Pool Assessments? $2500 per family plus huge dues hike

[Anonymous]

Normal. They are probably making capital improvements. Quit if you don’t want to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our pool is saying if they don't charge families a lump sum payment of $2500 per family plus hike up dues, they may have to shut down (even though there is a long waiting list).

We were just adding up all the costs for swim team, and food donations, stroke and turn, guest passes and our current dues - and that's already $2000...We had a budget meeting where it was like if you can't do a lump payment we will let you make a 3-4 small payments with interest over a year or so. But the tone was very much like only ask for a payment plan under serious duress otherwise you want the pool to die. Does this seem normal? Especially in this economic climate? It feels like we are building a pool for the boomers grandchildren to enjoy as teens. It really skeeved us out - or maybe we are just naive.

What is the 2500 covering- how many families/members/etc? Are they unwilling to take loans or is this because they havent increased dues for decades and have loans that have come to roost. Speaking of boomers!!!!
We have the same problem at a smaller scale. Years- decades really- of the board putting things off and now its year after year of we need a new x and a new y and a new z. These are KNOWNS as in a roof replacement. Bathrooms are shite.
They also have lots of rules that make little kid stuff not fun- ex. no diving for toys at the bottom of the pool- but the adults can bring alcohol to the parties. And theres lots of social events for older folks, which again, great but the pool pays for those and then stuff for families is pay per event.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our pool is saying if they don't charge families a lump sum payment of $2500 per family plus hike up dues, they may have to shut down (even though there is a long waiting list).

We were just adding up all the costs for swim team, and food donations, stroke and turn, guest passes and our current dues - and that's already $2000...We had a budget meeting where it was like if you can't do a lump payment we will let you make a 3-4 small payments with interest over a year or so. But the tone was very much like only ask for a payment plan under serious duress otherwise you want the pool to die. Does this seem normal? Especially in this economic climate? It feels like we are building a pool for the boomers grandchildren to enjoy as teens. It really skeeved us out - or maybe we are just naive.

What is the 2500 covering- how many families/members/etc? Are they unwilling to take loans or is this because they havent increased dues for decades and have loans that have come to roost. Speaking of boomers!!!!
We have the same problem at a smaller scale. Years- decades really- of the board putting things off and now its year after year of we need a new x and a new y and a new z. These are KNOWNS as in a roof replacement. Bathrooms are shite.
They also have lots of rules that make little kid stuff not fun- ex. no diving for toys at the bottom of the pool- but the adults can bring alcohol to the parties. And theres lots of social events for older folks, which again, great but the pool pays for those and then stuff for families is pay per event.

Adults having alcohol isn’t really a great example of rules that favor older people. You want them to say legal adults can’t drink alcohol at your pool?

[Anonymous]

$2.5k assessment is pretty steep, assuming it's about 2x actual annual dues (doing a little back of the napkin guesstimate based off your all-in estimate of annual costs). Are they just doing renovations, or are they adding a bunch of new stuff?

That said, I've been on our pool's board. A lot of the pools were built after WW2 and are now seeing their original infrastructure (buildings, wiring, plumbing, etc) need to be completely replaced. Costs have increased for almost everything significantly in the last few years -- labor (minimum wage), services (pool and grounds), and insurance. If you have tennis courts, it can $50k per court if you need to rebuild (not patch) them.

And there is definitely a sense out there among the older members that they don't want an assessment b/c they feel like they are then paying a lot for something that newer members have a longer time horizon to enjoy. Although they conveniently ignore the fact that they have benefited from years (decades even) of membership free of the long-term costs of maintaining the club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our pool is saying if they don't charge families a lump sum payment of $2500 per family plus hike up dues, they may have to shut down (even though there is a long waiting list).

We were just adding up all the costs for swim team, and food donations, stroke and turn, guest passes and our current dues - and that's already $2000...We had a budget meeting where it was like if you can't do a lump payment we will let you make a 3-4 small payments with interest over a year or so. But the tone was very much like only ask for a payment plan under serious duress otherwise you want the pool to die. Does this seem normal? Especially in this economic climate? It feels like we are building a pool for the boomers grandchildren to enjoy as teens. It really skeeved us out - or maybe we are just naive.

What is the 2500 covering- how many families/members/etc? Are they unwilling to take loans or is this because they havent increased dues for decades and have loans that have come to roost. Speaking of boomers!!!!
We have the same problem at a smaller scale. Years- decades really- of the board putting things off and now its year after year of we need a new x and a new y and a new z. These are KNOWNS as in a roof replacement. Bathrooms are shite.
They also have lots of rules that make little kid stuff not fun- ex. no diving for toys at the bottom of the pool- but the adults can bring alcohol to the parties. And theres lots of social events for older folks, which again, great but the pool pays for those and then stuff for families is pay per event.

Adults having alcohol isn’t really a great example of rules that favor older people. You want them to say legal adults can’t drink alcohol at your pool?

Alcohol doesn’t belong anywhere near a pool, it’s a huge liability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A one-time assessment for a major maintenance project or facilities upgrade is not all that unusual—this kind of thing is pretty common in shared spaces like condos. These assessments are often necessary to keep things safe and functioning long-term.

Also, having a waitlist does not cancel out the need for capital repairs. Dues usually go toward regular operating costs, not big-ticket infrastructure work.

Adding up your own swim team expenses, snacks, and other extras is specific to your situation and not really tied to the financial health of the pool itself. Those are optional costs that not every member pays.

And the bit about “Boomers’ grandchildren" is not fair. This kind of upkeep benefits everyone now and in the future. It is just part of responsible stewardship.

