Table tennis players make case for new building at GRF meeting

A field of red formed the backdrop for the Aug. 28 regular meeting of the GRF Board. Donning red shirts in solidarity, members of the Table Tennis Club appeared before the Board to make their case for a new building.

Stating with humor that the audience displayed either the “greatest coincidence in the history of fashion” or was there for a purpose, President Fred Barnes opened the podium to the first Residents Forum speaker, David Kwok, president of the Table Tennis Club.

Kwok cited concerns over the phasing of the Creekside project, which would postpone building of the Social Center portion of the construction indefinitely. He said the club soon might have no place to play. The current quarters in modular buildings at Hillside would most likely not be allowed to remain for long after the city's permits run out next May. If there is no extension, where would the 184 members of the club go to play?

The solution Kwok proposed would be a freestanding building constructed in the current site at Hillside, built to the same size specifications as the modular unit. The estimated cost for this would be less than $500,000, he said.

“You do have an obligation to find a long-term solution for our group,” Kwok told the Board.

Transfer fees

Picking up the item of business introduced last month regarding membership transfer fees, Barnes recused himself from both discussion and vote based on an assumed “perception of conflict of interest” because his wife is a real estate agent.

Vice President David Smith introduced the suggested revision for Policy 102.1.4, Membership Transfer Fee, stating that the intent of this revision is to make the rules for the transfer fees revert to close to what they were before the most recent policy change. That is, he said, with this revised policy, the required transfer fees would be paid by a resident upon moving in to Rossmoor, but not when moving again within Rossmoor.

The policy states that a fixed fee would be paid on all transactions involving a manor resale with five stated exceptions that include purchasers who have been a member of GRF at any time within the 120-day period prior to the close of escrow; when title isjointly owned by a member and nonmember; when the title is transferred by gift or inheritance from a member to nonmember or when transferred from a nonmember owner to a member occupant (such as from children to resident parents); and where the title is transferred to a trust where the beneficiary is the one making the transfer.

In his Finance Committee report, Chairman Walter Braun had alerted the Board to the financial impact of this decision. This change would result in a reduction of an estimated seven percent of contribution to the Trust Fund from what has been made in recent years, he said.

Treasurer Paul Rosenzweig agreed that the proposal has “serious potential financial impact.” He said the Golden Rain Foundation could lose an excess of $500,000 by passing this.

However, the Board did agree to the revisions, with directors Chris Folger, Phoebe Cortessis and Rosenzweig abstaining and Barnes excusing himself from the vote.

Robert's Rules

Robert's Rules of Order provided a theme for dissent among the directors at several points during the meeting. What has been protocol for the Board in the past and what may be in the future seemed at issue, with various members contesting the process chosen when dealing with certain items on the agenda.

Barnes elected a process that allowed for merely seeking any objections before deciding on an item. Smith, Rosenzweig and directors Sheldon Solloway and Ron Moschel argued that a motion needed to be read and seconded, with potential discussion. Barnes prevailed.

The discussion was most heated around the Golf Advisory Committee Charter revision on the agenda. The suggested revision included striking from the committee's listed purposes and responsibilities the words “The GRF Board representative has been delegated the GRF Board's authority to approve items related to the play of golf.”

The most significant disagreement revolved around Folger's last-minute introduction of a modified version of the charter, which other members of the Board did not receive until the meeting. This version was what Folger stated was a “compromise” after she had received feedback and became aware of heated discussion.

Barnes allowed her version to be introduced; Smith, Rosenzweig, Solloway and Moschel objected, stating that it was off agenda.

“We have a procedure here, and the procedure is that when the Policy Committee makes a recommendation, that recommendation be submitted to the Board,” Smith said. “The Policy Committee has made a recommendation. I would expect that the recommendation be submitted to the Board and voted on. If the recommendation is rejected, it is then appropriate for another motion; but right now I believe the proper procedure would be to deal with the recommendation of the Policy Committee.”

“Actually, the motion at this time belongs with Chris,” Barnes said. “Chris can modify or withdraw that motion at any time prior to the chair accepting it. Right now it is Chris's motion. When she passes it off to the chair, it will become the Board's motion.”

Folger's proposal placed an additional responsibility on the committee liaison to the Board to bring a list of scheduled and anticipated tournaments and other group golfing events to the GRF Board for approval a year in advance, including a description of the event, applicable green fees and dates. The committee is also commissioned to recommend in advance each year a maximum number of guest days that the Board liaison will pass on to the Board for approval.

