President Scott Adams addresses the dire financial situation facing Rancho Murieta Country Club when speaking at the Rancho Murieta Association Board meeting on Dec. 19.

RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - Although the dire financial straits facing the Rancho Murieta Country Club wasn’t on the agenda when the Rancho Murieta Association (RMA) Board met on Dec. 19, President Scott Adams still discussed the issue during the public session.

During his president’s report about the executive session, Adams said the board had discussed the association’s involvement with the Rancho Murieta Country Club (RMCC) and the club’s current financial situation with the possibility of bankruptcy.

Adams said many residents have asked him and other directors if RMA members can begin paying mandatory dues to the country club or even buy it to keep it afloat. “I’m going to elaborate here because these questions continually come up,” he said.

Adams first addressed possible involvement by RMA at the club’s annual meeting in November. “I described the hurtles facing RMA to require RMA members to financially support of the Rancho Murieta Country Club,” he said.

The association wasn’t involved 20 years ago when every homeowner was required to pay dues directly to the country club for the privilege of owning a home in Rancho Murieta, Adams said. That was voted out, and country club membership became voluntary.

Adams said that requiring RMA members to pay country club dues would necessitate a change in the CC&Rs. He said 60% vote of all the rooftops in the community would be required, not a majority of 60% of members voting.

The CC&R revision would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, Adams said. Then, members would have to vote on increasing their dues.

“At this time, the RMA Board believes that spending member money on a vote that won’t pass is an unnecessary cost to RMA members,” he said.

On the other hand, the governing documents allow members to petition for a vote if they gather signatures from 5% of the members, approximately 140 votes. “If they presented the signatures, RMA would be required to go through with the vote,” he said.

Adams didn’t address whether the association could buy the club.

See a separate story in this issue about other happenings at the RMA Board meeting.