Presidents Letter

Just a reminder, the Windmill Park pool will be closing right after Labor Day weekend so that the planned Kool Deck repairs can be made. The Community Center poll will be open until the Windmill repairs are complete- and yes it will be heated. The repairs are very extensive and will hopefully take 30 days to complete but should result in a major improvement in another one of CRCA’s assets.

There have been numerous complaints by homeowners about having to file written complaints when they have an issue with a neighboring owner. “We used to be able to call in and not have to sign a complaint” is the most often heard objection.  The other comment is “when were the CC&R’s changed?” The CC&R’s have not been changed since being signed on October 31, 2002- we have just chosen to actually read them before acting. Call-in complaints were and are a direct violation of the CC&R’s.

 Section 4.12 Procedure when complaints made against Owners. Any Owner who files a complaint against another Owner, shall provide the Association with a written complaint which contains the complaining owners name, address, and telephone number.”

There are a large number of “trashcan violations” every month. While leaving them out on the curb is unsightly and results in a violation letter that does not mean you have to put them in your garage. Section 5.2.3.1 of the CC&R’s states: “No garbage or trash shall be allowed, stored or placed on a Lot or in a Parcel except in sanitary covered containers. Containers shall not be Visible from Neighboring Property.”  Visible from Neighboring Property: “means any object which is visible and discernible to an individual whose eyes are six feet above the ground level and who is standing at ground level on any portion of the Covered Property.” If you can conceal your trashcan with landscaping or other screening acceptable to the ARC then there is no violation if it is “not visible from neighboring property.” Just a thought for those having problems wrestling your cans from the backyard or garage every week.

It is nice to see all the activity at both of the swimming pools here. With the increased usage comes increased issues. I find it quite irritating that the Association has to spend $50,000.00 every year to employ pool monitors to try and get people to follow the few rules there are for using the pools. $10.00 of your dues is going to these monitors because people cannot seem to understand the need to conduct themselves in a civilized manner at the swimming pools. You will find the pool rules in this newsletter- AGAIN. Let me just say that anyone not following the rules while using the pools will be subject to having their pool keys shut off as a result of inappropriate behavior. The security cameras are up and running and afford us a very clear video of what does go on at the pools and are stored for any future use.  An added note to that is that if you are not current on your dues your pool key will be turned off until you make payment.

While the BOD has implemented a new approach to covenants enforcement it does not mean that we are not issuing violations. The homeowner covenants liaison will be trying to establish personal contact about any issues before writing “the letters”. Please make sure that the office has your current phone number so that they may contact you personally before having to issue  a violation letter. Monetary fines have been used in the past to try to get people to comply- even $100 a day fines were issued a number of years ago with about the same degree of success as the fines levied now. If a violation is not remedied in the prescribed time pool keys will be turned off for a violation along with a possible monetary fine. Not what we as BOD members and neighbors want to do but we have no choice but to seek compliance with the Associations documents.

I hope you are all enjoying the new landscaping that has been going on throughout the community as much as I am. I am sad to report that Joe Callahan, the chairman of the landscape committee, has passed away. I met Joe through the Neighbors Helping Neighbors program. He was in very poor health and needed help with his landscaping. I watched Joe go from just being able to sit in his chair at home to rebounding quite nicely. He started getting around with his walker and joined the landscape committee to try to give back to the community. Joe was very outspoken and his heart was in the right place and he did one hell of a job on the committee. I know that I will miss him but CRCA is a better place because of the efforts Joe put into the landscape committee. When you look at all the new trees and plantings please take a moment and thank Joe for being involved.

Having returned from an extended business trip to Canada I was pleasantly surprised by the landscape changes going on here in CRCA. I would like to thank the landscape committee for all the planning and hard work they have put into  making CRCA more attractive. The new monument landscaping and the additions to Twin Peaks are a very real improvement to anyone entering our community. The retention pond drainage project is done at Windmill Park and DLC is working on restoration of the turf on the baseball and soccer/football field. Hopefully it will be open for use by the 4^th of July holiday. With that said, I am very upset with the amount of new plantings that someone in the community has chosen to steal from Twin Peaks Road. Over 28 plants, trees and cacti have been stolen at a cost of over $500.00 to replace. Anyone seeing or knowing of the person or persons involved in these out right thefts please contact the office so we can stop these senseless acts. Remember- there is a $500 reward for the information leading to the arrest and conviction of any vandalism here in CRCA.