Smith objected that this would place an unnecessary burden on the GRF Board for lengthy reviews that would essentially micromanage the committee. He said the Board had made a wise decision at one point to delegate those details to the Board's committee representative and this proposal “is, in my view, a step backward.”

“This is a solution looking for a problem,” Solloway said. The committee has thus far been doing a competent job and this revision to the charter is an attempt to constrain the committee's management of the course, he said, and the constraint may very well reduce revenue. “This is a loser all the way around,” he said.

Directors Jane Carmichael, John Turnier, Folger, Cortessis and Barnes disagreed, and the revision passed five to four.

Committee report highlights

Finance Committee Chairman Walter Braun announced that the videotaping of future committee meetings will be limited to those meetings of “significant community-wide interest.”

Braun also said that after GRF CEO Warren Salmons went over the plan for the budget, the committee was pleased not only with the new format, but the general content.

“We are certainly headed in taking another giant step in having a budget that is not only understandable, but also defensible,” Braun said. “So we're looking forward to the joint meeting (Finance Committee and GRF Board) on Sept. 9 and 10.”

Nancy Gracey Bann delivered the Fitness Center Advisory Committee report and said there had been 10,557 visits to the center in July. When pressed by Turnier to offer a more specific breakdown citing number of residents visiting and differentiating between the pool and Fitness Center, Bann said there is, as of yet, no way to determine these figures.

Barnes deferred any director requests for more specific breakdowns of class makeup, guest attendance, etc. to Salmons so that he may direct staff in the feasibility of gathering these statistics.

Bann said the directors should also tell Salmons what their concerns are in requesting the data.

Bann also said because attendance in the evenings and weekends was lower than during the weekdays, three new evening classes had begun that are free to residents in order to take advantage of this downtime.

Aquatics Advisory Committee Chairwoman Hazel Horti reported that a resident had a number of questions regarding the pool consultant's report. The questions had to do with implementation, in particular related to air temperature and roof panels for the indoor pool at Del Valle, lifeguard standards and nonresidents attending free aquatics classes. Horti said these subjects would be addressed at the next committee meeting set for Thursday, Sept. 11, at 1:30 p.m. at Gateway.

Golf Course Director Mark Heptig said he is in process of writing up all the revenue-promoting suggestions put forth in the special open meeting of the Golf Course Advisory Committee. He will present those suggestions to Salmons prior to the budget meetings.

Residents Forum

At her turn at the podium during the Residents Forum, Laurie McCurdy implored the Board not to postpone building the complete project north of Stanley Dollar Drive. She said the state of the buildings that remain at Creekside, specifically the Pro Shop and bathrooms is “disgusting” and that they need to be rebuilt.

She said she had been startled to learn that phasing the project would increase the cost by some $2 million. “I please urge you to revisit the feasibility of having it in one phase,” she said.

Wearing a “Norma Rae” pin on her lapel, Carolyn Hinrichs returned for her promised Part 2 of her traffic safety crusade. She spoke of having heard from residents - including cynics - who had a lot to say about the lack of safety on Rossmoor's roads. Many residents consider the efforts regarding traffic safety to be “a community service,” she said.

She knew, she said, coming into Rossmoor that certain challenges of aging would create a more hazardous driving situation, such as failing eyesight and increased use of medication. But what she wasn't prepared for, she said, was the “bad behavior of attitude drivers.”

Again, she requested a public forum to educate residents and allow for discussion and problem-solving regarding traffic issues.

“It's going to take a village to make our streets safer,” she said. “It's time to inform our electorate. It's time to wake up and shake up the villagers.”

John Nutley spoke of his concerns about the organization of the Handyman Service program under way through Mutual Operations (MOD). While the idea is “a good proposal,” Nutley said, he has concerns about the way it is organized and the commingling of funds between MOD and GRF.

“The money collected for the Handyman Service should go not to GRF, but to the residents through a reduced management fee or increased dividend,” Nutley said. “If GRF is truly interested in reducing the coupon, they should be happy to see it go where it legally belongs - on the Mutuals side of the coupon, not the GRF side.”

