URGENT UPDATE ON SUN CITY LIBRARIES

URGENT UPDATE ON SUN CITY LIBRARIES

This post is to inform Sun City citizens that RCSC Management and the Board of Directors are discussing the imminent closure of both the Fairway and Sun City (Bell) Libraries. We were shocked to learn just yesterday that discussions have been occurring on this issue for the past two months, yet they have NOT informed the Friends of the Sun City Libraries or the residents of Sun City.

Leadership from Maricopa County Library District shared with the Friends of the Sun City Libraries that RCSC management has informed the County that they are re-evaluating the use of the Fairway and Sun City (Bell) locations. RCSC has communicated that they do not plan to renew the same agreement with the Library District. Instead, they have informed the County that they plan to move the Fairway location to a month-to-month lease starting July 1 in order to allow the library time to vacate the premises completely. The Sun City (Bell) location will be renewed for one year, but they will not renew after that.

When we talked to Finance Director Kevin McCurdy after the RCSC Board meeting today, he confirmed the contents of the letter, and said it wasn’t his decision, but the decision of RCSC General Manager Matthew D’Luzansky (who was not in attendance today). He also stated that nothing was decided yet, despite the tone of the communication from RCSC to MCLD. Kevin was not sure if the RCSC Board of Directors would be involved with the final decision, or even if the public would be informed. He expressed a desire that all be informed but was not sure how and when that might happen. He thought it was a good idea for us to post about this and encourage attendance at the member exchange meeting April 8.

When asked WHY, McCurdy said RCSC needs the space, but he did not know for what exactly. He also stated that he felt the Fairway location was unsafe due to homeless nearby, and then mentioned his disdain that MCLD did not pay rent for the library facilities. New Board member, Richtmyre, echoed her disdain as well. Had either done their homework, they would have discovered that this is the MCLD business model – the municipality provides the space and basic maintenance and MCLD funds all library operations (including staff, materials, technology, programming, etc.) Their annual report explains how this works. Https://mcldaz.org/assets.

We are disappointed that the new RCSC Management team and Board have not followed through with their promises of Communication and Transparency, so we are letting you know what we know. If you want to keep public, free Libraries in Sun City, we urge you to let the staff and board know. If you DON’T want a library in Sun City, feel free to communicate that as well. Given the excellent usage we see in both libraries (146,000 visitors in 2023 checked out 364,000 items, the 22 computers with free internet are fully utilized daily, the 364 programs that were given to residents in 2023 were highly utilized, to mention just a few) we feel confident that the libraries, should they be removed by RCSC, will be sorely missed. It’s hard for us to imagine any replacement in that space that would offer as much value to every resident of Sun City.

Here’s how to make your thoughts known:

EMAIL RCSC General Manager Mathew D’Luzansky at: mdluzansky@suncityaz.org or call and leave a message 620-561-4600 (press 0)

EMAIL all RCSC Board Members or call and leave a message at 623-561-4600 (press 0)

President: Kat Fimmel – kfimmel@suncityaz.org

Vice President: Karen McAdam– kmcadam@suncityaz.org

Secretary: Connie Jo Richtmyre – crichtmyre@suncityaz.org

Treasurer: Anita Borski – aborski@suncityaz.org

Director: Steve Collins – scollins@suncityaz.org

Director: Tom Foster – tfoster@suncityaz.org

Director: Preston Kise – pkise@suncityaz.org

Director: Chris Nettesheim– cnettesheim@suncityaz.org

Director: Jim Rough – jrough@suncityaz.org

SHOW UP at the next Member’s Exchange meeting on April 8, 2024 at 9AM at Sundial. Let your opinion be known.

We’ll keep information posted on our website:

Thank you,

Friends of the Sun City Libraries Board of Directors President

Sue Blechl

620-803-2140

sueblechl@gmail.com

3/28/24

 

“When we talked to Finance Director Kevin McCurdy after the RCSC Board meeting today, he confirmed the contents of the letter, and said it wasn’t his decision, but the decision of RCSC General Manager Matthew D’Luzansky (who was not in attendance today)”
From the URGENT NOTICE

Unbelievable!
No libraries in Sun City?
NO WAY!!
Pack the Exchange
Monday, April 8, 2024, 9am, Sundial

 

This needs to be spread far and wide and everybody needs to show up at the next Exchange and express their opinions.

Kinda makes me wonder why our GM didn't attend the Board meeting yesterday? He knew the word was out and didn't want to be confronted on the issue just yet?

 

Another Sun City Coup. First they take your polling places away, then the books, then your guns, then your gold. Please, no one be an Anne and stand up for what you believe in. My new mantra, Sun City Sucks.

 

When were the open meetings held where this was discussed?
Before RCSC creates a bad relationship with the County, they had better consider the parking situation at Fairway and Mountain View. Without the county giving the median areas for parking, neither MV or Fairway can meet the requirements needed.

 

This community belongs to the board now.

 

The two Maricopa libraries in Sun City serve ALL residents of the county!!

Their potential closures, at the RCSC’s GM ‘s decision, is not supported by Sun City members and county residents who were not consulted.

