Court: Payment tied to use of rec centers in Sun City
Posted
I agree with David Sinclair’s letter (“Attention turns to local election,” Sun City Independent, Dec. 2, 2020).
I already know the argument that we do not pay a recreation fee but an annual property assessment fee and therefore no refunds or adjustments are allowed. However, without the payment of the annual assessment fee the use of the recreation facilities is not allowed and it appears they are tied together. It is convenient that this is not a recreation center fee on paper, but in reality the payment of the annual property assessment, for a homeowner, is the only way to use the recreation centers.
These rules were established before I moved here four years ago and before we had a pandemic. This is certainly unprecedented times with COVID-19 and my argument is not with the fees but with some of the ignorant ways in which the COVID rules are enforced that limit the use of the recreation we pay for. David Sinclair, as well as many others, have mentioned some of the silliness and a few days ago I was smacked with yet another head scratcher.
The Lakeview Center’s Hillside Park has a few small gazebos, a walking path, waterfall and a large gazebo at the top. It’s a beautiful place to relax, unwind or go for a walk.
The other day a friend and I packed a cooler with some food and headed to Hillside Park only to be told that the gazebos are off limits because they are considered buildings. After reading the phase two reopening rules, I discovered that indeed rules were set in place for the Hillside Park. Rule one states, “Only one person per bench.” That means if you are walking around the lake with your spouse or friend and decided to rest, only one can be seated while the other must stand six feet away, as you will see later in rule two. Rule one goes on to state, “No use of gazebos allowed.” This is to say that if two people want to sit at a gazebo it would somehow spread COVID because, as I was told, a gazebo is considered a building and these buildings are closed.
However, the indoor spa at the Bell Center is open for people to use and that is truly a closed-in area of a real building.
How can this begin to make sense, and please don’t use the excuse that this will keep a large group from gathering, as if the gazebos at Hillside Park are a secret gathering place or COVID super spreader.
Rule two states, “That a minimum of six feet of physical distancing, regardless if in the same family.” This implies that you can arrive in the same vehicle but once you get inside you must be six feet apart. This would also mean that two people can go play golf, ride in the same cart while golfing, meet up with two more golfing friends at George’s Café for lunch and all four of them can eat their meal without face masks at an indoor restaurant. However, when they go to Hillside Park they can’t sit on the same bench to watch the swans or sit in a gazebo.
How does that possibly make sense to an adult with a brain? This six-foot distance is not limited to Hillside Park but every recreation center activity, including outdoor activities. Did anyone read this stupidity before or after they wrote it or even now as they enforce it?
Where did we go that day to enjoy the outdoor weather you may ask? We took the suggestion of the Lakeview Center staff and drove one mile to Rio Vista Park on Thunderbird Road and sat at a bench in a gazebo, watched their swans and enjoyed our afternoon. Did they have rules? Yes they did, but they were the common sense rules of stay home if you are sick, wash your hands before and after using tables and benches, and social distance between the tables provided. You know, just the typical common sense stuff without the stupidity.
I agree with David Sinclair and many others who are ready for a change in our board members. I hope and pray that our 2021 board members will grow a backbone and display common sense in the COVID rules because COVID-19 will soon become COVUD-21 or COVID-22, and not because two people, in the same family, are standing less than six feet apart or sitting at an outdoor gazebo.
