RANCHO SANTA FE — With the economy so uncertain, will the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club be able to meet its financial obligations in the upcoming new year — or will its services be under par? That was the question addressed by Steve Nordstrom, Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club manager and Paul Woody, chairman of the Golf Club Finance Committee, as they prepared a budget report for the Association board.
“We have a strong group of people on the finance committee and we’ve taken a hard look at this,” Woody told the board of directors at the Dec. 3 Association meeting. “It (our budget) is healthy in a very unhealthy time.”
Woody, an orthopedic surgeon who has lived in the Ranch for the past 30 years, stated that many of the financial projections were based on past performances by the golf club. Assuming the projections are correct, the golf club, according to Woody, will remain in the black with an excess of $2,246.
Although that number is low, it still puts the golf club in the black. According to Woody, it also assumes that membership will increase by five. During the past year, however, membership has slipped from 619 to 598.
Given the attrition in membership, many board directors were skeptical about the financial projections. “Do you have a contingency plan?” President Lois Jones asked.
Both Woody and Nordstrom assured the board that not only was a contingency plan in place, but also a 10-year plan. “We’ve postponed capital expenditures for next year,” Woody said. “We know it’s a close margin this year.” Woody told the board that the golf club has a budget in place should enrolments fall to even 575 members in the coming year.
In other Association news, the board moved to submit a revised comment letter on the Rancho Santa Fe Roundabouts Draft Environmental Impact Report to the county of San Diego — revised to include concern over bus pockets. The comment period came to an end on Dec. 8. According to Covenant Administrator Ivan Holler, all comments from the community have been reviewed. Two of the roundabouts were even staked and painted to add clarity for public awareness.
There are still concerns about roundabouts, however, and those concerns are to be drafted in a comment letter to the county, most specifically a request to re-examine the geometry to slow traffic on Via de la Valle as motorists head east on Paseo Delicias. There are also concerns about the placement of equestrian crossings and public transportation stops for buses, especially around the Via de la Valle/Paseo Delicias roundabout, as to whether there is adequate time for motorists to slow and allow for horses to cross or buses to stop for passengers.
Despite the concerns, studies performed by the county have shown that roundabouts are preferable to traffic signals as they would significantly increase the level of service yet reduce cut through traffic and vehicle emissions.
Due to the upcoming holidays, the next Association board of directors meeting is scheduled for Jan. 15.
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