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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!