While it is the “fiduciary duty” of the BOD to enforce the CC&R’s we felt that the way that covenants enforcement was handled was too harsh and counterproductive to the ultimate goal of compliance. We are all neighbors here in Continental Ranch and as such want a community that we can all be proud of. With the current value of our homes declining over the past years- because of the economic conditions- it becomes even more important that preserving property values by maintaining the appearance of the homes is a goal shared in the community. We all share in making the greatest single investment we have made in our lives- our Homes and only want them to grow in value.

The covenants enforcement person’s title has been changed to Homeowner Covenants Liaison. There will be more attempts at personal contact and attempting to resolve any issues rather than just the past “violation letters” threatening fines. While this is a new approach it does not eliminate the eventual fines or loss of pool privileges if compliance is not achieved. Please contact the office with your most current phone number or e mail so that we can move forward with this friendlier approach to resolving compliance issues. We cannot make CRCA the kind of community we all desire without your help.

Spring is just around the corner and the landscape committee has finalized a number of projects to be completed with warmer weather. Refurbishing of the entryways will start as soon as all danger of frost is gone. This project will involve removing 27 trees along Silverbell Road that are diseased or dying. The management company will be coordinating the removals so that the replacement trees will be planted shortly after the removals are completed. The sides of Twin Peaks road have been approved to receive additional plantings as well as the newly installed monument of the East end of CRCA. Windmill Park drainage basins will be reworked and brought up to code and the turf at Windmill Park and the baseball diamond will be renovated. This will require that a construction fence be installed around all of Windmill Park. The fencing will be erected the week prior to Easter and will remain up until the turf project has been completed. We understand that a lot of homeowners utilize the park so please be patient during this time and realize that the projects are very much needed to bring us into compliance with Town of Marana requirements as well as to eliminate liability issues with the current condition of the grass fields.The new security cameras are up and running and hopefully will result in less vandalism of our common areas as we will have very clear pictures of those performing these senseless destructive acts. The new pool fencing has been installed on both pools replacing the rusted out fence that was actually falling down.Having been a dog owner all of my life I truly love having canine companionship. Having a dog as a part of the family also comes with responsibilities. While I love dogs there are people who do not like dogs or are afraid of them. Please remember that Pima County has a leash law and that CRCA has a rule that all dogs must be on a leash when on CRCA common areas. Windmill Park is a great place to take your dog- but not off a leash! There have been numerous problems with unleashed dogs and owners not picking up after their dogs. There are signs at Windmill Park that some homeowners either choose to ignore or feel the rules do not apply to them. Any homeowner with an unleashed dog is subject to a $100 fine for each occurrence as well as losing use of common areas (pools included) for 30 days for each occurrence. Please be a considerate dog owner and think of others who might not have the same love of your canine companion.The activities committee is seeking help with the planned Easter egg hunt in April. Please consider volunteering so this can be a successful event for the kids.  

The BOD approved a number of items at the last meeting: buying new “padded” chairs to replace the metal folding chairs at the community center, resolving the standing water surrounding Windmill Park in the retention ponds by redoing the ponds (as well as bring us into compliance with Marana code)and having the backwash water from the pools pumped into the sewer instead of the ponds, and purchasing new and upgraded security cameras and security system to deal with vandalism. Unfortunately Terry Paschen had to submit his resignation due to personal circumstances. We would all like to thank Terry and wish him and his the very best.Your current BOD has worked very hard at not raising dues by being very budget conscious. Something we do not budget for is vandalism. That does not mean that we do not have to pay to have things repaired or replaced because of vandalism. Senseless acts of vandalism continue with ever increasing cost associated with these acts. The Association has incurred tens of thousands of dollars in costs to repair or replace items in the last year and it still continues. We have just completed installing new lighting at the monument entry ways and have had one  light fixture destroyed completely and another protective cage kicked in. Rocks in the urinals, new plantings stolen and destroyed, play structures broken by teens jumping up and down on them, light fixtures tore off of buildings, kids climbing on the roofs of the ramadas at Windmill Park and the list goes on.

New security cameras are currently being installed at Windmill Park that will allow us to have very clear pictures of any vandals to give to the police. We will also be posting any pictures in the newsletter  as well as posting them on bulletin boards throughout CRCA so those performing these acts might be identified. A large portion of the vandalism exceeds $1000.00 in damages and is a felony offense under AZ Statute. This BOD will convict any and all acts of vandalism to the fullest extent of the law allowed. I urge everyone to read the article in this newsletter on penalties for criminal damage under AZ Revised Statute 13-1602 and realize the seriousness for those who are caught.

