Tomorrow, according to the agenda, we will be seeing a presentation from the new GM regarding the PIF expenditures in the coming years. That's a good thing. If i were in his shoes, it's one of the first things i would do. Knowing where you want to go and whether you can afford it just makes sense. No idea what it will look like, but it should be interesting. I know i stood before the board at a meeting and said i expected phase 1 of Mountainview to be 35 million dollars. I might just be blowing smoke, but i doubt it given other projects we have done in the past and those we are looking at now. Someone from the board stated we had phase 2 already passed, i don't recall, but that portion is the smallest of the three and still will be expensive. Finally, the third phase will be considerably more than the second and if there is to be a two story building for pickleball, that number gets even more crazy. I also said at a meeting, the repositioning of Mountainview from an ingress/egress standpoint is way more practical. I know it also was about better parking (handicap, security and accessibility) so it's hard to argue about it. Where i did argue, much like Karen was, we cannot lose 7 pickleball courts until they finish phase 3. It simply won't work. The day they begin phase 1 at Mountainview they need to have courts open somewhere down south. Finally here's my point that may anger some: Did anyone look at the new Mountainview plan and question why? Nope not the theater itself, but what i saw from the plans was a state of the art, drop dead gorgeous facility that looked like it belonged in Scottsdale. It was spectacular in design and i suspect in scope of work inside as well as out. Don't get me wrong, i am a big fan of doing things right. There's a difference in doing it right and doing it within the perimeters of a budget. I know folks have asked over the years and what i hear is; "we don't know what anything will cost till the contractor gives us the numbers." Does that mean, we don't have budgets? That we are simply at the whim of the contractor's design? That price tags are no more than whatever they put on them? I think i mentioned one other time we were season ticket holders at the Ordway Theater in downtown St. Paul Minnesota. A stunning building funded by money from the Ordway family money and there was no expense spared when they built it. When i saw the Mountainview phase 1 project all i could see was something in that same vein. Then when is saw the artists rendering of the pool area, it looked again like a Scottsdale setting, not from Sun City Arizona. The point here isn't to anger anyone. Hell, maybe down-scaling it wouldn't save much. However, as a board member i would at the very least want to know that. Especially if whatever we hear from the general manager tomorrow is anywhere near what i have projected. I've been wrong before, i'll be wrong again, but if you don't ask...you'll never know.
As usual, i am simply too wordy. Let me break it down to this: Is there ever a point for the RCSC where too nice is just too expensive?
