Committee Meetings: Why stop video taping??

Discussion in 'Sun City General Discussions' started by aggie, May 11, 2021.

  1. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    I just happened to catch the fact that starting May 17th the Committee Meetings will no longer be video taped to be shown on YouTube. What??? Why wasn't this brought up during the Board Meeting yesterday to get comments from Members? This important notice is a small red font notice on the bottom of the page for Committee Meeting schedules and summaries: Effective May 17, 2021, RCSC “Returns to Normal” and these committee meetings will no longer be videotaped as RCSC Members are welcome to attend in person. Could it be that they don't want feedback on this or is this just another Management decision?

    It was such an important look into the actions of the committees and the practice should continue. The fact that Members can again attend Committee Meetings doesn't make it any easier for those of us who have other conflicting appointments or continued concerns about exposure to lingering COVID.

    Perhaps if we had a real Member Communications Committee this would have been discussed out in the open before abruptly stopping this important benefit to Members. Please contact the BOD and urge them to continue to video and post the Committee Meetings on YouTube.
     
    carptrash likes this.
  2. FYI

    FYI Well-Known Member

    You might have hit on something there!?
    Right now, if you have a grievance or want something done you have to go thru a member of the board. If there was some sort ombudsman committee our members could send their ideas or complaints to that Committee via emails and then the ombudsman committee could report it at the next board meeting? I'm sure audience comments would follow.
    Truth be known, I don't think the Board gives a crap about the peons think nd it would just increase the length of the board meetings.
     
  3. IndependentCynic

    IndependentCynic Active Member

    IMHO, there's little doubt that properly staffed committees would provide valuable input that's more in tune with member's desires and would keep the members better informed/educated about issues/solutions. Committees make the RCSC a better place.

    "Properly" means knowledgeable independent thinkers. In the past (when committees were functioning in SC) some committees were merely rubber stamps of what special interests or management wanted while others (eg, the LRPC) were more independent minded. As board/management became more authoritarian committees fell in disfavor and the board/management cemented their unilateral control by changing corporate documents to protect their power against all but a wholesale member revolt. Most members (even if they are completely uninformed about the issues) give unwavering support to anything the RCSC says/does -- ie, they blindly protect the "RCSC" tribe. That precludes a revolt any time soon and kills any hope of democracy in how the RCSC functions.

    We each have three choices -- live with it, fight it, or move on. The tribe lives with it -- ignorance is their bliss. Some continue fighting it -- eg, many people on this forum. And still others have moved on, either literally by moving out of SC or by shunning the RCSC for most things and taking advantage recreation available nearby.

    Personally, I took door number 3 when they raised the member quorum. I don't often miss the RCSC much -- my garage workshop is sufficient, I have friends with pools, and there's plenty of gyms, dog parks, etc I can drive to nearly as quickly as those in SC. True, my $500 RCSC assessment buys me virtually nothing -- but the extra fees I pay (usually) give me a more state of the art experience and I don't have to put up with a bunch of RCSC "rules" that often make no sense for the situation at hand. For free I can go to a dog park with grass, lighting, and open until 10pm. For minimal cost a gym with state of the art equipment, classes, etc. most anytime of the day/evening . No more 8am classes, no more closed evenings and weekends, no more closed in the summer. And best of all, the people (users/staff) at establishments outside SC don't have those clique-ish attitudes so often prevalent within the RCSC facilities. Is it perfect -- no. But for me it's more than sufficient with a lot fewer hassles.
     
  4. FYI

    FYI Well-Known Member

    You make some good points. The more I learn about the RCSC the less I want to know!

    With all the rec centers that we have, I don't understand why, on a rotating basis, one rec center couldn't stay open until perhaps 10-11 o'clock per night? With the advent of more and more resident's who still need to work everyday, I don't understand why the RCSC shouldn't be considering that option. If particular rec centers would stay open late, primarily for the use of the pool and exercise equipment, perhaps some of the Clubs located in those rec centers would remain open for evening hours as well?

    If they want to accommodate the next generation then I don't think we need to roll the sidewalks up at 7-8 o'clock!?!?
     
    carptrash likes this.
  5. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    Today you'll get the chance to watch the videos of the IT Technology Committee(ITTC) and the Communication Through Technology Committee(CTTC) Meetings. What a treat and hopefully it won't be our last chance to see all standing committees in action.

    My first issue is that the CTTC should be moved/absorbed into the ITTC as a sub-committee of that group. The ITTC has such a diverse group of tech savvy individuals and the CTTC is trying to self promote by creating a 60 Minutes style video that is nothing more than fluff. This video feature could just be tacked onto the RCSC website and viewed by those that are interested much like the videos already available. I appreciate the time & effort by some but time would be better spent on actually communicating current issues with Members.

