SCOV board stated “If it doesn’t work, we sell the asset”. (12/2022 Copper Center Q&A)
The funds to renovate Copper must be taken from our Capital Reserve account, which currently has a negative balance of -$1,522,205. Which equates to our asset reserve fund has –$1,522,205 than stated. There is no such thing as a fund with a negative number, which means we have zero funds in the Capital Reserve and our asset reserve has -$1,522,205 than stated. Our asset reserve should not ever be under funded, and it is currently at 46% when our required funding is 60-60%. The funds needed for the Copper Center, and then the Artisan Center remodel to follow is extensive and expensive. Is the Copper Center worth all of this financial strain on a community of neighbors on fixed incomes for the benefit of just a few clubs?
The Back Story: A Pattern of Misinformation
About two years ago the board of directors and general manager of Sun City Oro Valley (SCOV), for reasons that remain unclear, decided to buy the abandoned Copper Health nursing home at the corner of Rancho Vistoso Blvd and Sun City Blvd for roughly $4.5 million. Advocates of the deal put out false information to the community, claiming that the present Welcome Center was deteriorating and would soon need replacement. They also didn’t disclose that SCOV was taking about $2.5 million from the essential Asset Reserve Fund to buy the building. According to SCOV’s charter, money in that fund is to be spent on repair and maintenance of existing facilities, not on buying new ones.
Where We Are Now
The Copper Health building, renamed the Copper Center, still stands idle. According to the architect hired to draw up plans for the interior, it will cost approximately $2.8 million to renovate half the building, plus additional costs to comply with town standards and ADA requirements. Also, moving artisan clubs from the existing Artisan Center will require renovations to expand space for the remaining clubs. The unavoidable truth is that … WE DON’T HAVE THE MONEY!
Following the policy of misinformation, members of the Board of Directors are using accounting gimmicks to make residents think SCOV has a lot more money in the bank than it really does. [Link to detailed explanation and a graphic here.] Renovating Copper and the Artisan Center will require either drawing more money from the already depleted Asset Reserve Fund, increasing our annual dues, or levying a special assessment on all households.
The Bottom Line SCOV owns a giant white elephant that it can’t afford to make useful for at least five more years. Meanwhile higher community priorities, such as another swimming pool or more pickleball and tennis courts, have to be deferred indefinitely, and maintenance of current facilities is being deferred because of lack of cash.
What Can We Do?
Get rid of the white elephant. Stop throwing good money after bad. SELL THE COPPER CENTER! If we do that, SCOV could recoup at least some of its initial outlay and end the need to spend more millions to renovate the building.