We cannot allow
OUR libraries
to be eliminated!!

 

Seriously??? Look at all that has been allowed in the past. You seriously think this community still belongs to the residents? What have I been saying for the past months. That's ok tho, you got what you stood up for. You all may not have liked Anne or what she was trying to do, however she had more cajoles then all of you together.

 

Incorrect phone number. 602 maybe?

 

Please no one take this personally, but maybe the space is needed for dog training. Where is the 5 year plan when it is needed? And transparency? Who IS on first?

 

While some bemoan my "fixation" regarding our history, it's always mattered and it always will. In this case, the libraries have been around since the early 60's when DEVCO provided space for them and volunteers ran them and provided financial support. Over the next 50 plus years they moved numerous times; when new rec centers opened that were larger, they often got better and larger accommodations. Everyone understood the importance of having at least one good library available for the members.

When the Bell Center opened in 1976, along with it was dedicated space for the Bell Library. It was easily the biggest and best and it became immensely popular. The Friends of the Library were responsible for running it and when i moved here in 2003, if memory serves me, they had one employee, a librarian. Otherwise it was still funded by donations and staffed with volunteers. The space was provided by the RCSC.

As several have noted, change happens, whether we like it or not. The library needed a large cadre of volunteers and along with those challenges was what was happening with changes in the library's themelves. I forget the exact name, but our library used the old "card catalogue system," which was time consuming and slow. Computerization had taken book lending into the next century and the Sun City library didn't have the resources to adapt.

Maricopa County had a well advanced library system, given its size and money available. They took over the Bell Library and paid the RCSC to lease the space. Fairway was in the process of being rebuilt, and space was allocated for a second location to serve members in the southern section of the community. That too had a lease attached to it. The rub was anyone could use the libraries whether they lived in Sun City or not. It was a good trade-off.

When those leases expired (circa 2012/2013), the county argued their relationship with other communities where they ran libraries didn't include leases. The space was provided for them. One of the first things we did was gather the utilization data for both locations. The numbers were staggering. The figures were some of the highest we saw compared to many other RCSC sponsored activities. Admittedly they weren't all Sun City residents, but we knew the largest portion of them were members.

We quickly approved not asking for a lease payment, in lieu of them staffing them and providing the books/computers and technology that came with their system. Along with it at Bell we maintained space for the Friends of the Library a large space to collect and sell books (still staffed by volunteers). It's been a long standing, fruitful relationship where it literally was the proverbial win/win.

It came with a fair amount of shock when i heard the rumor at the meeting yesterday there was the potential for the RCSC to tell the County they would have to pay up or lose they space. My immediate reaction was once this got out the shit would hit the fan and the uproar would cause some serious rethinking by those considering such a dumb move. I still feel that way and given the explosion on social media and the push back, i suspect an announcement will be forthcoming of the decision to renew those leases. We'll see.

As i tend to do, i was trying to get my head around why this would happen? I can see a couple of reasons; the first is more long term with societal changes regarding books and in time, will libraries play the role they have? The second is a bit more pragmatic; the devil is always in the detail when it comes to leases. For example, last summer we heard the RCSC has two long-running leases on the Bell and Georges cafes. I understand why/how we got there, finding vendors to take them was difficult. The problem was, included in those leases, was the obligation for the RCSC to be responsible for maintaining the equipment in them. Yikes.

In the case of our two libraries, i have no idea what those leases say? Does it include insuring the electrical and mechanical equipment is running/operational? In that we own the buildings i would imagine we are on the hook. We just saw the million dollar cost for two air handlers at Sundial, so my best guess is someone was looking at some fairly expensive repairs in the coming years. We know the RCSC is in the process of doing a 5 year reserve study so it would fit factoring in coming expenses in those locations.

That said, these two libraries are invaluable to our community and our members. Often times they are used by those members who are under-served by the RCSC. We know many people, as they age, aren't able to physically do what other more active members of the community do. We (the RCSC) need look at this exactly like they do the numbers visiting our pools, fitness centers or club rooms. Sorry, but it is the cost of running a community for all the members.

 

No one is on first. That's the problem. The BOD is in charge and has been for a long time. Those of us who can't run around a tennis or pickle ball court, or go rock climbing enjoyed the dog park and the library. Sun City does not belong to the residents any longer. I said before and still stand by my statement that any board member who was not aware we were getting into $20 mil in deferred maintenance over the past 15 years should never have been allowed the privilege to serve. Every BOD meeting should be reviewing financials from the Finance Committee, and if they were not doing so they were not in compliance.

 

What, who is on 2nd, wants to know what are the “financials from the Finance Committee” you refer to in this post? I assume a committee does not prepare the monthly reports to the BOD. Please clarify.

 

and why not? as i have said many times i attended and took minutes at board meetings for non profits for 17 years. there was always a finance "packet" as we called it. don't we have a "finance committee"? sitting here laughing. this just keeps getting worse. https://propelnonprofits.org/resour...uld regularly review,start of the fiscal year.

 

No response. I guess you remembered the king told you not to respond to me for x number of weeks. Here is a list of committees. If they don't report to the board monthly exactly what in the hell do they do?

