The Springs HOA Annual Reports - For the Year 2005

This year has seen property values bubble with profit takers and speculators anxious for a good deal. More than fifty re-sales, some exceeding $300,000, show that our beautiful community is desirable and dynamic.

The new Board of Directors met in February for the first time with a list of goals and action items. One of our most important goals is to continue the funding of our reserves. Thanks to the visionary work completed by the 2004 Board of Directors, we will have monies available for maintenance and replacement of our assets projected for thirty years. To this end, and to cover inflated costs of regular maintenance we have increased the annual Homeowners dues 20% starting in January 2006.  This should eliminate the need to raise dues for at least four years.

As your new president, a list of goals for my tenure was shared with the Board and the membership.  Some of these goals are open Board meetings; eliminate the concept of a Springs 1 & 2; change the perception of the Board as dictatorial to supportive; and, standardize communication between the Board and the membership.

As you will read from the various Committee reports, all of the Board have had a very busy and productive year. We have changed our grounds maintenance direction, we have converted three grass parks into desert parks after several years of discussion, the bell tower and front walls received a face-lift, the front entrance has been completely remodeled with desert, drought-resistance vegetation, and the Reserve Study Committee continues to keep us looking in a healthy way toward our future. We have experienced some turnover in the Board and I want to congratulate everyone for stepping up and filling in as necessary to keep our Association strong and intact.

Our Homeowners Association has several challenges for 2006. Tree growth in common areas and private lots is at the top of the list. The feeling of this Board is that views and property values are synonymous and there will be a revised Tree Policy to reflect this opinion. Next is the improvement of common areas and, with the rising cost of contractors, this will definitely provide a challenge to remain within budget.

It is important that your Board have their finger on the pulse of the membership. You can help us by taking a few minutes to fill out our questionnaire and return it with your annual dues payment. We will compile the results and publish them in the first newsletter of 2006.

On a personal note, thank you all for giving me the support and opportunity to serve our community.  It has been fun and challenging.

• Request or Complaints Submitted to ARC

It has been a busy year for the ARC. We received 38 requests for outside modifications, such as, walls, security doors and additions to dwellings. All were inspected and approved. In addition, the ARC received 10 letters pertaining to house colors and complaints regarding neighbors’ trees and/or walls blocking views.

• Letters Sent to Homeowners by ARC  

  In February the ARC sent 103 letters—all regarding the staining or repainting of outside wood beams.  All of the work pertaining to those requests has been completed, except for one. A follow-up letter was sent on 10/22/05 regarding that property.

  This past summer the full HOA Board completed a walk-around to inspect all homes in The Springs. As a result of those observations 46 letters were sent in August and September. Thirty-two homeowners have either completed the work or have indicated a date when the work will be completed. We are still following up on the 14 remaining.

   

• Other ARC Activities

  The ARC developed and submitted a flag policy to the Board. The Board passed that policy at the September meeting.

  The ARC has taken a variety of suggestions in regard to trees—including those from the existing commons area policy—and has developed two policies: one pertaining to private property and one for common area property. These policies have been amended by our attorney and will be submitted to the Board in December.

The Grounds Committee, under the direction of Wally Cookson took steps to set the three grass-park conversions project in motion. After conferring with Paul Walter, it was determined that funds were too short to do the project. The solution was to terminate contracts with Weed Busters and Aztec Landscaping and then negotiate a new weed contract with Burr Exterminating at half the cost, relying on the Garden Club volunteers and Dennis Coker, our Grounds Manager, to fill the void. These changes released funds so that the Grounds Committee could proceed with the grass-park conversions project.

The Garden Club labor volunteers were very active throughout the spring and fall. They finished clearing and planting cactus in the common area at the South end of the nature trail and did a great job refurbishing the picnic park. In addition, they have donated countless hours on the redesign of our front entrance and followed up with clearing and replanting the area this fall. This and the work on the picnic park resulted in a huge savings for the HOA.

Richard Olsen took over the Grounds Committee in April and dedicated all of his free time to the three grass-park conversions in addition to the normal Grounds duties. Large rocks were spread over areas at the North end, South end, and middle of the nature park to mediate erosion and improve drainage.

It has been determined that the common areas most in need of attention for 2006 are South side of The Springs entrance (Park 5); East end of Pima Peak road (Park 10B); and Turf & hill behind homes on Camino Errante (Park 14A). Reserve funds are available for these projects. The areas between Wolf Run and Golden Lynx (Park 2) and South of homes on Blue Fox (Park 3) are in most need of improvement. Committee surveys will be conducted to determine their future.

1.  The front gatehouse and tower were repaired and repainted

2.  New lights were installed under the gatehouse entry

3.  New entrance to the walking trail was seal coated

4.  Fences along the frontage road were repainted

5.  Wall along the frontage road was repainted

6.  A total of 23 street lights were replaced

7. Five damaged stop signs were reinstalled

8. Signs for No Bicycles or Golf Carts were posted at the three entrances to the walking trail

9. Streets were swept clean

10. A section of sidewalk was repaired

      Overall, the streets and sidewalks are in very good condition. The streets will be seal coated in another 3 to 4 years. Any small cracks in the streets or sidewalks will be repaired as needed.

During 2005, three Newsletters were published. The first issue came out at the beginning of March; the second at the end of April; and the third in September. Each issue included articles from the President, various Committee Chairs, a Financial Report and a Calendar of Events. A volunteer form was included in the March issue; the April issue included a listing of Motions passed by the Board of Directors; and the September issue started a “Classified Ads” column for the convenience of the homeowners. For all issues, any article received from a homeowner was included. The Newsletters were mailed to all HOA members and put on The Springs web site - http://www.thespringshoa.org/

Year 2005 was a good year for Pot Lucks at The Springs, they were well attended even in the summer. The happy hour get togethers were less attended but those that did had a good time. The Springs holiday caroling party had a good turn out and those that participated had a wonderful time caroling and going back to the Fiesta Room for refreshments. We hope everyone will continue to attend these activities. Special thanks to Bill Perry for his "wonderful" help in these events.

     Many thanks to all the members of The Springs light bulb replacement crew. As 2005 ends we will have replaced around 450 light bulbs which is about one per each home in the Springs. We had several problems with the electrical units but they are now down to only a couple. We will be looking at some possible changes for 2006.  We are considering using a higher watt bulb for better house number visibility.  We also may change our source of supply as the price of the bulbs has gone up considerably recently. We could use 2 or 3 new people to help replace light bulbs as we have lost a few of our group recently. Give me a call at 399-0513 if you would be willing to help.