May 13, 2008 Membership Meeting Minutes

Meeting Commenced:  3:00 p.m.

Adjourned:  4:10 p.m.

 

Present:

            Rob Gartlan – President

            Jim Surmanek – Vice President

            John Starnes – Past-President

            George Cox – Treasurer

            Jeanne Harteau – Secretary

            Ken Kravitz – Member-at-Large

            Ann Almoney – Member-at-Large

 

The meeting was called to order by President Rob Gartlan at 3:00 pm with approximately 40 members present.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

1.                  Ladder:  Mel Langer – All Ladders are running approximately 5-10 minutes over the allotted hour.  There have been no major problems from this. 

 

2.                  Care Bear: Jeanne Harteau – The Care Bear system is running well, however, Jeanne reports that she hears of more member illnesses, injuries, etc., from being present on the courts rather than getting emails through the website.  She would like to remind the members to feel free to contact her through the Care Bear link on the website if they are aware of any members who are ill, have suffered illnesses or have had recent bereavements. 

 

3.                  Social:  The club’s social chairperson, Kathy Lawless, reported that she has many exciting events in the works for the club in the next 9 months.  Those possible events include: 

 

a.                  June – Tubing on the Salt River

b.                  July – Diamondback’s game

c.                  August – Red-Tap Bowling

d.                  September – Lake Pleasant boat tour

e.                  November – Hockey game

f.                    December – Holiday Party

g.                  January – Texas Hold-em party

h.                 February – Scavenger Hunt and Ice Cream Social

i.                    Pickleball cruise of the Mexican Riviera

 

Kathy had sign-up sheets at the entrance table to gauge how much interested there would be in these possible events.  There will also be sign-up sheets on the bulletin board at the courts as well as mass emails to the membership telling them about these activities if they wish to join.

 

4.                  Court Maintenance: Butch Kleen will be implementing recycling for plastic bottles and broken pickleballs at the courts and will make arrangements to get a separate recyclable can to facilitate this.  He will be taking the recyclables to the recycling center in Sun City West.

5.                  Monitor:  Linda Lenzini – Linda reports that the monitor schedule for May is full, June has several openings and July needs to be filled-in.

 

6.                  Web Page:  George Cox – George reported that the website has been updated pursuant to a request by Jeanne Harteau, namely the Emergency Procedures.  He also reported that the changes voted on by the Board had yet to be updated, but would be within the next several days.  Lastly, George reported that there have recently been problems with Cox Communications regarding the Club’s mass emails.  Therefore, he will now be sending mass emails in 2 batches and only once per week.  If anyone has an email they would like sent out to the entire club, they should get it to him early in the week and he will send it out in conjunction with other emails on Fridays.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT:

 

The Monthly Income and Expenses Report dated 1/1/2008 through 4/30/2008 was reviewed and approved by the membership.

 

SECRETARY’S REPORT:

 

The membership approved the April, 2008 Membership Meeting Minutes which were posted to the website.

 

OLD BUSINESS:

 

1.                  Court Maintenance/Issues Update:  Rob has again spoken to Scott Phillips who indicated that he would be making courts 11 and 12 presentable and would also be fixing the cracks on courts 3, 4, 5 and 6.  Scott also reiterated that he would be putting a request in the 2009 budget that the courts be re-paved using post-tension concrete.  Rob lamented the fact that he did not get a specific timeline for these repairs, but would follow through as necessary.  A member was concerned about the courts being closed for an indefinite period of time for a complete re-build.  A member responded that she had been at a recent meeting and was told that a summer re-build of the courts is essential for the courts to properly set which would be the most advantageous time for the courts to be closed as it is the slowest time of the year.  Another member spoke of the inadequate lighting for night play and Rob informed him that all court issues would be addressed in an upcoming “Conceptual Idea” that the Board would be submitting to CAM.  Rob also stated that if any members have conceptual ideas for the courts that they would like to share, they are free to contact him via email. 

 

2.                  Time Changes:  Rob reminded the membership in attendance that drop-in changes to 8:00 a.m. on May 19th, and that the Ladders will be changing to 7:00 a.m. on that same date.  Rob also informed the membership that the afternoon skill-level drop-in will be continued in conjunction with the regular morning drop-in but will be conducted on courts 9 and 10.  There will be specific signage on the gates to courts 9 and 10 indicating what skill-level is playing on any given date.  If there are not enough players to fill two courts, the sign(s) will be removed by the monitor and the court(s) released to the regular drop-in players.  The days of the weeks for the skill-level play will remain the same, i.e. Monday = C; Tuesday = N; Wednesday = A; Thursday = B; Friday = O. 

