The Meridian Service Metropolitan District held its monthly board meeting April 2. Changes to guest policies for the pool, contract negotiations with the community newsletter provider and planning for Falcon Freedom Days were discussed.Marti Wallner, senior director of the Meridian Ranch YMCA, reported that the program schedule has maxed out the room availability in the recreation center. ìChild watch has been at capacity every day,î Wallner said. The recreation center is so busy that they canít rent to outside groups or businesses, which has been a goal from the beginning, she said.At the March meeting, the board asked Wallner to research how many of the residents represent repeat users of the recreation center. ìOf the 4,726 entrance scans last month, 1,079 were repeats,î Wallner said. ìWe also had 454 guests signed in by residents.îGuest pass policies for pool use during the summer have been changed. Meridian Ranch residents were allowed three free guests per household, with a $2 fee for any additional guests. ìWe need to do something because I do not like turning away residents,î Wallner said. ìLast year, we had to turn residents away because we had let in so many guests on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.îThe board agreed to drop the number of free guests per household to two, and raise the fee for excess guests to $5. ìWith 150 additional households since last year, we have to tighten it up to make sure we don’t tell the people who bought here tough luck,î said Doug Woods, developer representative.The outdoor pool will open May 21 at 9 a.m. Wallner reminded residents to replace any lost badges or apply for new credentials well in advance of the opening date. ìEvery year, we have families who have to wait because they’re bringing all their paperwork at the same time,î Wallner said.Porchlink Media representative Kelly Caffee spoke to the board about district concerns with the contract to publish the Meridian Ranch newsletter. The $970 monthly cost of the newsletter and postage is currently split between the metro district and the developer. Woods said he understood that any advertising revenue generated by newsletter ad space would reduce the cost to the developer and the district. Caffee said the contract was clear about the ad revenue, and the confusion probably had to do with the golf course agreeing to be the primary sponsor until more ad space was sold. ìAdvertising revenue is our profit; you’re only paying for the physical printing costs and the postage,î Caffee said.Woods said the developer agreed to extend the contract until October to avoid an interruption in service and confusion for advertising contracts. When the contract expires in October, the developer will opt out of contributing to the newsletter and the district will have to pay the full amount. ìWe don’t want to commit the homeowners to paying for this without their input,î Woods said. ìWe’ll take a straw poll in May when we have about 50 residents at the homeowner meeting.î Board members calculated the newsletter would cost the equivalent of 60 to 70 cents per month from each district bill.Technical details about insurance and licensing issues for the July 3 Falcon Freedom Days event were discussed. ìWe have spots available for vendors to rent to provide food or frozen yogurt,î said Tim Hunker, district manager. ìThis has been a lot of work to put this event together,î Woods said. ìWe’ve been doing it from the developer and golf course side for about 10 years. It only works as well as the people you have working on it. All these guys work really hard, and it comes out marvelous.îFalcon Freedom Days will be held July 3 at Antler Creek Golf Course. The next district meeting is May 7 at the Meridian Ranch Recreation Center community room.
