be giving the trees a new trim, and planting winter flowers, and adding fresh paint wherever it’s needed. When people come back in the Fall, we want everyone to look around and think, the place has never looked better.”

 

(Photo below: George heading out to review progress at the parks)
As he thought about the return of seasonal residents, George smiled and added, “I look forward to it every year. I feel a teacher and it’s a new school year — I look forward to seeing familiar faces coming back.”