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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.