Board advances harassment policy adjustments

By Sam Richards

Staff writer

Monday, December 15 (4:00 p.m.): After some tweaking by the Policy Committee, the Rossmoor Walnut Creek Board on Thursday gave a preliminary go-ahead of adjustments to Rossmoor’s harassment policy and two related policies governing enforcement of various rules at Rossmoor facilities and hearings for accused rule violators.

This was the second time these adjusted policies came to the full Board, this time for a first reading. There was no vote on the adjusted policies on Thursday (nor was there much discussion); that vote is expected at the Board’s next meeting, on Jan. 29, when they return for a second reading.

This trio of policies regarding harassment, notification and hearing processes was initially taken up by the RWC Policy Committee in September. It was reviewed by RWC’s legal counsel, Jeff Beaumont, and went in October to the RWC Board, which sent those drafts back to the Policy Committee, seeking more clarity and specifics in the language (the harassment policy update now includes emails and text messages, as well as phone calls, clarifying that the harassment policy applies to residents, guests, staff and vendors, as well as members, among other adjustments). The updated draft policies returned to the Board on Thursday.

These three policies have been grouped together for this process because they are intertwined, RWC General Manager Jeff Matheson said.

Mural location approved

Also on Thursday, the Board unanimously approved the location for a proposed Rossmoor Ceramic Arts Club mosaic mural project, behind the current club studios at Gateway Complex adjacent to the totem pole art pieces installed in 2009.

The mural, as currently envisioned, would consist of two 10-foot-by-7-foot panels, mounted to steel framework. Linda Mariano, a CAC vice president, told the RWC Planning Committee in November that several Ceramics Arts Club members have submitted ideas for the mural’s design, which figures to be a combination of images depicting Rossmoor’s flora and fauna, its history, and popular activities that current residents enjoy. The project is to be funded by the CAC, Matheson said, with some minimal support from RWC Landscape Maintenance.

“What they can bring is very well thought out,” Matheson said, with reputable artist-consultants including John Toki, Tom Franco and Amanda D. Larson enlisted to help CAC with the project. Board member Susan Hildreth said she especially likes that the mural is moveable, as opposed to being on an immoveable wall, just in case it must be relocated for any reason.

The specific design of the mural, and other aspects of the proposed piece, will require separate Board approvals in coming months.

Financial balance and flow

Todd Arterburn, RWC’s chief financial officer, gave the Board its first formal look Thursday at 2025 financial balance sheets and cash flow statements for both RWC and Rossmoor Property Management (RPM) budgets, something some Board members have been pointedly asking for.

“We’ve finally turned a corner,” Arterburn told the Board as he guided Board members through “a new deck of numbers” during his monthly discussion of financials. Working in NetSuite, Rossmoor’s software platform, having financial balances and cash flows complied this way will allow for better internal monitoring, Arterburn said.

Board member Dwight Walker, who has been most vocal in calling for these balance sheets and cash flow presentations, thanked Arterburn and his staff for their work in this area. “It’s a much better picture, and it took a lot to get there,” he said.

Board President Leanne Hamaji said she, too, is pleased with the enhanced financial presentations. “It’s kind of fun to go through it,” said Hamaji, who noted that the Dec. 2 meeting of the RWC Finance Committee included more in-depth dialogue concerning the balance sheets and cash flow statements.

Also on Thursday, Finance Committee Chairman Dan Ring told the Board that, as of early last week, RWC had generated Membership Transfer Fee payments (of $14,000 each) from 318 eligible home sales in Rossmoor in 2025. Money from those fees pays for capital projects in Rossmoor.

Ring noted that it was unlikely RWC would collect fee payments for 400 sales, the number upon which capital budgets have been preliminarily built.