Presidents Letter

The Finance committee has come up with a balanced budget recommendation for our next year with no dues increase required to fund the same amounts required to meet the needs of CRCA.  The Board will finalize the budget at our next meeting. The pools, landscaping, management fees etc. will receive the same funding as before so you should see no change in the maintenance and care of all the facilities and common areas in CRCA. The reserve study calls for reserve contributions to increase $10,000 – $15,000 each year.  Due to planning by the Board, the monies to cover the Reserve contribution increases were available from careful spending over past few years and will cover those increases for each of the next two years without having to raise dues to meet the added expenditures.

While the housing bubble affected everyone there are some bright spots here in CRCA. According to information from the TARMLS (Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service), CRCA has seen home values increase 17% in the last three years. While things still haven’t fully recovered, it is nice to see increases in our values. The most impressive change was the number of days a house is “on the market” which has averaged 38 days this year – the LOWEST since before 2005.   The other interesting fact from TARMLS is that the total number of homes sold in the first half of 2013 is the most we’ve had in 8 years.  It looks like we’re definitely headed in the right direction.

The Reserve study calls for replacing the kiddy play structure at Windmill Park next year. Rather than having a bunch of us “old fuddee duddees” decide what should be in the new structure I am hoping for some parents of the younger children who use the structure to volunteer to investigate and make recommendations as to what should be included. Please contact the office if you would like to be involved in this upcoming project so that we can have a structure that satisfies those who use it. 

It was nice to see that a few younger homeowners have decided to become involved and are running for the BOD this year. They bring new and fresh ideas with a different perspective on things. What is sad to me is that only five homeowners attended the first nominating committee meeting when they interviewed the first half of the candidates and only one homeowner attended the second interview of the remaining candidates. Ultimately, those candidates who get elected will set the tone and way this association operates; it is unsettling to see homeowners take no interest in something that affects this community so greatly and has very definite impacts on each and every resident living in CRCA.

It was brought to our attention by a homeowner that anyone with a wheelchair would have trouble accessing the grass at Windmill Park from the west parking lot because of the loose gravel used in the landscaping which separates the field from the parking lot. Our Association’s landscape company heard about this and has volunteered to supply the bricks and help grade and place them to provide access for those needing help. Any additional volunteers who would like to become involved in this project would be greatly appreciated. Again, contact this office if you would like to help make this happen. We want to make this a community donation that doesn’t cost the Association any funds.

Windmill Park is finally open for everyone. The Reserve Study called for re leveling the field this year and it became a bigger job than anticipated. Titan Landscaping- our landscape maintenance contractor- ran into more thatch build up than could have been expected. This resulted in them having to do a second dethatching on a large portion of the field and baseball outfield. This had to be done to promote a healthier turf in the long run but also required the field being closed longer than we had hoped. A major portion of both the field and outfield had to be reseeded as well and required watering 2 to 3 times what we would normally do to allow the seed to sprout and get established and also meant not allowing anyone on the turf until it became established. CRCA has a large investment in the turf at the park and baseball field and the Reserve Study recognizes this asset and assures we have the funds to maintaining it to the high standards it should be. They are enjoyed by a large number of residents throughout the year for parties, picnics, pickup games, the Annual Easter Egg Hunt, dog walking, and the list goes on. You may notice that there are still some areas that aren’t 100% established, but we went ahead and reopened the park since we sensed the community was getting pretty anxious about the length of time it had been closed.  Nonetheless, please do take the time to walk through this great asset and enjoy the green grass and nice ramadas we all can enjoy. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout at the first monthly Block Party food truck roundup at Windmill Park. It was a hot but enjoyable evening with a large number of people walking as well as driving to take advantage of the numerous vendors. I have to give credit to Jocelyn and Josh – in the office- for coming up with the idea. It was fun for all who attended with great eats available. Please check it out this month. It is the second Monday of every month from 5PM – 8PM. I even heard rumors that a few bands have contacted the office and would like to play at the event, and Karie has been working on finding a classic car club to show off their rides at the event; let’s hope it gets bigger. Remember to say hi to the Pinup Pastries people- they’re CRCA residents.

