MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

How To Become a Member. You may print out our membership application by clicking on the LFSC Application for Membership link above. If you prefer to receive an application by regular mail or email, please contact our current Membership Chairman, Carol Schaengold, or write (PO Box 5579, Washington, DC 20016). Mail the completed application to our Post Office Box address.

Why a wait list? The pool operates under a Special Exception to Montgomery County zoning, and the Exception governs all our operations. The county Board of Zoning Appeals has limited the membership to 377 families. The Club requested a zoning change/reappraisal several years ago, and the county agreed to increase the zoning from 325 to 377. At that time, we were able to let in many families, and there was lots of movement off the wait list. Now, the demand again far exceeds our zoning.

Our wait list now consists of over 260 applications. Priority on the list depends on three parameters—the distance from your house to the pool, the period of time since your application was received, and whether you rent or own your house.

In order to avoid accepting applications from individuals with little chance of being offered membership, the Club decided, effective January 1, 2006, to accept applications only from individuals having primary residence in that part of Bethesda enclosed by the combination of these two boundaries:

1. Commencing on the west side of River Road at Little Falls Parkway, proceed west along the south side of Little Falls Parkway until it intersects with Massachusetts Avenue, then proceed south along the east side of Massachusetts Avenue until it intersects with Western avenue, N.W., then proceed east along the north side of Western Avenue, N.W. until it intersects with Cortland Road, then proceed north along Cortland Road as if it continued to Willard Avenue (so as to include all of the houses on Sherrill, Saratoga, and Baltimore Avenues and on both sides of Cortland Road), then proceed along the south side of Willard Avenue to River Road, then proceed along the west side of River Road to Little Falls Parkway to the point of origin; and



2. The area that lies west (and south) of Massachusetts Avenue, east of the Little Falls Creek, and within 4,000 feet of the Club property.

How are points calculated? Distance points are based on a set of concentric rings centered on the pool. Applicants who live within 400 feet of the pool receive 10 points; within 800 feet 9 points, etc. We use a list of house numbers to determine what ring your house falls in. There are 10 rings. People who live beyond the outer ring (4,000 feet from the center of the pool) will never get in the pool, so we do not accept applications from those people. Your distance points are awarded at the time of application and, as needed, recalculated if the applicant moves within the catchment area while on the waitlist. All wait list ranking calculations are made by a computer program.

Homeowners receive 5 points when the application is received, again on a one-time basis. Renters receive no such points for three years, and then they receive 5 points. Since the average wait on the list in recent years has been five years, the practical effect of this distinction between owner and renter is small.

Time points accrue at a rate of 2 points every year. Before we generate the wait list, we do a mass update of the database to add time points.

Some complain that these rules seem arbitrary. They have been in effect for decades, however. They are spelled out in the bylaws of the pool, and can only be changed by a formal vote of the membership. The fact remains that, so long as demand for membership exceeds our zoning limit, no amount of tinkering with the rules will eliminate the wait list to the satisfaction of all families that are waiting.

How long will you be on the wait list? As mentioned above, your wait will depend on several factors. Each spring at the beginning of March, bills are sent to full members of the pool, with a reply due by April 1. Each full member must pay the summer dues, go inactive, choose 60 Plus guest pass status (10 swims per summer), or resign.

For every full member resignation, we offer a full membership to the top family on the associate list.

For every inactive member or 60 Plus guest pass member, we offer their space to an associate for one season. The families on last year's associate list receive these offers first, in priority order based on the order in which each family moved from the wait list to the associate list.

This is tricky because we never know how many inactive families we’re going to have. One year we just barely managed to keep from having to bump associates back to the wait list.

If there are still inactive slots open after all associates are admitted, we go to the wait list and offer associate status to the people atop the wait list.

So to recap, each resignation allows us to admit one new full member from the ranks of the associates. Each inactive member allows us to create an associate slot; associate slots are offered first to past associates, then to those on the wait list.

We try to complete all these transactions before the pool opens each year. The post cards or letters that note your position on the wait list are generally mailed in mid- to late May. If people resign mid-season or mid-year, we will fill the slot immediately.

Options and costs. When we call you to tell you that you are next in line to be offered an associate membership, you have three options: 1) accept and pay half the equity of a full pool membership ($500) plus annual summer dues of $425; 2) accept and pay half the equity of a full pool membership ($500) plus the inactive fee ($50); or 3) decline. If you decline you can choose to go back on the wait list, but you do go back to the bottom and start over.

