Sheila introduced the IT Manager to the Technology Committee and invited him to speak with the committee about his current progress and findings. Randy Bird, the RCSC IT Manager, was introduced to the Technology Committee. Randy is new to RCSC but in the past has been a Director of IT for Verisign along with multiple other Director level positions for other companies. Randy is in the process of assessing the infrastructure and operations of RCSC IT and its related software applications and solutions. To date Randy has identified the following areas of focus for RCSC in both the short and long term that will assist with ensuring that the RCSC IT Infrastructure and Operations are technologically current which will improve the overall experience for RCSC members. The following items were noted by Randy: 1. The Network is up and running. 2. RCSC currently has: a. 31 Main Distribution Facilities (MDF) i. Within those facilities there is no labeling on either the cables or the devices 1. This creates challenges and makes resolution time consuming when a production issue occurs due to an inability to easily determine which device or cable is creating the issue. b. We currently have 50 Software packages which can make upgrades and integration of changes challenging. c. We currently do not have standardized monitoring or any ticketing systems for any application or network device to provide immediate feedback on the health of the any given application, network device, or infrastructure/operations hardware or software. d. There appears to be little to no documentation or management process in place for the hardware and software that the RCSC currently owns and are running with the RCSC infrastructure and application pool. e. Approximately 1/3 of the equipment is obsolete i. There are multiple manufacturers and types of devices for the same feature or functionality of the infrastructure 1. Many are not in use ii. A number of them are end of life and cannot be updated as the manufacturer no longer supports them iii. There are printers that we cannot use as we cannot get print cartridges for them f. The average home in Sun City has faster internet speeds than the Rec Centers i. The golf courses currently have 10 down and 2 up ii. The Rec Centers have 100 down and 10 up iii. In contrast Cox Cable routinely offers 1 Gig into homes in Sun City g. Due to the current situation with the RCSC infrastructure and operations, production issues pull the IT department away from being able to fully assess the current capabilities and to work on proposals to improve the current infrastructure and resolve some of the issues. h. COVID is creating hardware shortages which will impact any large-scale updates we may want to implement and we will need to plan accordingly 3. All of the items listed above can be fixed; some easily and others with the right investment. The following are possible solutions to the challenges we are currently facing with our infrastructure: a. Moving to a single hardware vendor so we can maximize our relationship with the vendor, lower our licensing costs, and improve the overall infrastructure footprint. i. Currently meeting with Vendors to determine our next best step to mitigate the risk and issues we are experiencing. b. Board has requested an issues paper and wish list be presented for approval. i. Needs to be prioritized by critical and high impact needs and requirements ii. Challenging as day-to-day operations make it difficult to compile and present 1. Chris Nettesheim offered to conduct an IT Interview to compile and prioritize the issues and risks for the Board c. Create a sustainability and obsolescence plan so that the RCSC Board can budget and plan for operational infrastructure and application expenditures. d. Need to create Infrastructure and Operations Standards that guide all processes and procedures for current and future RCSC IT work. i. Issues/Asks/Standards ii. Mountain View should be at the top of the list as we need to align all work there with the future vision to avoid rework and introducing issues similar to those being experienced in other facilities. 1. Technology Committee needs to work with the Facilities department to provide any needed assistance e. Review current infrastructure and operational needs to determine if additional staffing is required to support the current infrastructure and operations and plan for future changes based on technology improvements. i. Scope the required changes to meet identified goals ii. Review other entities similar to RCSC for staffing ratios based on their current infrastructure iii. Proposed changes and potential staff increase if indicated f. Additional help is needed for research and analysis as there is enough work for more than one or two people 4. Questions and Answer discussion between the IT Manger and Technology Committee a. Are items discussed previously transformational or operational i. Everything discussed to date is operational in nature and focused on improving day to day operations at all RCSC facilities b. What is the RCSC budget for IT Infrastructure and Operations i. There is a standard budget line item that did not account for significant expenditures beyond the normal day to day run of the business budget 1. An example – this would not account for overhauling the network but would account for keeping the network running and replacing parts as needed. c. What percentage of the Budget is dedicated to IT expenditure? i. This was not known at the time of the meeting but can be determined and provided to the Technology Committee d. Why is fiber not an option for Mountain View and for the remainder of the RCSC facilities: i. We can pull our own fiber into Sun City 1. The cost is approximately $40,000 per facility which would indicate a significant expenditure ii. We are currently working with Cox Cable who have indicated we do not have the option to utilize their infrastructure to deliver fiber due to the availability of fiber in Sun City. iii. Do we have the option to work with someone other than Cox Cable? 