Stinks to have to shell out the extra money, I agree!

+1

Pay up or move.

[Anonymous]

A touch off topic, but relevant. In the 1970s & 1980s our family (not wealthy, but solidly middle class) paid over $1,000 per month for water & electricity to our family pool. Actually,the $1,000 per month was just for water as electricity (lighting) and gas (heated pool) were additional costs. Was 25 feet by 50 feet (so larger than an Olympic sized pool as marketed in the USA).

Not sure,but probably equates to double that amount in terms of today's dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: “In this economic climate?” If you hadn’t wasted thousands of dollars a year on a pool membership maybe you’d be doing fine like the rest of us. Instead you blow through money like it grows on trees then whine about it when you run out and blame it on the otherwise great economy. Sounds like a crap way to live.

And somehow boomers are responsible for her situation??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A touch off topic, but relevant. In the 1970s & 1980s our family (not wealthy, but solidly middle class) paid over $1,000 per month for water & electricity to our family pool. Actually,the $1,000 per month was just for water as electricity (lighting) and gas (heated pool) were additional costs. Was 25 feet by 50 feet (so larger than an Olympic sized pool as marketed in the USA).

Not sure,but probably equates to double that amount in terms of today's dollars.

And, if truth be told, the monthly cost for beverages exceeded the total monthly cost for water, gas, & electricity. Add in steaks & appetizers for friends & family,the cost was quite higher during 4 months of heavy usage.

[Anonymous]

Op, explain what it is they are having done. No one can comment intelligently without knowing some details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, explain what it is they are having done. No one can comment intelligently without knowing some details.

Total pool overhaul, total bathroom overhaul, new driveway, new parking lot. Pool foundation is leaking, trees damaged foundation. They say its like 3.5 million project - costs have gone up, etc. It feels like they could just do the pool and the driveway and leave the parking lot and bathrooms for another day, but they don't want to do that. The renderings are very nice, but they claim we are losing members from wait list because there is not a separate "learn to swim" area which seems speculative. It's a lot of money, and we scrimp in other ways to pay for it because kids love it so much. Membership is capped under 400 because of county regulations, so they essentially need a large assessment to get a good interest rate for loan. They have healthy reserves but don't want to use them (this also has something to do with the interest rate).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A one-time assessment for a major maintenance project or facilities upgrade is not all that unusual—this kind of thing is pretty common in shared spaces like condos. These assessments are often necessary to keep things safe and functioning long-term.

Also, having a waitlist does not cancel out the need for capital repairs. Dues usually go toward regular operating costs, not big-ticket infrastructure work.

Adding up your own swim team expenses, snacks, and other extras is specific to your situation and not really tied to the financial health of the pool itself. Those are optional costs that not every member pays.

And the bit about “Boomers’ grandchildren" is not fair. This kind of upkeep benefits everyone now and in the future. It is just part of responsible stewardship.

Stinks to have to shell out the extra money, I agree!

This is a really well stated, considerate, and correctly informed answer that I would have liked to have written if I had the time and patience!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our pool is saying if they don't charge families a lump sum payment of $2500 per family plus hike up dues, they may have to shut down (even though there is a long waiting list).

We were just adding up all the costs for swim team, and food donations, stroke and turn, guest passes and our current dues - and that's already $2000...We had a budget meeting where it was like if you can't do a lump payment we will let you make a 3-4 small payments with interest over a year or so. But the tone was very much like only ask for a payment plan under serious duress otherwise you want the pool to die. Does this seem normal? Especially in this economic climate? It feels like we are building a pool for the boomers grandchildren to enjoy as teens. It really skeeved us out - or maybe we are just naive.

What is the 2500 covering- how many families/members/etc? Are they unwilling to take loans or is this because they havent increased dues for decades and have loans that have come to roost. Speaking of boomers!!!!
We have the same problem at a smaller scale. Years- decades really- of the board putting things off and now its year after year of we need a new x and a new y and a new z. These are KNOWNS as in a roof replacement. Bathrooms are shite.
They also have lots of rules that make little kid stuff not fun- ex. no diving for toys at the bottom of the pool- but the adults can bring alcohol to the parties. And theres lots of social events for older folks, which again, great but the pool pays for those and then stuff for families is pay per event.

Adults having alcohol isn’t really a great example of rules that favor older people. You want them to say legal adults can’t drink alcohol at your pool?

Alcohol doesn’t belong anywhere near a pool, it’s a huge liability.

Are there pools that don’t allow alcohol?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why pools with robust/growing waitlists don’t charge $50 or $75 to be on the waitlist with that amounted credited on your first year of membership.

I agree. I was Treasurer for my kids' non-profit daycare, and we did this. The waitlist was still huge, but at least you knew who was serious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, explain what it is they are having done. No one can comment intelligently without knowing some details.

Total pool overhaul, total bathroom overhaul, new driveway, new parking lot. Pool foundation is leaking, trees damaged foundation. They say its like 3.5 million project - costs have gone up, etc. It feels like they could just do the pool and the driveway and leave the parking lot and bathrooms for another day, but they don't want to do that. The renderings are very nice, but they claim we are losing members from wait list because there is not a separate "learn to swim" area which seems speculative. It's a lot of money, and we scrimp in other ways to pay for it because kids love it so much. Membership is capped under 400 because of county regulations, so they essentially need a large assessment to get a good interest rate for loan. They have healthy reserves but don't want to use them (this also has something to do with the interest rate).

$2,500 x 400 is $1M. So how are they doing a 3.5M project for 1M without tapping the reserves?