Do You Love Sun City? - One Man’s Opinion

A brief look back.

If I told you those buying in Sun City in the 60's and 70's were absolute zealots who loved Sun City, would you be surprised? My good friend Ben Roloff just told me about finding files at the Sun City Museum that documented the origins of building organizations from very early on in 1960. If I told you the internal strife over issues like incorporation, schools, the Sun Bowl, and the age overlay created friction, I would be severely understating my case. Heck, the effort to become incorporated lasted close to 35 years.


As we learned in the last blog, there have been a couple of activist groups in Sun City prior to the Advocates. Typically, the angst was from people who believed the community/membership should have a voice. During the majority of our 60 plus year history, our documents served as the buffer from outright control by the RCSC. Over the past 15 years, all of that changed. Nope, no interest in repeating how it happened. Suffice to say, there's been a shift in the concept of self-governance.

C'est La Vie To Open Member Comments at Board Meetings

While we could lament what has happened - or how - it is a pointless exercise. The entire purpose of today's blog is about looking forward, not back. After last Monday's board meeting, we've reached the final chapter from the past 15 years. It's time to close the book and look to the future. The board has spoken; they don't want to hear from you, the membership, at board meetings unless you want to speak to a motion. That's a first in our long history and a sad one at that. But it is what it is.

Looking Forward to New Opportunities.

The board voted to eliminate one board meeting a month and replace it with a Member/Board exchange meeting. It has been called "our meeting" by the board president. We'll see. There was opposition to the change, not because members were against it, but because the threat from the board president was to not allow any member comments other than speaking for or against motions. It was a heavy-handed threat that was nothing more than intimidation.

We can sit and whine about it, but why bother. The best approach is to start a course of action to restore the voice of the community at these Member/Board exchange meetings. There's a myriad of topics to cover. We will begin to sift through them and with your ideas, support, and interest, we will try and prioritize them. Allegedly the board and management will be on hand to answer our questions and have a direct dialogue with those in the room. Apparently answering us from the stage at the Sundial Auditorium wasn't conducive to effective communication.

They've opened a door, and we intend to walk through it. We know several of the board members are sincerely interested in what the members have to say; now we will find if the rest of them care? As noted in my last blog, we think we have made amazing inroads since the first of the year. We know we have a long road ahead of us, but for now, we appreciate those board members who have shown their support for the membership. We'll be reaching out to you about what your priorities are and hope you will attend as many Member/Board exchanges as you can. If you can't be there, we'll be sure to provide you with a summary and a link to watch them.

Great News

Let's conclude this blog on a really high note, in fact, two of them. We just found out the RCSC/board/somebody has proposed the tennis courts at Lakeview will become pickleball courts. Apparently, the comment was made "the pickleball courts will be in before the first shovel of dirt is turned on the Mountainview project." For anyone who has followed the Sun City Advocates, we have called for the courts lost at Mountainview to be replaced. While there are other issues with Mountainview, this was a major hurdle. We would feel better if the board members had all been involved in the decision-making process, or if the RCSC had approached the Tennis Club before making the commitment, but as mentioned above, it is what it is. A comment was made at the meeting with the pickleball club members that they would see between 8 and 14 courts. Good job to all.

The second reason for celebration is we have completely embraced the return to Member/Board exchanges and are positively excited by our opportunity to address our concerns openly and frankly with both the RCSC board and management team. We see this as our path forward to restoring the membership's voice and addressing the concerns coming from the past 15 years. We see nothing but an upside that will develop as we work toward absolute honesty and total transparency. Sun City will be better because of it.

One Final Thought/Question? Love.

I've read countless oral histories from Sun City's archives at the museum. The most common thread/comment was how much those early pioneers loved their new home. All of which begs the question...Do You?

Bill Pearson - Advisory Panel, Sun City Advocates