There are 10 applications for the upcoming BOD elections with some of the same old faces with a few new ones applying. Be sure to attend the Nominating Committee meetings when they interview these candidates so you have a good idea of who is running and their views on how CRCA should be run.  This is your HOA and it is only as good as the efforts you put into it.

Have a great summer and I hope to see you at the next Block Party food truck roundup.

It is amazing how we all take things for granted and assume that important matters are taken care of. With the fire department doing yearly inspections and requiring us to do things like move a fire extinguisher by a few feet and straightening up a storage closet, I am surprised that they never informed us that there were no smoke detectors or a sprinkler system in the office. I watched a documentary on smoke detectors that covered both photo electric and ionization (the most common one in houses). The photo electric detect smoldering fires, which create smoke but little actual fire. Ionization are best for rapidly spreading fires where there are lots of flames, but little smoke. Most deaths related to fires are from smoke inhalation rather than people being “burned to death.” I decided to change the ones in my house to photoelectric and went to check on the type in our buildings. To my surprise we had none- nor was there a sprinkler system. I had Josh check into putting in a sprinkler system and found it would cost well in excess of $50,000 to put one in. Needless to say one would question why it was never put in during the remodels of both buildings years back. We will be installing photoelectric smoke alarms to start with and will be looking at a sprinkler system in the future.

Having lived here for 10 years now I have also taken for granted our “warm” weather. I traveled to Fort Collins Colorado in late March for a week to be greeted by 8 inches of snow and 30 degree temperatures. I came home and thawed out then spent a week in Kodiak Alaska and another week in Palmer Alaska in mid April doing some training classes for the Operating Engineers Union. The high temp in Kodiak was 41 and we never got out of the 30’s in Palmer- needless to say I was glad to return to my home and our wonderful weather. I guess I have become a “desert rat” and would not trade it.

There are lots of rumors being spread about this BOD that are nothing more than that. Let me remind you that your BOD members are also homeowners and receive no compensation for the time they spend on association business, other than the satisfaction of making CRCA the best it can be. We all take our position seriously and attempt to look out for the community as a whole and not just the vocal few.  The big picture is what counts. Our home values are affected by association actions like everyone else and we all have a vested interest in CRCA.  Some rumors claim that covenants are not being enforced, by directive of the Board.  This is a bit farfetched, especially when over 800 notices were sent out in two months this spring which is almost 25% of the number of residences here.

The last scheduled BOD meeting did not include a homeowner forum. Because of travel, job demands, medical issues, illness, and prior commitments amongst Board members, there has been no quorum for the BOD meetings since February. I did not add the forum to the agenda in May, because I was concerned that after several months of no meetings, there would be more business than usual needing attention. With the meetings exceeding two hours in a normal month it was decided to not have the forum until we get back to the norm of making quorum for our monthly meetings. This did not eliminate input from homeowners on any agenda items but limited the points of discussion just to business related items. The forum has not been eliminated forever, just postponed until the pending regular business gets completed.

We were hoping to have Windmill Park open for Memorial Day weekend but the leveling and preparation was more involved than anticipated and did not allow this to happen. Have a safe and enjoyable summer- the pools are in good shape so enjoy them.

President’s Message

Peggy Bracken – 1^st Vice President

With the hot weather approaching the pool sure seems to be busy! I think we have such beautiful pools here and it’s always terrific to see so many people enjoying them. Something we all need to be cognizant of is the pool rules. The pools are a great benefit and enjoyment to a lot of people, but abuse of the rules ruins that. Breaking these rules will now result in loss of pool privileges for a month and also a fine. In previous years our association has spent as much as $60,000 per year for pool monitors, which are essentially “babysitters for adults”. Hopefully with stronger penalties for breaking the rules, everyone will simply behave themselves and we can conserve our association funds. If you observe inappropriate behavior please report it to the office with the specific time and day of the occurrence so we can review the security tapes to see if any action is required. With that said, I hope this leads to a more enjoyable pool experience for everyone — Cheers to a great summer ahead!

