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The Board of Directors and staff are pleased to announce that Lanny Sloan has accepted the position of Executive Director.  He will begin his duties on August 1st.  We want to thank the members, staff and Board for all your help in the hiring process.  RSI found us some well qualified candidates and completed the background searches in a timely manner.  When you have the opportunity please give Lanny a generous welcome and we look forward to your support in his role as our Executive Director.  This will be an exciting time for all of us.

Marge Garneau
Board President

Information on Fitness Equipment Replacement from the GVR Board President, Marge Garneau: 

There was extensive involvement with the members prior to any decisions. In November 2009, there was an article in Keeping Current regarding the placement of equipment surveys in the fitness rooms and encouraging member feedback.  The surveys were placed in all fitness rooms in November and December of 2009 and early January 20I0.  One specific question asked was, which pieces members would like to see replaced.  In February 2010, a presentation was held at Desert Hills Auditorium; the discussion consisted of the results and comments from the surveys.  At this meeting it was announced that we would also be holding focus groups at each center for additional input.  Melanie held the focus groups at each center for the purpose of relaying the information and explain what was received back from the surveys along with obtaining additional input.  Based on this information, Melanie requested funding for replacement equipment.  The board approved the funding in September of 2010 for the new purchases.                                                                                

Typically, most strength pieces in public facilities are changed (replaced) every 7 years and cardio equipment every three years.  Since GVR does not have the finances to replace the equipment this often, we are committed to finding the best commercial quality, safe and affordable equipment that is on the market.  It is important to note, because Canoa Hill’s strength pieces are sixteen years old, many pieces have had the welds break and have become unsafe.  Additionally, replacement parts have to be specially made because they no longer carry many of the parts needed to fix the equipment.  

Melanie received four (4) competitive bids on the equipment replacement.  The company chosen for Canoa Hills is Paramount who is the same maker of the existing equipment.  In the surveys it came through loud and clear that the users of Canoa Hills fitness room were not interested in the type of equipment that is in Canoa Ranch.  However, the surveys from Canoa Ranch users had extremely high praise for their equipment.  

Kim Steinhilb has provided me with the following schedule of fitness equipment replacements and planned replacements by center.  It is interesting to note that the replacements are due to not only old, worn equipment with a number of repairs and lack of parts, but some pieces have to be replaced because they do not meet current safety standards – which is a liability issue. 

As of June 1st,  the equipment that has been replaced is as follows:

East Center – Replaced two (2)  T-4 Model 2002 NuSteps with two (2) T-5 Model 2011 Nusteps – All positive feedback on the replacement machines.

Las Campanas – Replaced one (1) Precor 2006 recumbent bike with one (1) easy access TechnoGym 2011 recumbent bike.  Positive feedback from members on this style of bike.

Las Campanas – Replaced two (2) Concept II rowers (1995 & 1997) with two (2) new Concept II 2011 rowers.  Members like this style of rower and is one of the best on the market.

The equipment that is scheduled for replacement is as follows:

Santa Rita Springs – Replace one (1) 1996 shoulder press with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym shoulder press.

Santa Rita Springs – Replace one (1) 1999 outer thigh with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym outer thigh.

Santa Rita Springs – Replace one (1) 1999 inner thigh with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym inner thigh.

Santa Rita Springs – Replace one (1) 1996 arm curl with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym arm Curl.

Santa Rita Springs – Replace one (1) 1996 triceps with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym triceps (arm extension).

Santa Rita Springs – Replace one (1) 1996 lat/pulldown with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym lat/pulldown.

Santa Rita Springs – Replace one (1) 1996 seated row with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym seated row.

Santa Rita Springs -  Replace one (1) 1996 multi-hip with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym multi-hip.

Santa Rita Springs – Replace one (1) 1996 abdominal with one (1) 2011 TechnoGym abdominal.

Las Campanas – Addition of a inner and outer thigh machines.  Additions requested by members.

East Center – Replace one (1) 2002 Precor recumbent bike with one (1) 2011 easy access TechnoGym 2011 recumbent bike.

East Center – Replace one (1) 1995 Star Trac treadmill with one (1) 2011 Paramount treadmill.

East Center – Replace one (1) 1994 abdominal with one (1) 2011 Cybex abdominal.

East Center – Replace one (1) 1994 lower back with one (1) 2011 Cybex lower back.

East Center – Replace one (1) 1994 leg curl with one (1) 2011 Cybex seated leg curl.

East Center – Replace one (1) 1994 lat/pulldown with one (1) 2011 Cybex lat/pulldown.

East Center – Replace one (1) 2004 combination inner/outer thigh with one (1) each 2011 Cybex inner and outer thigh.

East Center – Replace one (1) 1995 leg press with one (1) 2011 Cybex leg press.

East Center – Addition of one (1) 2011 Cybex seated row.

Canoa Hills – Replace two (2) 2004 & 2006 Precor treadmills with two (2) 2011 Paramount treadmills.

Canoa Hills – Replace one (1) 1995 leg press with one (1) new 2011 Paramount leg press.

Canoa Hills -  Replace one (1) 1995 leg extension with one (1) new 2011 Paramount leg extension.

Canoa Hills – Replace one (1) 1995 abdominal with one (1) new 2011 Paramount abdominal.

Canoa Hills – Replace one (1) 1995 lower back with one (1) new 2011 Paramount lower back.

Canoa Hills – Replace one (1) 1995 leg curl with one (1) new 2011 Paramount seated leg curl.

