GVR Now April 2024

Reservation Policy Changes

At their regular February 28 meeting, the Board of Directors adopted significant changes to room reservation and facility use policies by unanimous vote. The Board Affairs Committee (BAC) had worked with staff on four iterations of the policy changes before recommending them to the Board of Directors.

Where do these changes come from? Why is change needed?

The BAC’s job is to clean out and stock the GVR policy fridge on a regular basis. The facility use policy was long overdue. The policy was missing important elements, causing conflict between members (pool-side music, for example). In other cases, staff had developed approaches to member demands without a clear policy to regulate those approaches. Over time, any policy, like a refrigerator, tends to collect relics that seemed like a good idea at the time but eventually spoiled. Most of the facility use policy clean-up efforts were made with two goals in mind: manage resources better and improve member access to the facilities.

Previous policy had failed to adequately prioritize recreation opportunities available to all members. As a result, nearly 40% of the 2,305 reservation hours last month were dedicated to private parties and activities. Many of those private activities (340 hours) were small groups of people getting together to play cards or games. In some cases, reservations were made for solo individuals to occupy rooms multiple times per week

to pursue their personal interests. This abundance of private bookings creates two problems: it is very difficult for members to find open rooms for drop-in use, and the resource demand on the staff team is impressive. Each reservation involves three to four staff members—one to process the reservation and get it “in the system,” another to contact the reserving party and document their needs, another to set up the room, and often a fourth to tear down and tidy the room for the next users. That’s a big chunk of payroll to dedicate to small groups of people who want exclusive use of a space to play cards or do yoga together a couple of times a week. Some of the more significant policy changes are designed to address these problems:

• This summer, staff will establish “static” set-ups in rooms where it makes sense (many of the satellite centers, for instance). Members using those rooms will be free to rearrange the space as needed and will be expected to return the room to the established static setup at the end of their activity.

• Three-month groups—those smaller private groups who make recurring reservations for up to three months at a time—will be limited to one reservation per week for a maximum of four hours each.

• Private events (often socials) will be limited to one every other month. This does not apply to GVR clubs since no GVR club is private—all clubs are open to all members.

CONTACT US — 520-625-3440

Operational matters email: hotline@gvrec.org

Board policy matters email: board@gvrec.org

West Center Customer Service 520-625-0288 (Lunch Noon–1pm)

RECREATION SERVICES

NEW PHONE NUMBERS!

NORTH CAMPUS 520-648-7669 SOUTH CAMPUS 520-838-0169

Includes:

Abrego North

Casa Paloma I

Casa Paloma II

Continental Vistas

East Center

Las Campanas

Pickleball Center

West Center

Includes: Abrego South

Canoa Hills

Canoa Ranch

Del Sol Clubhouse

APRIL BOARD & COMMITTEE MEETINGS

BOARD SPECIAL MEETING

Wednesday, April 10, 2:00–2:30pm

West Center Auditorium / Zoom

BOARD WORK SESSION

Wednesday, April 10, 2:30–4:00pm

West Center Auditorium / Zoom

INVESTMENTS COMMITTEE – QUARTERLY MEETING

Wednesday, April 17, 9:00–10:30am

West Center Room 2 / Zoom

BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING

Wednesday, April 24, 2:00–4:00pm

West Center Auditorium / Zoom

Any change in meeting status will be announced on the GVR website calendar.

BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

• The Del Sol Clubhouse Café did not get addressed at this meeting. The decision was approved to seat the tied candidates for a Board of twelve Directors for the 2024-25 governance year and begin the bylaw change in 2025 to vote for three Directors.

Desert Hills

Madera Vista

Santa Rita Springs

Center Operations Assistants (Yellow Shirts) 520-343-2440

GVR BOARD

GVR BOARD OFFICERS

President Marge Garneau

Vice President Bart Hillyer

Secretary Jim Carden

Treasurer Carol Crothers

Assistant Secretary Candy English

Assistant Treasurer Nellie Johnson

DIRECTORS

Nancy Austin

Kathi Bachelor

Barbara Blake

Beth Dingman

Bev Lawless

Joe Magliola

GVR BOARD COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Audit Committee: Nancy Austin

Board Affairs Committee: Carol Crothers

Financial Affairs Committee: Jim Carden

Investments Committee: Bev Lawless

Nominations & Elections Committee: Beth Dingman

Planning & Evaluation Committee: Kathi Bachelor

Email: board@gvrec.org

Can’t attend a meeting in person?

Scan this QR code for ZOOM meetings.

Did You Know?