Sometimes this phone call comes at an inconvenient time, for example, after you have already made a commitment to another pool. To be fair to others on the wait list, we need a decision within 5 days.

After you have been an associate for several years, you will get another call, this time offering you full membership. You have two options: 1) accept and pay the remaining equity in the pool ($500) plus a nonrefundable initiation fee of $100; or 2) resign. We recognize that this call also can come at an inconvenient time, and that the difference between associate and full membership offers nothing more than voting privileges (and the chance to serve on the board!). But again, this is the way the bylaws are written. To be fair to others, we need your decision within 5 days.

The total equity in the pool of $1,000 is refunded to you when you resign.

How we notify you. We always CALL people to offer full memberships or associate slots. In the time that lapses between your application and the call, people often move or change phone numbers. It is your responsibility to keep the club informed on how you can be reached, especially if you go overseas, in which case an e-mail address is most effective.

Popular Misconceptions:

1. You get no extra points for having children.
2. You get no extra points if your parents were members in the past.
3. Pool membership does not convey with the house you buy, ever.
4. People have been told by friends and neighbors that the wait list should take 3, 4, or 5 years. That really depends on how many people give up their memberships or go inactive each year. We can’t predict that.
   In the past, some people have moved away and kept their memberships. Until February 2004, our bylaws did not prohibit this. However, by vote of the membership in February 2004, "any applicant who becomes a member or associate on or after January 1, 2004, shall forfeit that membership if he or she later moves to a location more than 4,000 feet from the Club property."
5. You cannot apply for separate tennis membership. In 1998 our tennis and pool memberships were merged. Now when you are a member of the pool, you are also a tennis member.

On October 1, 2001, the Board of Little Falls Swimming Club (LFSC) formed a subcommittee to explore membership issues. The subcommittee was formed in response to longtime board and community concerns about ever-increasing waitlist pressure and to fully explore one pool member’s proposal to radically change the current point system. The following report outlines main points resulting from the subcommittee’s research.

A survey of six similar private swimming clubs in Montgomery County found the following: 1) No pool managers had heard of another pool in the county with as long a waitlist. 2) Our annual dues and equity fees are lower than the average fees of other pools in the survey. 3) All six pools surveyed (Old Georgetown, Potomac, Tally Ho, Inverness, Wildwood, and Carderock) have open slots for temporary or long-term membership that would be available to those on our waitlist.

Swim Team Issues. LFSC Swim Team representatives report that they believe the present size of the team, at 120 members, is about as large as can be comfortably handled under the present low-key, "community feel" of the team and the emphasis on equally focusing on swimmers of all abilities. If the team were larger, say more than 130 or 135 swimmers, afternoon practice would probably have to be restricted or eliminated. In addition, the community would have to endure additional noise, and LFSC might face country restrictions on the number of meets or operating hours.

Pool Management Issues. The Pool Manager believes that the pool is basically at capacity. It is already very crowded at peak afternoon and weekend times. More members would mean increased wear and tear on the pool and bathhouse and increased noise, trash, parking, and safety issues.

Zoning Issues. We researched the possibility of petitioning the county to increase our membership. Using the formula from the Montgomery County Manual on Public Swimming Pool Construction, we determined the legal capacity to be approximately 390 members. With 377 current members, the pool is currently at 96.6% capacity. Given that the pool is so close to its legal capacity, it is unlikely that the Board of Appeals would approve an increase in membership.

Conclusion. On the basis of the findings regarding capacity, the subcommittee does not favor pursuing the expansion of the membership cap. The subcommittee also does not favor any "creative" expansion of membership categories.

Last summer, a pool member proposed eliminating the current point system for membership and moving to a first-come, first-served system. The board decided to further research this issue to determine if this idea, or any others, were viable options.

Brief History. Our current wait list is based on three factors:

• Residential Stability. Homeowners get 5 points, as do renters who have been on the list for three years. Currently there’s no practical difference between the two.
• Wait Time. 2 points for each year of waiting.
• Proximity. 10 points for those adjoining the Club property or within 400 feet of the pool, 9 points for those 401 to 800 feet from the pool, etc. We do not accept applications from anyone living more than 4,000 feet from the pool.

The way these points are weighted means that close-in applicants can "step ahead" of far-out applicants. The Jones, in the 10-point ring, can bump the Smiths, in the 1-point ring, unless the Smiths have been on the list for more than 4.5 years. This accounts for the fact that waits are always longer in the outer circles.

