Dear Editor,
This letter is to correct the statements in Mr. Collett’s Letter to the Editor 4/17/14.
Mr. Collett stated in The Observer: “Five of the remaining six are being acted on.” This refers to the “TOP 10 IMPROVEMENTS,” page 26 of the Survey of Sun City Residents in October 2012.
This means that most of the items before the Rollins Theater expansion have been “acted on” or complete. Three of these five items need to be addressed independently.
1. Survey Item Number 2 – Trails throughout the C.A. property for biking/walking/jogging
There are two trails that have been designated on CA property. One trail is on the south campus and one is on the west campus.
a. The south trail is routed around the dog parks. There is a good possibility of large dogs barking and chasing people as they walk by the dog parks. Luckily, there is a fence to keep the dogs contained. The trail is not paved and is not suitable for older persons, especially with the chance of being harassed by canines.
b. The north trail is very primitive. It is not appropriate for ages 55+. If a person falls, gets bitten by a snake or has a medical emergency, they are simply on their own.
2. Survey Item Number 4 – Acquisition/Access to former North Lakes Golf Course for recreational purposes.
Mr. Collett stated that ClubLink will not discuss selling the North Lakes Golf Course.
He does not say to whom. Residents? SCCCA? Developers? Maybe it does not matter, except to most members living in the community.
a. The land, according to the SCCCA, cannot be developed because the north side of S.R. 674 is built out and will be almost impossible to get county approval for more housing units.
b. The residents of SCC could petition Hillsborough County if any development were to be started. This according to the SCCCA would probably be enough to stop any development.
c. It is understood that there are no plans to re-open the property as a golf course.
d. The above a, b, and c should be reason for ClubLink to entertain the sale of the North Lakes Golf Course. Residents should have a vote in what happens with 186 acres of land in our wonderful city that could be a Mecca for all sorts of recreation.
3. Survey Item Number 5 – Buildings suitable for hurricane shelters.
Mr. Collett stated that we already have two hurricane shelters.
According to the SCCCA office as of 04/14/2014 @11:44 A.M. there are no hurricane shelters on the SCC campus. The closest evacuation center is Beth Shields Middle School. Hillsborough County does not list any Sun City Center buildings as hurricane shelters.
Additional information:
A. Survey Item Number 9 – Rollins Theater Expansion
The survey did mention expansion of the Rollins Theater BUT THERE IS NO REFERENCE in the document to a new theater. A figure of $2,000,000+ for a new theater with proposed financing is absurd! This is for just one building. The word “expansion” is not the same as Replacement!
B. Mr. Collett said that the funding proposal is risk-free to the residents, and that future capital transfer fees (not us) will be the sole source of repayment.
There is no such thing as a risk-free loan especially for $2,000,000+. This is the same rhetoric that was used in the last failed attempt to use debt to expand. At an SCCCA membership meeting, a financial institution representative stated that the loan would be backed by membership dues if transfer fees were not sufficient.
C. Mr. Collett said “Ms. Williams’ objection to financing is not based on facts, but a slavish adherence to ‘pay as you go,’ as if that is some iconic standard to which we must always adhere regardless of the consequences to the community.”
There are no consequences to the community for not going into debt. There are many benefits counted in dollars. I know that he stated that waiting till later will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Waiting until enough money is accrued for a building will save the cost of financing, which will be hundreds of thousands of dollars!
A debt-free community is what most people want.
The community thought that when the last vote was taken and the building plan was voted down, there would be no debt in the future. They thought “Pay As You Go” would be the governing philosophy going forward. They believed that debt was taken off the table. This is not a slavish adherence to “Pay As You Go” but what the community really wants.
Gerald P. Collings Sr.
Sun City Center
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Dear Editor:
This is in response to the letter from Mr Chuck Collett in the April 17 edition of The SCC Observer.
It really infuriates me to hear this man that was elected by the SCC community membership, to work for us, continue to rave about how the vote to “pay as we go” for improvements here has no merit. When I voted I do not recall any notice that my vote would not have any meaning for any new “special interest group” that comes up with a desire for a high-dollar improvement. I don’t see any need for another vote to try to manipulate the outcome to serve the needs of a few either!
If Mr Collett continues to try to convert the results of that vote to pay as we go, I would ask all the members of the CA to pay close attention and remember he did not respect us or our wishes. When his term expires, I would ask all to go to the polls and be sure this is his last term!
Eldon Peck
Sun City Center
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Dear Editor,
I found the sneering, belligerent, baiting, attack-dog tone of Mr. Collett’s letter to be offensive. After all, Mr. Collett, a SCC CA board member, is elected to represent the entire 10,000+ membership and not just his favorite folks. Sadly, the tenor and tone of his letter is part and parcel of the level of discourse which pervades all aspects of American life these days.
I have been observing and reading all of the discussions about borrowing to build a 400-seat theater. And my observation is there is very little factual data on the table presently, but there is a lot of emotion. And absolutely nothing in life is risk free, and there is no such thing as a free lunch. One would hope by this stage in life, these would be lessons already learned.
So here’s my recommendation to the CA board. Before any further effort, money or angst is spent on determining whether to borrow and build a new theater, put it to a vote. Ask the membership simply and straightforwardly if they want to abandon our “pay as we go policy” to borrow and build any facility, regardless of the purpose. And then depending on the will of the majority who respond, we either put this issue to bed or every club in SCC gets in line with their wish list.
Kim Droege
Sun City Center