Manager's Report

November 4, 2008

Welcome back everyone!  It is nice to have so many residents here.  Today we have 396 spaces full, 373 owners and 22 renters.  Last year at this time, we had a total of 374 spaces full with 360 owners and 14 renters.  That is fairly close since we only have 22 more spaces full this year than last.  It seemed like people were arriving early this year. Perhaps because the weather other places was not as nice as ours.  At any rate, we welcome you all and hope that you will enjoy good health and good times this season.

Our summer projects this year were very successful.  We paved roads, Mineshaft north to Jasper and patched some of Cinnabar, the north corner of Oxide Dr. and a strip along East Aquamarine.  The roads were a total of $65,642. In conjunction with the street project,
We also added new telephone cable along the south curb of Cinnabar and north across Cinnabar to the Southeast corner of Mineshaft and Cinnabar. 

Another major project was the Library Building.  We replaced the windows on the south side of the Library Building, new roof tiles, and stucco on the south, west and east sides.  We also cut a large hole in the sewing room wall under the window to check for wood that was wet or had been wet.  We found no evidence of water in the wall coming in the window or anywhere else.  The carpet was getting wet because of a hairline crack in the stucco at the floor level.  The wall was patched and painted.  The roofline was caulked, so we should not have any more leaks in that building.  The new stucco is a slightly different texture and really makes the building look more modern.  I am really happy with the contractor, John Silvestre.  We spent $25,417.86 on the Library windows and stucco.  The Board had approved $40,000, so I was pleased to have spent less.  Both sets of steps were repaired and stained contrasting light and dark to make them more defined.  The walkways upstairs and down were stained to increase light and assist with keeping them clean.  They were beginning to look dingy.

WiFi service is still available in the park.  We have had good reports from users.  To allow new customers or visitors to try out the service, we have initiated a new program where those interested may sign up for five days for five dollars as a trial period.  If you are a new user, please avail yourself of this option.  Be certain that the service works the way you want it to before you sign up for a longer period of time.  You may even sign up for five days at a time more than once until you are certain that everything is to your liking.  We offer this option because we will not be making refunds for people who sign up and then change their minds.

Those residents who do not want to use the wireless option for high speed internet, may use DSL through 4Pair.  Check at the front counter for their phone number and other information.  4Pair is an independent company using Golden Vista’s phone lines.  For residents who have not signed up for a phone, there will be a $10 per month charge for the use of the line.  This option will use only the data part of the line, not voice.

We also had SRP pull new wire so that we now have the capacity of using 800 amps.  Our switch gear originally was planned to be 800 amps, but we only had 400 amps. We had two 750 amps wires pulled to our switch by SRP.  We then had a new switch installed to enable us to use the new power.  We now have the capacity to have a few new circuits installed so that we won’t be blowing breakers all of the time.   We have been having some problems, especially on the patio and in the kitchen.  I want to caution you all that these problems won’t all miraculously go away.  We still have the possibility to use even more than 800 amps.  So we need to be cautious about how many appliances we plug into a receptacle and how many appliances we try to use at the same time.

July, the beginning of the new fiscal year, brought us a reduced sewer bill.  This is due to the reduced water usage from the previous year.  We saved over 2,000,000 gallons.  Thanks to residents and staff that saved water.  We didn’t water the grass this summer which saved hundreds of gallons which reduced the water bill as well as the sewer bill.  Our new artificial putting green will save even more on water and sewer.  I’m sure many golfers will be out there practicing their putting.  Maybe Jan can come up with a putting contest to celebrate the new green.

Last month we drained the big pool and the spa, had them acid washed and refilled.  Must to everyone’s dismay, the new water was brown!  I had forgotten just how bad the water looked last time.  But, it did clear up and is now sparkling in the sunshine.   Thank you all for your patience.   The entire patio area received a makeover: new cooldeck, painted walls, patched pillars, (they were leaking), and ceilings were repaired and painted.  The patio is just waiting for the flowers, which will be planted tomorrow.