Recently there have been several false rumors spread about the current Board of Directors and association business. You may have read about this in the March Windmill Newsletter. This Board has worked extremely hard over the years to improve the atmosphere in Continental Ranch and has made great strides in an effort to improve the values within our community. There is currently a small number of individuals circulating false and misleading statements. How much does this cost the Association? Well, so far the Association has been forced to spend $4,000 of your money on defending the unfounded allegations of these individuals, who continue to spread false rumors to an otherwise peaceful community. Those of us who have lived in Continental Ranch remember when there were hundreds of unhappy homeowners attending Board meetings, now there are many who complement this Board for the work they do. The intent of this Board is to maintain the values of properties within this community and make it an enjoyable place to live. We feel we have accomplished this goal and done so without any increases to our association dues. The Board would like to thank all of you who have worked in making this community a great place to live at this moment and in the future.

Our landscape committee has worked very hard in making our community nice and colorful. The committee will be working in identifying what plants did not make it through the harsh freeze this past winter. The committee wanted to give ample time to see what plants would grow back before making their decision on replacements. The board would like to thank everyone for their patience while there are some missing plants in the area.

On Saturday April 20^th the area enjoyed the first (of many to come) block party held at Windmill Park. Food trucks were located in the parking lot area, at the end of the football field along Coachline. The trucks are self-contained and do not cost the community anything to enjoy these events. I’m really looking forward to seeing these become a monthly community event! A reminder that HOA assessments are due May 1^st, with a 15 day grace period to help folks get paid up. A late fee is applied after May 15^th. We understand that some people have financial difficulties and so we try to make everyone aware that CRCA will accept a payment plan to help those people stay current. Please contact the office if you need to work out a payment plan, the management staff is happy to assist.

Spring is finally here and things are starting to recover from our last frost. The landscape committee will be watching very closely to see if some of our plants did not survive the winter and will make sure that any replacements are more frost tolerant. The Texas Mountain Laurels and Tombstone (Lady Banks) roses are in bloom along Twin Peaks and are a pleasant distraction until the lantana and other plants recover from the winter.

The pool was very busy during spring break but along with being busy came a few issues. People without keys were being let into the pool by people inside and there were a few groups that felt they were above the rules for the pool. Please remind everyone in your family that there are rules to be followed while at the pool so everyone there can have a pleasant experience. Just a reminder that if the rules are not followed that your pool key can be turned off for 30 days and you could be fined $100 for an infraction. The pools are a great benefit and enjoyment to a lot of people but abuse of the rules ruins that. If you observe inappropriate behavior please report it to the office with the specific time and day of the occurrence so we can review the security tapes to see if any action is required.

The Easter Egg hunt was another success with over 500 kids this year, and I’d like to extend a job well done to Jocelyn and all the volunteers who participated in this annual event, especially the boy scouts. Something is being added to another annual event in CRCA. The annual yard sale will include the first (of hopefully many) Block Party Food Truck Roundup at Windmill Park (from 11AM to 3PM). Try to stop by after the yard sales to sample some of the eats being offered by these unique vendors. There will be a jumping castle in place for the little ones as well as lots of great food.

Hopefully we have seen the last hard freeze for this winter- at least it wasn’t as bad as two years ago. Even then there were a number of plants and trees that were affected and will require some time to come back. The feather trees were really affected and the mesquites also- dropping a lot of their leaves due to the cold temperatures. The Swan Hill Olive and the Texas Mountain Laurels along Twin Peaks were not affected and neither were the Swan Hill Olives around Windmill Park- congratulations to the landscape committee for choosing them.

