Dedicated Club Space?

Straight up eh...clubs have been the lifeblood in Sun City since damn near its inception. It wasn't always the case, as clubs often started but struggled to grow their membership. DEVCO had an early policy of non-involvement so their success really was dependent on how good those forming it were. That all changed under JM (see below).

John Meeker tells the story in his recanting of the community about the time he attended a club meeting and gave away the biggest color television set they made (1965). It was an effort to get folks motivated to join clubs and take a more pro-active role in making them work. There were only a handful of people there but once word spread, club growth blossomed.

Over the years, clubs have come and gone. I looked at the current list of active RCSC clubs and while i didn't count them, there appears to be somewhere in the 130 range. They run the gamut from social to sports to crafts to intellectual offerings; literally, something for everyone.

I've written numerous times over the years, one of Sun City's biggest problems will be club space. There just isn't enough, and as interests evolve, so too will the battle over who gets dedicated space. Having your own room(s) is far more desirable than just getting space when it isn't being used by others.

All of which sets up a thread we can grow over the coming weeks and months. But to do so, let me tell you what Sun City West is doing...yup, they have many of the same issues we do. Here is a link to an article from their website entitled "Sun City West evaluating space utilization options."

In my humble opinion, they are doing it in exactly the right way. Rather than allowing the status quo to dictate who gets what, they are soliciting clubs wants/needs, getting input from the community and most importantly looking at data and trends to make decisions. Damn, how novel is that?

But as always, i have dragged this opening salvo on too long. More to come, but for those of you who belong to clubs, think about your space...the good, the bad and the ugly of it.

 

If you click on the link i provided above, you will see information and additional links to the lengths Sun City West is going to to try and get these decisions right. And if you read to the bottom, you will see some 40+ comments on the matter. They just do things differently there, more openly. In another thread years back i posted the story on SWOG (Sun City West for Open Government) and the end product of them adopting Title 33 rather than ugly and costly court battles. And it is exactly why i say if we (Sun City) functioned under it, we would be better served.

The point is, the differences are glaring. Let me highlight this and tell you up front, when there is little or no explanation you are left to use an educated guess, think the worst or as many do, pay no attention. All of which serve us poorly compared to absolute transparency.

Flash back a couple of years ago; Rich Hoffer was successful in getting an ad hoc long range planning committee in place for the Grand Ave property. By all appearances they worked hard, interviewed clubs wanting space and arrived at some recommendations for the board. As the project commencement time approached, decisions were made. Some clubs never got second interviews, no idea why that happened but it isn't important to what follows.

I paid little attention until recently when i started attending Board/Member Exchanges this fall. Seems the Stained Glass club at Bell had requested a small addition to their space. What they got was a potential move to the Grand Ave property. If memory serves me, they never went before the ad hoc committee, someone in management saw the request for an addition and felt the solution was to send them packing to Grand. The club was up in arms, they had zero interest in moving. The board apparently listened and removed them from the plans.

Once the floor plans were released, the Oakmont Jewelry Club got the space. No idea if they applied during the process, no idea if their numbers warrant the move or if they simply got it because of a current board member has a close attachment to that center. See what happens when information is nowhere, it is easy to assume the worst. The other head-scratcher is one that could easily be explained if there was a more open process. The Camera club is moving there from Sundial. On the blueprint it looks like an enormous space they are getting. It might be completely warranted, but only if the numbers of camera buffs justify it. The last time i looked, everybody was taking pictures with their phones. Again, it might be a great decision, but from afar, it looks like suspect at best; especially for the long term.

Which brings me to the point of what SCW is doing compared to what we are doing, or better yet, not doing. An entire space allocation analysis is brilliant. Especially when you do it in an open and transparent manner. It doesn't even mean you have to act on your findings, but at least knowing if clubs are trending up or down gives you a sense of direction. And as they let people know what they are finding, they get instant feedback from those adversely affected. Goodness, what simple concept.

PS. Aggie was on that committee and could perhaps shed more light on this topic.

 

The one glitch to the whole Grand Avenue Ad Hoc Planning Committee was that we were ONLY able to consider the club space at the Grand property. So, while some clubs currently in other centers wanted additional space, they only wanted space in their current location. We did stipulate to the BOD in our recommendation that the Piano/Keyboard Club get space vacated by the Camera Club as they need to be close to where they do performances which is at Sundial Auditorium. The Club is currently housed in what was a storage room. They are confident their numbers will grow with added space.

Woodcarvers wanted to have dedicated space and were interviewed but they wanted to remain in Lakeview and utilize space vacated by the Clay Club when it moved to Grand. We as a Committee could not consider this and they dropped out of the process. The Oakmont Jewelry Club had originally requested space but dropped out before they were even in the interview process. I was surprised to see they were given space at Grand.