When to contact a COA (Center Operations Assistant):

• Ask questions

• Resolve conflicts

• Report injuries

• Report needed repairs

• Purchase same-day guest passes for $10 (good for up to four guests)

COAs are on the job 5:30–9pm, seven days a week. For assistance, please call 520-343-2440.

Guest passes are required

Please remember that guest passes are required for all guests over the age of 17. Guest passes can be purchased at the West Center Box Office Monday-Friday from 8am–4pm.

Same-day paper guest passes are available to members from the on-duty COA during all operating hours. Guests cannot purchase their own passes and the paper passes do not provide gate access so the member host will need to purchase the pass and provide gate access for their guests.

Call the COA at 520-343-2440 and they will meet you at the rec center of your choice to sell you a $10 same-day pass. Per policy, guests are folks who live more than 20 miles from the GVR boundary, and are temporary visitors to member homes.

Letter from the President

As I reflect on this year as GVR Board President, I realize it has been a productive, active and sometimes contentious year as a Board. My election as President left some hard feelings with a few board members and several committees didn’t develop the “team spirit” I had hoped for. Despite having one Board member being cited for a Code of Conduct violation, we managed to accomplish most, if not all of our major goals.

We opened two newly remodeled, state of the art facilities. A wonderful Glass Arts Facility at Santa Rita Springs and a fantastic fitness center at Desert Hills and remodeled Canoa Hills. We also were able to pass our proposed by-law changes by a large margin.

Looking to the future I believe we need to complete the social center planned at the Del Sol facility and adopt a policy to deal with tie votes for future board elections.

At the special meeting March 20th, the Board voted to seat both Bart Hillyer and Candy English and maintain the 12-member board for this Board year. We will begin the reduction and only add 3 Board members in the next election.

I hope you all have a happy and safe Easter. Feel free to contact us if you have questions or concerns. I thank all who sit through our meetings and send us their comments.

—Marge Garneau, Board President

West Center

Weekdays: Noon–9pm

Weekends & holidays: ALL day

Abrego South

Daily: 4–6pm

All other pools

Daily: 11am–1pm AND 4–6pm

No guest pass required for kids! Children 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Children six and younger must have an adult in the pool with them at all times.

Spring Rejuvenation

Hi, I’m Steve Signore, GVR’s new Leisure Education Coordinator, and I’m happy to be here at Green Valley Recreation in beautiful Green Valley.

April is a month of renewal. Plants and flowers are sprouting and desert animals are born. It’s time to get ready for spring and summer! We’re fortunate enough to live in a place where we can do just that, and GVR is here to help.

Leisure education is about learning subjects that YOU choose for yourself. When you’re retired, there’s time to do and learn whatever you desire. And here in Green Valley, GVR has something for everyone:

• Study a new language

• Improve mind, body, and soul

• Discover new creative opportunities such as lapidary, glass, or ceramics

• Learn about nature and gardening

• Read and discuss Shakespeare’s works

• Become healthy and fit, and much more…

Check out the 2024 Spring/Summer recreation catalog where you’ll find current class offerings at GVRec.org, in-person at the West Center Box Office, and by phone at 520-625-0288.

If you have suggestions for new classes or would like to teach a class, please reach out to me at SteveS@gvrec.org. GVR is always looking to improve and enlarge the Leisure Education program, but most of all we want to offer what interests you, our members.

Enjoy concessions, popcorn, and films on the big screen at the West Center auditorium. Movies are reserved for GVR members and their card-carrying guests.

Forum

Canoa

Watercolor by Kris Martens, GVR Santa Rita Art League

Staff and Board members recognize that these changes will be disappointing for some. It may be helpful to know that our local colleague organizations (Sun City, Sun City West, Quail Creek, etc.) do not provide members with complimentary use of meeting rooms at all. Only chartered clubs are permitted to reserve their spaces free of charge. By comparison, GVR’s policy provides members with a generous and valuable service, even with the new limits in place.

Because drop-in users are expected to self-help and return a room to the condition in which they found it, drop-in use helps GVR manage the operating budget in the current challenging economic conditions. Instead of processing reservations and setting up and resetting rooms, existing staff will be able to do more frequent rounds, keeping things tidy, recognizing problems before they get out of hand, and assisting members as needed.

Do we expect this to create a new problem with competition among drop-in users? That does seem likely. This is why the BAC Chair brought these recommendations to the Board with the stipulation that these changes are the first step in a longer process. This summer, GVR will begin working on two next steps: First, staff will tackle instituting an online system for members to make their own reservations in designated spaces, much the same as the tennis and pickleball courts are reserved by individual members now. Second, staff and the BAC will work on more policy refinements to regulate selfhelp facility use to ensure equitable access by all members.

