Menu
Log in

June 17, 2021 cabana update

Please Read

Dear members, as previously communicated, we have been monitoring state and county directive changes that apply to our cabana club.  The recent state release of new mask guidance and county dashboard improvements allow us to relax the wearing of face masks.  Following are more detailed explanations and changes that are being implemented at our cabana.  Please ensure you are fully aware of these changes.

State Guidance for the Use of Mask Wearing

As you may be aware, our State of California released new guidance on June 15th that no longer requires the wearing of face masks for vaccinated people (with few exceptions; see Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings).  Since our County of Santa Clara deferred mask guidance to the state in the directive issued on May 18th (see Mandatory Directive on Use of Face Coverings), we can now directly apply the state guidance to our establishment type.  Meaning, we no longer require vaccinated members and guests to enter with or use face masks anywhere in our cabana areas effective immediately. Non-vaccinated members and guest are required to wear a face mask.  

Whether members are vaccinated or not, we will support any members that wish to continue wearing face masks.  No members will be declined entry for wearing them.

There are tighter restriction for employees (in our case, for our lifeguards) as Cal OSHA governs employee/employer safety requirements.  So you may on occasion see lifeguards wearing masks for the time being (likely indoors only).  

However, in the event of a reported COVID 19 infection outbreak, face masks and 6ft distancing will have to be reinstated until the outbreak clears. We expect members to report infections to the Director of Operations, the Vice President, and/or the President, as we are still expected to communicate outbreaks to the broader membership while ensuring we keep personal information private. 

Are Guests Allowed?

We have been monitoring our county's dashboard and given that we now have greater than 70% of all adults and children older than 12 years old being fully vaccinated (see COVID-19 Data and Reports), we believe it is safe enough to expand entry to guests.  The minimal risk status (Yellow) also allows us to open our venue (cabana) to the maximum capacity.  Therefore, we will start allowing members to bring guests (ideally close friends and family) to our cabana starting Friday, June 18th.

With a combination of needing to balance attendance with expense increases to staffing (this year was the last year of a 4 year plan to raise minimum wages in our county), continued increase of utilities, increase in member management software subscription (and more), the board voted in the June 1st ACC Board Meeting to increase our Guest fees to $5 per guest. 

Touchless Payments

In order to maintain caution against COVID 19 infections, we are planning to minimize person to person contact with our staff and maximize touchless payments in all areas possible.  Our member management software allows members to self invoice when charges are incurred for things like guest fees and snacks.  It has not been an option we've promoted in the past because it adds more management overhead but in this new normal, it's an option we would like to leverage more.

Going forward, when paying guest fees or purchasing snacks via your web browser or mobile device app, please select the option "Invoice me".  Avoid the "Pay Online" option which is an immediate but time consuming credit card charging process - too lengthy for check-ins.  Charges incurred via the "Invoice me" path will then reflect on your member account balance. Note: the office computer check-in process will be modified to where you will have to login using your account email and password for a more secure check-in and fee/purchase charges.  However, if you check-in via your mobile device app or home pc browser, nothing changes - this continues to be the preferred method to maximize touchless entry. 

Every time you log into your account via a web browser, you will see your account balance (if any).  We ask that you pay your balance at the end of every month to avoid letting it get too large. At that point, you can pay online using a credit card (to save on transaction fees, please ensure your charge no less than $25 on your credit card i.e. you account balance should be $25 or greater when making a payment) or by dropping off a check at the front office (write "account balance" in the memo - we'll have a special drop-box for account balance payments).  To be clear, you can only see your account balance via a web browser, not via mobile apps - please, please, please check it regularly if you're an active user of the club.

Look for new policies regarding account balances in the near future.  It will include carry over of account balances to yearly member due invoices if balances exist after season end as well as other collection options.  Since our community cabana is a not-for-profit entity, we operate on very thin margins and cannot afford to not collect balances.

What About Area Rentals for Parties?

Since most parties create surges in attendance with no control of where guest may travel from, we feel that it is too early to expose our membership to that risk.  Therefore, we will continue to refrain from allowing area rentals at this time. We will continue to monitor state level dashboards and reassess this decision for July.


Best Regards,


The Board
Almaden Cabana Club


Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software