Fair Warning...Pay Attention Please...

Discussion in 'Sun City General Discussions' started by BPearson, Mar 15, 2021.

  1. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Your assessment is spot on FYI. Unfortunately it's been that way for a very long time. The general manager is brilliant about creating buy-in by the majority and the minority be damned. Nope, don't fault the gm, she is very good at doing her job. Where we disagree is her job should end at running the day to day operations. If you go back over her tenure you will see she has written most of the language for both By-Laws and Rules and Regulations. She has dramatically changed the structure Sun City was formed under with nary a whimper from whatever board has been in power at the time. We can argue whether it is good or bad to strip rights from the community at large, but for my nickle it was wrong.

    The funny thing is McAdam might be the smartest board member given her work history. In watching though she appears to rub people the wrong way, at least her co-board members. Personally i like blunt and direct, but too many don't. Predetermined outcomes have been a way of life for the RCSC. As you have noticed, they hate a fly in their soup. Last but not least, you are right, a parliamentarian won't make any decisions for them. He/she would keep them from looking like they don't know what they are doing. That would be a good thing.
     
  2. FYI

    FYI Well-Known Member

    I can kinda understand how the GM gets away with it. She's been there a long time so when new members of the Board are elected they feel inadequate because they're the newbie so they look to the GM for direction. Problem is, the GM works for the Board, the Board doesn't work for her!?!?!? You would hope the GM would only present the pro's and con's when asked about an issue then inform the Board member the final decision is above her paygrade?
     
  3. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    You pretty well nailed it FYI. BJ (before jan), the board used to be hands on everything. Their role was consuming for anyone who ran. I had one old board member tell me he looked at like a 40 hour week job. In those days the gm had less power/control. When Jan was hired they put her on a short leash. Over time she dumped all the golden oldies working around her, filled her management team with those 100% loyal and took the responsibility to do everything that board members used to do. It was a Faustian bargain. Board members reduced their research and ultimately their time involvement. In return every decision was made based on the information she elected to give them which most often shaped the direction she wanted to go. It was brilliant on her part, not so much for the community. I am a firm believer that a community is best served when the community plays an active role in the decision making process. It's one of the reasons i never was a good fit on the board.
     
  4. Say What

    Say What Active Member

    Speaking of pay grade, what is the salary for the GM position. Thank you for the information!
     
  5. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Don't know for sure SW, used to be in the 125K range. There's been some things done (additional paid time off) in place of increases along the way and i don't really pay much attention any more.
     
  6. Say What

    Say What Active Member

    Thanks Bill I needed some clarification on that as I've heard all types of numbers the latest being well over $200,000 a year. I was wondering why this is never been made public for all the residents and members to see.
     
  7. FYI

    FYI Well-Known Member

    My question would be; will Bill Cook hire another financial person to replace the position he's leaving or will he take on double-duty thereby creating an opportunity for a large increase in his salary? I guess only time will tell!?!?
     
  8. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    I think the argument goes they don't have to release it because they are a non-profit. That said, i suspect i could find it as non profits have to submit financials to the state(?). I never thought her salary was out of line for the size and scope of work. The bigger issue is the one raised by FYI, there have been a number of management positions added over the years which has minimized the workload by the gm. Bill Cook was hired as the finance guy but it appears the GM was still doing the budgeting.
     
  9. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    I was going to start a new thread but my ideas seem to fit this one. Did you attend or watch yesterday's Board Meeting? Sit back do your stress relief breathing if you are about to do it.

    First a suggestion to the Board. Please, please announce before the meeting that if anyone wishes to speak to a motion they must sign up ahead of time. So many members are first timers and don't realize they don't have an opportunity to speak unless they have their name on the appropriate sign in sheet.

    I'm unsure about this, but can Members speak to agenda items before it's put to a vote? The Long Range Planning Committee was dealt another death blow in that they cannot proceed with a survey of current member/cardholders. They have worked on this proposed survey for a year and a half. I have watched their committee meetings which showed how much time and effort was expended. At the end of the Board Meeting a Member got up and gave comments which hit at the heart of why so many won't volunteer for committees any more. Maybe that's what the Board wants??

    On the flip side, full cooperation from the BOD has changed what used to be Member Communications(which is/was badly needed), morphed into Marketing and now is a video show. No two way communications with Members, just a staged show.