The Camera Guild is so much more than taking photos. They are now moving ahead into all sorts of technical visual arts. Some of their equipment is very large and they also wish to have a portrait/still life studio setting where they can control lighting. Digital photographing changes quickly and with this additional club space the club is confident their numbers can grow. The classroom area is for all club use.

I am also surprised that the Vintage Vehicles Club was given the space at Lakeview. Not sure how much the RCSC has spent to move them ahead of so many other Clubs requesting funds. It is to be a temporary space but it has to be costly.

Hope this clears up some issues.

 

Thanks aggie. There's more questions than answers, but that is simply because the lack of transparency. It would be far better if every center was auditing clubs so they could do exactly what Sun City West is doing. Love the argument that if we get more space we can grow the numbers. First question is, how many members do you currently have compared to what you had 5, 10 and 15 years ago. I did note on the camera club space there were pieces of equipment that were notable. As far as another club that didn't interview originally, it does cause one to give a head a shake as to how they magically got it? And isn't it even more odd that it's from the same center that got a face lift but was never on any plan for it.

Can anyone spell quid pro quo? Oh hell, just go tit for tat, way easier to get your arms around.

 

The Grand Ad Hoc Committee did get the club membership stats to review the growth of the clubs. It was apparent that if space and ability to use various equipment was limiting the membership growth, the club became stagnant.

 

That is good to know, but even better would be if that information was available to all of us in the community. Wouldn't it be awesome to see the numbers of members within each club? Nice to know the ones doing well and those who need help. It also would gave us a look at how and who should have dedicated club space and whether changes should be considered. More importantly, it would help clubs better understand what kind of growth they would need to acquire their own space.

Based on your comments aggie. are you saying that if the camera club gets this new space for all of the fancy equipment (clubs buy their own for the record), the projections are they will grow? Once again it just becomes speculation on our part; are there now 100 members and by doubling or tripling their space will they suddenly have 200 or 300 members? Clearly these are just wild ass guesses, because in the end, we know nothing other than space was allocated to them. I only bring it up because of the shift in how pictures are being taken, at least by the average Sun City resident.

And finally, if the Oakmont Jewelry club never even applied for space, how the hell did they get awarded the area the Bell Stained Glass Club was being shoved into? The Life Long Learning Club, with one small dedicated classroom got a first interview but was never called back for a second. They currently have around 300 members and could easily grow that number with better classrooms and lecture rooms.

 

Back when the long range planning committee was disbanded, one of the arguments by management to the board was the committee was asking for way too much information. They wanted data and that was taking too much staff time to generate. I know, i scratched my head as well; without statistics/information how in the world could a long range planning committee even begin to figure out where it was going? It is one of the glaring weaknesses in our current structure. Boards now react in two ways; the emotionally driven comments from members wanting something, or by the management team telling them what is needed (and that's the big one from my perspective).

It is exactly why i have pointed out how Sun City West has become far more effective in preparing for the future. Both their 96 page 5 Year Plan and the new Space Utilization committee are light years ahead of what we are doing here. Decisions should be based on logically supported needs. There should be master plans that incorporate 5, 10 and 15 year overviews of where the community is going; more importantly, backed up with verifiable data. It takes the guess work out of it. Yup, way more work, but when you spread it across the community rather than letting the GM or 9 ever changing board members decide, you get a better outcome.

 

SECTION 2: COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors (“Board”) shall receive no compensation of any kind for his/her service as a Board of Director (“Director”). Furthermore, a Director cannot serve on any Chartered Club Boards during their term in office.

RCSC’s Board of Directors shall disclose in writing to the President or Vice-President of the Board of Directors any material interest or relationship on their part which is or may be considered a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust has competing professional or personal interests. Such competing interests can make it difficult to fulfill his/her duties impartially. A conflict of interest exists even if no unethical or improper act results from it. A conflict of interest can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in that person and the organization and must be avoided.

The Board serves RCSC in a fiduciary capacity calling for their undivided loyalty to the Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc. The Board must therefore avoid any direct or indirect participation in activities, which could result in personal or family benefit that could be perceived as a conflict of interest. The Board and all RCSC personnel have to avoid, as must their family members, the acceptance of gifts or favors, which might be inferred as intended to influence the performance of their duties or in any way perceived as a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest also includes any situation in which an individual’s duty to one leads to the disregard of a duty to another.

 

Just noted that I didn't reply to this post. Life Long Learning was on the initial list for Grand Avenue but was removed by the Committee due to a low priority for required dedicated space and the fact that the classes only were held approximately 4 months out of the year. There are many rooms within the various rec centers where classes can be held including the new classroom space which will be available at Grand Center.

I believe the Oakmont remodel was discussed while the original Long Range Planning Committee was alive. The Committee recommended that improvements be made but the "historical" feel of the center should be maintained.