My apologies to the great Martin Luther King for stealing his immortal words from such a powerful speech; especially given the trivial escape I experienced. Our final RCSC board meeting was today, and new board members were sworn in. It was our final "official" business as directors and while I constantly joke about it being over, it is in many ways bittersweet. My challenge has always been to judge my efforts more on my failures than on what we accomplished. Too many to list, but I will say the community is a more user friendly version of itself. We have better embraced that sense of community and tried to be more open. No question, room to grow, but that's for the new folks to try and sort out. I took the liberty of saying a few words in departing and while at least one person called it a "sermon," suffice to say it was heartfelt and well intended. I encouraged the incoming board to be open-minded and willing to recognize the changes that will hit this community in the face in the coming years. In most cases, it has nothing to do with what is going on inside the walls, but what is happening outside societally. That is easier said than done. All too many people as they age get hardening of more than just their arteries. They tend to get set in their ways and see far too many things in nothing more than black and white. Sad, because there are so many vivid, gorgeous colors and to be unwilling to notice them is such a loss. But alas, to each their own. My comments did spur me to rethink Sun City and it's birth. Clearly, the Del E Webb Development Corporation (DEVCO) employees, were forward thinkers. More so than just relying on a hope and a prayer, they looked at what was happening within the country (societally) and understood people with defined benefit plans would want more from their earlier retirement than the same old rocking chair their folks had. No question it was a calculated risk and Lord knows there were several decisions made adjusting both direction and stratagies (to say nothing of leadership). In the end, Sun City lead the way to a "whole new way of life." It was the benchmark for other age restricted communities to aspire to become. And now, 54 years later, we are still ahead of the class in many ways. That said, we can be even better. One of my biggest failures was to convince the board of the importance of real "long range planning." I'm not talking about which golf courses or rec centers to fix over the next 5 years; we need look at where Sun City will be 20 years from now. How we will be impacted by people working later in life, boomers coming in with differing values and time allocations and trying to understand how that fits within a community built primarily for retirees. After three years, I get it; taking on something so out there is kind of a scary proposition. For that reason, I suggested I may try and start a new club in Sun City next year. While nothing has been formalized, the concept of a Sun City Futurists Club has been lingering in the back recesses of my mind. As I leave the board, it would seem to be the perfect time to try and piece something like that together. I will be back at the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum and looking at the past in conjunction with the future may be a blast. Just curios, anyone out there interested in joining a forward thinking club dedicated to trying to craft a vision of where we are headed?
Hear, hear, Bill. When I get to Sun City in a few years I'll join your club. I think that all retirement communities like Sun City must consider the next 20+ years. When I tell my kids that are in their early 40s about the Sun City concept they look at me like I have 4 noses. I explain it a bit more and the response I get is. "eh, that doesn't sound like what I want". However, they can't tell me what they want because retirement is not in a foreseeable future. Younger boomers like me (almost 63) are the next crowd to please, but when I talk about the Sun City concept to most folks my age they are not as excited about it as I am. They say that is for old people and don't get the concept of an "active" senior community, but I can't wait to get there. Of course the concept is not for everyone. One of the biggest selling points of Sun City for me is affordability, activities, and a clean quiet community. Plus taxes are low, rec center fees are more than reasonable, and the rules and regs are easy to conform to. With the younger generation the idea of a "community" means HOA and all the hassle and politics that goes with them. Most folks I talk to here in Colorado (a HOA state) want to get as far away from HOAs as possible. This is a hurdle that Sun City and places like it need to overcome. To the younger outsider that has dealt with the dreaded HOA, the idea of a "controlled" community means cash outlay and restrictions, they see no benefit. Folks like my son want to be able to do what they want with their home without getting hassled by the typical HOA. I know Sun City is different to some extent, but it is a stigma they need to overcome. For the younger generation that may be thinking of retirement in 10-20 years maybe activities need to be different. Golf is not as popular as it once was and lawn bowling is viewed as something for really old folks. This is not my opinion, but a viewpoint from my son and his friends. Retirement for them is 20+ years away and the idea of lawn bowling seems so far out there. Sorry to pick on lawn bowling, it is just an example. To get the younger generation to think about a place like Sun City they need something more, but I'm not sure what that is. Right now that generation likes things like archery, strenuous bike rides, motorcycles, fast cars, and anything that has to do with their kids. Most of all they are the "leave me alone generation", meaning don't try to tell me what I can or cannot do (aka: HOAs are the demon). Just a few thoughts, off my soap box for now. ;-)
Great comments Bruce and exactly why we need be more forward thinking. It has been and will continue to be our biggest challenge; the perception of what age restricted communities are. I was playing around on this site yesterday and clicked on a link in one of the threads where Sun City West got rated the#1 for retirement destinations. There were 280 + comments to the article and I read them all. Holy crap, for so many, senior communities are viewed almost akin to catching Ebola. Really? Sadly all too many of those comments came from folks who never stepped into one. Hell, my first impression when my folks moved to Sun City from Minnesota was are you kidding me? Took three years to visit, but in one day I knew this was where we would retire. Everyone thinks it's where old people come to die, while in reality it's where they come to live out the remainder of their years doing exactly what they want to do. How does it get better than that? You are spot on about long term; I'm a lawn bowler but I've watched the numbers dwindle since I began 10 years ago. The reality is, that trend is going on around the world, from Australia to England, numbers are down. People want a faster pace and while world bowls makes adjustments to bowls and ends played, it's doing nothing to stifle its demise. It's why understanding trends are so important. The good news is, pickleball is exploding around the country and within months we will be opening a twenty court complex with 8 under roof. At the two golf courses we have and are remodeling, we have put in a half a million dollar patio additions at each. While golf is a constant battle, outdoor living space is always a value added. With wifi and snack shops, they become a venue that serves more than just golf. But these are all just the small picture items. I'm looking more big picture; at the community as a whole. Land values in a land locked community with twice as many shopping centers (there's 16 of them) as we need. And when you consider the growth of online shopping and big box retailers, the land under these centers will be far more valuable than the buildings on them. That presents opportunities that are near on endless. Then when you consider our volunteer infrastructure and you project out just 10 years, where will these organizations be? It's exactly why I opened this thread like I did; DEVCO was reacting to what was happening societally when they built Sun City and it's exactly why I would study the past to help forge our future. I'm excited about our future and while I had limitations as a board member in what I could say, the binds are off and there's volumes to discuss. Stay tuned, this should get kind of interesting.
