A rally is planned for Thursday at 6:15 p.m. to show support for the Walnut County Stingrays swim team, who have been told by the homeowners’ association that they can no longer use the pool after this season.
The swim team, which is located in the Walnut Country (Crossings) neighborhood off Ygnacio Valley Rd. between Ayers Rd. and Cowell Rd. in Concord, was recently notified that the neighborhood’s Homeowners’ Association Board voted to eliminate the team after 45 years.
The rally will start at 6:15 p.m. on the sidewalks near 4498 Lawson Ct., with the homeowners’ meeting starting at 7 p.m.
Only homeowners may attend the actual meeting but the rally before the meeting is open to the public.
39 comments
At the very least there should be a vote by every homeowner. This is crazy stuff.
Absolutely horrible for all of those kids. I agree should go on a vote to HOA
as a kid I remember the swim team in the crossings
In prior stories – the simple answer is that the Homeowners can vote to allow (or not allow) the swim team to continue to use the facilities they pay for.
Perhaps folks who are on in the HOA but want to rally to support the team can figure out a method of paying monthly fees into the HOA to help offset the cost for the HOA members for the usage of the facility then everyone can win.
Rob-they do pay fees to the HOA in fact for a few months they cover the heating bills and the team accounts are handled and audited yearly by the HOA accounting team. So yes they are paying for their use of the pool. This seems to be a common misconception that they use the pool “for free” yet it has been continually verified they pay for all heating before Memorial Day and after Labor Day along with usage fees for the time they’re there.
@Pat I am confused so you need to only use the Main pool between 7-11am? The other pools won’t meet your needs(there are two other pools open at this time)? As for parking how is it fair when a person hosts a garage sale bringing people to park on your street? Someone hosts a party and invites friends and they park on your street? This isn’t a swim meet at midnight they start at 9am or 6pm….I think most people are wide awake during those times. I think trying to grasp at straws to create an argument when there has been logical answers to them each time isn’t much of an argument to take away a child’s summertime activity that is healthy and keeps them off blue screens for hours. I’d also note this isn’t a USS team operating year round hosting meets we’re talking most of the meets taking place in June and July-come August they’re onto their championship meets hosted at larger pools….basically giving full use of the pool to homeowners during the hottest part of the season August into early Sept.
HOA members pay for the use of ANY of the three pools. Their choice of pool should be up to them. Again, the HOA members can vote to allow the team to use the pool, but the team would have to be limited to HOA members and their children.
@rollo while I respect that your kids are good swimmers that’s good on you as parents. But do you go to the preschool and expect them to vacate because you may choose to use the facility at 10am on a Tuesday? Do you tell a tennis league they need to move from a court because you choose to use it? The team does not have exclusive use of the pool, they have certain hours they use the main pool. Which they are paying CHOA for. Why don’t you ask yourselves why Collins Management chose to eliminate lifeguards at the east and west pool? Why they cut back on security working the green belt? If liability were an issue wouldn’t they have upped security and kept lifeguards on duty? If “exclusive use” were an issue would the preschool need to vacate? If the issue was about non-members wouldn’t the clubhouse have to discontinue all rentals and close off preschool admittance of non-CHOA residents?
Yes, the preschool’s use of the facilities needs to be voted on by members as well as use of the tennis courts, and those uses should be limited to members of the HOA.
Omg, totally agree!
These kids are spending waaaay too much time outdoors … exposed to harmful UV rays, toxic fumes from cars on Ygnacio Valley rd, chemicals in the pool water.
They need more indoor activity such as video games in the safety of their own homes.
How is rallying support for a team that has been there 40 years, had no issues and was unceremoniously notified they’re out of the pool next summer a “mob mentality.” You’re probably the same person that calls any article you don’t like “click bait.” I think you better go look up the definition before you try to apply it to something.
These are parents/swimmers/former members working hard to save a healthy activity that has served thousands of families, increased home values, and taught generations of kids to swim and set goals. One of the leading causes of death for children 8 and under…….drowning. So again explain to me how you can use the term “mob mentality” in regards this story? I don’t see anywhere in the story they are going to riot in the streets and pillage stores? Maybe I missed something….
“One of the leading causes of death for children 8 and under…….drowning.”
My children are outstanding swimmers, and never needed a swim team. Lots of swim lessons available out there…
@Rob
The people on the team that are not homeowners, already pay more for their membership on the team.
The team pays for heat and excess water for the team usage. All homeowners benefit from that.
I would not be stoked if the pool I pay for was being used everyday, Wednesday nights and Saturdays by people that were not members (50% or more not members).
Sounds like you got issues ummm. Did your mother not teach you to share!? I have no dog in this fight, but I’d be more than willing to donate money and time to help these CHILDREN!
Actually the ratio of homeowners is currently 67%, 33% are from outlying local neighborhoods. It is not 50/50 as the board has stated.
The homeowner ratio on the team is actually 67% to outside local families. NOT 50/50 like you’ve stated. There are also 2 additional pools in the neighborhood, so people always have a pool they can swim in.
Wanna get some news coverage for the rally?
Everyone rallying should wear Speedos.