RREPO

Rossmoor Resident Emergency Preparedness Organization (RREPO) Chairwoman Donna Kaufman said she had attended a citywide emergency preparedness/CERT meeting at which the city's community relations manager, Gayle Vassar, had stated that the establishment of an emergency preparedness protocol is well under way for Walnut Creek. Since Rossmoor has had a committee dedicated to emergency preparedness since 1989, Kaufman said, “We could be considered a prototype.”

Upcoming CERT training classes will be offered in Rossmoor over the next two months. (See the article elsewhere in this issue.)

RREPO will next meet on Monday, Sept. 8, at 9:30 a.m. at Dollar Clubhouse.

Table tennis players make case for new building at GRF meeting

A field of red formed the backdrop for the Aug. 28 regular meeting of the GRF Board. Donning red shirts in solidarity, members of the Table Tennis Club appeared before the Board to make their case for a new building.

AARP Driver Safety Program returns to Rossmoor in September

The Driver Safety Program, the mature driver education course sponsored by AARP, will be offered in September in Rossmoor in conjunction with the Recreation Department.

Board Actions

Following are the actions taken by the GRF Board on Aug. 28:

Bus travel training program continues, next is scheduled for Sept. 18

The next bus travel training event is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 18. Trips will leave the County Connection bus stop at 9:22 a.m. and 12:02 p.m.

Calendar of meetings for GRF 2009 budget

A series of meetings have been set to reveal and discuss the draft fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget. The meetings include the following:

CEO's Monthly Report

Updates on corporation yard and Creekside projects

Community Club hosts author of “Physics for Future Presidents”

Award-winning UC Berkeley professor Richard Muller will discuss his book “Physics for Presidents” at the Community Club meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 3 p.m., in the Fireside Room at Gateway.

Emergency Preparedness Group to meet Sept. 8 at Dollar

The Rossmoor Resident Emergency Preparedness Organization (RREPO) will meet Monday, Sept. 8, at 9:30 a.m. in Dollar Clubhouse.

GRF Board to hold team-building meeting

The GRF Board will hold a team-building meeting on Friday, Sept. 6, with a facilitator from Local Government Solutions. The Board members will talk about working together as a board and their roles and responsibilities.

Lions Club's annual pancake breakfast returns in October

All Rossmoor residents are requested to reserve Saturday morning, Oct. 4, to attend the annual Lions Club pancake breakfast.

Lions Hearing Seminar set for Fireside Room Sept. 20

Loss of hearing due to aging is a debilitating experience for many Rossmoor residents. Apart from wearing hearing aids, there are other means available to help them cope with hearing loss or even deafness.

Mutual 22 will hold its quarterly meeting Monday

The board of directors of Mutual 22 will hold its regular quarterly meeting on Monday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. the Mutual's recreation room, 4033 Terra Granada Drive.

Republican Club hosts County Recorder Stephen Weir at September dinner meeting

The Rossmoor Republican Club's Program Committee was directed to find an experienced local political personality to be the speaker at the club's meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Fireside Room at Gateway. The search was successful when Contra Costa County Recorder Stephen Weir accepted the invitation.

Rossmoor Computer Club President Leonard Kraus honored by Acalanes School District

The Acalanes Union High School District recognized Rossmoor resident and Computer Club President Leonard Krauss as the district's 2008 Su Stauffer Friend of Education for his commitment to and support of public education, especially adult education. The award was presented to Krauss Aug. 26, during a district-wide meeting for all employees to kickoff to the 2008-2009 school year.

Supervisor Gayle Uilkema will present a community event on elder abuse

A free community event with an elder financial abuse panel discussion will be presented by Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema on Monday, Sept. 22, from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Fireside Room at Gateway.

Tax-free money available from the state

Tax credits are available from the state for low-income Rossmoor residents through the 2008 homeowners and renter assistance program. The free program is sponsored by the California Franchise Tax Board.

Treasurer's report

The GRF Statement of Operations for the month of July 2008 shows a favorable variance to budget of $11,000, before depreciation. Revenues were over budget by $40,000; expenses were over budget by $29,000. Cumulative for the first seven months of the year, revenues are higher than budget by $120,000, and expenses are below budget by $306,000, for a net positive cumulative variance for the year of $426,000.

Veterans History Project seeks veterans to interview

The Veterans History Project of Rossmoor is looking for veterans from each of the military services. Each has a story to tell and the project wants to pass it on: Veterans' stories will be forwarded to the Library of Congress for inclusion in their archives and veterans will be given a copy of the videotape to show their children and grandchildren.