Also, $7.2 million capital projects budget approved

 

By Sam Richards

Staff writer

 

Wednesday, March 5 (11:00 a.m.): Ending a robust two-year community discussion, at least for the moment, political columns are now formally not allowed in the Rossmoor News, with the GRF Board on Thursday adopting that ban on “second reading.”

But a separate yet related move to adjust a Rossmoor TV policy that would effectively keep most politics and religion out of programming the station creates or broadcasts was not voted on, and instead was sent back for more consideration by the GRF Policy Committee, specifically to hash out a more specific definition of “politics” that would determine whether a given program would be allowed.

“I can’t support it with a lack of definition of ‘politics,’” said Board member Dwight Walker, contending that the existing wording was too vague for interpretation. An informal “straw vote” of Board members showed that most supported bringing the Rossmoor TV policy change back to the Policy Committee.

The vote to pass the political column ban was 6-0, with Board President Leanne Hamaji absent and members Walker and Maxine Topper abstaining. Both Walker and Topper said they were conflicted about this change to the Rossmoor News policy, but Walker and others acknowledged the considerable amount of time News editors have needed to fact check the various political columns. Walker said he couldn’t justify raising the coupon to pay for more staff to verify facts.

In January, News Editor-in-Chief Ann Peterson said some columns in the past few years contained “egregious” factual errors, and others had entire passages plagiarized from other news sources. Such issues, Peterson said, not only put the paper at risk of being sued but of losing credibility with advertisers.

“We have to fact-check; we can’t be putting out false information,” Walker said Thursday.

Starting with the Feb. 1, 2023 edition, the News’ political columns went on hiatus, only to return a few months later as a monthly rotation of four columns – Republican Perspective, Earth Matters, Alternative Voices and Progressive View. In mid-2024, the editing and fact-checking workload for the columns ramped up again, and on Aug. 14, Hamaji, as GRF Board president, enacted a moratorium on publishing political columns in the News.

These changes angered some residents amid contentions of censorship, and they spoke out at GRF meetings, in letters to the News, and even at an August protest outside Rossmoor’s main gate that drew 75 people – and outside media attention.

The GRF Policy Committee, at its October and November meetings, considered allowing political columns that addressed Rossmoor life and Rossmoor issues, and opening the columns to all residents instead of just the three clubs that previously oversaw the political columns. But the fact-checking concerns remained, as did other content-related questions. On Dec. 9, the Policy Committee voted to recommend ending publishing political columns in the newspaper. The GRF Board agreed.

The discussion, however, continued during the Board’s “Residents Forum” segment on Thursday, when four residents addressed the News policy change. One speaker contended that concerns about plagiarism were overblown, and another suggested that the News could simply run a disclaimer on its opinion pages to minimize the need for fact checking.

A third speaker, resident Marilyn Davin, told the Board, “I predict that when the dust settles, you will land on the wrong side of history.”

Topper acknowledged that the political columns, and the exchange of ideas they brought, helped energize people to get more involved in their community. But she and fellow Board member Cheryl Hines took exception to some criticism of the Board for its handling of the issue, and Hines said attempts at compromise ultimately were unsuccessful.

Even under the newly modified rules, Rossmoor’s political clubs, including the Democrats of Rossmoor and the Republican Club, will still be able to run stories about their clubs’ upcoming events, if those stories don’t get into political opinions. And the policy change isn’t necessarily permanent, Board member Carol Lehr said. “It doesn’t mean the policy is in effect for the rest of our lives,” she said.

2025 Capital Budget approved

By a 7-1 vote, with Roy Yang voting “no,” the Board approved a $7.2 million 2025 capital projects budget, including the stipulation that $600,000 toward replacing a golf course bridge over Tice Creek is contingent on sufficient funding being eventually assured.

More than half of the 2025 capital projects budget is currently set aside for the pickleball building, planned for construction adjacent to the Event Center. But on Feb. 25, Matheson emphasized that the true costs for that project won’t be known until bids on the actual work are received. There are also still plenty of unknowns related to what conditions the city of Walnut Creek will ultimately place on the project, and the cost of building materials, which could go up dramatically when, or if, certain Trump Administration tariffs kick in.

Several Residents Forum speakers Thursday urged support for the capital projects budget, and of the pickleball project in particular, saying that as a desirable amenity, a good pickleball facility adds to home values and Rossmoor’s marketability.

Carol Cerioni, president of the Rossmoor Pickleball Club, told the Board that good pickleball courts are one sign of a vital community. Some prospective home buyers, she said, “will not come to a community that does not have great courts waiting for them.”

Most of the items on the 2025 capital projects budget have been kicking around for a while, having been reviewed and revised by the Planning Committee in October, November, January and earlier this month, and by the Finance Committee in January and February.

Other capital project funding recommendations approved Thursday by the GRF Board include:

• $176,110 for studying replacement of the MOD office building;
• About $70,000 for continued permitting and related costs toward replacing the golf course bridges;
• $250,000 for replastering the Tice Creek Fitness Center swimming pools and spa;
• $152,340 for replacement of the golf course water pump;
• $50,000 for golf lake bottom liner replacement;
• $30,000 for an emergency generator for the Entry Control Facility (the main entry gate)

Board members praised GRF Director of Community Services Ann Mottola and her staff for the detailed work on this budget, which is replenished by money paid by Membership Transfer Fees that come with most Rossmoor home sales (the capital budget is not fed by coupon money).

“This is the best capital budget process we’ve had,” Walker said.

NetSuite progress

Chief Financial Officer Todd Arterburn acknowledged that he’s talked a lot about how much more GRF accountants, Mutual leaders and others who track community finances will be able to do with the NetSuite software system than was possible under the Jenark system being phased out. On Thursday, he demonstrated, via PowerPoint, some of the functions he said will improve accounting – and, as Rossmoor’s CFO, help him “carry out my fiduciary duty to the community.”

“I know this might not be exciting for everyone, but for me, I can’t be more excited,” Arterburn told the Board. “For me and my team, it’s really a game-changer for what we can deliver for this community.”

Arterburn and others noted that some aspects of the NetSuite rollout have gone well, while others have had hiccups (see a related story about NetSuite elsewhere in this issue of the News). Matheson praised not only Arterburn but Controller Amanda Davis, Senior Systems Analyst Shari Bergum-Hayes and their teams for their work on the project.

“They’re under a tremendous amount of pressure,” Matheson said.