Hi everyone! We had a great showing at the special meeting for dues on December 5th to discuss changes to our dues and the need to raise money for some long-needed repairs. At the meeting, we unanimously approved an increase in the dues to $225 as well as an assessment of $25 per household.
The dues for our pool association haven't changed in well over 20 years and that has left us in a pretty tough spot when it comes to funding repairs and maintaining an emergency fund. Below is a copy of the slideshow that was presented at the meeting that outlines the major repair items as well as a high-level overview of the current state of our finances.
In summary, the pool has been running in the negative for at least a couple of years now and our reserves are dwindling. On top of that, we have around $24,000 worth of repairs/improvements that need must be made, mostly for safety reasons.
The biggest ticket item is going to be concrete repair. As we're sure you have all seen, there are many areas where the pool deck has lifted and/or crumbled. From a pure liability standpoint, this is our biggest concern. Concrete that has heaved or crumbled presents a significant trip and fall hazard and our insurance company could choose to cancel our policy because of that. If that happens, we won't be able to get insurance and we would have to close the pool until the repairs are made.
Without getting into too much detail, the remaining items that require attention are going to help improve the overall usability of the pool and help decrease maintenance costs into the future (i.e. re-opening the second bathroom and upgrading the chemical system).
Lastly, we will be looking to increase membership at the pool. This has been something that non-members have been asking about for years now and after visually assessing pool traffic over the past summer, it's something we feel can easily be accommodated. We currently have less than 240 active/paying members which is below the Association's prior membership peak. As far as we can tell that was between 280-300 members. While there is a good number of mandatory members, over the years quite a few of the optional members have left.
We plan to start small with up to 20 additional members and will evaluate during the summer before adding any additional members. This will help add value to the homes of new members as well as act as a much-needed revenue source for the Association, truly a win-win. From a (much) longer term standpoint, this should also help us get in a financial situation where we can do some truly great things like adding a wading pool for young children and other amenities commensurate with many of the newer neighborhoods in Johnson County.
There are years, if not decades, of deferred maintenance that needs to be done, and the current board intends on working hard to make sure that those things are fixed. Ultimately, our goal is to return the pool to the best condition that it can be and that takes funding.
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