I/ we haven't given the club much thought but my first impression would be to hold evening meetings Emily. What better way to move Sun City forward into the future than by holding meetings that meet the needs of those moving here?
Let's continue on with my thoughts about the future and why I believe a long term strategy is so important. Big picture Sun City goes well beyond the rec centers and golf courses; heck those are the easy things to address. From a more practical perspective, we need be concerned about all of the free standing organizations out there that separate Sun City from other age restricted communities. One only has to look at the "merge" of the Sun City Visitor Center with the RCSC. The challenges of running it with volunteers and raising enough money each year to keep it viable was one of the reasons for taking it over. Truth be told, there were two significant cash infusions over the past couple of years that helped keep it afloat. Going forward we know there will be less and less of those, and as more buyers work into their golden years, volunteers will be tougher to come by (especially during the daytime hours they are open). Now magnify those challenges across the other half dozen (or more) organizations across Sun City and one quickly comes to understand the impact. Of course we've trained ourselves to look only in short windows of time and it becomes less problematic. That to me is shortsighted, because whether we are here or not, the future will eventually hit the community and we will be forced to change. In my mind it's better to shape Sun City so the affect is far less damaging. Let's take it a step further. One of Sun City's ugliest problems is empty store fronts and the message it sends to potential buyers. There's no question those 16 shopping and strip centers will continue to struggle to find businesses who can make it. The evolution of retail 10 years from now will be dramatically different than it is today. Big box and online sales will squeeze the little players and short of small boutique style centers and those well positioned with niche markets, there will be constant turnover and vacant storefronts. Rather than waiting for it to get worse, wouldn't it make more sense for the RCSC to get ahead of the curve? We know there will be huge infusions of cash in the PIF each year and there will come a time when everything has been remodeled or rebuilt. How smart would it be to start investing in our long term future? Why wouldn't we begin to look at alternative revenue streams to insure we could keep yearly lot assessments low? The beauty of a true long term plan incorporates strategies that go far beyond what buildings to replace in the next 5 years. One only has to look at the Sun Health Foundation (that has received millions of dollars from Sun City residents), to see they have done just that. They have bought land all over the West Valley, including plenty of Sun City property. It's a great hedge for the future as they too know times are changing and nothing is forever. In 1999, the RCSC board took a chance and created the PIF. It wasn't the most popular move, but it was pure genius. It put Sun City in a position to remain one of the premier retirement communities in the country. It was forward thinking at its finest and seems to me exactly the kind of steps future boards need follow in. I know that's a scary proposition for those elected and exactly why I've been begging board members to take these kinds of discussion to the residents. Making decisions like these in a vacuum would be foolishness, making them in conjunction with those living here would either create buy-in or give cause to step away from them.
Not trying to be Nostradamus here, but there may well be an article forthcoming in this weeks Independent Newspaper that will add further woes/support to the whole organizational questions regarding Sun City's long term future. I wasn't in the room for the SCHOA meeting last week, but heard some reports that give me cause to wonder. Rather than rely on second hand info, i'll see what the paper has to say and then, if my fears are warranted, i'll start it's own thread on it.
Couldn't agree more on most of the above comments E. Collecting that kind of information at point of sale would make coming to grips with the future about a 1000% easier. I've heard the arguments; more work, invasion of privacy and then what do we do when we get it, but the reality is once it's set up and running it becomes a tool to help shape our decisions regarding the future. As far as what Sun City needs, I've said it before and I will continue to harp on it till it happens: The one thing we are missing the most is a Community Center. Yes we have 7 rec centers, but they have a defined purpose. A community center would be about one central location where the RCSC administration would be located, the Visitor Center housed and a myriad of other more communal type activities occur. And as we look to the future, we see the explosion of Pilates classes, Yoga, life long learning and the more cerebral activities as we age. The newer clubs are demanding space and the one thing we know is we don't have it to give them. Inevitably if we are to stay ahead of the game, we cannot simply try and maintain the status quo. As far as what retailers come here, don't hold your breath Emily. For grocers it's about square footage sales and return on investment. Rental space is expensive and Sun City shoppers are frugal. Cherry picking is a way of life here and there's nothing harder on the bottom line (short of shrinkage and theft) than selling the add items and little else. Sadly I haven't had much impact the past three years in convincing colleagues of the need to be more aggressive. Hopefully the next time around I/we will be better prepared to move the mountain.
I haven't given up E, I have come to realize we need to grow the circle of those who want to be part of the solution. I have no doubt those coming down the road in years to come will be more interested in a different type of governance; one that is more open and involving g residents in all forms of communications and discussions on levels far more heightened from years past.
