The fence issue has been known for what? 3 years now? If they wanted one, there’d be one.

No fence, no insurance policy, no pond.

Linda substitutes her  opinions for facts. There was a vote on the shade structure. AND it is completely allowed under the terms of the lease.  FACT.

Makes me think of Jane Curtin and Dan Akroyds Weekend Update.

Im a contractor, so yes a fence is a no brainer. I had a hand in building the shade structure, remember? Maybe before your time.  A long ago conversation with a ranch guy  mentioned a fence around the pond. Maybe its more now. Maybe just another reason to say “we cant”. I dunno. Not much info flowing out these days.

Seems to me there is more drowning exposure now than ever before. No gate, no fence, no eyes on the path there.  There must be some sort of rationale behind those choices.  Fair enough.

Suggestion… An addition under the CSS website’s history page, with the history of the area North of  the LZ with its relationship to the CSS, along with a status of what is currently allowed for CSS members (training hill, foot trail, pond occasional access). Names of do-gooders (example) can be mentioned, and evildoers names left out.

This way, inquiring minds can be directed to it as needed, and there will be less rumors and debating.

You might have sullied yourself first, Dan. In your usual fashion. In fact you were removed from the BOD during your term. The rest were voted out. Resoundingly.

Here’s how I understand it (and please correct me if I’m wrong):

The pond was created for the purpose of irrigating the LZ grass. This was solely made possible by Len and Owen, when years ago they generously purchased the XC ranch property with their own money for no other reason (that I know of) than to keep it out of the hands of developers. This ensured that the club would have clear landing access to the LZ. They had the financial means and they did a beautiful thing for the club.

Naturally they could not incur this cost without the club’s assistance, so the club agreed to pay a certain monthly dollar amount to the XC Ranch to make it sustainable for all. The club benefitted via this land purchase in a few ways, Len and Owen would slowly be recouped by the club over time, and every pilot who flies and lands at AJX wins.

After years of hard work and many club member volunteers, the irrigation pond became what it is today, a great place to relax, take a swim, etc. Club members were allowed to enjoy the pond at their leisure and they did! We had parties, we had club member family gatherings up there, it was the best place to cool off before, or after flying when the heat got out of hand in the summer. Most club members knew it was there and some used it.

Now let’s examine the reason we are no longer able to enjoy this place without direct supervision from Len, Owen and/or perhaps Jamie; I was told that a year or two ago a pilot’s dog nearly drowned a small child in the pond. This probably sent shivers down Owen and Len’s spines, thinking of the liability if something had happened to that child. They had to rethink some things. An insurance policy, a fence around the pond, or supervised pond access only. There may have been other incidents of which I am not aware that led to this.

If you have a pool at your private residence or property, I think you can probably understand the fear of your neighbors coming into that pool without your supervision while you’re not home. If something bad happens, someone gets hurt or drowns, there could be repercussions for you. Same idea with this pond. We’re allowed to hike through, we get to enjoy it during the few supervised pond parties, but unfettered access to it is no longer possible due to the huge liability until further notice.

Now that Len has generously donated the XC ranch to the free flight community by creating a non-profit organization called the Len Szafaryn Free Flight Conservancy (a.k.a. LSFFC), the XC ranch and pond land are safe from developers for many years to come, still there to be enjoyed by all club members under direct supervision. He has also agreed to lower the monthly cost to the club as a result, and has already done so. Now the club gets to keep more of its money for maintenance and savings, which is great news for all.

If you are not familiar with Len’s announcement of the XC ranch donation and creation of the LSFFC, here is his post:LSFFC Announcement

John, we never asked any members to recall anyone.  We wanted members to vote for a board that wouldn’t do harm to the club.  It took more than a year to recover from the damage that was caused by the site insurance issue.  If you want to know more about it, you could have attend BOD meetings or read the meeting minutes.

In terms of how we handle issues with like Site-Bans and the removal of Board Members… The findings are made public for transparency reasons, however in general we maintain some sense of privacy for those involved.  In short, we are not airing dirty laundry or dragging people through the mud.  You are obviously not informed about the total picture of circumstances.

By calories I am assuming you mean how much skin some of the board members have in the game?  You have no idea of how much work has been done behind the scenes by board members.  Putting up with gossip, speculation, immaturity, and sense of entitlement by a loud minority of members accounts for 95% of the stress we put up with when we all have full-time jobs/families/priorities etc. outside of club board responsibilities.

Jamie, there’s a reason I’ve not been out and it’s leadership like yours.

Luke hit me up on Facebook chat a while back trying to get me to vote Dan out.

I’m glad Luke works hard for the club.  Luke, I was wrong, that was wrong, and I apologize.

I told him no.  I’ve spent more ($13K) and burned more (hike up to the 750 and everything past the pond was the dozer I rented or the brush cutter I swung) and had certain deals altered on me, cloud city style.  Fool me once.

Two people have remained loyal and touched base:  Dan & Gene.  Flaws I have, lack of loyalty is not one of them.  After Len’s benevolence, I came out to try to get interested to get back into the air, even burned a few calories, only to find that Gene is still banned from the LZ (past the date) and Dan  has gotten less than appreciation for his efforts.

Would that lift were as consistent (inversely) as the CSS board.  Same stuff, different decade.  You are treating two of the best people and resources the club has ever had poorly, unapologetically, and even gleefully.  Shame, indeed.