Tellico Village Property Owners Association employees are working to be good stewards of residents’ money.
As was last year’s goal, Mitzi Lane, manager of the POA’s Continuous Improvement program, said this year employees will look to save $150,000. Although unable to give an exact amount saved yet, Lane said she anticipates the POA to reach its goal for the second year in a row.
“This will be the fifth year that employees have presented the board with Continuous Improvement savings to be put into the amenity reserves fund,” John Cherry, POA public relations manager, said. “... These aren’t we think we’re going to save this much. This is how much Parker (Owen, POA finance director) can actually say we have actually saved this much money by doing the Continuous Improvement projects that Mitzi gets from the different departments and she helps them maximize them and put them into practice.”
Money raised through Continuous Improvement is put into the POA amenity reserve, Cherry said, which is not budgeted during the year and acts like a “gift” to help fund projects such as the half-mile walking track and pickleball courts at the Wellness Center.
Funds may also be used for projects planned at the Toqua Golf Course clubhouse and The Links at Kahite clubhouse, Cherry said, noting both are in the POA’s five-year plan. Planning will take place in 2017, followed by design work in 2018 and construction and completion in 2019, he said.
“When we build a five-year plan, we do not include these Continuous Improvement infusions of money that employees save each year that (is) put into the amenity reserve fund,” Cherry said. “... Where these funds come into play is now if anyone looks at the amenity reserves in the five-year plan and sees that in ‘20 they’re pretty low because we’ve used them for these projects. That number now in ‘20 is going to be bigger by however much we put in it.”
POA officials have been quantifying the amount saved since 2012 when $125,000 was contributed. Continuous Improvement has since saved $155,000 in 2013, $140,000 in 2014 and $150,000 in 2015, Lane said.
Saving money all falls back on kaizen events employees hold, which aim to look for ways to save money, Lane said. There are 35 Continuous Improvement projects going on in the Village, she said.
“It’s just a way of thinking ... and it’s kind of a culture that we’ve tried to create, and we’ll do brainstorming sessions with the employees,” Lane said of kaizen events. “We’ll have meetings and go like, ‘Here’s a process that takes too much time or too much money. What can we do to change it?’ And we’ll literally go in there and tear it apart step by step and put it back together, see if it’s any more efficient.”
Golf maintenance has been able to save $2,880 this year at The Links at Kahite by devising a new greens watering process that reduces overtime for employees, Lane said. Officials at Kahite and Tanasi Golf Course also came up with a new annual brush grinding procedure that has saved $18,000 at Kahite and $20,000 at Tanasi. Brush ground is turned into mulch instead of hauled off.
“On the flip side, not just the property owners’ side but the employees’ side, it gives them something to be proud of,” Lane said. “It is very beneficial when it comes to employee morale. They know that they’ve done that, they’ve seen that. People have been rewarded for turning in these ideas and coming up with these projects. Really I think it motivates them to do better next year, ‘Let’s try for more each year.’ But I think it’s very beneficial for the property owners. It’s money they weren’t counting on.”
