Let's Talk SAC...

Yes, we can only hope and pray that more is revealed! Thanks, I may try to log in to the live meeting if possible. Not sure they will do live video.

 

I don't think a non-member of the committee can join live. It will be recorded and you can watch it after the fact. Seems to me the architect is scheduled for the next three meetings, though i would be surprised if they need her that much. One of these times there should be a joint SAC/budget and finance committee gathering. We've for too long let things function in a vacuum when in reality there is a connectivity between every part of Sun City.

Sun City West encourages and promotes their members log in and watch the proceedings live. We simply don't have the technology capacity for that apparently.

 

I was allowed to listen in on one of the earlier meetings. Jean Totten was able to set that up. She is checking to see if it possible for this next meeting. If not hopefully they will have it taped to view next week. Transparency would suggest both live and taped will be available. We shall know soon.

 

Well, I attended the SAC meeting today!

Can't honestly say they're much further along as before. The architect did a good job trying to find out where she needs to go next but the committee is still pretty much stuck on the things that would satisfy their own personal agendas.

Some my have other opinions but it seems to me that any sort of consensus between the committee members is a long way off and other than making the determination whether the PAC is at MV or Lakeview, which my be up to the architect, the whole process might have gone just as well if the whole process was done in a series of town hall forums to begin with? Too many committee members with personal agendas is still driving the process.

Too bad the architect wasn't included much earlier in the game.

This of course is just my opinion.

 

I agree Tom, the architect was great. We simply have too many folks clinging to the madness the previous board led them to believe was reality. Nothing proposed was in the cards, it was simply a basket full of promises to get them re-elected. Thank God it didn't work. It's time for the adults in the room to come together and start drilling down to what actually fits on that postage stamp footprint and what we we can logically afford to do.

The process works, but my lord it is challenging for stakeholders to let go of their wish list.

 

Well the big gorilla holding much of the decision making hostage is the budget. Once that is figured out I believe things will move fast. The committee is operating in a vacuum without knowing how much they might have to spend. Personally, I believe if the Players want the PAC at MV, and it makes sense, it should be built there.(all things considered)
Speaking of budget, does anyone know why the $10 million “carry forward monies” are not shown on the just released August budget. Am I missing something?

 

I agree. By the way, Dave Weiland answered your question on the Advocates page in the questions, here it is: "Tom Trepanier, the cash carry forward in the July, 2023 interim statement is located in the cash in bank item. It will be located there until Budget and Finance committee moves it to another category. The members will be advised where to locate that figure, in the future, if necessary."

 

Thanks. Thought it may be in that category. Did see it in the August treasurer’s report.

 

I must admit I was a little disappointed when Director Fast said he wanted MV to have a "wow" factor!

Don't get me wrong, I want It to be nice but a wow factor costs lots of money.

Let's hope that this board is not creating a monument to themselves.

It just needs to be nice and functional!

 

Yes I too would equate “wow” with “money”.

 

I wouldn't read too much into that remark Tom, especially given what the architect showed later on in the presentation. Mountain View has always been a pretty "vanilla" setting, especially in their entryways. The slides the architect (Marlene) showed regarding a college campus demonstrated what an upgraded front entrance can do. If (and that's a big if) they can salvage the existing building and create an interesting look where they could combine entrances to the pool area and the theater (assuming it goes there) i suspect the cost of it would be minimal (though not cheap).

Couple of interesting facts; the footprint for MV is truly small and there are only so many things they can do with the land available. Even more intriguing was the slide she posted from 1998 for increasing the existing building and making a true PAC on the site. I had never seen those plans and the additional wings enhanced both the size and function. Too bad they hadn't done it back then, but the PIF didn't exist in 1998 and how they would have funded the project never allowed it to get any further than the drawing board.

Finally, the Players have made it abundantly clear, they want the PAC at Mountain View. So be it, but please, PLEASE quit telling us the Players have been at Mountain View from the very beginning (1960). The damned thing didn't open until June of 1967. Their original performances were at Community Center (Oakmont). Someone asked me why they were so adamant, i suspect it is far less a historical question that it is their sense of urgency to see something built.

 

Bill, were you able to corner Marlene and get a copy of that floor plan for the museum's archives?

 

Not yet, but i invited her to visit the Museum at which point i will try to get a copy.

 

Is it true that before MV became the theater, it was a roller-skating rink, and before that it was a dry cleaner?

 

I too keep hearing people say it was dry cleaner, but that’s crazy. DEVCO built it as a rec center (Town Hall south) and it has always been a rec center. It was used primarily for dances and gatherings, but they did hold roller skating there.

 

Roger that! Sounded crazy to me too. Didn't make sense.

 

Following the SAC has been interesting on so many levels. We listened to past boards yammer about the importance of data, and then just do as they pleased. Our data collection has always been suspect, which is exactly why we have been clamoring for better use of technology. Hand held scanners have been around for more than 20 years, they are inexpensive and help drill down true utilization numbers. Every club should have one and i would argue events like we have at the Sun Bowl, they could be used quickly and not impede access with proper distribution.

Sadly, our technology is so bad, apparently transmitting data with scanners wouldn't work. Or perhaps even worse, the folks responsible didn't care enough to invest in our future. What's really maddening is to come to find out, it wasn't just technology they ignored. They became so fixated on keeping everything cheap and shoveling money in the bank, they neglected much of our infrastructure.

Now we are going to be playing catch up for years. It simply can't all be done at once. Even if the money was there, the capacity to fix everything that has been neglected will have to be done one step at a time. It's why i keep pushing for SAC and the Budget and Finance committee to sit down together and come to grips with reality. As i have written many times, "the process works" but it is slow and arduous. That's infinitely better than a small cadre of people making every decision with virtually no feedback from the members.

 

So...just kicking this around but, what if we had a bylaw that stated whenever a PIF project exceeds a certain dollar value it shall hold a series of town hall meetings with the Members?

Not saying that Members should necessarily have the final word, but wouldn't it be nice to learn about some these projects much earlier in the game?

 

You seem to just love SCW Bill. Maybe you should move there as you are always comparing SCW and trashing SC.
FYI, Union Hills, Palm took, and Coyote Lakes have been sold. SC should have bought Union Hills and built a state of the art theater along with other top notch amenities. And yes I know it has a golf course but we could of bought it at basement prices. Admin offices could of been built there and Lakeview could of been totally redone instead of throwing good money into the very worst and unsafe area of SC.

 

Well done, Say What, LOL
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”— Dr. Seuss