I know sometimes people comment on how much i know. Truth be told, way more than most understand is the real resource behind it all is my good friend Ben Roloff. He doesn't post on this site or others for that matter. He writes articles for the Independent, for SCHOA and has given an untold number of speeches. We go to coffee often and talk about Sun City, past, present and future. It's one of my happy places. Ben sent me two emails this past week and said, share them with whomever. They are so good, i decided TOSC was the proper place to post them. I often talk about the good old days when the RCSC trusted the membership to help shape the community. In this case, it was before they became the Recreation Centers of Sun City in 1972. It was however after the merger of the three centers, and were called the Sun City Community Association that was formed in 1968. I am going to bold his emails, easier to read, here's the first: As per our phone conversation of yesterday afternoon, I am sending you a summary of an article that appeared in the Sun Citizen Newspaper on September 16, 1970. A reporter was at the 3rd quarter meeting of the Sun City Community Association, Inc. (RCSC before name change) when they still held four member meetings annually. The primary business on the agenda was a proposal for four bylaw changes that had been received via a petition from circa 200 members after the 2nd quarter meeting. After allowing for some discussion, particularly of # 1 and #2, with different viewpoints expressed by the 396 members in attendance, a vote was taken by a "show of hands" and all four amendments passed and the bylaws were modified. Proposals: 1. Board members were limited to serving one term of two years. (Before the change, there was no limit to the number of two-year terms served consecutively. 2. The Board would hire the General Manager who would be empowered to hire and fire the other employees. (All hiring and firing was formerly done by the Board. 3. The President of the Board would appoint only the Chair of each standing committee. (The old bylaw said the President appointed the Chair and also the rest of the committee members.) 4. The minimum size of each standing committee would be five members. (Prior to this language there was no minimum. The petition the Board received from members suggested a minimum of seven, but the Board changed that number to 5 before presenting the proposal to the membership for a vote. Feel free to share with anyone you think might be interested in this bit of our historic governance practice, "A work in process!" Really good stuff, but wait, there's more.
Ben loves to tell a story as much as i do. Leaving me hanging for the rest of the story isn't a new tactic for him. It's what good story tellers do. Here's the follow up with an interesting tidbit into the whole of the school district fight that took place two years later: Now, the rest of the story. Exactly one year later, (September, 1971) the Sun City Community Association, Inc. B.O.D. (RCSC) brought the proposed change in bylaws regarding allowing directors to have a second 2-year term back to the membership for a vote at the 3rd Quarter membership meeting. This time the impetus for the change to go back to allowing a second term came from the B.O.D. instead of by petition of the members who forced the change ending consecutive terms the year prior. After debate during the members meeting, a vote was taken regarding the proposal for a second term as proposed by the B.O.D. Those favoring were 30 with those opposed numbering 660. Motion defeated! (The population at the time of the 1970 census was 14,400 for Sun City, 4,900 for Peoria, and 1,800 for Youngtown. Those against a second term argued that with that size population there were more than enough capable candidates available. Those favoring a second term said the B.O.D. would benefit from the continuation of experienced directors.) p.s. With those population numbers generated by the 1970 census, it makes it understandable that Sun City/Youngtown controlled all the bond elections and school board candidate decisions. The combined Sun City/Youngtown area contributed over 70% of the funding for the Peoria School District while sending less than 1% of the students to be educated. Yikes! The vote to allow a second 2 year term was voted down 30 to 660. Seems the population valued a constant churning of representation than the same board members serving repeatedly. Think about it these days, we now allow two 3 year terms and the board can keep sticking you back on every time they fire somebody or they die or quit. What changed?
What's even more telling than the vote totals is the fact the membership was committed and involved in the process of self-governance. Better yet, the documents allowed and encouraged their participation with quarterly meetings, the submission of motions and then action on them...by both the board and the membership. Imagine; trusting those living here to make good decisions for the community at large. What a freaking novel approach. Thanks Ben for sharing our history. Once you begin to understand how we were built and why we were successful, perhaps you will grasp why some of us are concerned. Of course, if you don't know, then what difference does it make?
I really did a double take when i wrote my comments above. Imagine the concept of not trusting the community at large to do the right thing. It still stuns me to think about the move away from a community of 32,000 plus members having a voice to one where the general manager and a handful of board members knows better than the rest of us. Thinking the collective masses would undermine the life style we have here doesn't say much about what the leadership thought about us does it?
As with many other things currently going on, the World is upside down! It appears that WE are here to serve the board when it's actually the other way around?
Thank you, Bill and Ben. This is really good stuff and extremely interesting. What is the possibility of getting this information posted in the sun views or Sun City in focus?
We need to get our members committed and involved so we can bring back self governance to our community. There needs to be more than just “some of us” that are concerned.
Does anyone have the time or resources to research and post the past board members that have served longer than 6 years? Also, how many board members have resigned or been fired from their positions?
There hasn't been that many of them Lori, maybe a half a dozen (i can think of 5 off the top of my head, there were six, but one quit after getting re-elected). The bylaws were changed to allow it around 2005 or so. As far as resignations, more of those than the number who have served two terms. Over the years, board members have left as they didn't care for what they found in the position. Ben's newspaper articles are fascinating, the real question is; do people care anymore? I know a handful do, but when the history of the community and more so the organization's history is so poorly known, why would anyone care? The one thing that would change all of this would be a concerted and targeted effort of community education. Frankly, there's been no interest in that. It's pretty simple really, if your goal is to become the "Fun City" rather than the "City of Volunteers," the more inclined the leadership is to run from teaching our history.