Breakdown of Constituency. The bulk of the constituency of LFSC is concentrated in the 9-, 8-, 7-, 6-, and 5-point rings, 400 to 2,400 feet from the pool. Approximately 73% to 80% of eligible constituents live (or lived when they applied) within those circles.

"Cliff" Issue. If the pool went to a first-come, first-served system for everyone except those houses actually ringing the pool, the system would create a huge gap between those ringing the pool and their next-door neighbors. It could mean a 7-year waitlist difference between two adjacent houses, potentially leading to skewed housing prices and unpleasant relations between neighbors.

Conclusion. The current point system is quite rational in design. It has three important factors (proximity, stability of residence, and time on the wait list) and it weights them appropriately. The current system doesn’t produce huge disparities and inequities between neighbors. Eliminating proximity as a factor in LFSC membership is not a workable solution to any of the waitlist problems and, in fact, creates new problems.

Statistics. The basic problem is that there are too many applicants. LFSC has admitted 19 new Associates, on average, in each of the past four fiscal years. This contrasts with the current waitlist of 267 families and an average of 58 new applicants for each of the past four years. Average wait times are continuing to grow: 1998-2000 Waitlist—10-point circle: 2.39 years; 1-point circle: 7.12 years; average: 3.89 years. 2001 Waitlist (projected)—10-point circle: 4.01 years; 1-point circle: 10.69 years; average: 7.62 years.

Even under the current system, waits are long—and getting longer—in all circles:

Reallocation/Redistribution of Pain. Changing the current point system would not reduce aggregate wait times. It would merely reallocate the pain of waiting. Our data show that going to a first-come, first-served system would merely redistribute the pain of waiting. Those families in the outer circles would gain—but only by displacing families who live within blocks of the pool.

Conclusion. The waitlist problem will not improve over time. It is essential for LFSC to enhance its communication with those on the waitlist and educate them about the situation. Recommendations:

1. LFSC should improve its website (including by posting this report) to further public understanding of the membership process.
2. The pool membership chair should send a letter to those on the waitlist detailing the current situation and publicizing the other pools in the area that are undersubscribed.
3. The board should consider sending a representative to upcoming neighborhood association meetings to keep the community informed.
4. The board should consider making hard copies of this report available to the community.
5. The board should better publicize the June "Neighbors" meeting.
6. The board should conduct an annual review of membership/waitlist issues and update the data analyses to determine if any changes are warranted.

Articles of Incorporation. The Club’s Articles of Incorporation specify that LFSC is formed "for the benefit of our community and the citizens and residents thereof, Green Acres and Glen Cove, Montgomery County, Md., and the nearby and adjoining communities."

Current Constituency. The three major neighborhood associations in our area—Green Acres/Glen Cove, Brookdale, and Westmoreland—list about 1,800 addresses. A conservative estimate for the Club’s total area would at least double that figure. That implies there are about 10 housing units for each of LFSC’s 377 memberships.

The 4,000-foot boundary of LFSC, even in a straight line, is quite a distance in a compact and highly developed area. This circle extends beyond the Fresh Fields shopping center (including the Kenwood apartments and the newly renovated apartments on Westbard); to the corner of Western and Wisconsin avenues (thus including all of the GEICO and Hecht’s properties slated for development), and as far into the District as the corner of Brandywine and 45^th streets. Somerset and much of the Village of Friendship Heights fall within the Club’s de facto boundary. Yet the 4,000-foot limit fails to take in all of Westmoreland Hills: Some 170 homes beyond Albemarle Street are excluded.

Minimum Catchment Area. Hypothetically, if LFSC wanted to shrink its boundaries to the point where no family would have to wait more than three or four years to get in, the data show that this could be accomplished by including in the catchment area just those houses in the first four distance-point circles around the pool.

Adjusting Boundaries to Anticipate Development. Ongoing housing development on Westbard Avenue and planned development at Friendship Heights could sharply increase pressure on the waitlist. LFSC could adjust the pool’s boundaries to exclude areas of new development. Although some believe the pool boundaries should be aligned with the Westbrook Elementary School district, those boundaries are not under the Club’s control and could change. A more practical definition of the LFSC community could be the neighborhoods represented by three citizens associations—Green Acres/Glen Cove, Brookdale, and Westmoreland.

Conclusion. Although shifting the boundaries will not take much pressure off the waitlist, the 2002 pool board should consider bringing this issue to a membership vote in order to prevent future problems relating to new development.