UPDATE: May 2 Fallston Club Meeting

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I hope this email finds you well and eagerly anticipating the upcoming pool season. As we
gear up for what promises to be an exciting time at the pool, I wanted to reach out to inform
you about an essential meeting scheduled for May 2nd at 7PM at the Fallston Club.

To ensure the safety and optimal usage of the pool this 2024 season, we have identified
several capital improvements that are imperative.

Primarily, the back lap pool requires replastering and resurfacing, a necessary measure to
maintain its integrity and functionality. Additionally, plans are in place to replaster and
resurface the main pool in the Fall. Furthermore, considering past experiences where
extended power outages have disrupted pool operations during storms, we’ve decided to
invest in a facility generator to mitigate such occurrences. Finally, in the fall of 2024 we will
refinish our asphalt tennis courts that are overdue for maintenance and will include
permanent pickleball lines.

To finance these necessary tasks, we are considering taking out a seven year loan in the
amount of $400,000 at the current market rate. We are securing this loan so that it would
have the least impact on any increase in dues compared to paying them all at once. As this
decision significantly impacts all stockholders, your input and vote are essential. We will
be voting on whether to accept the loan to finance these essential capital improvements at
the meeting on May 2nd, which will be held at the Club at 7 PM.

If you would like to attend the meeting, you are more than welcome. However, if you are
unable to attend the meeting in person, you can still participate by filling out the proxy form
and returning it via email to fallstonclub@gmail.com. Your engagement and
support are integral to the continued success and excellence of the Fallston Club, and we
sincerely appreciate your involvement.

Thank you for your dedication to ensuring that our pool remains the best in Harford County.

 

Heather Rockhill, President

The Board of Directors

We received questions regarding our last email communication about the May 2nd loan meeting to be held at the Fallston Club 7:00pm. Accordingly, the Board of Directors would like to provide additional insight. As always, we welcome your questions and feedback, but please understand an individual reply is not always possible. Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to seeing you at the May meeting.

  1. Primarily, this will not affect dues for the 2024 season, and will have a positive impact on future dues, which is why we are suggesting this method of funding these major repairs.
    These funds will be specifically to pay for the front main pool/intermediate resurfacing ($140k), generator ($15k) and tennis courts ($145k) rebuild. We have received bids for these projects and estimate the cost to be ~ $300k
  2. We already have used a portion of our reserves and capital improvement budget for 2024 to contract for the back pool and those repairs will be completed by the start of the 2024 summer season.
  3. We continue to have a balance in the reserves that equals the budget for operations for one year if we ever must keep the club running in the event of a summer shutdown where no dues are collected. This is something we faced during COVID and identified the amount that would be required to stay in operation absent dues income for a summer season. This balance is reserved for and will not be used for any capital expenses accordingly.
  4. We do budget for repairs and capital improvements each year. Our budget is published and distributed every year at the time of the annual board meeting where we vote in the executive board members. As mentioned above, a portion of this year’s improvement budget is going towards the lap pool resurfacing and some other minor upgrades. The repair budget is for unplanned items throughout the summer.
  5. The $400k loan suggested will be to roll the remaining balance of the loan on the Concession building (about $100K) into the new loan that we approved and took out over 5 years ago. However, we will be extending the period of the loan to maintain a similar loan payment amount. It will help minimize dues increases in future years.
  6. Please note that membership dues increases over the past three years have primarily been to fund Maryland minimum wage increases from $10 to $15 per hour in the past four years. Please note that labor expenses make up a substantial portion of our budget (see attached). And with our staff made up mostly of minimum-wage workers, we have had to increase those costs accordingly. In addition, all other costs, including food, services, and insurance have seen sharp increases primarily due to labor cost increases as well.
  7. It is also important to note that the Board reviews these capital improvement costs and repair items each year. The Fallston Club has been around for over 50 years and this Board of Directors, along with prior boards, started upgrading the club facilities with a plan to do these things over time. We started with the front building upgrade and furniture overhaul almost 10 years ago. When that paid off, we completed a major reconstruction of the back pool bath house and concessions building which cost the club over 500k to administer. The pool resurfacing and tennis courts are just the next step in the process.
  8. Once approved, we will be shopping lenders to secure the most competitive rate and term that will allow us to keep the impact on dues immaterial.