1. Century Link owns significant fiber within the state a. Is it possible they could help with the delivery of fiber? e. Has a risk assessment been completed for security, asset management, servers, patches, network? i. A risk assessment has not been completed 1. Miles to send risk assessment templates to Chris Nettesheim so she can use those as an input for her interview with Randy Bird. Action Items: 1. Chris Nettesheim will schedule an interview with Randy Bird and compile the Board requested issues and wish list. a. Scheduled for November 16, 2021 @1:30 PM 2. RCSC Finance GM will provide percentage of 2022 budget allocated to IT expenditure 3. Miles to send Chris Nettesheim risk assessment templates for her use during the IT Interview with IT Manager Randy Bird Discussion Item 4: The Technology Committee provided a commitment to give assistance to the IT Manager with his research and analysis. The Committee invited the IT Manager to attend future meetings to discuss prioritizations and required assistance as we move forward. With a team of people, we can review issues and present potential solutions. Discussion Item 5: Much of what is being discussed are significant undertakings that we need to complete but we also need to understand the impact to the overall RCSC budget, any financial restrictions we might encounter, and any large restrictions that might be in place for investments for the RCSC facilities. We need to consider that we may need to narrow our focus due to budget constraints and present options to the Board. It was determined that the Technology Committee would present options and potential solutions to the Board and the Board will determine what investments can and cannot be made. All is at the discretion of the Board. Our initial focus should be on near term successes that provide confidence in the added value and return on investment that the Board has made. Discussion Item 6: A proposal was made to meet more often than once a month as monthly meetings do not provide us with the progress, we need to meet our goals. After discussion it was determined that due to the holidays, we would like approval to meet biweekly in 2022 until we gain traction and have met our near-term goals. Action Item: 1. Sheila Rooney will provide feedback on the viability of meeting biweekly beginning in 2022. Chris Nettesheim, Secretary
But will Sheila still be on the committee since her term on the board will be over? Seems like the RCSC has more things that are going wrong than right?
Why does everything seem like a road well traveled? We've been begging the RCSC to do this for years now. Begging. I quit the long range planning committee a couple of years back because the committee had made a proposal for the board to hire a company to do a top to bottom analysis just like this regarding our technology needs. The chairs, Rich and Dale, thought it was a good idea in June when we made it. After the summer break and the gm had a chance to see it the chair's came back and told us it was really, really bad idea. It was on the heals of our Gen X report and we knew any hope of becoming appealing to the next wave of home buyers was updating our technology. I realized at that moment i was wasting my time because the gm was controlling every aspect of what was happening in the community. This is what happens when a community becomes fixated on a single amenity like golf. This is what happens when you shovel 40 to million dollars from PIF and another 20 -30 million dollars from yearly operating budgets (over 15 years) into a game you have to give away for a fraction of what it should cost to keep the number of rounds up. There's always a cost and we have been saying for years, it isn't just in what you spend, but what you refuse to invest in. Just another in the long line of mistakes by a community who was led down a path that was wrong-headed on so many fronts.
Based on your post above ODAAT I would say the new IT manager is definitely on the right track. There are many many problems with the current IT infrastructure that will take lots of time and money. Will the board step up to the plate and address these problems or will they kick this down the road. In my opinion, what the IT Manager has presented and suggests is that the Mountain View project should be put on the back burner till the IT situation is corrected and modernized. To accomplish what the IT manager is suggesting will take a huge expense and huge PIF hit to take Sun City into the 21st century with regard to technology. Case in point, the Grand Center is already experiencing WIFI issues and IT issues because it was done piece meal and not thought out at all. Golf courses should be able to track people teeing off and whether or not they complete the entire round or left the course before completing the entire course. There are other considerations for the golf courses and for every RCSC facility that will detect fraud and attempts to pad the books. IT is not a once and done deal. It is an ongoing and ever changing landscape. When I worked in IT (for over 35 years) I was going to schools at least twice a year to learn the latest technology trends, needs, and equipment. The IT department must constantly stay in touch with new trends and equipment. It's not an install it and forget it world. Hope this goes further and gets the attention it needs.
I do have a ray of hope SCR. The idea the new GM would hire someone capable of this kind of analysis is the one bright spot regarding technology in the past 15 years. Any of us who have been anywhere near the RCSC knew we were far behind, but to be honest, i didn't think it was this bad. In fact who in their right mind would have considered letting our technology become so underwhelming? The report shows us just how bad it is. Scary. Perhaps the best joke of all was them asking what the IT budget is? Right. It depended if they needed to buy a new ipad for the board or not. Seriously, the position we are in is disastrous and won't be fixed any time soon. The simple reality is, given this report, any idea the board should be committing 50 million dollars to Mountainview in the next ten years is insane. Yes we need a venue for the preforming arts, no we don't need the Taj Mahal. Somebody needs to give their head a shake and wake up.
