News

While it was nice to see the rains come in December and January they have an adverse side effect as well.  WEEDS!  Looking around our common areas we took the landscape crew to task for the large number of weeds growing around our community and they went on a weed control mission to eliminate them.  While we use pre-emergent on all of our common areas, the rains allowed the seeds to germinate that had blown in from other areas anyway.  There are a large number of covenants letters going out to homeowners who have not taken care of the weeds on their property.  Please take control of the weeds if you receive a letter so CRCA can appear well-maintained.

We were hoping to have the new splash pad ready to go by March 1^st but our contractor failed to meet the schedule we gave them.  They will be installing the equipment and testing it the first week of March and hopefully we can have it up and running no later than the 15^th of March.  Watch the reader board at the Community Center when we have a firm opening date and make sure you leave your e-mail address at the office so we can send out an e-mail blast.  It should be a great addition to our community and should be enjoyed by the children living here.  Windmill pool will still reopen on March 1^st even though the splash pad is not completed.

I have written about his issue before but I am still continually surprised by the large number of children using the play structure at the Windmill Park playground area.  I am also surprised at how many children and families enjoy the turf area that is really looking nice.  It is too bad that there are a few individuals who believe there is a Poop Fairy who will wave their magic wand and the piles left by their dogs will magically disappear.  There is no Poop Fairy and the piles left are being picked up on kid’s shoes.  Not only that, but there are very real health issues with dog feces as well as it being against the law to not scoop your poop. It is not limited to just Windmill Park but throughout CRCA. Please be considerate of your neighbors and don’t wait for the Poop Fairy to appear – scoop your dog’s poop.

At the January BOD meeting the directors adopted a Resolution prohibiting certain activities in an effort to prevent criminal activity in our community. Also known as a Crime Free Program, it deals with certain criminal behaviors in an attempt to make our community safer for everyone. A copy of this resolution is in this newsletter and I urge everyone to please read it.

The BOD had approved a bid to completely refurbish the Windmill Park pool bath rooms. The Reserve study had allocated $16,000 to perform the work with the bid coming in over $62,000.00. We were able to get it down to roughly $50,000.00 and were going to proceed by making up the difference with other monies. After approving it the contractor came back with his “real” bid which drove the cost up another 25%. We chose to postpone the work on this project and will be seeking other bids but will be moving forward with redoing the showers at Windmill and the Community Center pools. There have been mold issues brought to our attention as well as the unsightly calcium build up on the existing tiles.

A number of residents have been curious about all the digging and construction going on the south side of the office and pool. The BOD has approved putting in a splash pad for the kids to enjoy this summer. It will include a number of water features for the children to cool off with this summer- it should be a great addition to our Association and provide the children here in CRCA hours of fun. There is a mock up in the office if you are curious. We are hoping that the contractor meets our schedule of having it done by March 1st when Windmill Pool reopens.           

As I look forward to another Thanksgiving feast I am very grateful for the blessings we have as a family. While the majority of us have a lot to be thankful for some of our neighbors have been less fortunate and could use a helping hand during this holiday season. CRCA will again “adopt” some
families that could use a little extra help this holiday season, as we have done in the past. It has always amazed me how giving this community is during this season. There is a giving tree at the office for the families less fortunate the association “adopted” for Christmas. Help make their “wishes” come
true by picking up a wish and supplying what they have wished for this Christmas. Santa will be available for free pictures with a canned food donation on December 6th at the community center with the donations going to the food bank- there are also bins at the office to bring donations for the food bank all month. The monthly food truck block party was very well attended with new food trucks supplying a lot of different choices. I made the mistake of bypassing the Twisted Tandoor because I figured the Indian food they were serving was a lot of curry- was I ever wrong. After eating we stopped by as they were giving samples of their chicken dish- was I surprised how well it was spiced and will make sure I stop there next time. There will be no BOD meeting in December as it gets too busy that time of year for all the BOD members. The January meeting will start another year of challenges for the newly elected BOD to deal with.

I wanted to mention that there is a “Santa’s Workshop” presented by the Arizona Rose Theatre Company taking place at the Community Center on Sunday December 21st. This charity event collects “gently pre-loved (used)” toys throughout southern Arizona for the “Santa Recycles” program, where toys are cleaned and repaired for redistribution. Sunday December 21st from 1pm-3pm is the last minute collection for this Christmas. So if your household has those toys laying around that no longer
get used but are in decent condition, why not find them a new home where they’ll be loved? Please contact the management office if you have any questions.
Have a very Merry Christmas and safe and Happy New Year!

You should have all received your ballots for the BOD election by now. If you have not voted please take a few minutes to fill it out and mail it in. How this association moves forward and interacts with homeowners depends on homeowners casting their vote on how this will be done. There are four qualified candidates for three positions so please vote.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Connie DeLarge for serving on the BOD for the past six years. She has chosen not to run this time and the community owes her a big thank you for the time and effort she has put forth being a BOD member for six years. Thank you Connie.

Fall is here and the dogs and homeowners are enjoying the lower temperatures for their walks. Hopefully this will also bring out more people to the monthly Block Party/Food Truck Roundup at Windmill Park. There has been a consistently good turnout of people in attendance and the climbing wall at last month’s was a great success. Hopefully we will see you there in October.

The Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives to help those less fortunate are still planned, as is the holiday lighting contest and caroling at Windmill Park . A Santa food drive is being organized with free pictures with Santa for a food donation with times announced next month.

Enjoy the cooler weather and consider attending a committee or BOD meeting. This community is only as good as those willing to donate their time to make it better that way.