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Sun City Softball Club request rebuffed for now

Instructed to refine plan first

Posted 10/17/19

An attempt to get a funding proposal for construction at the Sun City softball field failed but the project is not dead in the water.

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Sun City Softball Club request rebuffed for now

Instructed to refine plan first

Posted

An attempt to get a funding proposal for construction at the Sun City softball field failed but the project is not dead in the water.
Softball Club members in April discussed the need for new and replacement construction at the field west of the Sun Bowl, 10220 N. 107th Ave. Club members wanted updated restrooms and a new building that included heat and air conditioning, a kitchen and a larger storage space than now exists. Club and Recreation Centers of Sun City officials agreed the constuction could qualify as a Preservation and Improvement Fund project.
“Our existing building was built 24 years ago and is deteriorating,” Dan Braddock, Softball Club president, stated in an Oct. 16 email. “It has very small bathrooms and a small storage room with a small outside announcer/scorekeeper booth.”
The board approved during its April 25 meeting turning the request over to the RCSC Long Range Planning Committee to investigate and bring a recommendation to the board. During the May 13 meeting, however, RCSC board member and Long Range Planning Committee Chairman Rich Hoffer suggested postponing a second reading vote indefinitely as the softball club made a proposal to the committee.
The matter came up again during the board’s Oct. 14 meeting when Mr. Hoffer made a motion to fund the softball club’s project not through the PIF but from the capital and operating budget to be paid by assessments.
“This could add $10-$25 to the annual property assessments in 2021, depending on the overall project cost, which has been guesstimated in the $500,000 to $750,000 range,” Mr. Hoffer said.
When his motion died for lack of a second, he made another motion to fund the project through the PIF. But that motion failed by a 5-4 vote. Softball Club leaders were instructed to work with the Clubs Office, according to Joelyn Higgins, RCSC communications and marketing coordinator.
“There will be no further action taken by the LRP Committee on this matter,” she stated in an email.
RCSC board member Sue Wilson said an October LRP committee meeting included some discussion on criteria for placing projects on the corporation’s long range plan.
Despite making the two motions to fund the softball project, Mr. Hoffer said the club should go to the Clubs Office and work with the assistant general manager to develop a plan before the board consiered any proposal.
“Typically that is what happens anyway,” he said.
Dale Lehrer, RCSC board vice president, said she studied the Long Range Planning Committee’s report, which recommended looking at projects that would appeal to future home buyers and security issues. She believed the softball project qualified. But she questioned making the softball club go through another step.
“By having them go to through the Clubs Office, aren’t we just delaying this when we know it will eventually go to the PIF?” she asked.

Jerry DeLano, RCSC board president, said working with the Clubs Office and the assistant general manager will help refine the structures the club is planning to construct.
Mr. Braddock stated club leaders are now discussing with the assistant general manager the design of a building that is up to safety code and has the security access to needed rooms. The size of the building would be three-quarters the size of the multi-purpose building next to the lawn bowl greens at the Bell Recreation Center, 16820 N. 99th Ave., according to Mr. Braddock.
“The Sun Bowl Field is used daily,” he stated. “Four different leagues are played here every day except for Wednesday (maintenance day) and Sunday. Senior Softball is a growing sport among the people retiring and moving to the Sun City area. We need to prepare for the future and have an adequate facility for the players.”