Canoa Hills – Replace one (1) 1995 chest press with one (1) new 2011 Paramount chest press.

Canoa Hills – Replace one (2) 1995 lat/pulldowns with two (2) new 2011 Paramount lat/pulldowns.

Canoa Hills – Replace one (1) 1995 vertical butterfly with one (1) new 2011 Paramount butterfly.

Canoa Hills – Addition of (1) new 2011 Paramount seated row.

The East Center equipment will be installed on June 9^th.  The Canoa Hills equipment will be installed on June 13^th and the Santa Rita Springs equipment will be installed sometime in July.

WHERE WILL MY MONEY GO?????

At the September 28^th Board meeting the budget and fee schedule for 2011 were approved.  Main points are:

• Overall the operating fund is expected to increase by 5.6%, mostly due to utility and repair cost increases.
• The replacement fund will be $802,300.  This is funded mostly through New Member Capital Fees.
  • Major equipment replacements (heating units, pool pumps, etc.) are up 75% at a cost of $292,260.
  • Major repair and maintenance replacement projects (fire alarm systems, roof replacements, electrical pan replacement, carpet replacement, renovation of facilities, pool decks, etc.) will cost $479,000. (An additional $47,000 from operating funds will be added to this amount)
  • Repair and Maintenance Projects are $78,500.
  • New Member Capital fees are used for replacements – not operating funds.  They will increase by 24%  in anticipation of property sales.
  • Fitness and strength equipment is aging and will need $122,870 for replacements at all centers.
  • Repair and maintenance was cut $88,000.
  • Facility repair and maintenance has increased 20.46%.
  • Wages and benefits were cut $136,883 – over 4%.
  • Wages and benefits are 49% of the operating budget, which is 6% lower than industry standards.
  • A 1.2% cost of living increase will be given staff (they have not had a COLA in 2 years)
  • Reserves are being held at $2,464,992.
  • 83.49% of all income is from member dues.
  • Water, gas and electric utilities are expected to increase $118,934. Water is up 40%; Electric up 12%; and Gas up 10%.
  • Dues are increasing $6 per year to help cover the increased utility costs.
  • Bad debt expenses are running $31,250. (Foreclosures)

Marge Garneau
President

Your comments are welcome and encouraged!

Safety at GVR Facilities

In the last few weeks we have had two incidents in the parking lots at West Center and East Center involving illegal immigrants and/or a homeless individual and GVR members or staff.  Fortunately, both individuals were apprehended by law enforcement officials and were resolved successfully with no one injured or hurt.

 We ask that you be aware that there is the potential for interaction with individuals traveling down the I-19 corridor especially at those centers just off the interstate.  This information is not intended to dissuade you from using GVR facilities, but rather to make you more aware of your surroundings.

 Here are some important tips that you can use when visiting GVR’s facilities:

• Park in well-lighted and well-traveled areas, which are busier—well-lit means you can see 100 feet at night.
• If you are alone in your vehicle, try and leave your vehicle or the facility when groups of people may be walking your way.
• Lock your vehicle doors when you leave your car.
• If you feel uncomfortable, ask someone in the facility to walk you to your car.
• Do not walk with your mind filled with other thoughts such as what you need to purchase or other tasks you may have to attend to later. Be aware about what is going on around you NOW.
• Look for suspicious people in the area or near your car.
• Get in your car and lock your doors as quickly as possible. Most abductions occur when people are getting into or loading items into their vehicles.
• If you have a cell phone, carry it with you and have it readily available.
• Call 911 if you are suspicious of anyone.
• Please notify staff of any unusual activity.

 In addition to being more aware, please stay mindful of the tips mentioned, along with trusting your common sense and you’ll be much better off going to and from your parking lot destinations.

We would appreciate your comments and any additional safety tips you might have have for GVR Members!

This year, we are again focusing on available energy reduction programs.  Working in partnership with Tucson Electric Power, we are pursuing electrical reductions of 3% this year by implementing several key efficiency improvements.  This includes a lighting retrofit at Canoa Hills that has the potential to reduce our usage at this site by 133,700 KWH this year.  This project has less than a year simple payback, which makes it an easy decision to make. We were able to have TEP provide a little over $24,000.00 of the project cost with GVR costs of around $5,000.00 dollars.

We have many projects and suggestions come forward each month on what power reductions we should be going after.  These ideas come from our members, staff, utility programs and many others.  When we have identified the most cost effective programs, we move forward and provide information to the planning and evaluation committee for selection and presentation to the board.

As an energy star partner we look at benchmarking our facilities for usage against a national average of users. This allows us to see how we perform against comparable businesses and find what has worked for others. A monthly web seminar is presented by E-star where participant discussions are active and the goal is finding the best practices for our industry.

One of the many items that need to be reviewed when implementing our reduction goals is to make sure we have not created a safety issue with lighting reductions.  In many cases, we have increased the internal lighting in an area while still reducing wattage by the use of newer bulbs. We need to make sure the parking lots and egress areas are well lit and on for the extended periods that our members use the facilities.  This may seem wasteful to have a set of parking lot lights on when the lot is partially filled or even empty, but in the future, we will be looking at rewiring many of our lots to take advantage of partial lighting with the capabilities of shutting off the most exterior parking areas.

The purpose of this blog section is to find ways to help reduce our usage, which then reduces our overall costs for operating our facilities. Please send us your thoughts and ideas and let us see what we can do to keep our operating costs at a minimum.