The State of the Club is strong. With summer just around the corner, the LSRC is prepared to enter its 48th year looking great! In recent years, the updates and improvements that we have all worked hard on have made the club look fantastic. These include an overall facelift to the building and grounds, new interior clubhouse paint, a new clubhouse roof, new fencing, and updated deck and clubhouse furniture. In addition, our membership has grown significantly. Indeed, the LSRC remains a vibrant and vital hub for our community. 

However, there is one capital project in particular that we can no longer ignore. Our beloved pool is in dire need of repair, and the LSRC will not be able to open for the Summer 2023 season unless these repairs are completed this coming fall. The necessary repairs include the following:

• a complete resurfacing 
• new coping (the cap or “lip” at the top of the pool wall)
• new tile
• new skimmer baskets

All of these repairs are considered general maintenance for a pool and must be completed periodically. Since the last time our pool was resurfaced was twenty-five years ago, we are long overdue. As many of you already know, the leak(s) in our pool have recently become such that we are losing a considerable amount of water at an alarming rate, and the deterioration of the coping and tile present a safety hazard for members and guests. We simply cannot defer this maintenance any longer. 

The difficulty in completing this maintenance, however, is (of course) the enormous expense involved. While the current Board has been anticipating these repairs and has been setting aside money for them in recent years, the quotes we have received for the work have far exceeded our expectations (and our bank account balances). We also approached two different financial institutions about a loan for the project, but in the end, both banks stated that they would require an individual member to personally guarantee the loan, which is not something we would expect anyone to do. In short, we will need around $120,000 to complete the work on the pool. With roughly $35,000 in the bank, we must find a way to raise the remainder of the money soon. 

What does this mean for you? We need your help! Please be as generous as you can this summer! Here’s what you can do:

1. Join the pool! It helps build community, and membership income helps us cover our operating expenses! Also, consider buying an additional membership for your friends as gifts!
2. Attend the silent auction on Opening Weekend! The auction is open to everyone and we’ll have lots of great baskets for people to bid on! There is something for everyone!
3. Participate in our fundraisers! We have several great fundraisers planned already, with more to come throughout the year. If you have a fundraising experience and want to help, or if you have a fundraising idea, please let us know!
4. Give generously. Any amount helps, big or small; $50, $100, $1000, the sky’s the limit! Click here to access our go fund me page!
5. Consider making a $1000.00 pledge in addition to your membership fee. While many organizations would levy a “special assessment” to members in situations such as ours, the board is choosing to ask for voluntary donations from members instead. Please click here if you can help in this way. 

As you consider these options, please keep in mind that membership income does not typically raise additional money to cover capital expenses, and the LSRC has, for many years now, waived the initial “buy-in” fee for new members that used to provide funds for such projects. In addition, our silent auction, while a wild success last year, only raised about $3,000.00. Summer 2022 is our last chance to raise funds for the pool maintenance; we will be reliant on fundraisers and donations to make repairs this winter so that we can open in 2023. Without this maintenance, the pool will not open next year.  

We remain optimistic about raising these funds and believe that we can see these projects through by working together! Let’s continue to value our community, cherish our summers together, and provide for future generations. We are looking forward to a great summer and many more summers in the pool here at the Larkspur Swim & Racquet Club! 

-Larkspur Swim and Racquet Club 

Board of Directors