FINANCE:
Financials:
The Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc. (RCSC) ended May within its operating and capital budget year to date. All Divisions except Food & Beverage have met or exceeded their net operating budget projections year to date. Food & Beverage is ($65.9k) unfavorable year to date due to food and liquor sales being negatively impacted by weather in Q1 2023. Operating Income for May totaled $1,882k and was ($62.1k) unfavorable to budget due primarily to Assessments being below budget due to the 2023 budget approval delay. Operating expenses for the month were $1,667k and ($38.4k) unfavorable to budget due to the timing of Equipment purchases and Building Project spending that were budgeted earlier in 2023. Year to date Net Operating Excess was $3,426 and favorable to budget by $660.1k (19.3%).
Cardholder Services:
Payments on past due assessments in May were 12.8% of past due balances. Overall accounts receivable decreased in May by (2.8%) and are up 2.3% from the end of 2022. Overall accounts receivable past due balances decreased in May by (1.6%). April assessments went 30 days past due at a rate of 4.3% and March assessments went 60 days past due at a rate of 1.4%.
Payments from third-party collections firms totaled $16,065 in May, and total $85,462 year to date. May payments made through the online Web Portal totaled $219,608 from 443 property owners. Year to date online portal payments total $1,087,801 from 2,222 property owners.
In May, property transfer balances decreased by (1.2%). Outstanding balances related to property transfers represent 54% of all receivables and 54% of past due balances. May trustee sale notices on Sun City AZ properties decreased to 33, and properties owned by lending institutions remained at 1.
Information Technology:
In May, the Information Technology team received 49 new service requests, and closed 50 requests by month end, leaving 6 tickets remaining open. On average, IT closed service requests in less than one day in May. Year to date, IT has opened 396 tickets, and closed 390 tickets.
The new TEG server has been installed and turned over to TEG for configuration. All of the new server and storage hardware has been set up and most of the device configuration is complete. IT is in the process of creating the VM servers for the final migration of data and applications onto the new hardware. IT installed the new cabling and access point to bring the new exercise equipment online at Bell. IT installed new credit card readers at all of the golf courses and some of the snack shops. Completion of the new card readers is set for June.
Human Resources:
Human Resources added 12 new requisitions during the month of May and filled 12 requisitions, ending the month with 7 open positions. Year to date, HR has opened 72 requisitions, and filled 72 open positions. The time-to fill requisition KPI in May was 4.3 days. HR continued to work on the salary benchmark project in preparation for the upcoming 2024 Budget cycle.
BUILDINGS & INFRASTRUCTURE:
Projects:
In Process: Marinette Recreation Center (Capital) Status: Green
- Budget: $340,000. Total Cost to date: $50,091.
- Project in process; Coordination with APS is ongoing regarding the new service panel and transformer upgrade for the building. Mountain View Rec Center Phases 1 and 2 (PIF) Status: Red
- Budget: $27.3M. Total Cost to date: $391,416.
- Project suspended per Board direction, 04/05/23. Sun Bowl Softball Field Improvements (PIF) Status: Green
- Budget: $1.0M. Total Cost to date: $37,517.
- Drawing set was submitted to Maricopa County and was approved on 5/30/23.
- General Contractor RFP was issued on 5/22; Bids are due on 6/16/23. Viewpoint Lake Repair (PIF) Status: Green
- Budget: $8.0M. Total Cost to date: $4.7M.
- Shoreline placement and dock re-installations on-going in Phase 2.
- Project to be completed by the end of September 2023.
Recently Completed:
Bell Recreation Center
- Caulked and resurfaced tennis courts. Project was completed on 06/13/23 at a cost of $90,655. Contractor: Elite Sports Builders.
- Repaired and coated the roof over the Library. Project was completed on 05/23/23 at a cost of $8,500. Contractor: Lyons Roofing.
- Repaired and painted roof at the outside locker rooms. Project was completed on 05/15/23 at a cost of $8,700. Contractor: Lyons Roofing.
- Repaired and coated the roof over custodians’ storage/office area. Project was completed on 05/16/23 at a cost of $4,119. Contractor: Lyons Roofing.
