Berger and Central Pool: Two Costly Projects, Where Is the Coordinated Plan?
Where and when are all these decisions being made by the entire elected Board?
Berger and Central Pool both need work. What members have not been shown is a coordinated plan for paying for and completing these two necessary projects. OVA’s October announcements give Berger considerable attention, while the pool’s worn surfaces, decking and cabana remain without a clear repair schedule. Why are their needs not being presented together?
A concern is that Berger’s broad scope will require high interest commercial loan financing along with substantial withdrawals from OVA reserves. Final costs and lender terms have not been published, so that outcome is not yet established. But the prospect of years of loan payments and depleted reserve accounts makes coordination essential now. Before OVA commits millions to Berger, members need to see how necessary pool work will also be funded and scheduled.
A Broad Berger Announcement
On October 5, Marlena Tremont made a community wide announcement through OVA new site identifying Berger renovation as a top priority for 2027. Discussion and possible action on hiring a project manager are expected at the October 20 Board meeting. The announcement says the final scope has yet to be determined but already describes a substantial package of work.
Along with heating and cooling replacement, the list includes fire sprinklers, electrical work, windows, exterior doors, roofing, drainage, painting and exterior hardscape. It also includes lighting and sound improvements, an acoustical ceiling, easier operation of shades and a movable auditorium wall, a digital bulletin board, drinking fountain relocation and backstage changes. The announcement distinguishes some improvements from those required by ADA regulations.
General Manager Christel Antone explains in the announcement that nearly all essential items are identified in the reserve study, with funding budgeted, and that combining work scheduled over several years could reduce costs and allow a single closure. Coordinating work within Berger may be sensible.
But where is the coordination between Berger and Central Pool? The announcement supplies no financial plan showing how accelerated Berger spending would affect reserves needed for the pool and other repairs.
The needs described in Tremont’s article were cross-referenced with OVA’s 2026 reserve study, prepared by Browning Reserve Group on November 14, 2025, and labeled “Prepared for the 2026 Fiscal Year.” Berger component entries appear on printed pages 87–102. The study identifies allowances for many announced components, with work scheduled across several years.
This supports Christel’s explanation that many needs are already identified. However, replacement allowances do not establish that every announced improvement is covered. Electrical upgrades have no separate Berger allowance identified, and the study mentions moving drinking fountains outside without separately pricing relocation. The exterior-door allowance expressly excludes ADA doors; ceiling, shade and movable-wall entries do not specify the particular acoustical or operating improvements described.
These allowances are not a complete 2027 construction budget or proof that the full renovation is funded. OVA should reconcile each proposed item with its reserve allowance and publish updated costs, including project management, design, permits and additional work, together with projected reserves remaining for Central Pool and other necessary repairs.
What has the Board actually approved? The Tremont article identifies no vote approving the entire package, while describing some work as improvements the renovation will include. The status of the proposed new vestibule also needs clarification: has the Board voted to exclude it, and if so, when? Members need the authorizing motions and dates, and a clear explanation of what remains proposed. Hiring a project manager is a separate decision from approving construction, a project budget or financing.
Capacity Figures Need Context
Also on October 5, Jim Brewer’s OVA article emphasized Berger’s age and capacity. It contrasts roughly 1,000 homes originally envisioned with about 3,200 today, cites an auditorium limit of approximately 280 occupants and prominently lists 700 annual events. Brewer discusses renovation, not replacement, and acknowledges seismic assessment and remediation completed in 2019.
Those numbers suggest pressure on the building, but do not show how often events reach capacity or residents are turned away. How many attendees are members, guests or non-residents, and how does ticket availability affect member access? Before capacity becomes an argument for expansion, members need attendance and scheduling data, including how East, West and other meeting spaces serve today’s community.
The Pool Has Already Waited
The 2026 reserve study’s Central Pool decking entry states: “2019- Per client 10/31/2019, move remaining life from 2020 to 2030.” That moved anticipated replacement ten years forward. The note does not identify the decision maker or explain the condition assessment behind it.
The decking entry is part of a broader pattern on printed pages 104 and 105. Multiple notes record changes made “per client” to the timing of Central Activities Center and pool-area work. Along with moving deck replacement from 2020 to 2030, the entries record changes to cabana painting, pool-fence painting, Activity Center siding and trim, cabana siding repairs and full cabana siding replacement. Several notes move work previously anticipated in 2020 to later years. The current study schedules partial cabana siding repairs for 2026 and full siding replacement for 2027. These notes document changes in the repair schedule, but do not identify the individual decision makers or provide the condition assessments supporting those changes. Members need to understand how the revised schedules relate to present conditions and the proposed work.
Central Complex planning was also developing during this period. OVA’s 2022 fact-finding report describes a 2019 recommendation to hire a community architect, formation of the Central Complex Committee in 2020, and a planned AIA collaboration interrupted by the pandemic. Oakmont 2030 subsequently pursued community conversations. Did expectations of redevelopment influence maintenance timing? The reserve entry leaves that question unanswered. Moving a date does not replace an aged pool deck with significant wear.
Members have noticed worn plaster and coping, deck cracks and apparent cabana dry rot. The damaged ladder identified earlier this year has been replaced, but broader repair questions remain. The October 5 President’s Message highlights Berger and other initiatives without updating Central Pool’s repair costs or schedule.
Repair Costs and Redevelopment
At the June 17, 2025 Board meeting, under President Matt Oliver, OVA presented preliminary estimates of $732,500 to renovate the existing pool and patio, or $2.88 million to build a new pool nearby. Those are 2025 planning figures, not current bids. They show why repairing the pool and relocating it must be treated as different financial choices.
