Pool open for the season and cared for by all of us

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This was perhaps the earliest pool opening in our club history, with the new pool facilities passing inspections with flying colors (100s!) Many thanks to our meticulous pool coordinator and all of the volunteers who graciously offered their personal time to wrap up projects around the property. Over 400 hours have been offered by our members in April alone.

First swim of the year, May 3, 2024 - 5 p.m.

New this year:
Coordinated by one of our handy maintenance chairpersons and contracted out with your maintenance fees, the old, wood ceilings were removed throughout the breezeway and pool deck. They were replaced with nice birch plywood, then painted a bright white by another contractor.

Your maintenance fees also went towards tiling out a shower in the men’s restroom and other repairs in and around the main building.

Volunteers moved and extended the retaining wall behind the pavilion, and after tidying up some plumbing, we should have a nice area for grilling and cooking. Stay tuned for details.

Things to remember:
Please, treat our new pool and improved facilities like they are your own—because they are.

Absolutely no glass should ever be on the pool deck, no matter how careful you promise to be. Leave glass bottles in the breezeway.

Follow the posted rules and any instructions from the lifeguard. Contact the board if you have any questions or issues.

Awesome events:
After a couple of great pre-season events, we had our first “pool” event of the year of May 4. Our Cinco de Mayo celebration was a huge success with over 110 reservations.

We have an Open House for new and prospective members coming up May 18 and tickets are already on sale for the Memorial Day weekend Low Country Boil and Indian Dunner in June. Make your reservations early so that event organizers can prepare more efficiently!

Club Opens May 5, Cinco de Mayo party in the evening

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This Friday is another First Friday Fun events led by social chair Paige Lozier, with the help of some great volunteers. Each First Friday Fun offers something just a little different. Sometimes it’s a meal, but there’s also dive in movies, karaoke, game night, trivia and more.

Sometimes First Friday Fun actually happens on a Saturday… But that’s beside the point. The point is, there has been a LOT going on at Northcrest Club and there’s even more coming this First Friday Fun weekend with an awesome meal prepared by Chef Wayne. Cinco the Mayo is always fun and it is always delicious.

Members, get your tickets before Thursday. We have to know what our stopping point is on the fresh ingredients we’ll need just in time for the event. Yum!

This First Friday Fun brings even more with the official opening of our bran new pools! They look great and are working even better than we could have imagined. We are putting the final touches on the pool deck and new front landscaping this week. So be sure to stop by at the party or sometime this weekend to check it all out!

Members, please check your club emails for details on how to access the club this year.

Membership Dues FAQs

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As a final reminder, all club membership dues will increase by $50 beginning April 1. Like many private clubs and businesses that depend on dues to stay solvent, for over 60 years, a late fee clause has also been a part of our own club bylaws established by member volunteers. This year more than ever, it is important that we follow our bylaws to ensure our club stays on track during its largest capital infusion ever.

In 2023 The club introduces an all new pool

Members have donated (given with no expectation of return) tens of thousands of dollars while others have loaned the club tens of thousands more. As good stewards of their contributions, and the many thousands of hours others have invested in sweat equity, it is important that all members understand and follow the bylaws of our club agreed upon during their initiation. Your volunteer board has worked hard to communicate all membership expectations over the last few months in particular, as we approach the April 1 deadline.

All changes to memberships were discussed thoroughly at last year’s annual meeting and we encourage all members to participate this coming October so your voice can be heard.

To better accommodate individuals and families of all sizes and needs, over the years our club has split membership options into several different options. So, the topic of dues is one that can admittedly, take a moment of consideration for members.

Dues fall into two primary categories: Club Memberships and Tennis/Social memberships. Club memberships offer full access to club amenities while the tennis/social option has recently been revived to accommodate those interested in basically everything but pool deck access.

 To apply for a new membership or renew your previous year membership, simply head to our “join or renew” page and follow the prompts.

Below are some more recently, frequently asked questions that we hope will clear up any misunderstandings about your 2023 dues:

Pricing
In researching comparable clubs and recreation options, it has been determined that we have charged too little for too long. However, this year it is important to note that only family dues increased by $50 for 2023.

Monthly Payments
Please note that a monthly payment option is now available for all membership types.

Maintenance fee

Volunteer time was part of the original charter of this club.

The idea was that members would participate in routine tasks around the property to save money and keep our dues low. In fact, our records from the 60’s indicate volunteer coordinators were quite persuasive in chasing down members to fulfill their obligations.

The maintenance fee is an opportunity for members to pay instead of volunteer, yet another option introduced to accommodate all kinds of membership needs. This fee was changed from $50 to $100 in 2023, since recent years have seen a decreasing percentage of members who volunteer. The increase was also deemed necessary to cover the costs we pay to service providers to complete work that volunteers performed in the past.

In 2023, this became mandatory upfront because it was impossible to collect if a membership did NOT complete their volunteer hours. Unfortunately, many members chose to ignore this obligation, and the club was left without both a maintenance fee and valuable volunteer time.

About our expenses
Fixed Expenses have increased by over $10,000 from last year, mostly due to increases in pool management costs as well as other businesses passing their cost increases on to us. This increase does NOT include the annual repayment on the renovation loan.

What you can do to help
If you take a walk around the grounds, you will see all the repairs, upkeep and major projects that still need addressed: Parking lot, tennis courts, dumpster surround, major tree removal, drainage issues behind the pool, pavilion upkeep, general landscaping, etc. In addition, there are plenty of “non labor” tasks that need addressed, like running errands, managing volunteers or even taking a bit of time to write an FAQ document to post on the club’s website. 😉

Anyone can contribute something. In fact, an eight-year-old kid did this blog post.

If you would like to discuss unique ways you can contribute outside of a scheduled work day, just contact the board to discuss and coordinate specifics.





Pool topped off

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Both pools have now been topped off. A crew will be visiting daily to complete the curing process for the new plaster and underwater lights still remain to be installed. Things are looking great! For those of you attending the rescheduled Saturday trivia night, a brief VIP tour may be possible if the site is in good order.

A good bit of work remains before we will be ready for poolside parties. A great deal of landscaping and painting will be necessary to bring things up to snuff.

Filling the pool!

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Major repairs and upgrades to filtration, pool shell and pool deck are now complete! The pool is being filled!

There are over 116,000 gallons to go, and the area is still very much a construction zone. Work still remains for trimming out lights and the actual filtration part of our water plant. PLEASE STAY OFF THE POOL DECK and avoid the pavilion area. The deck is no place for children right now in particular, and the pavilion is still very much a staging area for equipment. PARENTS: Please keep an eye on the young’uns! Do not move or adjust hoses or equipment.