Fairway Recreation Center
- Converted lighting above ramps to LED. Project was completed on 06/08/23 at a cost of $11,928. Contractor: Accel Electric.
Lakes Pro Shop
- Replaced shingles on roof. Project was completed on 06/02/23 at a cost of $19,429. Contractor: Lyons Roofing.
Lakeview Lanes
- Repaired and coated roof. Project was completed on 05/22/23 at a cost of $46,841. Contractor: Lyons Roofing.
Lakeview Recreation Center
- Replaced fitness room flooring. Project was completed on 05/19/23 at a cost of $16,807. Vendor: Advanced Exercise Equipment.
- Resurfaced and restriped parking lot. Project was completed 06/09/23 at a cost of $65,147. Contractor: Weems Paving.
Marinette Recreation Center
- Refinished 20 Pickleball courts. Project was completed on 05/19/23 at a cost of $64,000. Contractor: Elite Sports Builders.
Sundial Recreation Center
Replaced a 25-ton Dehumidifier at the Natatorium. Project was completed on 04/27/23 at a cost of $465,355. Contractor: W.D. Manor Mechanical Contractors.
Work Orders (Skilled Trades Repair and Maintenance):
B&I opened 414 new work orders and completed 365 work orders in May. The average time to close a work order in May was 11.2 days. B&I has closed a total of 1,847 work orders in 2023.
Solar:
New Issues:
- Oakmont Inverter number 2: The inverter is inoperable and no longer under warranty. We will use the inverter that we removed from the damaged canopy at Oakmont for replacement.
Open Issues:
- WB/WC Maintenance Inverter number 3, 7, and 9: Kortman emailed Fimer on 05/03/23 requesting what action is being taken on the warranty replacement units. These units have been down since last fall.
- Lakeview Recreation Center Inverter number 9: Kortman emailed Firmer on 05/03/23 requesting what action is being taken on the warranty replacement unit. This unit has been down since last fall.
- Bell Lanes Café – Inverter #05: Kortman emailed Firmer on 05/03/23 requesting what action is being taken on the warranty replacement unit. This unit has been down since June 2022.
Production Data: After including May’s production data, the lifetime to date production versus expected went down slightly to 2.10%. The percentage of inverters producing above expected stayed the same at 73%.
Preventive Maintenance: Kortman is on-site in June to do annual preventative maintenance on all inverters.
GOLF & GROUNDS:
Golf rounds played in the month of May totaled 27,086 and exceeded the May 2022 total rounds of 26,649. The cooler, wetter weather we experienced this winter reduced first quarter rounds from 130,569 in Q1 2022 to 120,636 in Q1 2023. This trend was reversed in April and May of 2023, when total rounds in both months exceeded 2022 levels. Year to date, total rounds in 2023 were 185,829 and still below the 2022 level of 194,611.
Golf revenue from passes and greens fees were $439,124 in May 2023 and exceeded the May 2022 total of $433,473. Year to date revenue from passes and greens fees totaled $3,689,998 and were slightly lower than the year to date total of $3,807,338 through May of 2022.
There are currently 147 active Non-Resident Golf passes: 83 with cart, and 64 without cart. Beginning on March 1, 2023, RCSC increased the price of both passes by $500. The current price per pass is $2,750 for walking, and $3,250 with cart.
With the heat of summer upon us, the desire to play and practice diminishes. We do have options that allow you stay on top of your game during times the sun and heat are not as intense. RCSC offers an After 5:00 pass, which allows you to play golf after the pro shops close. The After 5:00 pass sells for $44.00 for cardholders, and $12.00 for cardholders that are Surcharge Fee pass holders. Annual No-Fee passholders are permitted to play after 5:00pm without the need to purchase an After 5:00 pass.
Snack Shops:
Snack shops are now closing at 1:00pm. on a consistent basis, though will remain open longer, depending on demand. After the snack shops close snacks, beverages are available through the pro shop.
