I was a little surprised to read an article in the Highlands Ranch Herald this week that the HRCA is now taking memberships from those outside of the Highlands Ranch HOA boundaries for membership.  You can read that article here.

Its not the idea that surprised me, I have heard this idea kicked around in thought speculation for some time now.  But I was surprised that it has started so soon. 

HRCA has begun a program that they are offering up to 200 memberships for people to join.

Highlands Ranch is almost built out – that is no surprise.  So at some point in the non so distant future homeowners dues will come in from existing homes only and growth will no longer be an issue.  So increasing revenue without memberships would really only come from increasing dues – so this also seemed like a logically alternative.

How do I feel about it?

Actually I am ok with it.  I think 200 memberships is a good number to try out.  I know there are times of day where the Rec Centers in Highalnds Ranch can be crowded and I know that my wife always mentions that the outdoor pools in the summer are a bit crowded form time to time – but overall I feel that it is manageable to increase revenue in this fashion.

Here are just a few examples:  My daughters basketball league was canceled this summer due to not enough players.  There are times mid-morning when at least half of the exercise machines in the Westridge Rec Center are not being used when I am in. 

I do like the idea that they are thinking of alternatives instead of just raising dues.  It shows that many folks are really looking at alternatives instead of just blanket increases.  I hope innovative thinking continues.

By the way, I am not sure how many have purchased memberships yet.  It would be interesting to know how its going in a few months or so.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.