March 24, 2018

 

To all Equity Members and our Summer, Senior, and August Swimmers at Rock Creek Pool,

It’s been a busy, and sometimes trying (especially the Montgomery County permitting process) off-season at the pool but since the beginning of March there have been positive developments and the construction is progressing. To address the obvious question – we are cautiously optimistic of being able to open by Memorial Day weekend with a target opening date of Friday, May 25.

The current construction calendar is on an aggressive schedule and barring any stretch of bad weather, additional permitting issues, or other unusual events we should make that deadline.

In January, the old pool perimeter and baby pool demolition started. Elite was able to get the new pool shell poured so that the complicated plumbing issues (bringing the entire system up to code and combining the new and old plumbing systems) could be tested. Those systems passed their tests in early March. We upgraded our old filtration system and added necessary equipment for the larger pool so we should have a much better and more efficient pool filtration system. All the plumbing and new electrical wires have been run and the ground has been filled back in preparation for building of the covered structure.

Work has begun on the County-required changes to the men’s bathroom (additional toilets and sinks), the food preparation area, and the footers have been poured for the covered structure. Hoping that we are finished with snow and windy weather, Elite can make progress on the covered structure and the County-required Storm Water Management System in the next two weeks.

There are lots of moving pieces but personally, I am very excited about the modernization upgrades. In addition to a larger pool, the covered structure, and food preparation area, we are upgrading the pool lighting, fences and a few other amenities. I would like to thank Patrick Moffitt for being the point person on the daily interactions with Elite.

We’ll have a better sense of our ability to adhere to the opening schedule by the end of April and will post updates on a consistent basis through our social media platforms.

Please keep reading – there are other items we need you to know – especially Equity Members who wish to sell their memberships.

RCP Board

At the Annual Meeting in August the Equity Members re-elected the seven members up for election to their two-year term. They join the other eight members who have one year remaining on their terms (see website). At the first board meeting in September, the following board members were elected for the following officer positions:

Membership

For Equity Members, now is the time to decide if you will retain your membership. We have a good number of families that used the pool fewer than five times last summer and we have an extensive wait list. Please contact Admin@RockCreekPool.com by March 31, 2018, to sell your membership and to receive a refund of your $950 equity share.

While we do offer Senior Swim privileges to Equity Members who are age 65 years or older with 20 years of membership, we are currently at our maximum of 70 slots. If you are interested, please notify Admin@RockCreekPool.com to add your name to the wait list. Once offered, you would sell your membership but retain swim privileges for $200 (current price) for the Account Holder and their spouse/partner.

Dues/Assessments

As we articulated at the beginning of the modernization process, the Board approved a combination of a dues increase, a special member assessment (applied to Equity Members’ ownership in the pool) and a capital assessment for a period of three years – we are in year two of these fees. The dues schedules is as follows:

 

2018	Dues	Special Assessment	Capital Assessment	Total
Equity Member	$595	$100	$60	$755
Summer Swim	$725		$120	$845
Senior Swim	$200			$200
August Swim	$275			$275

 

Registration is scheduled to open the week of April 9 with payments due by April 30.

Pool and Grounds (and Purple Line)

For those of you that don’t live in the immediate area, I cannot understate the impact of the Purple Line construction. A significant number of trees have been removed along the Purple Line track (the Georgetown Branch Path that runs along the top of our property).

In addition, we had a handful of trees that needed to be removed as a result of natural and weather-induced causes including, unfortunately, one of the iconic oak trees in the southwest corner (by the upper parking lot) of the bathhouse. This tree had a fungus that was rapidly killing it.

The sale of the land required to build the Purple Line will close this year. We are consulting with landscapers about remediation efforts within the pool boundaries. In addition, we are planning to consult with appropriate Purple Line contacts about their landscaping and how to supplement what they are doing.

Volunteers

RCP is run by a group of volunteers and we always need help for a variety of events (social, grounds clean-up, organizing an event, communication, purchasing food for an event, etc.). Please plan to support your community pool by volunteering your time and expertise.

As always, your comments are appreciated – you can reach me at President@RockCreekPool.com.

Sincerely,

Iain Gold, President