Present: Jane Laning, Andrew Herndon, Ron Reid, Carolyn Scheer, Julia Wan, Ginny Mumm, Mike McNally, Victoire Figotin, Jeffrey Beckwith
Jane Laning, President of ICHA, gave a short presentation on how ICHA plans, develops, and manages the University Hills housing program. The Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor are involved before planning even begins. The number of houses built is determined by the recruitment of new faculty to the campus. Jane Laning’s attendance at the HRB meeting was a continuation of the ICHA management interfacing with the HRB.
The Halloween Party was attended by approximately 350 children and parents. Cookies, candy, juice, and coffee were served. A costume parade was held and 9 prizes were awarded. The balloon lady created balloon decorations and toys for the children. Ichabod Crane and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Mr. Toad were shown on an inflatable movie screen.
ICHA and the HRB will host a “Coffee on Us” on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Residents are encouraged to stop by and meet ICHA employees and members of the HRB. Future “Coffee on Us” dates will be announced.
A holiday bazaar will be held on Saturday, December 8, 2012. Marta Crane is this year’s coordinator. Check the listserv and Uhills.org for more information.
A New Year’s Eve party will be held in the community center. Tickets are $20.00 per adult and $5.00 per child under the age of 16. A full buffet dinner will be served along with a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. The event is BYOB (bring your own bottles). Movies will be shown for younger children. All details will be on the listserv and Uhills.org. Payment for tickets may be made by PayPal.
Carolyn Scheer reported for the swimming pool committee. The next meeting of the pool committee will be on December 28, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. in the conference room of the community center.
Pool Committee report to HRB Board November 6, 2012
The pool committee met for the first time on October 10th and identified three problem areas as we considered the three neighborhood pools in U Hills.
1. Not enough pools for our community size. We have three swimming pools for a community of 1000+ homes and our pools are at maximum capacity during the warm peak season months. The obvious solution is to build a new good-sized pool in the next phase of construction.
The lower pool is the only one suitable for lap swimming, and it cannot meet the growing demand for lap swimming, even during the cooler months. Swimmers report that all five lanes are often occupied and they have to wait 10 – 15 minutes for one to open up. Lane sharing is not possible because the pool is shallow and the lanes narrow.
2. Pool maintenance. The pools and pool grounds are often dirty, particularly during peak season, with overflowing trash containers and malfunctioning equipment. The Gabrielino pool has been closed numerous times over the peak season with bacterial infections. These closures last for at least a week at a time when pool usage is high. The pool furniture is shabby and dirty. The committee feels that pools need to be monitored daily and a regular maintenance schedule should be established for the entire pool area including restrooms, showers, and patios as well as pools and Jacuzzis. Similarly, the barbecue areas outside the pool areas should be cleaned, inspected, and maintained regularly…
3. Pool behavior and culture. Some of the pool sanitation issues are related to an unawareness or disregard of pool rules. For example, pool contamination most likely results from small diaper-wearing children who are not wearing waterproof swim pants. Adults often drink from glass bottles inside the pool area and have been observed feeding children while the children are playing in the pool or the Jacuzzi. Some people take their daily showers at the pool, tying up the showers for 20 minutes at a time. Many pool users are non-U Hills residents who have obtained pool keys. Several solutions come to mind here — moving to a key fob system for pool entrance and charging a significant amount for replacement key fobs, putting a 3 minute timer and reducing the water heater temperature for all pool showers, and issuing all new residents a sheet describing pool usage and pool rules. New residents, both apartment renters and home buyers, could sign that they had received this sheet at the time they are given keys to their home and pool.
Other issues. People who reserve the picnic area at the lower pool for group parties sometimes assume that their reservation includes exclusive usage of the lower pool. It is the committee's understanding that pools cannot be reserved for private parties, and we recommend that the facility reservation sheet be revised to include this fact.
Carolyn Scheer for the committee
A request to use the large room in the community center with fee waiver for a group of residents monthly was denied by the HRB.