In all seriousness I grew up nearby and was a member of a rival swim team. Walnut Country was always a great team with lots of talent…. we all were so lucky to grow up with these swim teams in our neighborhoods- my fear is that one by one they are disappearing and someday none will exist around here. Please fight to keep this team (and all of the others around here) as they are truly an asset to the community providing families with fun and healthy activities.
Well said.
The verbal bullying by some of the residents and some of the swim team is getting really old. I can’t believe these are adults. State the facts and move on. This is happening on the Walnut Country face book page. We get that you are pissed but you are losing credibility with some of the residents by acting like children. I am waiting for all the facts to come out before I cast my vote.
Now I am not familiar with what you mention on the WC FB page but bullying? Umm that’d be the CHOA calling police because the news is interviewing a CHOA parent in front of the pool. Not being able to tell the team why they unilaterally made a decision against the state open meeting law and has continued to say they can’t say why the decision was made. If you know why this decision was made then you know more than 99% of the people; they’ve been told it’s liability yet they have more coverage than just about any other team, it’s because the majority of members are out of the HOA yet the numbers prove otherwise, it’s about pool use time but then nobody is using the pool tonight? So if asking what the issue is and answering questions when people cite what they think are facts and have been refuted I don’t think that’s bullying that’s stating facts,
Our family has lived in the Crossings since 1976.
If it came to an owner vote, I would vote NO.
We have to put up with the inconsiderate parents that park and block our driveway. Instead of walking across the street to use the Main Pool, I have to pack a cart and trek the kids down to the West Pool. Our monthly dues will cover the cost of operating the pool, it doesn’t need to be subsidized by WCST. We want to be able to use our pool during prime time summer hours, PERIOD.
The WCST parents’ sense of entitlement is insulting to those that actually live next to the Main pool and have to deal with all the downsides, daily.
A swim team doesn’t make a community, neighbors do.
I’m extremely glad you aren’t my neighbor. You need to check YOUR entitlement.
It’s actually concern for the well-being of others that makes a good “community.” You sounds like an absolutely terrible person who is only considering herself.
If the swim team is eliminated, the main pool will NOT be heated before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. The HOA does not subsidize the team. The team subsidizes the main pool, heat and excess water usage. There are two other pools within a few blocks, easy walking distance.
I am an original owner, living in the Crossings since 1973. I’d rather see kids in the pool swimming than it sitting empty as it was last night.
Since one of the involved parties purchased a home at great expense in a HOA that included the use of three pools, and the other parties can find a new swim team at minimal inconvenience, how can you assign “entitled” to either party?
Out of 1062 homes here there are only between 35-40 homes that actually are on the swim team. Guess the swim team thinks the rest of us don’t matter. Other homeowners are afraid to speak up in fear of retaliation from the swim team. This has been going on for years. You make the swim team mad they rally against you and spread false information that makes them look like victims. They do bully. If you live here it is well known.
As a long-time swim team parent and official on another local team, I hope the CHOA votes in favor of renewing WCST. If team size has become an issue, perhaps it can be limited to reduce parking congestion.
However, if they vote to non-renew the team’s lease, there are lots of other rec swim teams in the area the kids can join. No, not ideal and will require change, but that’s part of life and a good learning opportunity for the kids. It is also fun to compete in the water against former teammates, happens during high school meets all the time!
Very Sad.
The folks that are campaigning to eliminate the Swim Team, would benefit from the USE of their own pool.
I would think that most who are against the Swim Team, might want to do a lap or Two.
Our daughter swam for 12 years……The Best Time of our Lives!
If I had bought a house on either side street at the pool, I would have expected the noise, parking problems and the morning restriction of use for swim team practices. The meets are on Wednesday nights or Saturday mornings and are not always at home. This is only limited use and the benefits for all the youth of the development far outweighs the inconvenience of a few.
I’m both a WCST dad and a long time (16yr) resident of Walnut Country. I don’t see both side of the coin simply because CHOA board has not been transparent about how they’re going about things. I combed thru the bylaws and meeting minutes and it’s going to be very tough for them to back-peddle their way out of this cause the evidence of them “being transparent” just isn’t there.
I think WCST and the parent would be more than happy to discuss this openly like civilized people but in all honesty our board is downright corrupt.
Did anyone know that some of the board members received a significant dollar amount in exchange for “donated” materials?
Did anyone know one of the board member received a free driveway from a construction company who was allowed to advertise in our community paper?
Did anyone know there was an ex-board member who outright exposed the shenanigans that went on in those behind-closed-door meetings?
Bottom line is, it’s a circus in there and they need to be voted out.
Well said WCST dad and WC resident. This board is behaving like they don’t have years of corporate work experience. In no workplace would this be tolerated. The behind-closed-door meetings are unacceptable.
Outsourcing a law firm (not the one they have retained for 20+ years) to handle this at our HOA expense is frivolous and sickening at best.
Do people in the Crossings neighborhood also understand that ALL OF OUR home values here WILL plummet without these amenities?? Really let that sink in. You can’t use ONE of the THREE pools for 6 Saturday mornings a summer and you’re mad?? These “get of my lawn” attitudes are what is making this a terrible place to live. If you want Rossmore, then move there.