On the operations side (in other words, not a Board policy matter), another cost-savings measure will begin May 1, 2024: coffee and tea service will no longer be provided. This season (since October 1, 2023) GVR has spent $10,000 on supplies for coffee and tea, much of which has been poured down the sinks at the end of events. Groups who would like to add coffee or tea to the refreshments they bring to activities are welcome to do so using pump pops or thermoses or by purchasing hot coffee boxes from Starbucks.

Personal Training Packages

If you’re a regular exerciser or just starting a fitness regime, GVR personal trainers are experts in the field and are ready to get you moving in the right direction. Improve your overall strength, core, stability, balance, mobility, and flexibility with the personal training choices below:

One-on-one training

30-minute sessions

Eight sessions: $270

Twenty sessions: $600

60-minute sessions

Four sessions: $240

Ten sessions: $495

In total, sixteen substantive changes were made to the facilities use policy. For a summary of these changes and the complete new policy, go to www.gvrec.org and click on the “New Facility Use Policy “tile at the bottom of the home page. Printed summaries will also be available in the literature racks at all centers. Contact the GVR Fitness

2024 Election Results

Election Details

Director Elect Nellie Johnson, 2017 votes, 16.9%

Director Elect Carol Crothers, 1755 votes, 14.7%

Director Elect Candy English, 1416 votes, 11.9%

Director Elect Bart Hillyer, 1416 votes, 11.9%

Please note: Amendment to Bylaws Article IV passed, therefore, only three new Directors will be seated. Due to the tie between Candy English and Bart Hillyer, VoteNow.com’s practice is to recount paper ballots. The final vote will be announced as soon as we receive the recount.

2023 Annual Meeting Minutes

For: 97.6% Against: 2.4%

All proposed bylaw amendments passed.

The tie between Mr. Hillyer and Ms. English was resolved by the Board of Directors voting to seat all four candidates and commence reducing the Board to nine with the 2025 election.

Your New Board of Directors

President Marge Garneau

Vice President Bart Hillyer

Secretary Jim Carden

Treasurer Carol Crothers

Assistant Secretary Candy English

Assistant Treasurer Nellie Johnson

Nellie Johnson, 2017 votes, 16.9%

Carol Crothers, 1755 votes, 14.7%

Candy English, 1416 votes, 11.9%

Bart Hillyer, 1416 votes, 11.9%

Dave Barker, 1407 votes, 11.8%

Steve Gilbert, 1327 votes, 11.1%

Richard Sutherland, 1319 votes, 11.1%

Dale Howard, 1253 votes, 10.5%

Total Voters for ballot: 3273 (204 paper ballots)

Turnout: 26% eligible voters

There was a temporary system disruption lasting 20 minutes, likely attributed to a time zone discrepancy. During the disruption, GVR received two phone calls from voters who could not vote. Once the disruption was corrected the voters were called back and able to vote. VoteNow.com, the company that conducts GVR elections confirms that no other members attempted to vote during the 20-minute system disruption.

Director Nancy Austin

Director Kathi Bachelor

Director Barbara Blake

Director Beth Dingman

Director Bev Lawless

Director Joe Magliola

Contact the Board about policy matters at Board@gvrec.org

JOIN A COMMITTEE

On April 10, committee chairs will be appointed. Please consider serving on a GVR Board committee. For more information about committees contact Nanci Moyo at nancim@gvrec.org. Applications for committee service are available online at www.gvrec.org under the Governance tab (click Committees). Please submit your application to Nanci no later than 4pm on April 10.

Spectacular Spring Events

For tickets or to reserve a table for ten, call 520-625-0288.

For more details, visit GVRec.org.

APRIL 5, Friday, 7 pm

Dance! Total Recall

Experience the joy of dancing to classic rock-n-roll hits from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s with Total Recall.

West Center Auditorium

Member/Guest $14

General public $24

APRIL 12, Friday, 2 pm

Paint & Sip by Hues’N’Booze

APRIL 13, Saturday, 5 pm

Dinner and a Show in the Courtyard

Pick & Holler — Farewell Friends

Enjoy the timeless music of America’s past with Pick & Holler who draw inspiration from the old-time string band tradition. Catered by Haus of Brats, show-goers will enjoy outdoor dining with Bratwurst in a toasted roll (vegetarian option available), potato salad, and sauerkraut plus three beverages of your choice.

West Center Courtyard

Member/Guest $35

MAY 11, Saturday, 11 am–1 pm

Mother’s Day Brunch

(Reserved for GVR members and their guests only)

Celebrate motherhood with a catered brunch, complete with mimosas, a juice bar, and live entertainment.

Las Campanas Agave room

Member/Guest $25