With all of the upgrades that have been done at Windmill Park we are seeing more residents using the park as well as organized teams from outside CRCA using the field. I can understand wanting to use the Windmill field with it being so green and well kept but Windmill Park is a private park for CRCA residents with the upkeep paid through our dues. If I had a choice between using the field at Windmill or the fields offered by the Town of Marana I would go to Windmill also, since we use winter grass for year-round green. The town charges $5 to $8 an hour to use their fields with the dead grass in the winter so Windmill is very tempting. CRCA requires that organized groups supply a certificate of insurance to the association because of liability issues for the association. If you have an organized group planning on using Windmill Park please go to the office so we can get the required documents in order. In the past, the BOD has required is that any team using the field have 75% CRCA residents on their team for them to not be charged a use fee. There are costs associated with maintaining Windmill field to the standards the landscape committee and BOD require and they are paid with our dues.

There is an ad in this newsletter for the Easter egg hunt for this year. Easter is earlier this year- the 30^th of March- instead of April and Jocelyn has been busy getting things lined up for an even better event than last year’s. As is always the case we need volunteers to help support this well attended event. Please consider volunteering to help for a couple of hours. It provides an opportunity to meet your neighbors and see the children enjoying the activities- IT IS WELL WORTH THE TIME.

The BOD was able to move forward with a number of projects called for in the Reserve study for CRCA this past meeting. The reserves that the association has accumulated over the years allows us to maintain items within the community that have a useful life span and require replacement or updating on a planned schedule. This keeps the properties owned by CRCA in great condition without having to raise assessments to do so. We were able to update the lighting at the Community Center pool and parking lot last year to energy efficient LED lighting with a savings in electrical usage of around 30%- we approved updating the lighting at the Windmill pool and office at the December meeting to the same type of LED fixtures and expect similar savings. The parking lot at the West end of Windmill Park was also on the list for replacement and will be pulverized and a new lift of asphalt laid with new striping to give it a much needed face lift. A new AC unit for the office, sealing the flat roof at the office, redoing the deteriorated electrical wiring at both pools for lighting, sealing the office parking lot and numerous other projects listed under the reserve study were all approved at the last BOD meeting.

I would like to welcome Karie Westpahl as the newest member to your BOD. She was appointed unanimously to replace Gladys Pope who resigned with one year left in her term. Karie will be a welcome addition to the BOD and as a young mother will bring another opinion to this BOD.

With the holidays behind us I would like to thank all who participated in the caroling at Windmill park and the holiday lighting contest. A lot of work was put into the lighting displays and appreciated by a large number of people. The homeowners living on Victory Court did one better- they placed luminaries all along Victory Court spaced about four feet apart and were observed walking up and down the street with their charcoal lighters relighting the tea lights the wind blew out. Great job and a great idea by those homeowners.

Our landscape contractor- DLC Resources- has closed their Tucson offices and will no longer be doing the maintenance of CRCA’s landscaping. The Landscape committee interviewed three firms and recommended Titan Landscaping which the BOD approved at the last meeting. The quality of our landscape maintenance should not suffer as Titan was formed by employees of the DLC Tucson office and we will have the same crew and manager that were DLC employees here in CRCA. There should be no “learning curve” as these people are already aware of the nuances with our irrigation and landscape needs. As a side note- the Windmill Park grass has never looked better.

Have a safe 2013 and we hope to see you at one of our committee or BOD meetings. This association is only as successful as the people involved in decision making.

Hopefully everyone had an enjoyable and festive Thanksgiving. We are in the same predicament with the Activities committee as we have been over the past years. The last two members have resigned until more people step forward to participate. The BOD has again 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. If anyone knows a CRCA family who could use a little “help” with Christmas please contact the office with the information. 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 Gladys Pope from the BOD. Gladys informed us she has “commitments that will take more time and make it impossible…to give the BOD the time and effort required.” Thank you for all the time and effort you put in Gladys- CRCA is a better place because of you.

