Greetings fellow ASRC members; I hope everyone enjoyed an inspiring holiday season and is looking forward to the New Year. As the new president for the ASRC board of directors this calendar year, I am very much looking forward to sharing and collaborating with members like you about the business of the ASRC. At the same time, I’m hoping to enjoy the fine tradition ASRC has created in the community as a healthy and rewarding environment for my family, your families and our guests.
In looking back at 2013, I wanted to thank the outgoing leadership of the ASRC board of directors for their efforts and stewardship: outgoing President Steve Spring and board members Peter Stone and Mike Bergstrom. In conjunction with the staff lead by Club Manager Dan Chapman, the committee members and “do gooders at large”, it is members like these that help the ASRC maintain and improve the club’s vitality and relevance in our lives. For stewardship in 2014, we are delighted to retain board members Yogi Ransing, Kathy Jussen and Dan Crouzet-Pascal. We are expecting to have this team joined by new board members Vincent Paquet, Cory Caouette and Glenn Burkhardt.
For those of you that did not get an opportunity to attend the Annual Meeting, summarizing the efforts of the club in 2013 creates quite a list not normally posted: from re-routing the renovation plan to accommodate neighborhood opposition, spawning the process to have the club obtain a Conditional Use Permit, to embarking upon a repair plan for previously deferred items, such as the tennis courts, pool deck, landscaping, observation deck and kitchen facilities. In the middle of these activities we saw continued growth and improvements to many aspects of the swim and tennis programs.
And not to be outdone by the activities started in 2013, the 2014 items to tackle are shaping up to be another adventuresome effort. As a team, the board of directors and Dan Chapman will be reaching out to you to attend a series of meetings to help the club obtain the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) from the City of San Jose. I’d like to take this opportunity to reiterate the importance in having the ASRC obtain the CUP: The ASRC must obtain a CUP in order to maintain the club’s ability to operate. This requirement is more basic and fundamental than any additions for a fitness center, member room or any other contemplated additions to the club. Given this, it was deemed a prudent and necessary step to forward into the CUP process a plan that would be successful in light of the multiple layers of approval by our members, our neighbors, City Planning and City Council. While it may seem easier to file for a CUP with no changes for the ASRC in terms of a fitness center and member room, and deal with this issue “down the road,” this approach would have required the ASRC re-start the process with the City (and neighbors) for any fitness center or any additions to the club. Once the CUP is obtained, it will be up to the ASRC membership to determine if/when/how such renovation plans are carried out.
The next upcoming event where your attendance and input is vital to the club’s success is the City Planning Commissioners Meeting sometime in February. This meeting will run very similar to the format for the successful ASRC Community Meeting held on December 18th, which many of you attended (and thank you!). In preparation of this meeting, we will send out notices for a general renovation plan review member meeting in mid to late January and hope you can learn and contribute to this process. We will do our best to keep you up to speed on these important meetings and hope you find the time to help constructively provide input and support of this process. Stated again, whether or not the ASRC embarks upon a renovation plan will be up to the membership to decide.
The ASRC Board of Directors is comprised of a team of volunteer members, and as such is our responsibility to make decisions in the best interest of the club membership at large, taking into consideration the diverse interests our members have and into consideration the legacy these decisions hopefully create. In the spirit of balancing those interests, please communicate with us in 2014, to Dan (dchapman@asrc.org) or myself (slspring67@gmail.com) with any questions, thoughts or constructive feedback. If you are shy on giving input, then consider participating in a short survey we will be sending out in the near future.
I hope to see you at the club in 2014!
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