ArchiLOGIX presented three Central Complex concepts in June 2024. OVA’s July 13 report describes expanded pool decking in Concept One and broader redevelopment alternatives in the other concepts. Future redevelopment should not become a reason to leave necessary maintenance unresolved.
The 2026 reserve study schedules cabana siding and mechanical room repairs in 2026, siding and roof replacement in 2027, pool resurfacing and tile and coping work in 2029, and a projected 2030 cost of approximately $349,307 for removal and replacement of 7,600 square feet of decking. These are planning allowances, not a complete construction budget.
If deck resurfacing is now being considered, how long would it last, and would it be worthwhile before the planned concrete replacement? The cabana may need permitted demolition and a complete rebuild rather than isolated siding and roof repairs. Professional assessment and City review should establish the feasible options, required permits, accessibility work and costs.
Central’s lack of a pool lift does not by itself establish an ADA violation. Federal requirements depend on how a facility is used, and California and Santa Rosa building requirements must be evaluated separately. OVA should obtain a clear determination for the planned work. East and West’s accessibility improvements also give members reason to ask whether Central will receive comparable access.
Coordinate Both Projects Before Spending Reserves or Borrowing
A large Berger project financed through reserve withdrawals and high interest borrowing could reduce OVA’s ability to address Central Pool and other necessary work. It may also limit the OVA ability to finance an office building purchase. Spending reserves lowers the cash available for repairs; borrowing adds principal, interest and fees to future budgets. Members need to see those effects together. A reserve study allowance for a component does not establish that OVA can afford to accelerate every proposed item while meeting its other obligations.
The financing comparison should include refinancing the golf course loan, a separate commercial loan, a substantial one-time special assessment and the proposed use of reserves. Refinancing deserves particular scrutiny if it replaces existing debt with higher interest borrowing or extends repayment. A separate loan adds another payment obligation, while an assessment places a substantial immediate cost on households. Actual lender terms, total repayment costs and projected reserve balances are needed before members can judge these choices.
OVA should publish one coordinated plan for Berger and Central Pool, distinguishing urgent repairs from enhancements and showing updated estimates, funding, schedules and reserve balances after each project. If pool work must wait, the Board should explain the reason, the condition assessment supporting that delay and the money reserved to complete it. Combining Berger work into one closure is only part of the planning needed.
Both facilities matter. What is missing from the public announcements is a coordinated plan protecting necessary work at both. Before OVA commits reserves and years of payments to Berger, members deserve to know that Central Pool will receive the repairs it needs.
Why move toward a major financial commitment for one project without showing how we will take care of the other?
Sources
Browning Reserve Group. November 14, 2025. Oakmont Village Association reserve study prepared for the 2026 fiscal year. Berger: printed pp. 87–102. Pool decking, cabana and related repair-schedule notes: printed pp. 104–105. Cabana siding: printed p. 105. Mechanical-room repairs and cabana roof: printed p. 107. Pool resurfacing and edge work: printed p. 109. Member sign-in required. https://oakmontvillage.com/article/reserve-study-2026/
Oakmont Village Association and ArchiLOGIX. Central Complex Area 2024 Design Timeline and Updates. Member sign-in required.
https://oakmontvillage.com/central-complex-area-design/
Ryan, Jackie. June 28, 2025. Cost Data In On Two Central Pool Options. Oakmont News, pp. 1 and 3. Sign in, then locate the June 28, 2025 newspaper edition under News/Oakmont News Editions.
https://oakmontvillage.com/login/
Tremont, Marlena. July 13, 2024. Three Master Plan Draft Concepts Capture Community Ideas. Oakmont News, p. 1. Sign in, then locate the July 13, 2024 newspaper edition under News/Oakmont News Editions.
https://oakmontvillage.com/login/
Central Complex Committee. May 17, 2022. Central Complex Committee Fact Finding Report. Planning history: printed pp. 1–3. Sign in, then locate the report in Members/Oakmont 2030 materials.
https://oakmontvillage.com/login/
Spanier, Steve. October 5, 2026. President’s Message: OVA Initiatives in Progress. Oakmont Village Association. Member sign-in required.
https://oakmontvillage.com/article/presidents-message-ova-initiatives-in-progress/
Tremont, Marlena. October 5, 2026. Berger Project on Oct. Agenda. Oakmont Village Association.
https://oakmontvillage.com/article/berger-project-on-oct-agenda/
Brewer, Jim. October 5, 2026. In the Beginning, There was the Berger. Oakmont Village Association.
https://oakmontvillage.com/article/in-the-beginning-there-was-the-berger/
U.S. Department of Justice. Questions and Answers: Accessibility Requirements for Existing Swimming Pools at Hotels and Other Public Accommodations. Question 3.
https://www.ada.gov/resources/q&a-accessibility-requirements-pools-public/
California Building Standards Commission. 2025 California Building Code, Title 24, Part 2, Chapter 11B.
https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/CABC2025P1/chapter-11b-accessibility-to-public-buildings-public-accommodations-commercial-buildings-and-public-housing
NOTE: This article provides independent reporting and commentary on matters of concern to Oakmont residents. Sources are identified so readers can verify the information. Links labeled “Member sign-in required” direct readers to documents maintained on OVA’s website, subject to its access controls. Limited quotations are included for reporting, criticism or commentary. The views expressed are the author’s and do not represent an official OVA statement.