Parents might be interested in reading: AZ Revised Statute 12-661. “Liabilities of parents or legal guardians for malicious or willful misconduct of minorsAny act of malicious or willful misconduct of a minor which results in any injury to the person or property of another, to include theft or shoplifting, shall be imputed to the parents or legal guardian having custody or control of the minor whether or not such parents or guardian could have anticipated the misconduct for all purposes of civil damages, and such parents or guardian having custody or control shall be jointly and severally liable with such minor for any actual damages resulting from such malicious or willful misconduct.” Parents may also be ordered to attend counseling or community service with the minor. This BOD is very serious about stopping this destruction of Association property and will take any means necessary to see it stopped. Please report any acts of vandalism to the office and or police so we can stop this before we need to add a new budget item to cover vandalism and in turn raise dues.   

This past month the BOD was faced with some decisions affecting use of some of the common areas. The pool committee recommended closing the Windmill Park pool at 6PM instead of the 10PM closing. The reduction in hours was necessitated due to vandalism to the pool and bath room fixtures, pool rules being disregarded and a need to protect our amenities for all homeowners. It is unfortunate that the actions of a few individuals necessitated such action. The new pool hours will commence on January 7^th and be in effect until the pool monitors are hired again in May. Another outdoor toy was destroyed at one of the pocket parks- the fourth one at the same park- and it was decided to not replace it due to the continued vandalism. The month before the association had to spend over $6800.00 replacing vandalized portions of the play structure at Windmill Park. The security cameras are in the process of being updated and we hope to be able to positively identify those people costing all you homeowners so much money in vandalism. This BOD has committed to prosecuting those caught to the fullest extent of the law as well as restricting their common area privileges as well as fining them to the extent allowed under the CC&R’s. 

The BOD approved the budgeted monies to scan and digitize all the association files that were previously “stored” in card board boxes in a rented storage unit. While moving the boxes from the storage unit; “files” on homeowner improvements and other information that should have been in  homeowners files already were found scattered throughout the boxes. It will be interesting to see what is found in the boxes to be organized.

The monument lights that were previously installed have been replaced with new fixtures due to the poor quality of the fixtures spec’d out by the lighting design company. The new Twin Peaks monument will be lighted as part of the monies budgeted for the new entry way monument and landscaping of the same.

A special thanks to the Town of Marana Police Dept. for the enforcement of the speed limit on Twin Peaks Road. While we all looked forward to the opening of Twin Peaks it brought with it increased traffic as well as increased speeds in our community.

I would like to thank the homeowners in CRCA who gave so generously to the Adopt a Family program our association sponsored. The two families “wishes” were met and it was nice to be able to share the Christmas spirit with them. Thanks again to all who were able to share.

I would like to thank Gus Lipins for the time he served on the BOD after his resignation in November. The BOD would like to welcome Gladys Pope who agreed to serve the community as the newest member of your BOD. Gladys is a long time resident of CRCA and will bring a wealth of knowledge to the BOD.

With Thanksgiving behind us now we have the Christmas season in full swing. While most of us were lucky enough to share good times please remember there are some people who are not as fortunate. The association is sponsoring Adopt a Family again this year in an effort to share with families less fortunate. You will find a list of “wishes” from the families in this newsletter, please consider donating something to these families. It is sad to think of a child not getting at least one Christmas wish fulfilled.

Santa will be at the Community Center on Saturday December 11^th from 10AM to 4PM. Bring a non perishable food item to be donated to the Marana food bank and receive a free 8X10 photo with Santa.  There will be a bake sale with popcorn and hot chocolate so bring the kids and pets to support the food bank and Lady Shriners and get your picture with Santa.

Hopefully you have noticed the new plantings at Rivers Edge, Richmond Estates and Desert Sage. These three entries were refurbished as part of the Landscape committee’s plans to refurbish all the entries. They were only able to have these three completed because of the oncoming winter weather. Look forward to the others being completed sometime in March or April.

I am looking forward to having Twin Peaks open during the Christmas rush at Arizona Pavilions- it is a really nice addition to CRCA. The BOD wishes you a happy holiday and merry Christmas.

