By Jim Boon
April 8, 2016
I am always interested to read the letters written by the older members of the golf club and the community. They’re always talking about how the Association is spending their money, when we all know they pay virtually nothing in association fees and the people who’ve moved here in the last 10 years pay 80% of our operating budget.
They focus on keeping things as they were 20-30 years ago. It’s obvious to some of us and I hope most of us, that we can’t keep things the same. There are more people, more automobiles and a greater need for technology and infrastructure. The golf club membership is only about 25% of the total population of Rancho Santa Fe Covenant. And recently only 15 percent of the people moving here have joined. These older members do not offer any solutions to attract more golf members, tennis members or, for that matter, more home buyers.
They just don’t want any change.
Then, some old time residents write about getting the community back together. Their meaning is for all the new people to agree with them. Well, maybe the community needs to get back together by addressing the future and not the past. Maybe the older residents of the community need to greet the new residents with open arms and accept that times have changed.
We should all be concerned about the vitality of the covenant, of the golf club, of the tennis club and of the community.
Those who join committees merely to stop progress need to stay at home. Those who say “don’t spend our money,” need to realistically view how much they pay versus how much we pay. Progress is not found by living in the past. One day even those folks who are saying “don’t spend our money” and “don’t change anything” will wish to sell their houses or their heirs will want to sell their houses.
The changes that are being proposed should make the values of all of our houses go up. And even if we’re not selling our houses, the things that are being proposed will make our lives better while we still live in our homes. We need to attract new people to RSF. They will want cell coverage, high speed internet and a place to get together with their friends and their families.
It’s time to look forward. It’s not April Fool’s Day but it’s not Groundhog Day either.