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CRCA entered into an “exclusive” contract in 2007 with Waste Management to provide garbage collection services. It was a five year contract and by signing it CRCA residents were to receive lower rates because Waste Management would be the exclusive provider of services. We have all seen our rates increase in each of the years this contract has been in force. Your current BOD has added resolutions in the last few years that say there are no exclusive contracts allowed in CRCA as well as that ALL contracts will have a 30 day cancellation clause. Waste Management has received notice that CRCA will not be renewing the exclusive contract. There will be a homeowner forum on Saturday, June 23^rd at 3:00PM at Twin Peaks Elementary School at which we have asked a number of trash collection companies to attend. We have asked them to provide us with their best proposals for a contract as a “preferred provider” and not exclusive. The BOD will assess the proposals along with homeowner input and make a decision at a later date as to who CRCA will accept a “preferred provider” contract with. Please plan on attending this forum so you can be informed on what will be offered.

As some of you who use the Community Center kiddie pool are aware, there is no longer a sun shade covering the pool. The sun shade that was previously installed was not designed for a pool area. Because of this there was excessive corrosion of the framework holding the shade. It was unsafe to leave the shade in place and it had to be removed or else we would have to close the pool for safety reasons. The pool committee was going to address it in next year’s budget. At the last BOD meeting management was instructed by the BOD to expedite replacing the sun shade as soon as possible. The small children using the pool are greatly affected by the sun rays and the BOD felt it in the best interests of these children to get it done and not wait. Bear with us as there will need to be an engineer to provide us with the needed plans before we proceed. This is a priority item for the BOD.

A number of BOD members volunteered to help at the Easter egg hunt in April. It was observed by them that some of the handicapped people had trouble navigating the Windmill Park area in their wheel chairs. One of the plans that was on hold was to continue the brick work from the office entry to include a bricked walkway to the Ramada’s (with a culvert over the drainage swale so the walkway would stay accessible) and to brick in the areas around the Ramada’s to provide more picnic area. The Windmill Park area and the Ramada’s have been seeing a lot of use on weekends and we need to make it more accessible to those with special needs. Management is to bring bids for this project to the next BOD meeting.

Hopefully you all have a great summer- remember to enjoy the pools and common areas that are available to use as homeowner’s by your dues.

I would like to take the time to thank Jocelyn with our management company for all the hard work she put into the Easter egg hunt at Windmill Park. This event was not something put on by the Activities Committee as when it was needed to be organized there were no members on the committee. The BOD told Jocelyn to take the ball and run with it and from what I was told she scored a touchdown. Good job Jocelyn- the BOD and all the children who participated thank you.

Five years ago this October there was an “exclusive contract” signed with Waste Management to provide garbage collection services to CRCA. This was supposed to provide lower rates to the homeowners than could be negotiated individually- such has not been the case. This action was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” to the homeowners of CRCA and resulted in the BOD that signed the contract to be presented with a recall petition. All but two of the BOD members resigned and led this community to court to settle differences. There are no more “exclusive contracts” allowed in CRCA by a resolution of this BOD- all contracts must be cancellable with 30 days notice. The Waste Management contract will expire in October of 2012. In an effort to gather homeowner input we have invited those waste collection companies interested in providing garbage collection services to the homeowners of CRCA at  a public forum on June 23, 2012. We have asked them to bring their best proposals forward so that all can see what is being offered. The BOD will evaluate the proposals and gather input from homeowners before deciding on a course of action. An exclusive contract would eliminate home owner’s choices as to who they want to provide garbage collection- with the current resolution in place this will not and cannot happen. A preferred provider contract would seem to be the wise choice- this would give us all the ability to seek lower rates by having a larger number of customers. This would in no way take away an individual’s right to choose who they prefer. Please plan on attending to have your questions answered.

With the warm weather upon us it is nice to see the new plantings blooming along Twin Peaks Road and in the entryways to parcels. Windmill Park has never looked as good as it does now in the 9 years I have lived here. Thanks to the landscape committee for the great job they have done.

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.