Busch Opts Out of Kingsmill Management

By Desiree Parker Saturday, June 26, 2010

Kingsmill homeowners are in for some changes come January 1, but it’s not necessarily a change in ownership.

Kingsmill Community Services Association President Robin Carson announced at Thursday’s Board of Directors meeting that Busch Properties, Inc., which has managed the Kingsmill development for some 40 years, had decided to end its management as of Dec. 31.

The Contingency Planning Committee of the KCSA, a group formed last fall to consider possible Kingsmill management scenarios after Anheuser Busch sold to InBev, informed the full board of directors in a closed session Thursday of BPI’s intentions. The CPC also announced its plans were underway to determine the 2011 management contractor for KSCA.

In a written statement to WYDaily, Busch Properties, Inc. President Michael Taylor said, “After serving as the homeowner management company of the Kingsmill Community Services Association (KCSA) for much of the last four decades, Busch Properties has decided not to extend our current agreement or bid on any future agreement to provide services to the KCSA after Dec. 31, 2010.  Busch Properties will work diligently with the other members of the KCSA Board of Directors to ensure that a qualified successor management company will be in place by the end of this year.  We look forward to working closely with the entire KCSA Board and a new management company during this period of selection and transition.

“For more than 40 years, Busch Properties has worked closely with the KCSA, its elected directors and the region at large in developing Kingsmill into one of the premier residential and resort communities in the United States.  We look forward to our final stages of development at Kingsmill as we maintain the community's high standards of excellence.”

Taylor did not address rumors of an imminent sale of the property, and he did not comment on possible interested parties to take over Kingsmill management.

Kingsmill homeowner John Niland, who’s been viewed by some board members as an agitator, has questioned why BPI had controlled the board and essentially hired themselves to manage the community.

The KCSA board has nine members; four are homeowners elected by homeowners and five are appointed by Busch, although three of those five are also homeowners.

Niland said Friday that BPI's decision not to renew the contract "is in the best interest of the community; this should have taken place years ago."

Part of the CPC’s charge has been to conduct an inventory of “hard assets” owned or used by KCSA, and real estate that will be conveyed from BPI to KCSA. That is complete, according to the Kingsmill homeowners’ website.