The News of May 2013 - ISSUE #58
...an official publication of the Community Association — Named Best Newsletter in Hillsborough County 2011
The Community Leaders and COAP meetings will not be held in June, July or August. Proposed agendas for monthly Board Meetings are discussed at the Board Workshops and posted on Official Bulletin Boards the Friday before. They will also be posted on our website (suncitycenter.org – under “Association”). Every Wednesday: Orientation for new members in the Board Room at 1 p.m.
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On the Inside CARE....................................... 9 Club Happenings.................. 14+ Consumer Affairs.................... 30 Crossword................................ 9 CryptoQuote............................. 7 Entertainment Corner............... 5 Expanding Horizons................. 7 Golf....................................... 32+ Lifestyles................................ 12 Military Affairs.................... 28-29 Movies.................................... 39 Newcomers.............................. 2 Plants Happen........................ 27 President’s Report.................... 3 Sports................................... 32+ Sudoku................................... 29
By John Bowker Your opinion is needed—see the ballot later in this newsletter. The CA Board is asking all CA members to offer their guidance on how the area now occupied by the glassed-in atrium should be used. Should we have a place such as shown in the drawing (R) where you can relax and enjoy a sandwich, hamburger or some ice cream? Or does it make more sense to provide a relatively quiet place just to sit and talk without offering food or drink? This project goes by two names. If we put in a kitchen, the term “café” is appropriate. If there is no food or drink offered, it is being called simply a social gathering place. The CA members must decide if comfortable seating for up to 60 patrons with no food or drink would be a good use for the space now occupied by the glassed-in atrium area in the Atrium Building. We should be clear. The CA Board has approved the plan to build a seating area such as shown in the line drawing. We will not be voting “yes/no” on that. Construction may start this summer. The Board has also decided not to apply for a liquor license for the facility. The only remaining question the Board must resolve is about the need for the kitchen shown in the drawing, and you will be asked to give your opinion on that during the referendum on May 21 or 22. The cost estimates range up to $250,000 even with a kitchen. We already have that amount in our Capital Fund and it falls well within the amount the CA Board can spend without further membership approval. If there is no kitchen, CA members and their guests will be allowed to bring food and drink— even alcoholic beverages—into
COFFEE AND CONVERSATION Concerning the Central Campus Parking and a Cafe Tuesday,
May 7, 2013 CAPER ROOM 9 a.m.
PHOTO BY JOHN BOWKER
May 1 Board Workshop Board Room – 9 a.m. 7 Coffee & Conversation Central Campus Parking/Cafe Caper Room - 9 a.m. 8 Board Meeting Rollins Theater – 9 a.m. 13 Coffee & Conversation Pebble Beach Medians Florida Room - 9 a.m. 20 CO-AP Meeting Caper Room - 2 p.m. 21 Community Leaders Florida Room - 9 a.m. 21 Membership Vote Sandpiper Room 8 a.m.-3 p.m. 22 Membership Vote Community Hall 9 a.m.-5 p.m. June 5 Board Workshop Board Room – 9 a.m. 10 Coffee & Conversation Pebble Beach Medians Florida Room - 9 a.m. 12 Board Meeting Rollins Theater – 9 a.m.
What about the Café?
The above rendition was modified from a TPO sketch of the proposed layout of the ‘cafe’ area. The atrium plants and walls would be removed. that area. Early studies by the CA suggest there would not be enough business to interest vendors to provide staff for this operation. The soft drink machines now in the Atrium Building are there under a special arrangement with a vendor that we would like to see continued. There would be no added staff needed and no increase in CA dues. If the members indicate a clear preference for having food offered in the new café, the staff would have to be employees of the CA. The cost of operating a kitchen and keeping it stocked and staffed could add up to an estimated $6 increase in our annual CA dues. Installing a kitchen as part of the café could include building a serving bar accessible from the outdoor pool as a convenience to poolside patrons. The CA members are therefore being asked to evaluate their use of
DID YOU KNOW?
The SCC Information Center is a valued asset for residents as well as out-of-town individuals. During the first quarter, volunteers fielded 558 telephone calls asking for information. About half of these were from out-of-town. Requests for information by mail or email totaled 298. In addition, 465 residents and 499 out-of-town individuals visited the Center seeking information. Volunteers escorted many of the visitors on personal tours around the Central Campus. Editor’s Note: If you have a suggestion about something that would be useful to others for this column, send it to hodgespress@ gmail.com.
the atrium area and to indicate their approval of a food-service operation for the amenity or to approve the facility as a social meeting area without food service. The atrium as it exists now.
PHOTOS BY JOHN BOWKER
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION SCHEDULE
The atrium with plants and glass walls removed.
Are Barren and Unlighted Medians in the Future for Pebble Beach Blvd? By Paul Wheat Those of you who have been attending various CA meetings, and reading the many reports and articles referencing this situation, know that our community is facing a serious decision to be determined by referendum this coming December. This decision concerns the future appearance of the landscaping on the medians of both North and South Pebble Beach Blvds. The Pebble Beach Task Force has worked on this problem since
See Medians on page 8.