The beauty of a self-imposed exile is you can always un-self impose it (too funny). And for the record, i'm still disappointed the admin didn't have the courtesy to answer my simple question. Not that big a deal, but I do like to know/understand how things work. So years back (circa early 2000's), Sun City golf courses were struggling with the streams that ran through their golf courses. And for those unfamiliar with the courses here, the streams, ponds and lakes all play a part in the ever present need for watering them. It's all part of a bigger picture eco-system built to work in concert with each other. The challenge was the streams were aging (like all of us) and were in constant need of repair. I played a lot of golf back then and I hated when a ball got in or around the marshy messes we knew as meandering streams. Worse though was the loss of water via seepage. The board looked at the problems of relining them and understood anything they did would be a temporary fix. The underlayment would eventually be a problem down the road and the costs associated with fixing them would be like watching the movie Groundhog Day over and over again (is that redundant?). So rather than fighting a losing battle, the board took what appeared to be a smart way out...they built concrete drainage ditches to carry water to the ponds. It stopped the seepage all along the stream and delivered the water where it belonged. We own wells and along with them the ponds become the pool (pun intended) of water available for distribution on the courses. As a footnote, the RCSC has charted water distribution on the courses for years. They weren't very sophisticated when the courses were built and consequently the courses had horrible distribution...in some cases as bad as 60% coverage. What that meant was they would over-water in some areas and under-water in others. Terribly wasteful. But back to the story and header above: One of the people living on the golf course in question went ballistic. Her anger about this concrete ditch was such she began a personal vendetta against the RCSC and several of the board of directors who had passed the motion. She built a website and one of her arguments was Del Webb would be turning over in his grave because of the concrete drainage ditches. Really? Further, the lament was Sun City deserved "unsurpassed amenities." While I would be hard pressed to agree the loss of a meandering stream was failing to offer us an unsurpassed amenity, I have always agreed Sun City needs to move forward. Simply put, that was the start of what has now culminated in a full blown lawsuit. What is so significant to this discussion is during this time period the RSCS board had passed the Preservation and Improvement Fund (PIF). Sun City was deteriorating and the need to look to the future was not only necessary, but pressing. The Articles of Incorporation says this: Article X The highest amount of indebtedness or liability, direct or contingent, to which the Corporation may at any time subject itself shall be limited to $750,000 or any greater amount which may be authorized by three-fourths (3/4) of the Members present at a duly called and noticed meeting of the membership, or in such amounts as may be authorized by the Arizona Corporation Commission. Clearly passing anything that encumbered Sun City residents would be a difficult sell. Sun City's largest contingency base would be golfers and even that is less than 20% of the population. So the idea of voting the community on any one expenditure of more than $750,000 would be problematic. Especially if it meant a massive increase in dues or tacking on a special assessment. The board and the attorneys found a way to address this and it was from a historical perspective. When DEVCO was selling homes, they added a cost to each property that was supposed to cover the cost of the amenities in the neighborhood. Obviously the golf course lots was the most visible because you knew it when you bought it. But the tack-on to individual homes was there, just not visible. Effectively, the board simply added a point of sale dollar figure to every home sold. It created the same scenario that DEVCO used to build and pay for the amenities they eventually gave back to us. Better yet, it meant the RCSC would not incur indebtedness because it would be paying cash for everything they did. And even better was the older folks who had been living in Sun City the longest wouldn't be looking at rec fee increases that put them in harms way. It truly was the best of all worlds, and for most Sun City residents, it's been a godsend. It has allowed us to rebuild the community and provide "unsurpassed amenities" without tearing the community apart with voting for their favorite improvements. My point here is, there is no better run community in the country than Sun City, We are self-governed and as such we take ownership in the decision making process. If we don't like what we see, we can run, get elected and fix it. It truly is eons away from how our state and federal government functions. I've written any number of times we should be the model for the rest of the country to follow, but you know how far that goes. The good news is once this suit gets kicked to the curb, we'll finally see a stop to the begging for dollars that has been going on for the past 15 years. Thank God. As far as criminal behavior, consider this: Those of us who have been a part of the governance of this community have done it all gratis. The only cost has been to each of us who have spent a large part of retirement to trying to make Sun City a better place to live. Hardly what I would consider criminal eh?
Want to remind those that have the time may want to attend the RCSC Board/Member Exchange tomorrow 9:00 at Lakeview Social Hall #3. There are 8 motions so far that will be voted on at the December 17th Board Meeting. The Exchange Meeting is the chance for members to address the Board and ask questions or give comments. The agenda for the meeting can be found at: http://sunaz.com/corporate-records/corporate/meetings/ Should be interesting......
