Sun City Texas - Strategic Plan

2016 The First Step

According to Wikipedia;

Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy.

A strategy describes how the ends (goals) will be achieved by the means (resources). The senior leadership of an organization is generally tasked with determining strategy. Strategy can be planned (intended) or can be observed as a pattern of activity (emergent) as the organization adapts to its environment. 

Strategy includes processes of formulation and implementation; strategic planning helps coordinate both.  However, strategic planning is analytical in nature (i.e., involves "finding the dots"); strategy formation itself involves synthesis (i.e., "connecting the dots").

Strategic Planning in Sun City Texas, background:

The Process initiated this year:

1. After initial discussions, the entire Board and Executive Director (Strategic Planning Group, SPG) welcomed the council of resident Charles Baker whose background includes working with major organizations in the development and ongoing review of their strategic plans.  Working with Charles we discussed the need and agreed on a plan to move this effort forward.
2. Our next step was to solicit input from community leaders.  It was decided that the logical survey group would be comprised of all sitting committee chairs including the NRO (13) and all past resident board members still residing in Sun City Texas (18) for a total survey group of 31.  For our initial effort this group provides a manageable number of participants and is made up of individuals who are or have invested heavily of their time and talents in our community.
3. A survey was prepared and responses requested from this survey group.
4. The results of the surveys were consolidated and provided to the SPG.
5. The SPG took the same survey.
6. The SPG met to review the results of both surveys, eliminate duplication and prioritize what they felt were the highest priority items.
7. The Executive Director reviewed preliminary results and dates with key Staff.
8. A second pass was then taken by the SPG scrubbing the Plan and objectives as well as determining when and how to roll out the Strategic Plan to the community establishing the follow on process for yearly review.

The results of our initial strategic planning effort for 2016-2017:

Vision Statement:  Sun City Texas will continue to be a premier, well-managed, fiscally sound active adult community.  Residents will enjoy a richly diverse lifestyle in a safe and aesthetically pleasing environment including recreation and activities at a reasonable cost. Sun City Texas will be distinguished by a culture of extensive resident involvement, respect for others and a commitment to the common good of the community.

Mission Statement: To maintain a high-quality active adult lifestyle and to preserve private and common area property values through a financially sound and well-managed community association.

Values:

1. Honesty
2. Integrity
3. Mutual respect
4. Effective communications
5. Effective and transparent financial management
6. Continuous improvement

Areas where Sun City Texas does well:

1. Financial management
2. Effective communications
3. Well-managed and maintained facilities and common areas
4. Provides opportunities for resident volunteerism
5. Provides a safe environment
6. Provides for an active adult lifestyle

Areas where Sun City Texas needs to improve:

1. Encouraging volunteerism
2. Better awareness of the needs of our aging residents
3. Strategic planning
4. Parking
5. Awareness of active adult lifestyle trends
6. Interaction with the City of Georgetown and Williamson County

Threats to our community:

1. Competition from other age-restricted communities
2. Increasing traffic issues
3. Maintaining a sense of community as we grow
4. Resident apathy
5. Water availability
6. Unfavorable economic conditions

Opportunities for our community:

1. Developing a strategic plan
2. Marketing the value of the community
3. Maintaining best first impressions
4. Having a proactive and professional relationship with the City of Georgetown & Williamson County
5. Improving quality and access to amenities
6. Maximizing use of non-potable water

Short-term objectives (Goals):

1. Formalize the strategic planning process by year-end 2016
2. Define what the specific make-up of the Queens Amenity Center will be by December 31, 2016
3. Conduct a traffic study to ensure future development will be adequate to manage the growth of Sun City Texas and the City of Georgetown Q1 2017*
4. Revisit and amend as necessary the Water Plan for Sun City Texas by Q2 2017
5. Complete golf course renovations no later than December 31, 2017
6. Develop and publish a golf sustainability plan by Q2 2018
7. Improve the integration of planning and budgeting- Ongoing  
   *Objective tabled for further discussion.

Long-term objectives (Goals):

1. Properly plan for facilities and staffing to accommodate growth
2. Ensure water needs are addressed in all new areas of the community
3. Have a Strategic Plan that is mature enough to drive financial forecasting
4. Transition planning as we near transition

What's next?

This effort is our first "baby step" in the development of a comprehensive Strategic Plan for Sun City Texas.  If we follow the process that we have laid out with short-term objective #7, we should mature the process over the next three to four years to the point where Strategic Planning will begin to drive our Budget Process.  Yes, it will take several years of iteration, learning, maturing the short-term process to help drive the long-term objectives.  As in the Wikipedia definition provided at the start, we have just started to "find the dots." Now we need to follow the process and begin to "connect the dots."

The timing is right.  As we mature, our strategic planning process we will likely be within sight of our potential "transition" to self-governance and fully responsible for our own financial well-being.

Subsequent to this Plan, the Neighborhood Representative Organization (NRO) will be embarking on the community's first attempt to gather the residents' view of Sun City Texas of the future.  A Board representative has been assigned as a liaison to the effort.  Our intent is to bring this effort (NRO) into the Board of Directors bi-yearly strategic plan review.  When successful, these efforts will paint the picture and then drive the funding of OUR "Sun City Texas of the Future."