 

3.                  Online Reservations Update:  Rob thanked Bill Booth for creating and sharing the online reservation system with the Club.  The membership gave Bill a rousing round of applause for sharing his dedication and expertise with the Club.   Rob also thanked Ken and Elissa Kravitz for graciously agreeing to print the daily schedule and post it on the bulletin board every evening. 

 

4.                  Pickleball Pizza Picnic:  Rob thanked Ron Hansen and Rose Nichols for putting on a terrific party. 

 

5.                  Club Presidents’ Meeting Update:  Rob reported that the Office Max card was for everyone in Sun City Grand, not just the clubs.  The card could be printed from the www.grandinfo.org website and would be laminated for free at Office Max.  The discount differs depending on items purchased. 

 

Mitzi is working with the Dysart school district on career night and will be looking for volunteers to present at the schools.  If anyone would like to participate in this event, they should contact Mitzi directly. 

 

Mitzi is looking into computer kiosks at various spots within SCG to access online information.  Rob told her that the pickleball pavilion would be an excellent spot for a kiosk given our new online court reservation system.  That would alleviate the necessity of Ken and Elissa having to print and post the schedule every night.

 

The question was raised of whether having a club meeting at someone’s house rather than at a meeting room at Cimarron or the Sonoran Plaza would be acceptable.  Mitzi said that there were liability issues and that the meetings should be held in the meeting rooms at either facility.

 

Rob reported that The Lifelong Learning Institute is planning a trip to Greece.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

1.                  Chairperson Update:  Jim Surmanek has agreed to be the new mixer chairperson; Bob Colianni has agreed to be the Tuesday Night Couples chairperson.  Four courts were reserved for the first Tuesday night couples mixer which was inadequate; eight courts have now been reserved for future use. 

 

2.                  Time Changes:  The Sunday night mixer will change to 7 p.m. as of May 18th.  The Thursday night mixer will change to 7:00 p.m. as of May 22nd.

 

3.                  CPR/AED Training:  Rob announced that Ching Valde has negotiated a rate of $20 per person for groups of 10-15 people to take the CPR/AED training offered through the rec centers.  This is a discount of $10 per person.  The Club will reimburse the first 15 people who sign up and successfully complete the training.  A sign-up sheet was located at the entrance table for anyone interested in taking the training.  Members will need to pay the upfront cost and submit a receipt for reimbursement to George Cox. 

 

4.                  Volunteer/Monitor Credit Update:  Rob reported that the Board has voted to change the way that monitor credits would be allotted.   A monitor/volunteer credit will now be given to:

 

·         Members who monitor;

·         All Board members;

·         All chairpersons;

·         Any person who volunteers for four hours for the club in a calendar year in a function for a chairperson or Board member as approved by that chairperson or Board member (and submitted for credit by that chairperson or Board member).

 

5.                  Monitoring Changes/Updates:  Rob reported that the Board voted to allow monitors to play while monitoring.  This is change has been approved by the Activities office and will be implemented as of May 19th, 2008.  Rob thanked the Board for the time spent on this issue at the last Board meeting and also thanked Linda Lenzini for her assistance in revamping the language for the monitor procedures which will be posted to the website.  Rob also stated that these monitoring changes are experimental and if found to be inadequate or troublesome, can be changed back to the original format.  See the website for the updated rules at http://grandpickleball.org/monitor_docs.html

 

6.                  Membership Meeting:  There will be no Board or membership meetings over the summer.  The next scheduled membership meeting will be September 9, 2008.  Rob asked everyone to “think safety” over the summer.

 

OTHER ISSUES:

 

1.                  Rob reported that Jim Surmanek will be looking at all of the Club’s other documents, e.g. Standing Rules and Operating Procedures, Bylaws, etc., to make sure they are consistent with the changes made by this Board.

 

2.                  A member reported that an ice maker and water dispenser had been installed by the snack bar at the Cimarron Golf Course which is available for everyone’s use.

 

3.                  John Starnes raised the issue of people or persons reserving courts in blocks of time longer than 2 hours and that it is not allowed, citing section I, E, 2 of the Standing Rules and Operating Procedures which states as follows:  “Court reservations are made on the reservation sheets located on the bulletin board by the courts.  One member can reserve one court for up to two hours.”  A lengthy discussion ensued with many members stating their opinion for and against this rule.  George Cox made a motion to delete that language entirely from the SOP’s.  The motion was seconded and approved.

 

 MOTION TO ADJOURN:  The meeting concluded at 4:10 p.m.