2008 Annual Meeting Manager's Report

Today we have 941 spaces full with 773 owners and 168 renters for 87.5% occupancy.  Last year our occupancy rate was 89%, compared to 2006 when it was 91%, 88% in 2005, 88% in 2004, 86% in 2003, 83% in 2002.  So our average number of spaces full at this time of year is 940.

We have a new real estate team this year, West USA Revelation, consisting of Sherry Butler, Veronica Novell and Debbie St. Germaine.  They are very enthusiastic personable young women with several years of real estate experience.    They bring with them many new ideas, lots of energy and a strong commitment.  They are also responsible for the beautiful new décor in that office.   I am getting good reports about them from residents. 

In 2003 we had a total of 69 sales, 2004 sales increased to 127, and in 2005 we soared to 148 with 15 sales pending.  In 2006 there were 110 sales, 2007 there were 52 sales and the first two months of 2008 there were 15 sales with nine pending.  The average price of a lot in 2002 was $15,000 – 17,000.  In 2006 the price of a lot averaged $28,000 - $30,000.  This past year has seen the average price increased to $50,950.  The average park model is selling for $88,700.  It seems that our property values are holding their own. 

The Activities Office reports that they organize and support approximately 81 weekly activities, 40 food events, 20 stage entertainments, 19 dances, and 16 special events each season.   This year Jan has arranged a massage therapist to come in weekly, conducted free monthly health talks with Banner Heath providing speakers, and created a helping hands committee to assist residents who need transportation.  She also had the first high-end concert in January with the Limeliters and will schedule at least one next season.  She continued our Christmas angel program with the AJ School District, hosted the 2^nd annual Halloween Party for Boys and Girls Club, and provided Turkeys at Thanksgiving, hams at Christmas and Easter for community dinners.  The Activities Office has also offered education for food handlers to ensure food safety in our kitchen with food events.  All in all our residents shouldn’t have to look too far for something to do.

Over the summer, we worked on many projects. The summer began with work on the perimeter wall along Goldfield Road.  The wall was in disrepair.  Maintenance ground out around the cracks patched, power washed and repainted them.     The Baseline side will have to wait for next spring. 

The street work completed this summer includes removal and replacement of broken asphalt at intersections along Rock Hound from the tennis courts to Felspar.  All streets with unsealed asphalt were crack filled and sealed. This includes Mineshaft from the entrance at the south all the way to the north, including the streets around the main complex and parking lots.  Night Digger and a portion of Rock Hound and Cinnabar were sealed, as were the intersections at Emerald, Diamond and Hawk’s Eye

Many of our rooms received a new coat of paint and some carpet too.  After the leak was repaired last spring, the Library walls were repaired and painted as were the bookshelves.  New carpet, ceiling tiles, and shutters really make the place look handsome.  Thanks to volunteer help, the books are all back on the shelves and we can all read again.

The lobby and the main office were painted with an updated color scheme.  We used the colors that the decorating team chose and they are really pleasing. The Decorating Team receives kudos for the new furniture for the lobby.  It is beautiful! They did a great job with the money allocated by the Board!

We continued the color scheme through the lobby into the ballroom.  The lighter color paint makes the room look more elegant.  With new heat pumps in place to provide air conditioning and heat, we have joined the 21^st century.  The air conditioning does a really good job of keeping the entire room the same temperature, even on the stage

The Activities Office was also updated this summer.  A new coat of paint, new carpet and a newly designed counter with shelves give a fresh look and more storage space.

We added handhold rails in the mail hallway to improve safety for residents needing the step in order to reach mailboxes.

We removed the fountain out in front. The pebbletech was worn, dirty, ravelling and faded.  Last summer, after consulting five different contractors, we opted for the clear stain on the front entryway topped with a UV resistant seal coating.  The surface isn’t new, nor does it look new, but a least we can stop the deterioration.  We now have a beautiful new entry way with a tile medallion and new colorful surface.  Next year, we will tackle the remainder of the sidewalk and the West entry way.

The guard shack received a new coat of paint, new carpet, new window tinting and looks very nice.  When Park Patrol is in full swing, we have good coverage at the front gate as well as the roaming patrol between 9 pm and 11 pm.  One more example how volunteers help make Golden Vista a great place to live.

We are still plagued with water leaks. We had a major water leak near lot 472 on the six inch line caused by tree roots from the perimeter trees splitting the T and another by 1051.  The six inch lines are a problem as the water needs to be shut off for so long.   We also replaced two valves, one on the northwest corner by the East gate and one behind lot 500, which were no longer operational.  We had to replace eight risers this past year. 

The palm trees were trimmed a littler earlier than usual this year to facilitate the street sealing afterward, as well as the street sweeping, and repainting of stop signs and traffic control lines.

We have repaired several underground splices over this last year bringing them up into pedestals so we can repair them more easily as well as move pairs around where we need them.  We started with 93 underground splices and now have replaced 80.   In addition we have repaired lightning damage including the main cable runs west of the Library building.  The original break was caused by lightning, but when we tried to fix it, we found found tree roots embedded in the original cable.  Thus, we replaced eleven 50 pair cables with seven 100 pair cables going west of the Library under Nightdigger to the south and under Nickel to the east.

The wiring project in all the shops is done.  This was a huge project, but we shouldn’t have problems with wiring in any of the rooms in the Library Building.  New wiring has replaced the old in the entire building. The only wiring we didn’t go through, which was noted by the inspector, was the upstairs light fixtures.  This takes care of  the code violations in the building.

We had new circuits installed in the sound room to help reduce feedback noise. New circuits were run in the Cable TV room when we added the new panel to the back of the stage.   We also had the disco ball and spotlights re-wired as they were inoperable.  The switches for operating them were moved to the front of the ballroom.

Our WiFi system has been up and running for several months.  It is getting better and better as time goes on.  We still have some work to do before it works perfectly.

Landscape has been busy working on the perimeter.  We had a water leak on the East wall behind lot 497 and another one on the north side of the east gate, where they had to replace two valves.  Another valve at the horseshoe pits was also replaced.  Dave has been working on palm tree replacements.  He has also had to replace a few plants that didn’t make it through the frost we had earlier this month.

The Ceramics room ventilation system was completed this Fall.  It didn’t seem to be working the way we thought it would, so Ski came back to work with the ceramics ladies to make sure the system worked the way we need.

In closing, I would like to thank all of our volunteers without whose help we couldn’t run the park.  Volunteers and activity groups donate their time and effort to make things run.  They set up for entertainment, have dinners for fund raisers, do the Wednesday Barbeque, run the Craft Shoppe, plant flowers, man the activities office, collect phone bills, hand out packages, deliver newsletters, set up sound for events, work on Park Patrol, serve on committees, the Board of Directors and myriad other tasks.  My thanks to all of you who participate in our activities and spend part of your year here with our extended Golden Vista family. I also extend my thanks to Pat Alsup for volunteering his time to help residents stay informed about what is happening here at Golden Vista whether they are here or back home.  His e-mail is a real bonus for all of our homeowners.

I also want to thank members of this Board for their help, patience, dedication and commitment to Golden Vista.  We should all thank the board for their hard work.  I’m sure it is rewarding to know that it is a job well done.  To the members leaving the board, we say good-bye and thank you for your service to the park and the residents.