1) Affordable housing 2) Create a sense of community; create a social network or fabric for the residents 3) Unsurpassed amenities
We've added:
a) Don't be
penny-wise and pound-foolish
b) Spend your money where you will get the most return. What Can RCSC Boards do to better follow
"The Formula"?
Affordable Housing:
The board needs to keep assessments and participation costs as low
as possible.
Therefore, they need to correct and then avoid repeating the following policies: 
1) Annual assessment increases to cover high-salaried
managers, their support staffs, and their mismanagement of the facilities
2) “Facility-usage
fees”
Homeowners should be able to use the facilities and not be shut out by excessive
"extra" charges. When homeowners can't use the facilities, the board opens them to the public and invites
crime into Sun City. Opening the facilities to the public also removes the incentive to buy Sun City homes, which
mandates signing a Facilities Agreement that guarantees foreclosure in the event of unpaid assessments.
3) Targeting new members for $3,000, a “Capital
Preservation” fee to spend on grandiose multi-million-dollar projects that the members didn't vote to approve
4) Targeting single members for a 100% increase as additional revenue to cover sky-rocketing operating costs
Additionally, Examples #2, #3 and #4 conflict with the
Articles of Incorporation's promise that members are equal,
with equal responsibilities. (Article VIII, Paragraph 5) The Board cannot
write bylaws that conflict with the Articles of Incorporation. (Article VIII, Paragraph 3)
Create
a sense of community; create a social network or fabric for the residents:
Social clubs are the backbone of a Successful
Sun City.
 The board needs to change and not repeat the following policies:
1) No "kickbacks" to the RCSC
Tribute paid to the RCSC influences favors to the contributing clubs. The money-making clubs have an advantage.
The social clubs get ignored and neglected, creating ill will.
2) COC perception as "Gestapo"
The "Blue Book" interferes with the fun of the club. The COCs become the informants for the board
against the members. This creates suspicion and distrust, creating ill will.
Favoritism and over-bearing
oversight destroys a "sense of community" and the desire to volunteer. Sun City is the City of Volunteers. Without
volunteers, the community will decline.
Unsurpassed amenities:
The board needs
to upgrade the facilites to Del Webb quality.
The board needs to change and then not repeat the following policies:
1) Closing the Bid Committee to member experts; not having open meetings with minutes taken
Look
at the devastating consequences:
Sundial roof
collapse. The center was closed in June, 2006. The $3 million invested in the Sundial 2002 renovation
were lost when the roof collapsed into the indoor pools. At first, Insurance coverage was denied with a charge of "material
defects" and when that failed the charge of "they knew or should have known" the electricity had been
cut to the air handlers which caused the "hidden decay" that resulted in the collapse. The judge
claimed those in charge were "laymen" so they got a pass. Allegedly, in February 2009 $4.3 million was
delivered, however, it didn't cover the $4.5 million roof repairs and the $1 million in upgrades. (Click here for lawsuit details.) (Click here for Sundial history.)
Gutters instead of water features
on the golf courses. The pretty one was constructed by Del Webb's golf course water features specialist Pacific
Aquascape while the gutters installed at Lakes West, River View, and Willowbrook Golf Courses were done by ones
without the specialty. In 2009, relining Willowcreek stream was approved by the board for $435,000. SCFR submitted
a bid by Pacific Aquascape for $308,000 for a waterproof natural-looking stream. The management countered by blurting the
bid they got was "really" $279,000, and it ended up being a gutter like the rest in Sun City. Gutters do not
meet the Formula of "unsurpassed amenities". As long as the centerpieces of our golf courses are gutters,
Sun City is NOT a Del Webb-quality community.
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| Ocotillo GC by Pacific Aquascape |
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The purpose of The Sun City Formula Registry is to shine the light on the board
when they go against the Formula for Successful Sun Cities. Checks and balances are what motivate us. We
are not rabble rousers, troublemakers, or malcontents. We hold no animosity toward board members. We are merely
sticking to "The Formula". We intend to remind the well-meaning decision-makers that they may be
making decisions that unwittingly put at risk what Del Webb created for seniors retired on meager Social Security
and pensions. We are securing for ourselves, and future retirees, "Our Retirement
Dream Come True".
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