Dear Concerned Residents,

We, the organisers write to thank you for your important role in standing up for what you believe in and supporting the movement we started to rid Sandhurst of divisive politics so we can live in harmony together as one community.  In the short term we have been successful, but rest assured it will quickly return unless we take further action.

We are stepping in now to assist in co-ordinating residents so they can have a say in what happens at Sandhurst in the long term.  Note that the organisers have no ambitions to be on the board and are simply volunteering time and experience to create a group that works together to achieve important goals together.

As such, we ask again that you support initiatives we are working on to ensure we can be proud of where we live and to secure Sandhurst’s financial future as a private members club.  This is what we have been working on:

1.       We have sought legal and practical advice on how to spill the Board.  We have this in our pocket if we decide we need it.

2.       We have written privately to The Chairman to request his resignation from the Board.

3.       We have looked at the most recent financials, and eagerly await financial reports due for release at the end of October.  In case you are not aware – Sandhurst made a loss of approx. $1M in 2022 – a year when the economy was booming, and most companies had record profits.  This is an alarming sign that spending is out of control and not balanced with revenue.  It means we as residents will be soon asked to dig into our pockets and pay substantially more for the basic running of the club.  It means we have the wrong people running the place.

4.       We have met as a small, organised group and discussed strategy on several occasions and have a plan to bring about positive change.

5.       We have developed a strategic platform for candidates to run as a voting block at the AGM and are reaching out to ask you to support the candidates we put forward soon.  Key pillars include developing community pride via:

a.       Transparency

b.       Communication

c.       Consultation

d.       Accountability

e.       Not political/religious

f.        Focus on Common ground, not differences

g.       Members first

6.       We are preparing a list of matters to raise as “Other Business” at the AGM, particularly in relation to transparency of decision making by the board and executive.  An example of a matter is that we call for minutes of all board meetings to be published on the members intranet for all members to have access to within 7 days of a meeting being held.  There are 11 meetings each year, plus quarterly committee/working group meetings.  Transparency is part of our strategic platform to improve Sandhurst Club and so this should happen regardless of who is elected on the board at the upcoming AGM.  

7.       We are now calling for nominations for like-minded candidates we can all get behind under a unified strategic platform we can agree on.  Nominees should have some experience in business and ideally a specific specialisation that would assist the board in key decision making. We need nominees to be committed to eradicating political agendas from the club.  If you wish to nominate please email cr.sandhurst@gmail.com with your contact details so we can speak directly to you about this.

8.       We have developed a brief survey to capture your opinions, meeting attendance and to capture board nominations and resolutions.  Please take 2 minutes to complete it via this link  https://forms.gle/8Tp6hRp56bCVBvTJ6

9.       We ask you all to attend a meeting at 7pm at Sandhurst Club lobby on Tuesday 26th September to make some important decisions.  Sorry for the short notice, but we need to meet the timing for Board nominations by the end of the week.

At this meeting we want to:

·       Explain in more detail our proposed strategic platform and seek feedback on this.

·       Provide an opportunity for potential candidates to speak and explain what they would bring to Sandhurst so we can determine at least 6 candidates we can put forward that we all can throw support behind as a voting block.  Please email cr.sandhurst@gmail.com if you want to speak so we can plan our meeting timing and give everyone some time on the floor.  We need to help get candidates through the interview stage as simply nominating doesn’t ensure you can run for election.  

·       Gather our database together outside of the Change.org platform so we can better communicate and work together.

·       Seek feedback on proposed matters to raise as “Other Business” at the AGM.  Please send through suggested other business matters to cr.sandhurst@gmail.com so we can put them forward at the meeting or add them to the survey

·       Ask for proxy votes from as many members as possible so we can have a strong showing in the election for our preferred candidates.  Proxy voting forms will come out with the voting forms closer to the AGM.  We will advise what to do with them if you don’t want to or can’t attend/vote at the meeting.

We firmly believe we need a fresh start at Sandhurst Club.  We need a new attitude, a new direction and people who can lead a change management strategy in line with members wishes.  A change of the board is critical.  Let’s get the right people, who commit to represent us all.

If you have any input on any of this, please email cr.sandhurst@gmail.com so we can communicate with you and co-ordinate members.  Meanwhile, please complete the survey via this link https://forms.gle/8Tp6hRp56bCVBvTJ6

We hope to see you all at the meeting on Tuesday!

Thank you.

Concerned Residents Group Representatives