Acid washed and stained sidewalks and entryways around the main building.  This sealed the pebbletech so that the ultra violet rays will stop eroding the glue and will keep us from having to redo the walks.

The shuffleboard courts were repaired, painted and sealed.  They look wonderful.  Check out the south east board.  The finish is different from the rest.  It looks like a granite countertop and is as slick as glass.  If this finish holds up to the sun and rain, the rest of the boards will be done the same way the next time they need to be refinished.

I have hired two new full time employees.  As most of you remember Dave Hopps retired last spring leaving an opening in landscaping.  Dale Keyes has joined our staff in that department.  Dale comes from Minnesota and now lives here full time.   Connie Duff has joined us full time in the front office and brings with her eleven years of office experience.  She is originally from Iowa, but has lived in Arizona since she was eleven years old.  Patrick Morrissey joins us as a part-time pool tech.  He cleans the pools and spa three nights a week so that they are sparkling clean for our early morning swimmers.  He is also doing security on the weekends.  The addition of these three brings us up to our full complement of fourteen.   We all look forward to another great year at Golden Vista.

Compliance Managers Report

 Summer was somewhat quiet this year. We didn’t have a lot of monsoon storms until September. I had the good fortune and foresight to schedule my vacation when the biggest storm of the season attacked the Park.

As usual we spent a lot of time on the weed problem in the Park. Believe it or not, we DO have weeds here in the park.

I mailed 33 letters with pictures asking for the owners to take care of the weeds. Most responded right away and hired someone to do the work. If the lot had a caretaker listed, we contacted them to get rid of the weeds and I made over 300 phone calls.

As always if owners would hire a caretaker for the summer it would greatly help to reduce the weeds in the Park. I get the same comments every year about the lot owner has never had weeds or there lot is all concrete and cannot possibly have weeds. Every lot in the park is subject to weeds especially during the monsoon season.

 I also compiled a list of Park Models and Habitable Rooms installed over the last few years.

Larry Martin
November 4, 2008

Activities Director's Report

Re:  Fall Report

My goal, as Activities Director, is to provide a varied, interesting and challenging “menu” of programs and activities for the residents of Golden Vista.  To this end, I make every effort to refine & improve ongoing programs & to introduce new activities.

Summer Projects:

1.    I designed & compiled the summer newsletter which was mailed out to homeowners in August. 

2.    Two email notices were sent to residents regarding upcoming special events.

3.    The park directory was a project I offered to work on: selling advertising to pay the $3,000 printing cost plus making changes to the residents’ listings,  proofing, etc. The advantage to doing the directory ourselves gives us the opportunity to determine how many pages will have Golden Vista information.  We could have used an outside company but were limited in the number of pages we could have plus they have a very early deadline for copy.  We did receive enough revenue to pay the cost and when the final advertisers pay, we will realize a $473 profit to the Activities Office.

4.    In response to resident requests, I arranged for a plastic recycling bin for the park from Pinal County Solid Waste Department.  It appears it is being well used and we may have to request twice weekly pick-ups.

 

The following are a few of the new programs/activities on the schedule for this season: 

1.  Two major concerts: New Christy Minstrels and the Blackwood Brothers

2.  Two blood drives: one in December & the other in February
3.  Monthly Boogie Night-supper & music
4.  Classes:  yoga & dance for the health of it classes
5.  Monthly meals sponsored & prepared by our real estate office: West USA Revelation.
6.  Bus trips shared with Mountain Brook Village: Christmas pageant in Cave Creek, Fountain Hills Arts Festival, Luke Days at Luke AFB
7.  Outings: jeep ride in November, horseback riding in December


The Activities Office has signed contracts for various bands & entertainers with $14,700 in entertainment commitments & $12,000 in dances. It is hoped ticket prices are such that we will recoup our costs and perhaps make a few dollars.

As you can see from the November calendar, we’re off and running for another busy year.


Jan Miller
Golden Vista Activities