The News of
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SUN CITY CENTER COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
Sun City Center
January 2021
CA SCHEDULE
JANUARY 4 Board Workshop Via Zoom – 9 a.m. ID: 818 3835 7716 Passcode: 036283 6 Annual Membership Meeting Via Zoom – 3 p.m. ID: 894 0535 8594 Passcode: 551378 13 Board Meeting Via Zoom – 9 a.m. ID: 825 1789 9901 Passcode: 318702 Agendas for the monthly Board
Meetings will be posted on the official bulletin board in the Atrium the Friday before and on the CA website (www.suncitycenter.org – under “Residents” – Upcoming Meeting Agendas). They will also be sent via “What’s New in the CA” email.
CA Contact Information
Administration Office 1009 N. Pebble Beach Blvd, SCC Phone: 813.633.3500 Hours – 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., M-F sccboard@suncitycenter.org Website: suncitycenter.org Information Center: 813.633.4670
Cygnet Yacht Club of SCC
By Paula Lickfeldt The Cygnet Yacht Club had its beginning in the early 70s. Several men who had sailed boats wanted to try their hand at sailing model boats. They sailed on Swan Lake right from the beginning. Ten years ago the CA built a dock for the members to use. In 2017, Rich and Liz Link, not yet retired, came to SCC and made it home. Liz was at the CA office and saw a model sailboat for sale. She told Rich about it and he bought it. In 2019, they retired, and Rich started sailing his model boat. In December of 2019 the commodore of the club put out an email saying that because there was not a lot of interest in sailing model boats and his health issues, he wanted to close the club. Rich emailed back and asked that the club not be closed, he said that he would take over the leadership. Rich took over the leadership of the club in January of 2020, he was just getting things settled and started again and COVID shut everything down. The CA now allows the clubs that meet outdoors to resume. The Cygnet Yacht Club meets at Swan Lake on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 until 11. Rich checks four different weather
Ronnie Doom, Rich Link, Jim Hallotan, and Frank Reid.
reports before each sailing day. He is checking the wind speed and the temperature. The group does not sail if the temperature is below 50 degrees. He sends out an email to each of the six members telling them if they will be sailing on that day or not. Rich has a model sailboat that he will lend to anyone who would be interested in learning to sail. He wants interested people to try the sport before they invest in the purchase of a boat. Rich also does maintenance and repairs on the boats free of charge. If parts are required, the
owner of the boat would purchase the parts but he says that the club does have an ample supply of parts. The members of the SCC yacht club would like to join in the regattas that take place in St. Pete and The Villages. When things open up after COVID, they look forward to sailing with different clubs. The Cygnet Yacht Club would love to have new members. If you would be interested in sailing a model sailboat and would like more information about the club give Commodore Rich a call at 475-355-3039.
Run-Off Candidates Hope to Earn Your Vote
By Diane M. Loeffler Kim Roush and Gary Bratt won threeyear seats in the December election. Dave Birkett was elected to a one-year term. Two candidates, Ken Bauer and Vicente J. Lopez, Jr. tied for the third three-year position. A run-off election will be held on February 3. You can find a ballot in this edition of the paper. Both Bauer and Lopez were interviewed on December 14. They were asked three questions: What do you think are the major issues affecting our community? How well do you work as a team member? What are your strengths? Ken Bauer
Ken Bauer is especially concerned ab out community involvement, implementation of the long-term plan, our roads, our sidewalks, and safety issues. He says, “Based on the number of
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votes on dues, less than twenty percent of residents voted. Somehow we need to get people involved and voting. I saw that when the membership meetings were moved from evening to afternoon, we were able to get a quorum. We need to come up with solutions to the low voter turnout as well.” Bauer says, “We need to get our long term plan voted on and okayed so we can make our Sun City Center Community more attractive to people moving into the area.” Bauer is especially concerned about the condition of our sidewalks and streets. He says, “There are many depressions in the roads, places where the pavement is falling in. Not too long ago, residents of Renaissance had County Commissioner Stacy White come to look at roads in that area. We need to work closely with Stacy White and the other county commissioners. We need to have more than just patching. The roads are really rough.” Addressing the issue of safety, Bauer says, “So much of what we’re going to be doing in the future depends on the COVID pandemic. Less than 3% of our residents have tested positive. I agree with the board as far as not allowing visitors and keeping some events from taking place.” “I am also concerned about getting auto drivers, golf cart drivers and bicyclists to follow the rules of the road.” Bauer says he has worked well on boards in the past. He was on the Board of Directors for Centralia Library District and served as treasurer and at another time president of the Centralia’s Chapter of the Red Cross.
His business experience includes owning and operating two Radio Shacks, one for 22 years. Bauer says his strengths are his experience and his willingness to listen to both sides of any issue. He says, “Vote for me because I’m a good guy and willing to listen.” Vicente J. Lopez, Jr.
Vicente J. Lopez, Jr. is concerned about the pool, the roads, how we spend our money, inclusion and involvement. Lopez says, “The pool is one of the issues. Roads need to be looked at too. They need to be addressed and not just patched up.” “We need to look at how we spend our money. We need to partner with others to make things happen so the general population doesn’t feel as though they are not being heard.” “Inclusion is important. We need to have everyone be acknowledged and included in the decision-making process. We could have different subcommittees and task groups and get people involved in them. I like the idea of all of us volunteering in our community. We will never please onehundred percent of the people, but we can please the majority. We need to
work together to keep SCC great.” Lopez says, “You need a person to work as a team, but to also have some individual decision-making too. Directors need to be able to work with colleagues.” Lopez says, “I have been in this community for over six years. I have shown various individuals and groups that my leadership is impeccable. One of the things I did was to form a club, The Multi-Cultural Club, five and a half years ago. I am also the president of that group.” I was the director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center, a public school administrator and worked for Tampa’s Convention Center. I always strive to be very professional.” “I know that communications and leadership go hand in hand. I need to know where you’re coming from and where you are going. Hearing concerns is important. Listening is the key thing. To be a good leader, you need to be able to listen and have sympathy or empathy and to direct someone to the proper management decisions.” And finally… If you would like to refresh your memory, more detailed articles about these two candidates were on page CA-3 in the December NEWS and on page CA-5 of the November paper. No longer have those papers? No problem. The newspaper is also available online at “www.soco.news”. Note: Ken Bauer did not volunteer for Habitat for Humanity or own condos as mistakenly reported by this reporter in the December issue.