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Sun City West committee delays decision on West Valley League tennis accommodation after disputed documentation
Summary
The Chartered Clubs Committee said tennis club leaders have not produced the specific, signed reciprocity documentation the committee requested; the club says it provided the requested materials and asked for more time. Meanwhile visiting players would pay daily guest fees if no accommodation is granted.
The Sun City West Chartered Clubs Committee on Jan. 7 heard a prolonged discussion about a long-running request from the West Valley League tennis club for an accommodation allowing competitive, reciprocal league play with other communities.
Recreation Manager Casey Huda told the committee the effort to secure reciprocal agreements among the 12 league communities has been ongoing since 2017 and that, under current RRMPs (rules, requirements and procedures), the tennis club has not met the documentary standard the committee asked for to recommend an accommodation. "Only 2 age restricted communities are willing to sign," Huda said, and she recommended the club consider a smaller reciprocal arrangement with communities willing to sign.
The issue matters to players because, without an approved accommodation, visiting teams and players must pay the guest access fee for home matches. Tennis club member Larry Plaster said the difference between the West Valley League and social tennis is substantial: "A league is much different. You belong to a team, you have a partner, and you play competitive tennis ... that's competitive league tennis," he told the committee. Plaster said the club had submitted multiple documents and dozens of hours of correspondence and that it had supplied emails in response to the committee's earlier request.
Committee members said the materials submitted so far do not consistently include the explicit, signed refusals or direct email statements from the other communities that the committee required to consider the accommodation request complete. As a result, multiple committee members said they have not had the documentation necessary to make an informed consensus recommendation to the governing board.
Committee member Pat (last name not specified) recapped the committee’s instruction from the prior meeting: the tennis club must provide demonstrable evidence that other communities declined to sign reciprocity. Committee member Vicky said the committee's role is to verify the documentation and that it cannot itself grant an accommodation; that decision lies with the governing board.
Tennis club members and others urged the committee to consider a temporary accommodation to allow the club time to arrange alternatives. The club estimated the guest fees for remaining home matches this season would amount to about $800; the daily guest rate cited in the meeting is $6 per visitor. Committee staff said the club was given a period to gather and submit the requested documentation and that staff would distribute the tennis club’s materials to committee members for review. If sufficient committee members request it, the club may be given another hearing; otherwise the current status remains.
No formal vote was taken at the meeting. The committee agreed to circulate the materials on file to committee members and to consider whether to place the matter back on a future agenda; the governing board retains final authority over any accommodation.
Ending: The committee did not grant an accommodation at the Jan. 7 meeting. Staff will forward the club’s submitted documents to committee members for review, and the committee may schedule another hearing if members request it. In the meantime, West Valley League visiting players are subject to the daily guest fees under current RRMPs.
