I wouldn't say it is an overkill at all.
We all know that we link to other sites. Why bring popularity to other sites, when we, as the official Reef Club of Austin, should be a center for information?
There are more than enough experienced people on this forum that can contribute to every single one of these sub-forums, but, we don't have really have a place for them to post this information. Sure, they could put it on the "Reef Keeping" forum, but over time it would definitely be lost.
The "Reef Keeping" forum is overly generalized.
Why not make the information easily accessible to people looking for answer in their local community, rather than scouring the web for possibly invalid information?
By doing this, we would definitely see an increase in ARC's activity.
But as you said, it is up to the boss!
Just my opinion.
EDIT: This wasn't meant to sound harsh. This is just a suggestion that I think should be considered.