Board Communicator
Wednesday, May 20
The CA board and staff directors have a general “fiduciary duty” to act in the community’s best interest and the best interest of its members. Efforts to control the spread of Coronavirus are in the best interests of all residents of Sun City Texas. Returning to a somewhat normal lifestyle with health and safety as the driving force has been the leadership goal for the past few months. How we do that and when has been our biggest challenge.
Over the past few weeks, you have seen actions the board and staff have taken to open up many outdoor activities. The board and staff worked with the outdoor club presidents to develop Transitional Health and Safety Guidelines.
Each club or group has developed these guidelines and the leadership of each of these clubs have taken ownership in communication and upholding the safety expectations. The club members have been enjoying the pleasure of outdoor activities responsibly.
Taking personal responsibility for social distancing is the single biggest step we can take toward returning to a normal lifestyle.
The next step in this process is to develop guidelines that provide direction for the use of the Community Association (CA) indoor venues, the Pavilions and Amphitheater. Following state and federal government recommendations, we will do this in a phased reopening approach.
A phased reopening allows for more and more resident participation over time. Below is a brief look at the transitional phases we are evaluating and propose to open the indoor facilities and activities.
The Phases:
There are four phases - 1, 2, 3 and All Clear.
- When contacting Cindy Marsac, Event Services Supervisor for room reservations, she will know the capacity limits at the time of the request.
- It will be the club, group, committee or organization’s responsibility to inform and manage the number of participants per the phase limits.
- The building monitor will confirm the size of the group in the room and notify the meeting leader if the capacity is beyond the limits. Similarly, the group leader must take immediate action to remedy the number of participants.
- Repeated offenses of the room capacities by a group can result in the suspension of further use.
- Phase 3 is intended to identify when clubs, groups, committees, or organizational meetings can resume and allow other activities to further increase participant size. The date and time of Phase 3 would be entirely dependent on the governmental direction at that time.
- When we move from one phase to the next, it will be announced by the CA board and staff in the various CA communications.
General to all Venues:
Golf, Fitness and Lifestyle have their own guidelines.
- Golf guidelines have already been implemented.
- Fitness guidelines were approved this week and also use a phased approach to access workout areas, classes and related services and events. Fitness plans to open on Monday, June 1 with a reservation and outdoor pools plan to open on Monday, June 8 with a reservation. Details for the mandatory reservation system will be in the Sunday, May 24 Fitness Communicator. Fitness guidelines address the use of restroom/locker rooms immediately adjacent to fitness facilities at Cowan Creek, Texas Drive and The Retreat. Fitness guidelines also address swimming pools and spas (indoor and outdoor).
- Lifestyle & Activities guidelines address movies and other ballroom use, onsite events and bus outings in a phased approach. The Lifestyle guidelines were approved this week.
Please take the time to read these documents, so you are familiar with their specific requirements. Each guidelines has its own unique set of phases.
Indoor restrooms and water fountains will be open. Staff will post the hours of operation for each CA facility. Hours may vary per location. Check the weekly CA communicator for a listing of current times. There will be an “intermission” at each building each day to clean the restrooms and high contact surface areas.
Entrances to buildings will be limited to the main entry doors only through at least Phase 1 and Phase 2.
In the following buildings, hand sanitizer stations will be installed just inside the main doors for incoming and exiting residents. Please plan to use them regularly. These areas will be marked and spaced as you see in the grocery stores to direct appropriate spacing. We ask that everyone use hand sanitizer upon entering and exiting the building.
The CA Facilities include: Opening dates for each will be announced:
- Cowan Creek Amenity Center
- Texas Drive Social Center - Main Entrance (Lobby entrance)
- Texas Drive Fitness Center
- The Activity Center
- The Retreat
- Billiards Room
- Woodshop
- Visual Arts studio
- Stained Glass studio
- Creative Clay & China studio
- Fabric & Fiber studio
- The Oaks main lobby
This All May Seem Extreme:
Some of you may think these actions are being overly controlling. Every reopening directive from the Governor’s office always includes a caveat that those over 65 should take extra precautions and is the driving force behind our actions, to do whatever we can to create and help manage a safe environment for all residents to use. Some of you may decide that you do not want to use any facilities until we have an All Clear. That is your decision. Just know that your staff, along with our contractors, will be doing all they can to keep our facilities as safe as possible. We look to all of you for your help and cooperation.
Some day we will be able to live a more normal life. For now, working together to Make This Life a Safe Life is essential.
