News

I am 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 dogs poop.

On a happier note CRCA will be having its annual Easter Egg hunt the Saturday before Easter- April 7^th. There were over 350 kids last year and we are anticipating a larger turn out this year. We are still in need of volunteers to assist the day of the egg hunt. If you could find a few hours to spend helping there you will be rewarded with a lot of smiles from the children participating. Call Jocelyn at the office if you are interested in helping out.

I presented the Pool committee with some figures on how many homeowners use the Windmill Pool during the winter months- November, December, January and February. I was shocked by the low number of homeowners who use the pool or spa and asked the committee for some input before presenting the information to the BOD and community. Apparently it went beyond the committee to the small number of people using the pool or spa and resulted in a barrage of phone calls to the office as well as a few users coming to the BOD meeting to protest something that was never discussed outside of the pool committee. The Keri card system, to access the pool, tracks each pool card that is used for entrance to the pools. I had management put together the usage of the Windmill pool for January, February, November and December of 2011. There were 319 households that used the pool or spa (7% of the 3450 households in CRCA) – 249 of those households used the pool less than 5 times in those 4 months. The remaining 70 households (2% of the households in CRCA) used the pool from 6 to 55 times during those 121 days. I have included a more thorough breakdown of that information below and wanted to share that information with the whole community. I understand that it is nice to have a heated pool to enjoy in the winter but much like my choice to not heat my pool because of the cost as a BOD member I have to look at the cost versus benefit of expenditures to the whole community when budgeting. There has been no need to increase dues for a number of years because of fiscal responsibility of the BOD’s. The Association is no different than a homeowner in that there are increasing costs associated with services we require. There is no move afoot to close Windmill pool in the winter but there is a need to closely look at the cost of heating the pool against the benefit to the whole community. That is what I asked the Pool committee to look at- nothing more. This will be presented to the whole community so that all homeowners will have say in this before any action is taken.

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10 homeowners (0.35% of all homeowners) used their cards between 27 and 36 times in 120 days.                               

6 homeowners (0.17% of all homeowners) used the pool area between 37 and 55 times in 120 days.

TOTAL USERS OF WINDMILL POOL AND/OR SPA FOR WINTER MONTHS (Nov., Dec., Jan. and Feb.) WERE 319- OF WHICH 249 (78% OF THOSE 321) USED THE POOL 5 DAYS OR LESS. A total of 32 homeowners (0.9% of all homeowners) used the pool and/or spa more than 10 days out of 121.  10 of those 32 homeowners used the pool more than 30 days out of 120 days.                                                                                       

Hopefully you all had a wonderful holiday and 2012 will bring everything you hope for.  I know that the two families that CRCA adopted for Christmas had a good Christmas because of the generosity of a large number of homeowners who donated items that the children of those families wished for. Thanks to all of you- it was greatly appreciated by all.

I would like to thank the Boy Scouts of Troop #219  And Girl Scouts of Troop #320/1499 for their taking the time and effort to make the flag raising at the Community Center on December 10^th a special event. They approached the flag-raising with respect for what the flag represents and took their duty very seriously. When you drive or walk by the Community Center take the time to look at the flag and reflect on what it means to each and everyone one of us.

The BOD has survived another year of challenges and obstacles and I am sure we will face more of them in the year ahead. Every member of the BOD puts a lot of time and effort into the making CRCA a better place to live. I feel we have been successful and look forward to another year serving all you homeowners.

The Activities Committee accomplished a lot of things in 2010 and 2011. There was no Halloween Party in 2011 and Santa was not available at the Community Center for pictures benefitting the Community Food Bank. This is because there are only two members on the committee at this point- and attendance has been dismal at best. The BOD will attempt to put on the Easter Egg Hunt in 2012 but we need volunteers to make this as good an event as last years. Even if you do not have the time to serve on a committee please consider volunteering to help this Easter. The kids really enjoyed it and the BOD does not want to see this disappear because of lack of people to help out during the event.

Hopefully everyone had an enjoyable and festive Thanksgiving. With the Christmas season upon us we sometimes get caught up in just the commercial side of the holiday. With an Activities committee that has lost enough members to put into question the viability of supporting

community activities the BOD committed to personal support of the Christmas Light Contest and the Adopt a Family for this month. Given that there was no planning done for the Adopt a Family from CRCA by the committee we cannot put a wish list for donations to a family struggling at this time in this newsletter. A giving tree will be in the lobby of the office

with “wishes” on the tree from the family or families we are trying to help at this sometimes not so joyous time of year for some. Please, try to find the time to try to help someone not sharing the blessings some of us have and make a wish come true for a neighbor by stopping by the office and picking up a wish. It is with regret that we had to accept the resignation of Rob Palfreyman from the BOD. Rob just has too much going on with his work and family to devote the time required to be on the BOD. Thank you for all the time and effort you put in Rob- CRCA is a better place because of you. Rob will still remain as a member of the landscape committee and is a valued asset with his extensive landscape and plant knowledge. The BOD would like to welcome Roxanne Ziegler to the BOD. Roxanne was unanimously appointed to replace Rob at the November 17th meeting. She brings new perspectives and a definite interest in the community as evidenced by her time and efforts on the Marana Town council. The new flag pole is up and we just received the flag that was flown over the capitol in Washington DC. The

girl scouts and boy scouts will be raising the flag on December 10th at 10am. Please plan on attending and show your support to what the flag represents. I would personally like to thank all those involved in the association and wish all of you and all my neighbors here in CRCA a Merry Christmas.