General Manager Theresa Ostrander covered a lot of ground at the July 29 Fireside Chat—a full room, and no cookies left. Here is what changed, and what it will mean for you.
Villages moves to a centralized phone system
The Villages has transitioned to a new phone platform. There is now a single main member line: 408-274-4400. The old system supported little more than landlines (POTS—Plain Old Telephone System), which cost $150 per month each; the Club has gone from over 150 in 2023 to 6 today. Each POTS line had to be traced for usage and purpose before it was decided to be discontinued. Some were moved to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) or to mobile phones. Meanwhile, Public Safety had become the switchboard for everything, fielding roughly 800 calls a day on top of running the gate, patrolling the community and responding to member calls for assistance. The new centralized Member Services call center is staffed by two team members in Building B who can pull up your member record and assist you. Calls to Public Safety have already dropped by about a third of what they used to be a few weeks ago. This new phone system does not prevent members from continuing to dial Villages departments directly. It simply provides a more efficient option through the main line for members and guests who may not know which department to contact. This was a key action item in the FY25/26 Strategic Plan.
The facility review report card
A new committee, approved by the Club Board will oversee the planning, implementation and roll-out of a structured approach to conducting a comprehensive facility and amenity condition review at The Villages Golf and Country Club. The review will be conducted using a weighted priority ranking matrix —five weighted factors: safety, age, structure, function, and appearance. The committee will draw upon member volunteers, DACs, directors, sitting committees and staff to engage in this effort. Grading will be conducted by creating teams of eight, utilizing iPads to record and score the facilities. each team of graders will be partnered with a member from the committee, a staff person and a subject matter expert (SME). To support impartial reviews, volunteers will not evaluate facilities they regularly use. More information to come as we roll this out. This is a key action item in the FY26/27 Strategic Plan.
New Clubhouse Manager
Recruitment is underway for a position dedicated to the day-to-day member and Clubhouse experience. In addition to member relations, the position requires strength in back-of-house operations, financials, and staff management. Candidates have gone through several interviews to help ensure we hire the right person, who is the right fit, and has the right skill set. Director Judy Owen sits on the panel for the final Club Board interviews.
Club IQ member polling
Starting next quarter, each day, a unique set of members will be asked one or two quick questions about a recent experience: a round of golf, a visit to the Bistro, a call to the gate. It takes seconds. The point is to get a daily read on how things are actually going, rather than one long survey once a year. CLUB IQ is a member experience polling system that will provide snapshots of moments in time giving insight to the Boards and staff on the member experience daily across the span of time. This insight will help the Boards and staff focus on areas to further improve.
The FY26/27 Capital Projects Plan
The Club’s capital projects plan, covering 2026 through 2030 will be published the week of August 10.
The Players Card
As part of our efforts to recruit new Players Card Members, staff used the marketing assistance of the Golf Moose and Golf Now platforms that served as a gateway to introduce this new revenue opportunity for golf. The Players Card is intended to provide 100, 30-plus year olds an annual pass to play the Villages course at $3,500 per year per person. The idea with using Golf Moose and Golf Now is a short-term marketing strategy designed to have new players introduced to the concept—like sitting through a timeshare sales pitch before you get to play. Members noticed an uptick in outside players on the course as a result of dress and conduct expectations were not tightly being enforced before Golf Moose and Golf Now players reached the first tee. All of that has been corrected, and outside players now go through a full orientation. Golf Moose is being discontinued in August. Golf Now will continue for a few more months. Seventeen Players cards have been sold, for about $59,500.
Capital Fund Fee: where we stand
The Capital Fund Fee launched June 1 and helps fund the replacement of Club assets as they reach the end of their life. It is collected upon each home sale, $10,000 per transaction, and the projection was roughly ten sales a month. June brought in $90,000. July stands at $60,000 with three more sales pending. The Club has also restarted quarterly meetings with local realtors through the Realtors’ Forum to help agents explain to buyers that ownership here includes Club membership, not just an HOA fee.
Introducing Chef Kennole
Chef Kennole is the Club’s new Executive Chef, joined by Sous Chef Justin and Executive Sous Chef Paolo. He came to us by word of mouth, with both country club and outside-the-gates experience, and he is already surfacing equipment needs that are now being evaluated and addressed. New vendors and new menus are coming.
Project updates on the Member Portal
Every Public Works project will soon be posted and tracked by village on the Member Portal under the Resources tab.
New member ID cards and door access
The Club is moving to a keycard and phone-based door access system for Club facilities. The cards issued in 2014 will not work on it. That means an in-person appointment for every resident is needed to obtain a new photo, a new card, and a chance to update member information. Some outdated or incomplete information carried over when The Villages changed databases, and this will be an opportunity for members to verify up-to-date information. Expect a phased rollout with communication well in advance.
AT&T fiber: timeline and status
AT&T has been planning, designing, and preparing for construction. They found that much of the existing cable was buried directly in the ground without conduit—some of it 50 years old—which may have contributed to some of the service issues members report. AT&T has indicated that the additional work has not changed its projected timeline; the rollout is still targeted for March 2027. Updates will be published on the Member Portal under the Resources tab.
Verizon tower
The tower is complete and screened to blend into our tree line. Stronger cell coverage across the community waits on a PG&E transformer, along with completion of the courses 20-foot wide cart path from Gazebo Park to the Tower as required by the City of San Jose ordinances allowing safe passage of fire trucks and other large service equipment.
Beewise: Bees at the Upper Gardens
Starting August 28, a solar-powered, AI-monitored beehive goes in at the Upper Gardens. The hive is not located within the gardens themselves, but nearby in the surrounding area It is sealed, insured, sited away from play, and requires nothing of our staff. A QR code on site will tell you how the bees are doing that day, and there will be hive tours and Villages-branded honey to come. No other community for adults 55 and older in the country is doing this.
Turf reduction and defensible space
Turf reduction has been ongoing since 2023, built village by village through the DACs with member surveys, plant palettes, and round after round of renderings. It has now produced a Villages Master Plant List, planting guidelines, and fire performance standards, helping create defensible space throughout the Community.
Water reports, rebuilt
For years, more than 600 meter readings were keyed in by hand and pushed through a chain of linked spreadsheets, split by district and type, then by building and sourced to a unit—saved to PDF. The new reports on the Member Portal trace every figure back to a City of San Jose invoice, with use and cost broken down by service type, district, and meter. A second phase will separate irrigation from domestic use, so we can measure what turf reduction is actually saving Villagers over time.
Strategic Plan 2026–2029
The Strategic Plan 2026-2029 includes three initiatives: 1) an engaging member and resident experience, 2) a master-planned review of facilities and amenities, and 3) landscape and fire safety. Board goals and staff performance measures now tie back to those three.
Questions?
Email:
gmoffice@the-villages.com.
—The Villages Team