WPCA Board Update & Online Survey

Dear Walton Park residents,

These are difficult times. Difficult times require courageous conversations. The Walton Park Civic Association Board of Directors believes we are at a time where we need to have a difficult conversation and potentially summon some courageous action.

As you know, the Governor’s stay-at-home order has caused us to delay the opening of the Walton Park pool beyond the normal Memorial Day opening. The Board of Directors is considering several different options for a potential opening, including opening as early as June 10th when the Governor’s stay-at-home order is projected to expire. We know how vital the pool is to everyone’s summer plans and are doing all that we can to ensure the pool can open as quickly as possible and operate in a safe manner.

Unfortunately, current pool and civic membership payments are trailing historical trends. This is understandable, as residents try to wrap their arms around their personal finances, adjust to new employment realities, etc. We also will have lost several thousand dollars in clubhouse rentals by the time the ban on large gatherings is lifted.

The Board of Directors continues to look at various budget scenarios to see what it would take to open the pool for the 2020 summer season. Based on the four scenarios that we have run, we wanted to inform you where things currently stand with our finances. As some background, the Walton Park Community Association has annual operating expenses beyond those related to operating the pool during the summer months. Your gracious contributions to the Civic Association, pool memberships, and donations fund those expenses and upkeep of the pool and clubhouse area. Our specific non pool operating expenses in 2019 totaled approximately $90,000 - $100,000. These costs included the following:

• Personnel costs to maintain the grounds and general operations (i.e. electricity, water/sewer, lawn maintenance, trash, cable, etc.) are approximately $4,000/month.

• The loan that pays for our new playground, the new pavilion and tennis court refurbishments costs $1,610/month.

• Insurance costs (liability should an accident occur on pool grounds/playground, workman’s compensation, etc.) total approximately $750/month.

After factoring in the material and labors costs to open and operate the pool, which consists of items such as; pool chemicals, replacing umbrellas and chairs, hiring and training lifeguards, increased utility costs, repairing or replacing any other broken pieces of equipment, this adds an additional approximately $62,000 to our expenses. Unfortunately, these costs are not inclusive of the roughly $20,000 that we will need to fix the stairs and retaining wall near the basketball court.

As of today, we have approximately $60,000 in our various bank accounts. (This is nearly $58,000 below where we typically are at this time of year.)

Again, we know that our country is in the midst of trying financial times, and that Walton Park families may not be immune to the economic ills that our country is suffering through, now. In order to help us plan and prepare in order to make the best decision possible, we would like to engage you in the process.

Specifically,

Please complete the survey at the link below to help us determine if:

https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/d/e/1FAIpQLSePs3cS-EddAvmgaJC50Hv5iucAdrOngewobO0DYFPYbg4L6w/formResponse

• There remains enough membership interest to open the pool for the 2020 season, whether it opens on June 10 or the July 4 weekend; and

• Will there be an increase in pool and civic memberships to help us develop plans to cover the year-round operational costs associated with running a civic association given the assets we have (clubhouse, playground, tennis courts, grounds, etc.).

Now is the time to rally around our community assets and protect them as well. Even if you do not plan to join the pool this year, we implore you to pay the $75 civic dues (or $78 if paying online) that supports our annual operations. We also encourage you to consider taking a leap of faith that we’ll be able to enjoy the pool this summer.

Thank you,

WPCA Board