July/August 2024 Newsletter

July 15, 2024    News   

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).
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/cable 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 for 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 kept hearing that the front signage for Silverigde needed more light. We experimented with more landscape lighting, and played with how it was aimed at the sign, and then we tried retrofitting the signage with lights, but we finally realized that it just wasn’t good enough — we went with a sign that lights up.”
In addition, George visits with representatives from clubs and organizations that use the park’s facilities, and says, “They usually have a wish list and we try to find a way to say, ‘let’s do it.’ For instance, this year, the pickleball players wanted to new court divider. We had netting on the new courts, but we’ll be adding metal fencing like the original courts. And I met with the lawn bowlers — 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.”
(Speaking of grass, for those of you who play softball over at Silveridge’s sister park, The Resort, you’ll notice changes there. 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.”)

 

As for other Silveridge 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 fresh 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. It’s like I’m a teacher and it’s a new school year — I look forward to seeing familiar faces coming back.”

 
(Photo by park resident Richard Young)