"It is time we hit back hard"

Below is from Ken Low - who was the other member interviewed by Today earlier this week:
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Ladies and Gentlemen, honorable members of the Fort Canning Town Club,

Following our call-to-arms, it is time we hit back hard after they fired the first salvo at us.

The Fort Canning Town Club is a designated Conservation Property under the URA Conservation Properties Act. It is a historical building. The first lessee, the defunct Singapore Town Club, was granted the right of use the premises to operate a social club, recruit members of the public to join as members and to provide all the relevant activities pertaining to functions of a social club. The Legends Town Club bought over the lease under these premises.

We have joined into a Club, housed in a historical building, fully furnished and with all its present amenities which the Legends Town Club offered to us. We have purchased the bundle of rights of use from the operator's, The Legends Fort Canning Park, to its facilities for a fee and pay a monthly due to continue as legitimate users. You can check the joining fees published by the Club on its website.

After last Monday night's members conference, we will all lose these by 31 October,2008.

The issues here are:

1. Do they have the right to the change of use of the building from a Social Club Operator to operating it as a Hotel cum Social Club?

2. Do they have all the approval from the relevant government statutory boards to convert the heritage building into a “boutique” hotel?

The questions we have to ask ourselves are:

1. Do we want to stay as members or not? Some of you may or resign as a member?
En Masse Resignation – consider, if we all resign en-masse, it would save Mr Oh Chee Eng and the owners, the cost of building a new Club House, i.e. millions of dollars;

2. Sell our Membership - however, the Club, according to Ms Amy Cheong, P R Manager, replied to Lyn's letter, a member, that the Owners do not have a Membership buy-back scheme at the moment;

3. Keep our Membership – if we remain as members, we want to stay in the present building. Please consider, the new “Glass Club” house, it will be smaller and characterless. The gym will be small and with less gym equipment etc. In fact, we will have less facilities. All the facilities will be reduced. Will the Club consider to reduce the monthly subscriptions then? At the last Members' meeting, they said we have to share the Club's facilities, gym, spa, swimming pool with the “hotel” guests who are strangers. That means our Membership status is not “exclusive”;

A penny for your thoughts. See you all in the Billiard Bar next Wednesday for a chat.

Ken Low
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