In another thread, FYI reminded us of the old adage, "ignorance is bliss." One one of the joys of getting old is hopefully one grows in wisdom. While that's not always the case, most of us who have lived full lives tend to be less passionate about the challenges of life (again, not everyone, but many of us became less caustic). Before i go there, i like to start my mornings by reading various news feeds and writers who i subscribe to. One of them this morning, Jonathan V. Last (JVL) from the Bulwark had an interesting take on why we are where we are. Essentially he blamed cable news and it all started with O.J. Simpson's infamous Bronco car chase. Since then, sensational 24/24 coverage of everything has created a monster. I think he's right. That's not the point here though, because many of us living in Sun City have gone the other way. We tuned life out in the community and what's going on around us and happening to us. The funny thing for me is/was when i moved here in 2003, i vowed to ignore life outside the walls and focus on life inside the walls. I've failed any number of times, but honestly my primary focus has always been paying attention and being involved. Here's why: No matter what happened outside Sun City, i could make virtually no difference or have any impact...at all. On the other hand, almost anything i did while living here could make a difference. All i had to do was stick my hand up and offer to help. Think about that for a minute or six. As you sit home watching and agonizing over things you have ZERO control over, our life inside the walls has been crumbling around us. I don't mean that in a hyperbolic way; what i mean is as we ignore all things Sun City, what we hold most valuable, we elected to tune out. Senseless, because each and every one of you living here has the capacity to make a difference. Our history taught us the importance of ownership, accountability and responsibility. If during those first 45 years our members had acted like we have the past 17, Sun City would not have survived. That may sound harsh or mellow-dramatic, but anyone who has paid attention to how we were built understands the role the member/owners played in shaping the community and making it work. Yes, DEVCO/Meeker helped them, but the members did the heavy lifting. Let me be clear, ignorance isn't bliss; it's just ignorance. Members were pushed away for a reason and it was so the RCSC management and board could decide for us what was important. Had they been infallible it might have worked. They weren't and it didn't and now all of will be paying the price. The interesting segue for me is we (the RCSC and the members/community) need to create the proverbial white bronco moment where those of us living here get eyes on what is happening and start paying attention. Looking outward is folly, looking inward is so much easier and self-fulfilling.
Heck Bill, I would settle for a complete and accurate explanation on the amount of money which can be used for the MV project. The only thing certain is the uncertainty! Quote from the professor during a 1975 history class. Still applies today for a variety of topics.
Hopefully today you/we will get the beginnings of an explanation. We'll see. Unfortunately there's more to the story than the cost to remodel Mountain View.
Tom, I am confident that the Finance and Budget committee is working hard, hand in hand with the management team, to provide a totally transparent picture of RCSC finances. It is incumbent on the Committee and management to fully disclose everything clearly, in ways the members can understand. What financial resources we have in all categories, all projects in all categories, all associated costs and a plan. This is a big change being undertake in a short period of time in preparation for the 2024 budget, but I think the hours and hours of time will serve all of us well. It's long overdue. I strongly encourage members to attend the committee meetings.
I will be out of town. But I would love to see a video of the next meeting. Seems important enough to tape for the members who cannot be there. Even minutes from the meeting would be warranted and appreciated. How can a member stay informed if information is not available? After the SAC meeting today I get the impression that the amount of transparency for information is becoming limited. Speaking of which, did I hear correctly that the SAC meetings are cancelled the next two weeks?
eyesopen, Thanks for the info, I have been attending the meetings(SAC) and even presented some options for MV. Also have watched all videos and read other documents. My wish is to see videos made for the F & B meetings. At the very least to read minutes from the meetings for transparency of information. Thanks again!
Hey Tom, first of all, I get it. There seems to be a lack of transparency when it comes to posting when the F&B meetings will be held as well as any summaries of what was discussed. All I'm going to say is I think, for now it's best that those summaries do not get posted because if you were to attend those meetings WHERE NO DECISIONS HAVE SO FAR BEEN MADE, there may be assumptions made and rumors spread which, at this stage of the game, would not help the process. You need to either attend the meetings or be patient and wait to hear what the new budget proposes. But trust me, they seem to be on the right track. As far as the SAC meetings go, YES. The next meeting is scheduled for August 25th when architect Marlene Imirzian will be present and answer committee members questions as well as presenting the feasibility of various scenarios of what can and what can't be done. It's just too bad that the committee didn't schedule the architect much earlier or the committee had an actual idea how many dollars are available!
It's funny you mentioned recording the Budget and Finance meetings, i just suggested that to a couple of the board members this afternoon. Plus at the last B & F meeting the suggestion was made to insure minutes be posted in detail. Some committee meetings are more important than others, none more so than that one.
Thanks Bill for suggesting this to the board members. And I definitely agree with the importance of the task and keeping people informed.
The SAC has a tough task which is made tougher not knowing the budget for the project(s). I’m thinking they may need to present 2 or 3 options to the board and members. One or two with PAC at MV and one with PAC at Lakeview. Once the budget is made clear many questions will be answered.(My opinion)
I agree with Bill that the summaries from the meetings should be made public but the key words are "in detail". The problem is, as I see it, is they're still mostly talking about the "ugly" and until they can talk about the remedies they can't just tell us how deep of a hole we're in. That's when faults rumors start! I think we need to hear both sides of the situation at the same time and only then can the community begin to understand the situation.
It's too bad they didn't make better use of their time yesterday. There's so much ground to cover and so much little precious time. I do like they are bringing in an architect who will be able to help them sort through what is doable and what is not. The last architect's appeared to be more interested in how much they could charge them rather than what the community's needs were.
I assume you're referring to the last SAC meeting that lasted less than one hour because the architect wasn't there. They're normally scheduled for 2 hours. Kevin McCurdy was in attendance and that extra time was the perfect time to start informing the committee of the RCSC's financial situation. It's past time for a reality-check!
People that know me are all too familiar with the tangent/rant i can go off on regarding the failure to purchase the Lakes Club while i was on the RCSC board (2012-2014). This past week i have featured stories and pictures circa 1970 when DEVCO moved north of Grand Ave with the Lakes Club a portion of that story. Our history is just an ongoing saga and series of how we were built and why we were so successful. I like to call them teachable moments. There's so many but the one that was comparable to the Lakes Club was the story about the Sun Bowl. Once DEVCO moved to Sun City West (1979), their goal was to divest themselves of the remaining assets here and let them be the RCSC''s problem. They had covered their building costs (for amenities) with per property charge backs and up-charges on golf course lots. Meeker before he left the DEVCO in 1981, managed to negotiate a deal with the RCSC. Actually it was the 4th offering he made and it came with a unique trial period that if it didn't work out, the RCSC could return it the company. Rather than just accepting it, they turned to the 38,000 membership base and whether they wanted it or not? So the members knew they had some skin in the game, the proposal included a $2 increase (from $40 to $42 per person). There were 27,000 plus returned mail ballots with the majority saying yes, buy it. I love the story and one of the oddities was more than 2000 ballots came back with neither a yes or a no. What became the teachable moment for me was the idea the RCSC trusted the membership to decide. They weren't afraid of them, they understood it was their community. What a novel approach. These days, after 15 plus years of pushing members away and telling them to just have fun, we have an uphill battle. It all starts with education and effective communication. It won't be easy, it is essential.
