Dear Sun Valley Community:                                                                             November 22, 2022

 

The air outside is crisp and Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. Hard to believe with winter fast approaching that we are already planning ahead for an exciting 2023 season at Sun Valley. On behalf of the Sun Valley Board let me thank you for a rich and fulfilling summer at Sun Valley and extend our wishes to you all for Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year.

 

2022 began with improvements to the grounds, re-sealing and power washing the tennis courts, fixing cracks around the pool apron and exterior painting of our buildings and tennis wall – all of which are necessary to the ongoing health and safety of Sun Valley. In response to many of you, we installed a bottle filling station, reducing the number of plastic bottles and cans being used at Sun Valley. A new sign was installed at the entrance to Sun Valley, ensuring that our members, guests, and occasional emergency personnel can easily find their way to the facility. Finally, after many years of being the only club on the swim team circuit without starting blocks, we purchased and installed a new set of custom starting blocks.

 

We had exceptional attendance this year, with 245 member-families active at Sun Valley. This is more than we have had in years past, but there was universal agreement that the increased number was manageable. We consider ourselves very fortunate indeed to have been able to offer a Sun Valley experience to more families than ever before.

 

The tennis courts opened for Patriot’s Day weekend and the pool opened on May 14, with our swim season continuing through September 18. We have continued to use a well-received advanced reservation system for lap swimming and were pleased to be able to increase the number of group activities, including swim team and swim lessons. Our tennis programs have also increased in popularity and more members than ever before are participating in tennis activities at Sun Valley. We had terrific attendance at our kids night, teen night, and adult night gatherings and continue to extend our hours on several Fridays throughout the summer for family and friends to gather at Sun Valley.

 

We have much in store for 2023. There is ongoing maintenance and repair work that we continue to address, including a pool pump replacement. The Board is also aware of the urgent need to replace the tennis courts. Our tennis committee, led by Rebecca Slotkin, has secured several bids and we are investigating which options are the most cost effective and will provide the best playing experience, so that you can enjoy tennis at Sun Valley for many years to come. Depending on which option is chosen new courts could be ready for the 2023 season, or installed in Fall 2023 for a Spring 2024 opening. This has been a long time in coming and I look forward to sharing the final details in the coming months. 

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As we enter 2023 we continue to confront an uncertain world. We are likely heading into economic headwinds, which together with global unrest and uncertainties regarding COVID, continue to influence our thinking. Last year there was a modest increase in membership fees as we recovered from deficits brought on by COVID.  In considering 2023 membership fees the Sun Valley Board, mindful of current rates of inflation and the improvements projected for our facility, was unanimous in voting to increase fees by 6-8% in every category. This increase in fees is within the range of price increases elsewhere, and will allow us to continue to pay our tennis, lifeguard and management staff competitively, while striving to keep Sun Valley a place that as many families as possible can still enjoy.

 

We are very fortunate to have our manager Laura Conti working tirelessly throughout the year, updating existing systems, and overseeing the many operational and maintenance efforts needed to keep Sun Valley running and ready to open in the Spring and the Board has been enthusiastic in its support for her efforts.

 

We wish everyone in the Sun Valley community all the very best for the upcoming Holidays and the New Year as we look forward to the warm weather ahead and another terrific season of swimming and tennis.

 

On behalf of the Sun Valley Board,

 

Sincerely,

 

Stephan Voss

President

Sun Valley Board of Directors

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