I would like to congratulate the new member elected to the BOD-Bob Vollbrecht; as well as the returning members Connie DeLarge, Roxanne Ziegler and myself. I would also like to thank the other candidates for participating and wish them well. I was re-elected as president with Peggy Bracken- 1^st Vice, Marilyn Stimpson- 2^nd Vice, Connie DeLarge- Secretary and Roxanne Ziegler- Treasurer. With another election behind us and the holidays around the corner it is a busy time for all of us, but the BOD is still faced with a number of challenges.

It is really disturbing to see people ignore paying their HOA dues. While we understand that some people have financial difficulties we try to make every one aware we will accept a payment plan to help those people stay current. Once your assessments exceed $327.00 it is turned over for collections and is out of our hands. Please, if you are having financial difficulties, contact the office to make arrangements so we do not have to send it to collections.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday.

I hope that you have been able to visit Windmill Park since the brickwork has been completed. It has made the picnic areas a lot more inviting and accessible to everyone now that the walkway is complete. The BOD approved redoing the grass surrounding the picnic area as there were high and low spots after the brick work was completed and it will level out the high and low spots. A number of BOD members have looked at the condition of the concrete pads in the picnic area as well as the picnic tables and have management getting bids improving those items.

There have been remarks heard within the community about there being too much money being spent on landscaping of the common areas (Windmill Park, entryways, Twin Peaks, etc.). I would first like to thank our landscape committee for working hard to present much needed improvements to the BOD and spending time actually touring the community to come up with their proposals. The governing documents require: “The Association shall use a reasonably high standard of care in providing for the repair, management and maintenance of the Common Areas…” The current budget for landscape is the same as it was before the current BOD was elected in 2008 and has not required an increase because of the hard work of the landscape committee, the BOD and management.

The ballots for the election of the BOD should have been received by you now and I urge you all to voice your choices for the direction CRCA takes. You have probably noticed that the process has changed a little. We were informed by our attorney that the State of Arizona now requires that all ballots cast can be identified to the person casting the ballot. You used to have to sign the envelope and your ballot was put inside with no way to identify who voted. With the new requirement the BOD decided to require the signature on the ballot but we also have hired a CPA firm to handle all counting of the ballots received by them. No one within CRCA will ever see who voted for whom under this arrangement. The ballots once counted will be sealed and held by the CPA- only to be released to the court if an election result is challenged. Please vote your choice.

I asked the homeowners attending the last BOD meeting to please let the office know if the lights at their entryways are not working. After touring CRCA on a Saturday night I noted that a lot of the monument lights were not working and had management look into why they were not. The electrician reported that the locks on the battery boxes had been drilled out and the batteries and controllers had been stolen. Mountain Shadows had both boxes drilled out but only one side had been vandalized. I can only assume that they were scared off by a resident entering the parcel. It cost the association over $90,000.00 to install the new lighting a few years ago and it troubles me to see this type of theft occurring. If you see suspicious activity, please call Marana police and report it. This type of theft not only affects the appearance of CRCA but it also costs all homeowners money.

The budget for next year (starting November 1, 2012) was approved at the BOD meeting on August 16^th. The Finance Committee did not submit a proposed budget for the next year to the BOD so the BOD discussed and prepared the budget at a study session. The budget for next year will require no increase in annual dues and still meet the requirements of maintaining our common areas and facilities to the high standard the BOD has set. Even with some costs increasing (the contribution for the reserves went from $143,000 to $160,000 for next year) we were able to have a balanced budget by careful consideration of all elements of the budget. CRCA has some of the lowest dues in Pima County and more amenities than most other HOA’s.

The new brickwork at Windmill Park is completed and will give better access to all homeowners as well as providing a bigger and nicer picnic area. It is a great addition to the park and the whole BOD hopes it will be enjoyed even more than in the past.

I urge you all to attend the “meet the candidates” meeting on October 2^nd. It is an opportunity to hear what each of the candidates has to offer and their ideas on how CRCA should be run. There are varying ideas being presented this year and it will affect how the association does business and interacts with you the homeowners! Please plan to attend.