    The ITTC shows such promise if they are not held back by the Board & Management. It is obvious that the reins are already being tightened in that the ITTC wants to continue video taping meetings and having them available to Members that are unable to attend in person. After watching their meeting, go back to read the "Summary" of last month's meeting. That will show you how little information will once again be available to Members once recordings stop on the 17th. I do hope the committee is successful in promoting the taping of all standing committee meetings so Members have access to them online.

    The excuse to stop the YouTube postings of meetings is two-fold. First we are told that the Board Room isn't big enough or set up for recording. If the room is so small why are the meetings going to be held in a room that is not safe in light of COVID? Too many people don't properly wear masks or pull them down when speaking. The Board Room is stuffy and won't allow for distancing if Members do want to attend in person. COVID numbers may be better and responsible people have been vaccinated but we are not out of the woods yet. The RCSC has many other rooms available for meetings so this excuse just doesn't wash.

    Second is that there is not enough staff to cover recording the meetings. Recording the once a month meeting of a Standing Committee should be a priority of the RCSC IT staff. Hire another person if necessary! We need to move forward and staffing the right personnel will get us there. This is one of the issues that the Communication Through Technology should be addressing.

    Edited to add: If making videos on YouTube is refused, why not make the codes available so that Committees could hold their meetings on ZOOM. Non-committee members could observe but have their mics muted to avoid interruptions. This has been common practice in so many places over the past year.
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2021
  6. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Interesting comments aggie. They started recording them because of the pandemic, but it has proven to be a plus in that people can watch that would not attend them. You know as well as i virtually no one goes as guests. You also have been around enough to know committees are more show than go. It never used to be that way but the gm found they got in the way of her agenda. It's one of the reasons a change is so desperately needed.

    Sadly FYI, the closer you look, the more you come to see the RCSC for what is has become. IC isn't the first and won't be the last to simply walk away and ignore how the process has centralized and become controlled by a few. We were never built on a foundation of a handful. In fact, there was a fight for 30 plus years by the powers that be to become Incorporated. The argument was if we incorporated we would get revenue sharing and have bushel baskets of money to build a city like Peoria or Glendale or Surprise. The residents fought it every step of the way. They loved the fact they had a voice and were different. And now we are morphing into a controlled structure, so sad.
     
  7. Say What

    Say What Active Member

    I think since they're not going to record it any longer when they have the golf committee about 80 people should show up and voice their opinion about some of the conditions of the sand traps in Sun City that is a big concern to many but they don't listen somebody's going to get hurt bad
     
  8. Say What

    Say What Active Member

    I'm sure that bag of air Hofer has something to do with it. I love the meeting a few weeks ago it must have been last month's meeting Rich guaranteed 100% that no golf course would ever close down. We need to hear about the water situation in Sun City and talking behind closed doors is wrong.
     
  9. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    That won't happen Say What. Non-Committee Members aren't allowed to speak at Committee Meetings unless they have prior approval from the Committee Chairs. They could bring a crowd to the meetings but then only give glaring looks.
     
  10. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    There is a good reason to continue video taping the Committee Meetings. When the meetings were taped we were able to watch the proceedings on YouTube usually the next day if not the same day. We had all the necessary information to ask informed questions when it came time for the Board Meetings. Now, for example, the Long Range Planning Meeting was held probably nearly two weeks ago and there is still no posting of the meeting summary. The BOD Meeting was held days after the LRP Meeting. The written summary of a meeting is so bare bones that it doesn't really give substantial information but at least it's something. We shouldn't have to settle for dribs & drabs when technology is available to keep us up to date.

    Bring back Committee Meetings on YouTube. This should be #1 on the list for our Communication through Technology Committee.
     
    carptrash likes this.
  11. IndependentCynic

    IndependentCynic Active Member

    Circa 1600 Francis Bacon wrote "Knowledge is power." Today the world's citizens still struggle for a free and open press while fascist style leaders work to keep constituents uninformed or misinformed as a means to thwart their struggle for a voice in their government. The RCSC fits that model. No YouTube, no constituent power.

    You can decide for yourself why RCSC leadership chooses to limit the sharing of information, why committees have been disbanded, why there has been an intentional shunning of IT infrastructure and methodologies. Me -- I made up my mind about them long ago. The leadership values the "Corporation" (and the power it gives them) over the more democratic goals stated in the RCSC's original AIs and Bls. True, the RCSC needs to be a "Corporation" for legal reasons, but it doesn't need to act like one. The RCSC should be primarily responsible to the members -- all the members -- equally. Instead it's driven by partisan supporters and parochial sports interests. Why should the RCSC embrace everyone? Because we ALL fund its very existence. Why does the RCSC keep information about their dealings from the membership? To maintain their own sense of power and appease the special interests that keep them in power.
     
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  12. SCR

    SCR Active Member

    "Bring back Committee Meetings on YouTube. This should be #1 on the list for our Communication through Technology Committee.'

    This should be one of the top questions asked of all board member candidates.
     
    Say What and carptrash like this.

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