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President’s Message May 2009

Writing the Presidents message for the newsletter can be a very daunting task. Not wanting to write a message full of fru fru nor remind homeowners what they cannot do is not something I will do. With the deadline for the message well before the study session or Board meeting it is next to impossible to report to you homeowners anything that is short of conjecture on my part. With that said, let me say your BOD has been very busy trying to make CRCA the place we all promised when running for election to the BOD. It is nice to hear from homeowners that they feel we are making a difference in CRCA becoming more “homeowner friendly”.
I hope that the new Design Guidelines have been passed at the April 29th BOD meeting- there was a lot of time, energy and thought put into these by the ARC; and they are to be thanked for presenting such a document. I would like to pass on one of the comments from a homeowner after he read them at the office:
“I can’t tell you how pleased I was after reading the new design guidelines.  Even the way it was written is friendly.  It contains common sense, puts many decisions back into the hands of the homeowners, and shows a real desire to work with the homeowner on items not spelled out in the document.”
I know that a number of you were confused when you received yet another letter about opting out of the Waste Management contract. I apologize if it seemed redundant but our attorney advised us to proceed in this manner so that we can put this divisive issue behind us. While we did not achieve what we set out to do I feel the resultant negotiated compromise is in the best interests of all homeowners in CRCA. We are hoping to finalize this with Waste Management by the end of May.
Let me just close by saying that there are still a large number of issues confronting this Board and we will address each one of them in a fair and legal manner. We are homeowners also and have a vested interest in seeing that Association business is done to benefit all homeowners in CRCA and not just a vocal few.

President’s Message April 2009

 The current economic situation facing the residents of CRCA is of definite concern to your Board. However, residents are still required to pay their homeowners dues, which is what the HOA uses to pay for things like landscape maintenance and community improvements. For residents who are having trouble paying the dues, please talk to the management company about relief measures. You still have to pay the bills, but this Board might be  willing to work with residents on payment plans and other reasonable strategies to help residents pay the bills without incurring delinquent charges and, potentially, legal fees. We are Board members with a “fiduciary duty” to the association but we are also your neighbors and fellow homeowners. Please, do not just ignore your dues payments. We have seen delinquencies in dues payments increase 25% from Nov. 2007 to Nov. 2008.
While CRCA is in good financial shape I have requested all committees to put on hold any expenditures that are not absolutely necessary; until we see how the May dues received compare to those anticipated when the budget was approved in October. I am not saying we will not continue with budgeted expenditures but instead believe it to be financially prudent for this Board to act very cautiously in the area of spending association monies- your monies- given the current economic situation facing the homeowners of CRCA.
I’d like to take this time to personally thank Jim Susa- the Finance Committee Chair- for helping to put CRCA on a strong financial footing. Jim has resigned from the committee after seeing through on his goal of putting CRCA in good financial shape. The time and effort Jim put into this are very much appreciated and have not gone unnoticed. While I hate to see Jim leave I hope he takes advantage of his extra time to enjoy it with his family. Good luck in all you do Jim, and again Thanks!
CRCA is a great community because it’s full of great people. Your HOA Board looks forward to improving our community, but we need your help. We work for YOU!

Make a commitment this year to invest in your most valuable asset – your home – by getting involved in your CRCA HOA. We’re looking for volunteers to organize community events, help us communicate,  serve on  committees. Everyone’s busy. You don’t need to do it all. You’ll be surprised how a small contribution of time makes a big difference when we work together!

Format for comments on suggestions

Formatting the Suggestion Box so that comments/replies could be added to each suggestion (similar to facebook/myspace/etc) would allow ongoing opinions/clarifications/specifics and perhaps ease the job of committees who then work from suggestions received.

Street Cleaner

What happened to the street cleaner? I used to see it once or twice a year. With all the money spent on landscaping, monuments, etc. it does not seem right to drive down streets covered with broken glass, trash, etc.

Take a look at Coachline between Silverbell and Twin Peaks. This does not give the impression that the people of Continental Ranch take any pride in their neighborhood.

Elminate Unwanted Explorer News Delivery

The delivery of Explorer News on Wednesdays to every household, including those that do not wish to receive them and to vacant houses, results in an unsightly array of unwanted Explorers littering our neighborhoods weekly.  Numerous unwanted Explorers remain in driveways, yards, and in the street for weeks. I’m suggesting that the Community Association adopt a change in agreement with the Explorer delivery to make it a subscription only service, or deliver only upon request.   We do notice that they are not delivered in Sunflower to every household. This change would significantly decrease the amount of litter in Continental Ranch and improve the appearance of our neighborhoods.

Ramadas

I would love to see covered ramadas throughout our community with solar lighting. If there is an area open in Parcel 3 I would be thrilled.

Lighting

Lighting:

I would love to see more lighting throughout Continental Ranch similar to that of Sunflower. Lighting does make things look nicer, but more importantly then that it adds security. You can see what is going on in these common areas as you are walking at night or as you are looking out your window.  I would love to see lighting in front of every monument, at every pocket park, and a few more in the median entering every parcel -lighting up the landscaping. Let’s shed some light on our neighborhood.

CR Dog Park

It looks like this suggestion was posted way back in the summer, but I’d just like to reiterate it.  How about getting a designated dog park in CR? 

I think the whole community would benefit greatly from it.  There has got to be space near one of the existing parks in the community where a secure area could be made.  I think this is an issue that should be seriously considered by the board and taken to the Town for a look.  It seems like every 4th house in CR has a dog, and those dogs and families would definitely reap the benefits of a designated, secure dog park area.  The previous suggestion mentioned the dog park in Oro Valley as a great example.  

Hopefully this is something the board will take a serious look at.

 Brett S.