Hard to believe that commercial dates back to 1974. My first thought after reading a post on a Facebook site yesterday drew me back to that nagging question; "is it live or is it Memorex?" For real gang, and i could have posted any of the following headers: "Litmus Test?" "Measuring Stick?" "Barometer?" All of them would have worked, but i like using old classics readers can relate to. To help set the stage, let's recap the December 13, 2021 annual membership meeting. We'd connect the link to it, but darn, the first and most explosive half of it was lost to a bad SD card or something like that. Somehow they recovered the last half of the first annual membership meeting the RCSC has had in 12 years. Dang, stuff just happens, ya know? What is sadly missing are the motions made from the floor regarding by-law changes and supported by the membership. Missing was the devastating comments by many of the attendees and the explosive cheer that erupted when they announced there were 1400 plus between proxies and butts in chairs. Missing was the straw vote taken by one of the members and the fact the motions were near unanimous by the members. To be kind, the motions weren't ignored. Well at least not totally. Heck, the board decided the best way to deal with the practical changes proposed by the members present was to shuffle them off to an ad hoc committee who would take a serious look at what should be done. And not just the ones made by the members, but the total sum of all the drivel that had worked its way into them over the past 12 years. Sorry if it sounds like i am being unkind, i'm not. I'm being factual. Anyone who understands the purpose of by-laws knows you don't fill them with nonsense and make them unreadable. In 2009 they were 14 pages long. By 2021, they were 2 times the total pages and loaded with structure that was unwieldy and gibberish. Items that rightly belonged in board policies had been shuffled to the by-laws and other areas had been stricken. More than one person read them asked; "what the hell." Myself included. The changes we proposed, were simple and straight forward: Returning the quorum to 500 for annual membership meetings. Allowing for signatures for RCSC actions on the property (like they do for running for the board). Adding due process language protecting board members from being fired and how it should be handled. Securing a petition recall number within 15 days of application. Enhancing the rights of the membership at meetings. Pretty tame stuff and in reality rights given to us in the Articles of Incorporation and then taken away in the by-laws via "clarifications." I’ve listed the rights taken away and simply put, we were proposing to reinstate a handful of them. The board, rather than dealing with them as prescribed by the documents, turned to their owl stand bye and defer actions. The good news was several members have offered their help. Any number of members spoke up and indicated they previous experience with drafting by-laws. In an effort to secure the most qualified, the RCSC put a call via email for others to come forward. Rumor has it there were a dozen or more volunteers, That’s a good thing. So, where does my header come from? Stay tuned and we’ll come back to that question in the next day or two.
Why wait, let's just get to it straight away. We know the board asked for volunteers to serve on the ad hoc by-laws committee. We know they got a decent response. Now we know yesterday, Tom Marone got a thanks but no thanks email yesterday telling him to bugger off. No interview, just bugger off. Seems cold, callous and less than a professional approach, but hey, maybe that's just me. By the way, Tom isn't an unknown, as he has served on the election committee and makes near on every board meeting. He's been vocal about following Robert's Rules of Order and has been sort of chastised for speaking out. He is a second generation member and clearly committed to the concept of self-governance. Maybe that's the problem, who knows, there was no explanation given. Which brings me back to the question; "is it live or is it Memorex?" Let's break this down to my concerns; is the ad hoc committee the real deal, or is more more hide the weenie game. Pretending to care about committees has become an art form the past 15 years. They exist for appearance sake. I could elaborate but why bother. It's yesterday's news, what matters is what they do going forward. If i told you there were rumors about bringing back the general manager that turned them into the cesspool they became to help fix them, would you be surprised? If i told you there were rumors about dragging this process on for years, would you be surprised? I've watched the game being played too many times to discount anything i hear. I've watched as they established a pattern of blatant disregard that boarders on disdain about the membership. I for one would be delighted if this new committee was created and they acted to recreate by-laws similar to 2009 (i have copies for anyone wanting them). I would be even more delighted if those appointed to the seats were chosen without regard to whether they were of the same mind as the majority of the board. I would be ecstatic if their work was finished before the next annual membership meeting and many of the suggestions the membership were adopted. It would speak volumes. Based on Tom's rejection, my guess none of that will happen and it will be business as usual. The real deal, or is is just another phony calculation? We'll see.
We are watching! Thanks for retro trip down 'memory' lane. The current path looks like it's leading to implosion rather than a course correction. We will keep vigilant and there will be a time we move in the direction.
Let's cut to the chase...it's going to be Memorex! After reading, among other things, the article and comments on the Sun City Advocates regarding the March 15th Pickleball meeting it's clear that only a certain few members (or should I just say member...singular) of the board are making decisions with forgone conclusions. Is it surprising that the only member of the board who knew what was going on was Director Lehrer? This brings back memories of stories I've heard about her when she was president of the Clay Club and the rules she suddenly changed without the members of the Club being asked or voting on? Who knows if the stories are true but based on her recent actions it wouldn't surprise me if it was so! Just look at what happened at the last board meeting. Director McAdam read chapter and verse from Robert's Rules of Order as too why the motion to Reconsider was out of order but Director Lehrer knew better and along with the blessings of her cohort in crime, the parliamentarian, simply ignored it and allowed the out of order motion to go forward. Bill's right, this Ad Hoc committee is just another Truman Show. And to all those Sun Citian's who think the board is just doing a wonderful job, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell them! But don't get me wrong...there are still a few white-hats on the board who are on our side but it's hard to fight for what's right when you're being left in the dark!