The same people complaining about these kids being active will also complain that “kids today spend too much time on screens”. You can’t have it both ways. Support our our youth!!
If someone bought a home on the SAME street at the main pool….it was there when you bought so that was YOUR mistake. Stop trying to punish the kids for your mistake.
Everyone needs to allow the homeowners, the HOA and the swim club to talk it out. All I have seen is speculation being spread all over FaceBook and Claycord. I hope tonight is a chance to get the facts, look for opportunities and come to a peaceful conclusion.
Only three percent of the Crossings homes have swim team members. Its a no brainer, get rid of the swim team and let the silent majority, 97%, use their pool. I’m sure glad I am not trying to sell a house in the Crossings!!!!
You obviously use very fuzzy math being the numbers of homes that have used the swim team over 40+ years is much higher. But you have chosen to take a snapshot picture of one year in a development that was coming online in the early 70s with the team starting around ’74 so overall I’d guesstimate over 60-70% of residents have participated in the team over the years. And I’d add with an aging population and more families moving out as they’ve become empty nesters those homes will be filled by families. A swim team is an asset to a development as a youth activity, I can guarantee more people would move in because of the team rather than those that might say “oh wait you mean once or twice a month during the summer one pool might be in use by them on a Weds night? See ya….I am out” What do families look for when buying a home? Commute, schools, bedrooms, and youth activities offered….two of the key ones a preschool and a swim team.
@The REAL just me
Well said and well put
So what happened at the meeting?
HOA dues can easily increase over the years so that by the time your mortgage is paid off, your HOA dues cost about as much every month as your mortgage did. With steep costs to the homeowners like that you can expect them to want to get that for which they are paying — the availability of facilities when they choose to use them. Also, by the time your mortgage is paid off you are ready to, or already, retired, and you finally have time abailable to swin in the pool you have been paying for these past thirty years. I don’t blame the homeowners one bit.
This whole thing is so strange to me. How can people really be outraged by the existence of a swim team in the neighborhood?!?!? I grew up there, in the early 90s, and my parents still live there. I wasn’t on the swim team, but a lot of my friends were, and I wish that I was too! But it still conjures up so much positivity that it overwhelms first world problems like parking and kids yelling too loudly as they compete and have fun. Weird. I think our priorities are not in order…. access to lots and lots of outdoor and/or active activities for kids should be a key priority for a community (and I’m not defining community as the crossings, it’s much broader than that).
Wow, am I hippie?
The swim team practice times are listed as June 10 – August 1, from 7:00 am – 12:00 pm (7 days per week). In addition to the practice time reserved, there are swim meets during some weekends and weeknights. While it is great for kids to exercise and be on swim teams, it does not make any sense for the Cowell HOA to continue allowing a swim team that comprises primarily of non-resident children to operate at the expense of excluding homeowners from using the main pool the entire summer before Noon. It’s as ridiculous as a nonmember walking into the Bay Club or even 24 Hour Fitness and expect to use the pools at those facilities by not joining the clubs as members and expect the paying members to not use their biggest pool during the summer months in the mornings. A swim team that does not benefit most of the homeowners in Walnut Country should not feel so entitled. If each and every member on the swim team decides to buy a house at the Crossings and become homeowners, then the swim team families can vote as homeowners.
Seems to be a lot of misinformation here. The swim team would have been dissolved a long time ago if it were not for the non-residents, which made it one of the strongest teams in the area, hence inviting new homeowners like me. The HOA forced out the coach last year which caused a decline in swim team members and attendance. They then critisized attendance, when in actually was caused by them. The school has a business license and pays the association for that space and it is not open to everyone. The swim team pays the association to heat the pool and maintain the facilities. It also creates the only source for lifeguards at the main pool. The rule for resident members is at least 50%, and it is at 65% currently. The figures here are incorrect because qualifying homes, which I would consider as homes that have children ages 16 or younger, and didn’t have a child on the team previously. The elderly homeowners, and there are a lot in this community built in 1970s, are still used as a factor. Lets see the number of all homes that have had one child on the swim team over the years, and thats getting closer to actual numbers.
This is a neighborhood filled with family sized homes. 3-5 bedrooms. A place designed for children. When the board approved to allow non-residents to be a part of the swim team, they created lasting forum for children congregate and exercise. Most of those connections would not be made without swim team. I am currently experiencing this with my 2 WCST swimmers. I also use the preschool here which is great, but the board hasn’t exactly supported them either, leaving it to the teachers to maintain.
To the residents that have to “deal” with the children laughter and extreme happiness happening at the pool next to their house for about 2.5 months of the year, was the greenbelt and HOA building hiding behind a tree when you knowingly purchased your home. Sorry, but that was your decision. I bought a house on a corner lot, expecting car noise.
Will the HOA fees cover the expenses, how would they know as they have been receiving funds and lifeguards from the swim team for 40 years. Does the board have the capability to get these funds from someone else? I see HOA fee raises in the near future. Happy pickleballers!
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