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Updated: March 3, 2010

An open letter to the Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Alderman

and the residents of Wades Grove sub-division in Spring Hill, TN

From: Bobby Young/Heather Young

Re: Wades Grove Pool Proposal and Plan Revision

We find it very difficult to believe that the majority of homeowners care whether this pool, clubhouse, and parking lot are built on Katach Ct. or not. We believe most would like a pool, just not in their front yards. Trust us, our children want a pool. We are not anti-neighborhood pool. In fact, it seems that a more central location for this project would be a benefit to every resident in the sub-division. Many residents will already have to travel as much as a half mile, more when they build the additional 600 homes in the back, which means many will have to drive to the pool, increasing traffic on this cul-de-sac. Question: WHERE IS EVERYONE GOING TO PARK? There will not be enough room in the parking lot to accommodate the 800+ homes that are planned for this community. What is going to happen then? Are we going to have cars parked in front of our home, in our driveway, in our yard? Who is going to represent us at that time? Shall we put orange cones in the street in front of our house? Should we charge a parking fee? We aren’t even allowed to have a basketball goal in our driveway because the front of our homes are supposed to be kept in a condition that is appealing to our neighbors and those passing by. How does a parking lot across the street fit into that plan? What sort of landscaping is Mr. Maher going to provide in an effort to beautify the asphalt across the street from our pristine homes? When we spoke with him last about the landscaping, he told us that was something we could later take up with the homeowners association. Landscaping didn’t fit into his plan.

We understand that the majority of homeowners in the subdivision want this pool. However, no one, except the ‘owner/residents‘ on Katach Ct., voted on whether they would like a pool, clubhouse, and parking lot built across the street from their home. Had this been the case, We’re confident that this would have been a much different vote. The ‘owner/residents‘ on Katach Ct. voted against having this project built across the street on our cul-de-sac. This vote was unanimous, 100%; we don’t want it built on Katach Ct.

When we made the decision to purchase our home on Katach Ct., we were told that residential homes would be built on the lots across the street from our home, which would offer more peace and tranquility in our area of the subdivision than the proposed pool would allow. We were led to believe that there would be a pool as part of an amenities package, but it would be built in the back of the sub-division. Our attorney suggested that building a pool, parking lot, and clubhouse on Katach Ct. might be a misrepresentation of what we were offered at Wade’s Grove, by John Maher Builders.

While it is unknown whether or not our home values will be affected, we will argue that the homes on Katach Ct. might be worse off than others in the sub-division because many people would not want to live so close to so much noise and activity.

Homeowners on Katach Ct. already hear the noise at night, sometimes until midnight, generated from the pool in the Spring Hill Place sub-division across Bucker Lane. Because of the shallow front yards on Katach Ct., our 4 year old’s bedroom window will be approximately 85 feet from the proposed pool. We do not want the extra traffic and “pool parties” on our tranquil street until 10:00 PM or later, keeping our young children up at night during the pool’s open months.

Everyone would like a pool; most don’t want it in their backyard, or their front yard, as in this case. While we understand the benefit to Wade’s Grove and John Maher Builders to have a pool and clubhouse in the sub-division, we found it disconcerting at a recent homeowners meeting, when this proposal was being discussed and it was suggested by one of the attendees, a member of our homeowners association, that if there were going to be a pool built on our street, that possibly the parking lot entrance be placed on Belcor Dr. instead of Katach Ct., to limit the new traffic that would be generated on the quiet cul-de-sac. Mr. Maher responded that it would be an eyesore placing the parking lot and entrance there to people passing the sub-division on Bucker Lane and he wouldn’t want to do that. To us, he was implying that it’s okay to put the “eyesore” across the street from homeowners that invested as much as $400,000 and more in Wade’s Grove, believed in John Maher Builders, and purchased homes on this quiet cul-de sac.

In our opinion, unlike the Spring Hill Place pool, which sets back away from the main road, this proposal places a pool, clubhouse, and parking lot right on Buckner Road, giving the appearance and nostalgic feel of a pool in front of an old Motel 6 to the whole sub-division. To us this would be a real eyesore, and we can’t imagine why anyone with a sincere interest in developing Spring Hill to its fullest, would support this. Mr. Maher may as well install a flashing neon ‘VACANCY’ sign at the entrance to Wades Grove.

Mr. Maher has also made the Wades Grove residents “aware” that the reason they don’t have a pool is because of a few residents on Katach Court. That is completely untrue and unfair. This development was here long before we bought our John Maher home. Prior to us purchasing our home on this cul-de-sac, there was always a plan for a pool and we’re confident that the plan did not include the pool on Katach Court. The reason there is no pool after the development has been here this long is because Mr. Maher didn’t plan his development properly, and he’s under pressure from the residents to build a pool and this location probably makes the most financial sense for him. There is more to this story and the overall plan revision, but regardless, it appears Mr. Maher’s poor planning has become our family’s and other residents on Katach Ct.’s problem.

According to one of the board members, Mr. Maher attended a meeting at a Wade’s Grove resident’s home where members of the Board of Mayor and Alderman were ambushed, then entertained in an attempt to rally support for getting votes to make the plan revisions. After further discussion, it’s our belief that Mr. Maher’s actions are provoking many of the Residents of Wades Grove to be extremely angry at the “owner/residents” on Katach Ct. This could be a very big problem.

We’re very disappointed at Mr. Maher’s tactics, rallying support from the residents of Wades grove by telling them the pool needs to be built at this location, or they could have to wait years, or get no pool at all. This is an untruth as there is land everywhere in this sub-division to build this and most of it would make for a more central location, benefiting all the current and future residents of Wades Grove. Research has been cited as the reason to build it on our street, yet no one from his office has proven to anyone, to our knowledge, why this is the only location where the pool can be built. We are just supposed to take his word for it and besides that, it’s very easy to put a spin on research to favor ones position.

We are only asking that Mr. Maher be a man of his word and honor his commitment to the Wades Grove plan that his organization, John Maher Builders, sold us, and we invested in. It’s difficult to understand why anyone would vote in favor of any plan revision placing this pool, clubhouse, and parking lot, on Katach Ct. solely for Mr. Maher’s personal gain. We can only conclude it would be “small town” politics as usual.

Thank you.

Bobby & Heather Young

Bobby and Heather Young

Katach Ct., Spring Hill