Committee Meetings

Date/Time
Location
Bowling Committee Thursday, April 4 @ 9am Lakeview Lanes Meeting Room**
Sun City in Focus Committee Monday, April 8 @ 4pm Lakeview Board Room
Long Range Planning Committee Tuesday, April 9 @ 8:30am Lakeview Board Room
Lawn Bowling Committee Tuesday, April 9 @ 1pm Lakeview Board Room
Club Organization (COC) Wednesday, April 10 @ 10am Lakeview Board Room
Technology Committee Wednesday, April 10 @ 4pm Lakeview Board Room
Golf Advisory Committee Thursday, April 11 @ 8:30am Lakeview Social Hall #2
Finance and Budget Committee Wednesday, April 17 @ 1pm Lakeview Board Room
Outreach & Communications Committee Thursday, April 18 @ 1pm Lakeview Board Room
Insurance Committee Friday, April 19 @ 9am Lakeview Board Room
Elections Committee Wednesday, April 24 @ 1pm Lakeview Board Room
Properties Committee No Meeting Scheduled this month
Other Meetings:
Sun City Foundation Thursday, April 11 @ 11am Lakeview Board Room

 

Published on the RCSC website.
Included in the advance monthly board meeting agenda and documents.
• Finance & Budget Information and statements back to Dec. 2009
https://suncityaz.org/rcsc/financials/

• Board & Committee Meeting Summaries and Minutes include Treasurer and Management Report
https://suncityaz.org/rcsc/meeting-minutes-and-summaries/

 

Enlighten me please. Were these actually examined by the BOD? Were they submitted for BOD review at each meeting or did they get stuck in that drawer Bill refers to? If so how did the BOD not realize that there was such a disparity re the deferred maintenance? Did the board members not understand how to read financial statements? You excel at copy/paste, but how about an explanation?

 

I am disappointed that I learned of this through social media. It was the Maricopa County Library department, not RCSC, who informed the Friends of the Library of these discussions that have been going on for two months or so. I either attend all of our Board meetings and Exchanges, as well as a few committee meetings, or watch the videos. And I read all of the emails sent out by RCSC. I don't recall this ever being presented or even mentioned to the Members of OUR corporation. Sorry, RCSC Directors and Management, this is the exact opposite of transparency! You can't have it both ways, transparency on one hand and secrecy on the other.

Libraries are one of the cornerstones of having a well rounded community, as well as having safety through law enforcement (thanks Sun City Posse and MCSO), health facilities (credits to Banner Boswell and other medical facilities), venues for the arts (hopefully an improved PAC), educational offerings for lifelong learning, recreation and parks. I am probably missing a few but these are the first ones that come to my mind.

This begs the question: "What would RCSC do with the facilities presently occupied by the Bell and Fairway Libraries?" If people are not given this important information, then it is natural that rumors and misinformation will be spread. Of course I don't know, but is the Fairway Library space intended to be an indoor dog facility? Will the Bell Library become a Performing Arts Center or will RCSC move corporate offices there? The mind imagines all kinds of possibilities. That's the end result of secrecy.

I have been told that this is about getting more money from clubs. I hope we don't look at every amenity as a money maker.

We have just had two Board members resign. I have not spoken to either one of them so I don't know the reasoning for their departures. If I recall correctly, both of them mentioned at open Board meetings that the Board was conducting business behind closed doors. Some Directors had information that other ones didn't receive. No wonder they quit!

It's high time that the Board of Directors, not the Management, come clean with the Members. All the way clean, not just some of the way which seems to be happening more frequently than I would like to see.

If I sound angry, I am. I just can't fathom a community without a library. I have nothing against indoor dog facilities, improved corporate offices, or exploring various venues for a PAC, but not at the expense of life long learning. Many of the people who use the library are not ones who can afford to buy books and magazines every month. Also many people use the computers because they don't have them at home. So what if people outside Sun City use these libraries? It's good PR for Sun City and we might even have some of them move to our wonderful community when they are old enough.

Unbelievable!

 

If this was just some internal decision I would say fine. But this not only affects Sun City residents, it affects the entire community, and dare I say County?

Really, REALLY disappointed on how this has been handled! And I blame both the board and management.

It has been hard to gain the trust of this board after what we thru with a recent board and management. And this type of thing doesn't make it any easier for this board to win our trust.

 

Thank you Janet. Now you may be getting an inkling of why SC is so distasteful to me. It's not my whole life, just SC. I never did get a response from SCF. Well Bill responded by saying no one gives a shit who I am. I did not like some of the questions and wanted to speak with someone about them. No response. What do expect when the sheep post a "Parable" directed at me. Janet read EO's post. I don't buy books or magazines anymore. I don't have cable. I don't need them, but probably would have them if I could afford. Things just took a bad turn, I have survived worse. One thing I do know is I will not let Sun City suck up my retirement savings due to its failures. The assessment fee (for singles) in SCW is less then here now. So is the PIF. No one will ever COME CLEAN! I just keep plugging along telling everyone I run into what this place really is about. While at the bank this past week the person helping me with what I could/should do commented on the fact that Sun Citians are talking. Wake up people.