
THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
In 2017, the residents of Burnt Store Marina made a bold move to purchase all the amenities that were owned by the developer and investors. This was a $5 million dollar purchase that included the irrigation system, fitness center, resort pool, Linkside Café and the golf course. With over 70% of the residents voting in favor of the purchase, it was clear that the community understood the value of controlling your own destiny. A 10-year note was taken out which is scheduled to be paid off in mid-year 2026. Over the years a number of people have questioned the wisdom of this purchase, which baffles me. By buying these assets, our community controls the price of irrigation water, which is substantially below Charlotte County rates. We control how Linkside Café is managed, and the type of events that they host. We control the management of the fitness center, as well as the tennis and pickleball courts. These aren’t amenities, they are assets that help make Burnt Store Marina a destination location. Over the last couple of years, we have made significant investments in these assets to update and maintain what we have. These investments will be ongoing for as long as the community owns the assets. With all the new housing areas being built around us, now more than ever, we need to maintain high quality amenities that appeal to a wide group of future buyers.
“…now more than ever, we need to maintain high quality amenities that appeal to a wide group of future buyers.
Today, Burnt Store Marina has gone through a transformation updating the look and feel of the community.
- We have modernized our colors, expanded our lifestyle offerings, and continued to improve the infrastructure.
- This work will continue in 2025 as we drill new wells to maintain the much-needed water to keep the community luxurious. Presently, we have one well for the community irrigation and one for the golf course. These wells were drilled 1000 feet deep, but as of now we have less than 300 feet of access to water. If something happened to either well, it takes approximately 6 months to get a new well drilled. Suffice it to say, we need to do this.
- Our three-year road resurfacing project is entering year two. In the summer of 2025, we will be resurfacing the next group of roads that Section 22 is responsible for. This three-year project has a projected price tag above $1 million dollars. As is always the case, there are some residents that don’t think this is necessary. Waiting until necessity dictates can be expensive and extremely disruptive.
- A big recent change has been the addition of the new dog park located off Islamorada Rd. The new facility became a reality due to the hard work of many residents. The dog park has fenced-in areas for large dogs and small dogs. There are shade areas going in and water stations.
- Also new is the Tiki Hut pavilion at Linkside, which is a lifestyle investment that enhances our ability to add new events, and better utilize our existing space.
These additions dramatically improve our competitive position with the new communities being built around us. Imagine a gated community that has golf, tennis, pickleball, fitness center, a pool, a dog park, 3 restaurants, a yacht club and a fabulous marina! You don’t have to imagine, just open your eyes.
The future for our community is bright but we need to continuously challenge ourselves to grow and improve. We have hired a national consulting firm, Morris DePew, to help us critically evaluate where we are, and where we need to evolve. This firm worked with Margaritaville in Fort Myers, and the Gasparilla Inn on Boca Grande, just to name a few. They specialize in planning for the future needs of a changing community, capitalizing on hidden opportunities that already exist, and maintaining a competitive advantage in the real estate market. Together with the board, they will help create a growth plan for the future. Now more than ever, we need to run this community like a business. We all can see how the fitness classes are full due to space restrictions. Anyone who plays pickleball has seen the crowds sitting around waiting to play with all the courts full. With only one bocce ball court we can only accommodate 4 players at a time. In essence, we may have outgrown some of our facilities. Do we expand the existing structures, or do we build new? Where is the best place to expand? Is there a different option? Hopefully, between the work of the Vision 2025 community group and Morris DePew Consulting, we can get some answers to these questions and put the future plans in place based upon good data.
Our community survives and thrives based upon VOLUNTEERS! The board that oversees the community projects is made up of volunteers. The folks that put together the Beacon article you are reading are volunteers. The people who manage a thriving fitness center are volunteers. The people who schedule all the theme parties at Linkside Café are volunteers. The people who schedule the food trucks and music nights in the new Tiki area are volunteers. The people who did the fundraising to make the dog park a reality are volunteers. I think you can see that getting involved not only keeps the cost down, but it improves the outcome by getting input from the community. We will
continue to grow and prosper only if the community continues to step up. There are plenty of examples of communities where nobody cares. They have no sense of neighborhood and ultimately the look and feel will deteriorate. Everyone has something to offer. We all need to support the things we already have and commit to helping make the future bright.
REMINDER
Section 22 HOA Board Meeting
Tuesday, February 25 at 9 a.m.
Location: Linkside Patio
Section 22 HOA Board Workshops
Every Tuesday at 9 a.m. | Location: Linkside Patio