Golf Courses:
Greens aerification began May 15 on the North course and continues through July 21 on Willowbrook. During this period of course maintenance, the regulation courses will be closed in three-day blocks, with the exception of the North Back 9, Quail Run and Willowbrook, which are two-day blocks. Aerification of greens serves to reduce compaction and helps to maintain the thatch layer at a healthy level. As we have for the last several years, greens will be aerified twice over three days. The dual aerification eliminated the need to begin our aerification process in May, providing our golfers with more days of normal putting surfaces from May through most of June.
In addition to the re-grassing of the front 9 fairways at North this summer, we will complete four other turf reduction/water conservations projects this summer that will not require course closures but will disrupt normal play. The front 9 tee boxes on Lakes West will be converted to Tif Tuf (except holes number 2 and number 7) which were already converted. On Willowcreek, Riverview, and South, small areas of approximately 2 acres have been chosen for turf reduction and low water use landscaping. These areas are near the #2 tee box on Willowcreek extending into the rough and ending near the lake, the left-hand side of Riverview #6, and the right-hand side of hole #1 at South from the maintenance yard to the street. During the tee box re-grassing at Lakes West, we will be utilizing temporary tees until the sod has had time to establish. For the turf reduction areas, we will be chemically removing grass throughout the summer and these areas will become barren. Golf balls landing in these areas will be granted a free drop as ground under repair.
Lawn Bowl and Grounds:
The pace of the greens range from a low of 12.8 seconds at Mountain View to a high of 14.2 seconds on Lakeview West. Moisture readings range from a low of 11.5 at Bell North and a high of 13.7 on Lakeview West. We are currently checking the levelness of the greens and plugging bare spots in the corners at Bell. The grounds crew remains busy at the centers trimming trees and spraying weeds around the centers as both remain high priority.
BOWLING:
The summer months are much slower at our bowling facilities, so there is more availability to get out of the heat and go bowling. Lane Availability charts are available on the RCSC website that show when league play is scheduled and Open Bowling is available at each center. Go to the RCSC website and click Bowling / Bowling Centers, then scroll down and click the Lane Availability Charts (as shown below):
The Summer No-Tap Tournament is scheduled for June 25 at Bell Lanes. Squad times are 9:00am and 1:00pm.
In May of 2023, Bowling lineage and revenue continued to outpace 2022 totals. May 2023 lineage totaled 19,168, compared to 18,123 in May of 2022, an increase of 5.8%. Year to date lineage through May 2023 totaled 146,620 lines, compared to 131,422 through May 2022, an increase of 11.6%.
Bowling Revenue in May 2023 totaled $50,521 which was 11.8% higher than the May 2022 revenue of $45,203. Year to date, 2023 Bowling revenue was $397,576, or 18.3% greater than total Bowling revenue through May of 2022.
OPERATIONS:
Centers Operations:
The staff at Marinette Center has completed the re-strapping of 35 lounge chairs. These chairs are on the pool deck and are now being used by Cardholders. Additional strapping materials have been ordered to complete similar repairs for upright chairs and lounge chairs at all of our centers. Twenty additional lounge chairs are on order with delivery expected in July. These lounge chairs will be distributed to centers where the need is the greatest.
Several projects have been completed at RCSC centers that affected the centers. These included:
- Resurfacing of all tennis courts at Bell Center.
- Sealing and restriping of the parking lot at Lakeview Center.
In response to the request for earlier opening hours at Bell Center during the summer, a review of the swimming usage data during the summer months in 2022 was completed. The data supported the view that there is contention for pool lanes at Bell Center on Sunday mornings. As a result, the Bell Center aquatic area and fitness center will open earlier at 5:00am on Sundays from July 2 through September 24, 2023. The amenities in the mini-golf area will continue to open at 8:00am on Sundays. This pilot period of earlier opening on Sundays will be evaluated for future summers. Fairway Center usage was also reviewed, but the Sunday usage at this center was not compelling enough to warrant a change in Sunday hours at this center. Earlier opening was also requested on Sundays at Marinette Center to accommodate pickleball play. Currently Marinette is open at 6:00am from Mondays through Saturdays. This center will be opened on Sundays at 6am through September once additional staff is hired to accommodate this earlier opening time.