While the BOD election only had three candidates running for the three positions we were not sure that we would meet quorum requirement. Our By Laws require 10% of the membership to participate in the election. The quorum requirement was 476 and we received 796 ballots. The three BOD members elected for two years were Connie DeLarge, John Lambert and Larry Lemieux. It is really disheartening to me that less than 16% of eligible homeowners took part in this election and even less participate in committees or attend BOD meetings. This Association is only as good as the homeowners who participate.The BOD met and elected officers the night after the annual meeting (October 21, 2010). The officers are as follows: President- John Lambert; First Vice President- Peggy Brachen; Second Vice President- Gus Lipins; Secretary- Connie DeLarge; Treasurer- Larry Lemieux; Directors- Marilyn Stimpson and Terry Paschen. They will hold their respective offices for one year until the next election.With the new fiscal year comes homeowner assessments or dues! We did not have to raise dues for the coming year but we always have people forgetting or having financial problems. If you are having financial difficulties- please contact the office and talk with Dale DeMen the manager to work something out. This Association is here to help you the homeowner- not penalize you.As most of you, I have been looking forward to the opening of the Twin Peaks interchange. I would like to commend the Landscape committee for the plantings they put into the median to welcome people to CRCA. It really looks good! They plan on attacking the areas outside the roadway with next year’s budget among other projects planned. They were able to do all the projects for 2009 and remain under budget. As I write this letter, it looks like CRCA as a whole was able to operate approximately $15,000.00 under budget for 2009. As your BOD we still have a number of issues that we are facing but will deal with them as we have over my last two year term on the BOD- with openness and transparency. We have nothing to hide from you the homeowners and only wish we had more participation. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the cooler weather- along with not having to use Cortaro to get home at night.

You should have received your ballots for the upcoming election of Board members. Even though there are only three people running for the three open positions we are required by Arizona law to hold an election. Please return your ballots so we are able to achieve the required number of votes to establish a quorum. I have been approached by numerous homeowners as to why the BOD replaced the Groundskeeper as the landscaping company taking care of CRCA’s common areas. The BOD requested responses to a Request for Proposals from numerous companies. After reviewing proposals and touring properties maintained by the proposing companies the BOD decided unanimously to retain DLC Resources. Since DLC has taken over maintenance they have encountered numerous issues and concerns. One of these was the Rain Master Irrigation system. After bringing those concerns to me; I requested a meeting with the District Manager for John Deere Green Tech (distributor and supplier of the Rain Master system). As a result of this meeting and the District Managers inspections he wrote us:“As a result of some poor installations, several wall mount enclosures are not water tight. Some disc antennas need to be repaired or replaced. Repair all antennas that are not securely fastened to the enclosure.”During our discussions, he said that the wall mount enclosures were not stainless steel as required for outdoor installation but were instead intended for covered use. Also, the antennas should have been mounted inside the enclosures- and the hole for the antenna sealed with silicone (so as to not allow water in or tampering with the antennas). Most of the antennas were outside the boxes with the wire to them exposed to possible vandalism.The last BOD meeting resulted in an action by the BOD in approving a fine for any homeowners not having their dogs on leash in CRCA common areas and or not picking up their dogs feces. An announcement of this is elsewhere in the Windmill.I wish to thank all the members of CRCA who donate their time and services to make Continental Ranch a wonderful place to live. As we close our annual/fiscal year I can look back on several accomplishments:Hiring a new management companyHiring a new auditorInstalling a new accounting systemResearching and reducing DelinquencyHiring a new Landscape ContractorLighting the MonumentsResurfacing the Community Center PoolRedoing the entry to the Windmill officeUpdating the Reserve StudyPromoting the Town of Marana Concert SeriesNot raising the assessments for 2010-2011.Thank you, everyone, for a successful 2009-2010 year.

The BOD approved the proposed budget at the August BOD meeting which means homeowner dues will remain the same for 2011. The BOD would like to thank the Finance Committee for all the hard work to come up with a budget for next year that does not require an increase in dues; while maintaining the common areas and facilities to the high standard we should expect as homeowners. If you are having trouble meeting the obligation of paying your dues, please contact management so that a payment plan can be arranged and we do not have to turn it over to collections.

In past years the BOD relied on CC&R violations as a source of income to the Association. The fiscal year 2007-2008 saw $66,230.00 in fines collected from homeowners. The Finance committee and BOD agreed that this should not be considered as income in making the budget for 2010-2011. We have budgeted zero dollars from fines under income. This does not mean that the CC&R’s are not being enforced- fines are still a method to achieve compliance with the documents we all signed. The management company attempts to resolve violations by communicating with the homeowners before sending violation notices- which in most cases has been quite successful. Fines levied by the Board are available if cooperation with owner is not achieved and the violation continues to occur.

With school back in session we are starting to see more vandalism (kicking over and destroying)  common area plants next to school bus stops. We will be asking the school district that bus stops be moved if this continues. Please, tell your children to not destroy these plants as it costs all homeowners paying dues to replace them and they might be moving their current bus stop. If you do see destruction of plants or any other Association property please report it to the management company. We are still offering a $500.00 reward for this information.

While I keep reporting about vandalism it is nice to be able to report a good deed by a group of young people from CRCA. Boy Scout Troop #259 and the LDS youth group spent a couple of hours sifting the sand at the Windmill Park play structure on August 18^th. There was a large amount of foreign debris in the sand and we greatly appreciate the great job they did. Thanks girls and guys!