Thursday, November 14 (10:30 a.m.): GRF General Manager Jeff Matheson said he was “ecstatic” with the turnout at Nov. 6’s “Meet with the GM” gathering, where the main event was him answering residents’ questions about Rossmoor.

One of those questions was why this session wasn’t booked for the Event Center’s main room, instead of the smaller adjacent Donner Room.

More than 130 people crowded the Donner Room (and spilled into the main room anyway) to hear Matheson at this inaugural session both answer resident questions and get updates on current issues, including the new NetSuite operating system; the ongoing Food and Beverage Study; some capital project progress reports; ongoing discussions about GRF policies addressing political news columns and religious TV programming; and the in-progress room reservations process overhaul.

The latter has been a leading topic of conversation in Rossmoor for months, and Matheson told the audience he hopes reservation contracts for 2025 can begin being issued at the end of December. He said GRF employee turnover contributed to making the old process untenable, and he acknowledged the discomfort of something new.

“Change in Rossmoor is difficult” for everyone involved, Matheson said, “but it’s vital for better delivery of service.” He said the GRF Board is expected to continue its discussion of that process at its Dec. 5 meeting.

Another popular topic of conversation at the Nov. 6 gathering was traffic safety within Rossmoor, and what management can do to improve it. Bill Schwartz said people frequently drive over the 25-mph speed limit, and that “hardly anybody stops at the stop signs.”

Both Matheson and GRF Public Safety Director Tom Cashion said GRF has limited courses of action to improve traffic safety, and added that driving safely is mostly a matter of residents deciding they want to look out for one another better, want to have each other’s backs.

It is up to the Walnut Creek Police Department, Cashion said – and not GRF or Securitas – to conduct traffic enforcement on Rossmoor’s streets. In cases where one resident believes another might not be a safe driver anymore, a “request for reexamination” complaint (which can be confidential) can be registered with the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

A few people asked why Rossmoor doesn’t have a small coffee shop or stand. Matheson said the viability of such a business will be part of the aforementioned Food and Beverage Study. The study is important, he said, because Rossmoor currently has one restaurant.

“Most communities with almost 10,000 people have more options,” he said.

Matheson wanted to dispel the notion that weekend bus service has been permanently eliminated. It will be restored, he said, if Rossmoor can hire enough drivers – which has proven difficult, with Uber, Lyft, Amazon and others fighting for the available pool of drivers.

Tight parking in Rossmoor, establishing more modern electric vehicle charging stations, the challenges of working with GRF Alterations and the city of Walnut Creek to do home renovations, and the hazards of contending with illegally parked Amazon delivery trucks also were discussed, as were rats.

Jeroen Wright, GRF’s director of Mutual Operations, said residents should eliminate food sources both inside and outside their homes, and can call the MOD Work Order Desk (1-925-397-9174) or engage a third-party vendor.

Sue Gedeon told the audience she’d had at least four rats in her home in recent weeks – one of them “as big as a cat,” she said.

“I got used to living alone; I don’t need any company!” she said.

The next “Meet with the GM” event is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 3.