Resort/Lodge

General Manager's Report 1/20/10

Les Bullard

Cabins

            Cabins are in fair condition.

I believe that if the decision were made to re open the Lodge that a fairly extensive remodel would be advised.

            The water system is old and, although in my tenure as GM we replaced a lot of the supply line that feeds the lower cabin, more replacement is necessary on the upper cabins.  The majority of the water supply line for the Lodge/Restaurant/Resort area is 1" or 1 1/4" steel pipe.  Over the years the strongly alkaline nature of the water and surrounding soil has degraded the steel pipe greatly.  There are numerous minor leaks in the entire system as well as the interior of the piping is has accumulated a lot of calcification and lime deposits which have greatly reduced the volume of water they are able to carry.  The maintenance crew and myself along with outside contractor,   Richard Billings, have found numerous chokepoints in the system that greatly restrict the volume of water available to certain points of the system.

            One of the most severe of these chokepoints is located between the Laundry Building and the valve assembly directly south of cabins 28 & 29.  This restriction, which I'm estimating closes the supply line from 1 1/4" to somewhere around 1/4" to 3/8" severely restricts the volume of water available to the cabins.  I'm afraid if reopened that during peak cabin occupancy that we would endure many water volume problems with the cabins.

            Also, the septic system used by the cabins is antiquated and is based on old iron tanks of low volume capacity by today's standards buried in proximity to the cabins and with very limited field lines.  I think this system although barely adequate for low volume use, is not sufficient for heavy use.  I have encountered several problems in my time living at the Lodge with the system in Cabin 28. 29, 30, 31.  Much care has to be exercised in utilizing this old system and I find it hard to believe that it will stand up to much high volume use.

            In my opinion, these problems would have to be addressed before any thought of re opening could be entertained.

Restaurant

            As you know, I utilized the facilities of the restaurant the entire time I was employed.

            Basically the cafe is in good shape and is equipped well.  In my opinion and in my experience with kitchen and bar design is actually over kitchened for the capacity of the restaurant.  This is not a bad problem to have.

            The kitchen equipment is in good shape.  I replaced pilot light thermocouples in the ovens on the main Garland range and generally cleaned it up and adjusted pilots, burner fuel/air ratios, etc.  The deep fryers are in good shape and work well.  I did not utilize the gas char broiler, but I did ascertain that it is in working condition.  There are new lava rocks for it and it could be working within an hour.

            All refrigeration, both undercounter and freestanding are in working condition with the exception of the True Single width refrigerator, which runs, but is low on refrigerant and the Kenmore single width deep freeze, which powers up but the compressor does not start.

            The Halon fire suppression system installed in the vent hood above the range/fryer/charbroiler area was not working when I arrived, but was put back in service.  It requires periodic adjustment and needs to be included in the kitchen maintenance schedule.

            The deep freezers in the supply room of the kitchen all powered up and compressors started and they cooled.  The freezer on the immediate right as you go in the door was utilized by my family and worked well the entire time of my employment. The ice machine powered up and cycled through one cycle and made ice.

            The cutlery and dinnerware supply as well as the kitchen cutlery and cooking tools are sufficient for a restaurant 3 times the size of the one we have.  I can imagine no occasion were we would not have enough cutlery dinnerware, or kitchen supplies.

            All in all, the kitchen is in good shape and could be utilized with minimal effort.  

            My main suggestion is that water heater capacity be increased as I believe that although the existing water heater works, it is of insufficient capacity to keep up with the demands of much customer volume for dishwashing.

            The customer areas of the restaurant are aesthetic and in good shape, with sufficient seating and tables. Restrooms are in good working order.

            The restaurant is in good shape overall and could be utilized fairly easily, but I believe the water/septic problems I mentioned in the above cabin evaluation would impact the restaurant as well as the cabins.

Office

            The POATRI office area, is in my opinion, sufficient for administration of the association.

            HVAC, water, septic, are all in good shape, although I have the same concerns about overall water supply and septic that I do with the entire Lodge/Resort area.

            The exterior of the office building seems to be showing some early signs of wear and could use paint and minor fascia repairs.  The roof is in good shape.

The entry/reception area could use freshening up and updating and some basic rearranging of the entire office would most likely allow for more privacy for the GM and more efficient use of space.

Bathhouse

            The bathhouse has been closed during my tenure, but we have fixed what we found to be wrong with it.

            We have repaired several leaks in both the water supply and the septic in the last month of my time with POATRI.

            I feel that it could be used on a limited basis, although in my opinion,  the capacity of the septic system is inadequate for heavy commercial use.

            The building could use painting and minor repairs of the fascia and trim.

            It does not meet current State and County codes or the Federal disability statutes, for a public bathing area,  because of  disability access  and septic concerns.

Pool

            Pool is in good shape and we continued at my departure with a 3 hour a day reduced pumping schedule.     

            All pumping, filtering, and chemical equipment are working.

            I suggest some type of pool cover to control water evaporation, and foreign matter infiltration during times of no use.

            Pool is at the time of my departure, chemically correct and ready for use.

Water System

            Wells

                        -The two wells that are located approximately two miles down the main ranch road to the north of the Lodge/Resort area, have supplied the water for the last several years.  The well on the west of the road has performed well during my tenure, producing 3-4 gallons a minute of fair quality water.  I performed minor wellhead repairs on this well in early January due to the heavy freeze.  The well the east has had the submersible pump motor replaced in late December of 2009, under my supervision.  Coleman Well Service and myself logged static levels, TD, etc during this operation.  Well produces 10-12 gallons per minute of fair quality water.

            By reducing by numerous small repairs,  the loss of water in the main system from +- 4000 gallons/day to +-450 gallons/day in the two months of my employment, we have reduced the daily run time of these wells from 12-13 hours/day to 1-2 hours/day.  This should conserve the viability of these wells as well as conserve a significant amount of electricity.

                        The EMS Well was utilized during the heavy freeze times while the two main wells were down for repair.  This well produces 5-6 gal/minute of fair quality of water, although I have been told this well is contaminated with fecal matter.  I have found no report that verifies this.

                        I have performed no tests or work on the Airstrip Well.

            System

                        -Main tank for storage of water is steel and of good quality and in good repair.  Capacity is approximately 28,000 gallons maximum with the daily usable capacity being 26,000 gallons.

                        -Chlorinator/Treater works well and I know of no problems with the storage tank or chlorinator.

            I replaced the valve gasket in early January, '10 on the main outlet valve for the main storage tank.

Airstrip

            Airstrip is in good shape and meets FAA specifications at the time of my departure.  Airstrip was graded in late November, 2009.

            Tiedowns and hanger are in good condition.

Summary

            In my opinion, the Lodge would require a major water line/septic system overhaul if a reopening was contemplated.  In my experience the existing water supply line infrastructure would have such a failure/repair rate it would be prohibitively expensive to maintain without a major overhaul.  The old steel lines mentioned above are heavily deteriorated and will cause major problems if used heavily.  I have spent a good time of my two month employment,  working on this system, and remember that the system was seeing very little use.

            The cabins, in my opinion need major aesthetic updating if they are to be used in any commercial lodging endeavor.  They are dated and equipped well below what is available in Study Butte/Terlingua.

            I believe the Airstrip Well would need to be piped into the water system as the two wells on line now would be taxed with heavy commercial use.  My research has shown this would cost $20 - 25,000 to complete.

            The EMS Well is piped into the system, but needs to be tested for quality.