    The meeting ran 90 minutes which is longer than normal but other highlights are badly needed improvements at the softball park, a bit of history from Ben and then comments about Mountainview. The comments are well worth watching. The big thing to watch for is that the preliminary drawings for Mountainview will be on display at the May 10th BOD Meeting.
     
  10. FYI

    FYI Well-Known Member

    Members, (the Cardholders in the audience) cannot speak about Agenda items because they are not actually part of the assembly, although I would assume that if they signed-up to speak about it prior to the start of the meeting they would be allowed to comment, but by that time the Agenda would already have been approved by the Board and their comment would have no influence or effect.

    The assembly consists of the 9 Board members and the Cardholder/Member audience is allowed to be in attendance at their meetings by virtue of the corporate Bylaws, which also allows a time for Member comment. But if you notice, Cardholder/Members are only allowed to comment on an upcoming motion prior to it being presented to the Board. Cardholder/Members are merely guests and not members of the assembly (the Board) and therefore are not allowed to participate in the debate process.

    I thought the lady who spoke at the end regarding Mountainview had some very valid points. Perhaps the proposed 400 seat performing arts theater should be a stand alone structure? And one of her proposed locations at the south-east end of the Bell Center (currently occupied by the Farmers Market) leaves lot of room for parking.
     
  11. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    What's the phrase aggie? Same shit different day. If anyone wonders why i quit the long range planning committee a year or two back, all you had to do was watch the Thursday board meeting and it quickly becomes apparent how little regard the board holds their committee's in. Sadly, this wasn't a one off, it's been a steady drip, drip, drip ever since the gm came on board.

    I for one won't be shedding any tears when she leaves, while she's done lots of good things, her downside will linger with us for years. FYI's comments only accentuate just how far we have fallen under her leadership. Sun City was built on a foundation of a truly unique form of self-governance. Community documents allowed members to have, hold and be a part of quarterly meetings. All it took was for 100 members to be in attendance following the board meeting scheduled beforehand.

    It worked for all those years. Often there wouldn't be 100 members there and they would dispatch the meeting. While there was seldom much angst, the reality was having the the community with the opportunity to have a voice stopped the board from ever drifting too far afield. They were simply safeguards, a checks and balance structure built intentionally to make those if us living here feel like we were part of the process. It worked because we were. That is until the board/gm changed the by-laws and the quorum requirements.

    Al these years later, here we are with FYI's comments posted above. None of this was accidental. The changes she made has changed the community in ways we will, in all likelihood, never go back to. For most, they will never get their head around where we were, where we went to and exactly how we got here. As good as Sun City is, it could be so much better.
     
  12. Say What

    Say What Active Member

    Bell would be great for the arts building. No traffic problems which you can bet people will complain about when it's built at Mview. It would make much more sense to build it at a central location that is a safer place than so far south. The crime south of the tracks is horrendous poorly lit and not safe.
     
  13. Enquirer

    Enquirer Member

    If only the BOD was sensical, or interesting in doing what is best for the community.

    Unfortunately, the BOD is still being led by retread Directors with no interest in the future success of the community.

    They feel honor bound to the Director who proposed the concept of “Centers of Excellence COE)”, and they are duty bound to the idea that the COE for Mountain View is the Performing Arts Center. They have no interest as to whether that is even a good idea. Anything else will be meet with swift objection, they will not be dissuaded.

    I couldn’t help but notice that Karen McAdams was not at the last meeting.

    Was this an excused absence, or are we about to get yet another retread Director named to the BOD??
     
  14. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    McAdam's name tag was on the table so i suspect she is still on the board. We'll see at the next board meeting. I've avoided this whole where should the theater go discussion because we have been down that road before. Hoffer claims it wouldn't work at Bell due to the parking limitations by the county. I have no idea if that is true or not. The easiest solution would be to buy the Lakes Club, rent out the nursing school till the lease runs out and convert the backside theater to fit our needs. Once they plow under the old maintenance building and storage they could convert that to parking. The tennis courts at Lakeview are a mess and if they kept the courts at Mountainview it would work as they could also use those Lakeview courts as parking.

    The fly in the ointment is one of the board members wants to build a two story office building there to house management. That statement alone spells out just how cocked up this structure is. No true long range plan, just different board members with their own dreams. Little input from the community other than their dog and pony show to solicit the community's wants. If you think i am being harsh. wait until the architects plans are revealed next month and see how much of that want list is actually still on the table. Should be interesting. This is one of those times i hope i am wrong; we'll see.
     

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