Based upon safety concerns, the back nine at the Mountain View mini-golf course is being fully closed. Additional fencing is being installed to maintain safety in this area. The entire mini-golf course at Sundial will be resurfaced starting on July 5, and we anticipate the work will be complete by July 19.
One of the stained-glass panels in a pool table light in the billiards area at Fairway was damaged earlier this year. The Jewelry, Stained Glass & More club at Grand agreed to assist in the repair of the broken panel. The club did excellent work and far exceeded expectations by matching the existing panels with lettering and graphics. The club made from scratch two matching panels for one light and repaired a panel for a third light.
Check-ins for Monitored Activities at recreation centers are relatively flat compared to 2022 and continue to be below the pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The differences to 2019 are higher than reflected in the graphic due to club use of monitored activity areas not being included in tracking statistics until Q4 2021.
Chartered Clubs:
Water Volleyball club hours have been set for Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 8:00pm through Labor Day when the center hours are later. The pool lanes and spa continue to be open for Cardholder use during the time the pool is assigned to the club for play.
The Table Tennis club hours have been changed to include the 9:00-10:00am hour on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Play during this hour was typically Table Tennis club members ahead of club time so the impact of this change on Cardholder play is expected to be minimal.
Staff worked with the Wallyball club on the net mounting at the Bell racquetball court. The newly chartered club is completing the organization tasks in preparation for play. The assigned times for the Racquetball, Wallyball, and Whisperball club use of the Bell Center racquetball courts account for 40% of the available play time with 60% of the available times remaining open for Open Cardholder play on the courts.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS:
Visitors Center:
The Sun City Visitors Center assisted 455 guests in May; of those, 60 were prospective residents learning about the community, and 395 were current or new residents eager to get involved. Top reasons for visiting included seeking out club brochures and obtaining new member kits to obtain new member cards, maps and information on becoming active in the community. The SCVC mailed 169 welcome post cards from April purchases, 10 of which included new members who had visited the SCVC. Top interests reported by prospective residents surveyed were swimming, walking and hiking, concerts, and pickleball.
Social Media:
The Communications team continues efforts to grow audiences and work to provide information to Members. Baseline numbers of this effort are reported for monthly tracking. Instagram has been re-engaged based upon interest from members seeking to follow. Demographics of RCSC Facebook and Instagram followers:
RCSC Website:
Website users in May 2023 increased to 23,250 from 19,058 in May 2022. The majority of Website users are new users, with just less than a quarter returning. Web views showcase interest in recreation and recreation centers, a part of the website that can be expanded to feature comprehensive one-stop pages with information on top recreational amenities/activities such as swimming, mini-golf, pickleball and more.
Highlights of pages viewed in May 2023:
- Home page was the most viewed – 14,072 views in 2023 compared to 12,767 in May 2022.
- Recreation landing page viewed 3,016 times in May 2023 compared to 2,708 in May 2022.
- RCSC (About Us) page viewed 2,831 times in May 2023 compared to 2,226 in May 2022.
- The new ASU Survey page was viewed 2,325 times.
Events & Entertainment:
The Ring That Bell 4th of July Event will be held on Tuesday, July 4 at Bell Center beginning at 9:00am with a presentation, video, and a special performance by the Sun City Poms. Plan on meeting afterwards at Bell Lanes for free bowling, darts, billiards, and shuffleboard for RCSC Cardholders and their escorted guests. There will be BBQ pork sandwiches offered by George’s Café at a cost of $8.00 with $1.00 of each purchase donated to Sun City Foundation. The Events and Entertainment Department is working on the events and concert series line-up for 2024. Exciting things are coming your way – stay tuned for updates!
Facility Rentals:
During the first quarter of 2023, RCSC contracted 44 room rentals for various occasions, which generated income for Facility rentals of $17,728. Facility rental income for the second quarter of 2023 is projected to exceed the first quarter: as of June 8, there are 43 booked rentals in Q2 2023.