Sun City West board reviews $250,000 master plan and $300,000 website/app placeholder in capital budget

The Sun City West governing board discussed two large placeholders in the draft capital budget during its April 11 workshop: a $250,000 consultant-led master plan and a $300,000 website redesign with a companion phone app.

General Manager Stephen Erno said the $250,000 figure is “the estimated amount that we believe we'll need in order to hire a consultant to prepare the master plan,” adding that the work requires “a significant amount of community input” and will include in-person meetings, surveys and a project website. He described the website/app estimate similarly: “the $300,000 is what we're estimating will it take for the website redesign and to create a phone app.”

The master plan item and the website/app are included in the capital projects and repair-and-replacement summary that appeared in the packet. The budget presentation listed new capital projects and repair-and-replacement items totaling $5,868,122, with $740,000 shown under new recreation capital projects.

Why it matters: Board members pressed for clarity because the dollar amounts are large placeholders in this fiscal-year budget. Director Pajkowski emphasized the one-time nature of the master-plan expense, saying the $250,000 “is not going to come back every year” and that subsequent years would likely require much smaller follow-up funding. Director Novello stressed procurement controls, reminding the board that any work will follow the association’s procurement policies (RFPs and multiple bids) and that staff will return to the board with specifics before committing funds.

Discussion highlights included concerns about timing and technology strategy. Director Novello and others said the community’s new IT director has been in place only a few months and that a clearer internal technology roadmap would help define scope. General Manager Erno said putting placeholder funds in this fiscal year is necessary to allow the work to begin now; if the board did not include the amounts, “there is 0 chance of it happening this fiscal year.”

Committee and board handling: The Budget & Finance Committee recommended that the website redesign and phone app be pulled out of the packet for separate discussion at the higher-dollar ($100,000+) level. During the item-by-item committee and director review of pullouts, most committees and directors registered no recommended pullouts in the $50,000–$99,999 category; for the $100,000-and-up group the Budget & Finance Committee and several directors requested the website/app item be pulled for further consideration.

Public comment: A resident (Matter 132059) and others in the audience supported the master plan and thanked directors who asked clarifying questions. Several directors and members urged broad community engagement if a consultant is hired.

Next steps: The board did not vote to authorize consultant contracts at the workshop. Staff said any vendor selection and final scope would come back to the board for approval under the association’s procurement policies.

Ending: The master plan and web/app items remain on the draft budget as placeholders. Board members repeatedly stressed that the figures are estimates and that the procurement process and further board review would precede any contract or expenditure.