President’s Reports

Once again as the first light breaks across the horizon, and a neighbor greets me with a “good morning,” I smile and reflect on the gift of this paradise. It is a pleasure meeting, talking, and working with so many of you. Feel free to contact me anytime with your questions or concerns.

One question that has come up quite often is: how is our monthly assessment spent? I thought I would take a moment and explain our forecasted monthly expenses. These amounts are based on the 2017 budget. As you know, our monthly assessment per homeowner unit is $255. Of this amount, $45 is credited to the Replacement Fund – this is the savings account we use to pay for future items that need to be replaced, repaired, or renovated. The balance of the monthly assessment, or $210 per homeowner unit, is forecasted to pay these estimated monthly operating expenses:

• $47 for Facilities Maintenance
• $44 for General/Administration
• $28 for Golf
• $27 for Property Protection
• $19 for Landscaping
• $13 for Recreation/Lifestyle
• $12 for Utilities
• $10 for Fitness
• $7 for Food/Beverage
• $6 for Capital Improvements
• $5 Common Area Improvements
• $5 for Contingency Fund

You may notice that the expenses I listed total $223 per homeowner unit per month. The difference ($223 vs. $210) is paid from other income that we anticipate earning during the year.

In funding the list above, we are paying for the amenities and lifestyle we enjoy. Not one of the items listed above makes a profit, and that is why we pay the monthly assessments. All of these items are subsidized by our monthly assessments.

So, I am asked, why doesn’t the restaurant make money? Why are we paying a subsidy for it? The answer is the same as for all the other items. We are paying a subsidy because all these items are conveniences that are supported by our monthly assessments. We don’t expect the swimming pools to make money, yet we pay to have them available. We don’t expect the fitness facilities to make money, yet we pay to have them available. We pay a subsidy for the Lifestyle programs so that we have them available.

When we pay to subsidize the restaurant, it is no different than the subsidy for all the other amenities. We are paying a small cost for the availability of the restaurant; we are not paying to use the restaurant. So, don’t think the restaurant will ever break even, it won’t, just like all the other items; they, too, don’t break even. They are all part of a whole picture that contributes to the life experience of enjoying living here at Shadow Hills. So, as you look at the list, you can see that the restaurant is actually one of the lowest cost amenities we have.

And because of all the terrific things I get to do, I will reflect on this beautiful day, the good morning greeting, all of the kind people who make me smile, and say to myself, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Kim Fuller
President

Your Board of Directors has several items that they are focusing on in 2017 for the benefit of the entire community. These items are:

1. Governing Documents Update: With Pulte gone, we can update our governing documents. An Ad Hoc Committee has been reviewing these documents for almost two years. Based on resident concerns and their legal backgrounds (all are retired attorneys), they created revised documents. The Board has had our legal department review for language and updated laws that need to be added, and the Board has done a review. A redlined and a clean copy of the proposed changes have been posted on the website, and Town Hall meetings were held on April 18 to highlight the proposed changes. From April through September, residents will have an opportunity to review these documents and provide feedback on what they like and have concerns to the Board (email documents@scshca.com). The Board will meet and discuss this feedback and, if needed, make any final modifications to the documents. The documents will then be sent out for resident approval on a thumbdrive that is mailed to each home. A hardcopy will be available in the HOA office for a $10 fee. By law, a majority of our homes have to vote YES for the changes, or we remain with our current CC&Rs and Bylaws. Please inform your friends and neighbors and encourage them to review the proposed documents, comment, and vote on them.
2. Dog Walking Area – Ad-Hoc Committee: Throughout 2017 we started having an issue with dog owners allowing their dogs to use part of the golf course to do their business, allegedly causing noise and some pet owners not picking up the mess. To help determine how to address this issue, the Board created an Ad-Hoc Committee to be made up of two golfers, two homeowners on the golf course, and two pet owners. They will make recommendations to the Board about how best to address everyone’s concerns. If interested in helping with this committee, please contact the HOA office.
3. Golf Master Plan: The Board unanimously approved a plan in 2016 to upgrade our South Course (now that it is over 10 years old) to make it more appealing to people to golf here (thus reducing our subsidy) and make it look better for those who live on the course. The Board will be reviewing bids on contractors doing the work, and Troon will oversee the contractors to make sure they do the work correctly, on time, and within budget. The goal is to complete the work by Fall 2017 with minimal impact on the play of the course.
4. 2016 Audit: Our Finance Advisory Committee, Treasurer, and other Board members are working with our outside CPA on our 2016 audit. This will ensure all records are reviewed and a report on their status is prepared and filed correctly.
5. Strategic Plan: Every year the Board reviews our three- to five-year strategic plan to discuss items residents would like implemented in the community. Items voted to enhance the community, will be included in the next year’s budget. You may email your suggestions to strategicplan@scshca.com.
6. Slurry Seal: We have a huge slurry seal project that will be undertaken in 2017 in Phase 3 now that Pulte is done building in that phase. The schedule will be mailed to our homeowners and placed on the website so everyone can plan on when their street is on the list.
7. Santa Rosa Pool Deck: We are also going to remove the top layer of the Santa Rosa pool deck, put down a stronger barrier (to keep the salt, calcium, and lime from seeping through), and then recover the pool deck. This will be about a two- to three-week project; and notices will be sent by email blast, posted on the website, and displayed at the pool.

It is a busy year, but the Board hopes that — by the end of the year — the community will look even better. We appreciate your patience while these projects are undertaken and completed.

Joan Dzuro
Vice President

As the first light breaks across the horizon and casts a red glow on the mountains, I can’t help but think how we are all blessed in this paradise we call Shadow Hills. Another day begins and, just when you think it can’t get any better, a neighbor, a person you don’t even know, walks by and says “good morning,” and you smile knowing we are all bound together and share in the experience of this beautiful place. This feeling warms your heart knowing we are all looking out for each other, the outcome of living in Shadow Hills.

It is a privilege to be your new HOA President. As the new Board term begins, I would like to take a moment to recognize and thank all the people who have dedicated so much time and energy to help make our community the amazing place that it is.

We have a legion of committed homeowners who volunteer their time to participate on the many committees that keep our community operating smoothly. Without all these dedicated individuals, our community would not operate so well. As you see them, step up and say “thank you,” they can never hear it enough because their sacrifice of time enhances every day of our lives.

I would also like to thank all the candidates who ran in this last election. It takes courage and commitment to step up and go through the election process. I would like to commend and acknowledge Barbara Stocky, who stepped into the vacated Board position last year and did an exceptional job during her time on the Board. I want also to thank Joan Dzuro for volunteering to write half of these articles in the View so that I have more time to learn the duties of this position. So, next month we will have a “Vice President’s Report.”

As we move forward at Shadow Hills, I know we will continue to work together and keep the lines of communication open. Every homeowner has a vested interest in the success of our community, so I encourage you to be involved. One of the ways to do this is by attending the monthly “Meet a Board Member” meetings. These meetings are designed to give homeowners a chance to voice their opinions and concerns to Board members. We need to hear from you and work together for the greater good. Open communication is key in helping our Board be successful at meeting the needs of our community.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Board alongside the other Board members.

So, when the sun sets on this day, I will reflect on this beautiful sunrise, a good morning greeting, all the kind people who have gathered in this community, and say to myself, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Kim Fuller
President

What Happens in Covenants?

One of the responsibilities of the HOA Board, and their least favorite duty, is to review all citations of alleged violations of the community’s governing documents (CC&Rs, By-laws, Rules and Regulations, etc.). These violations range from trashcans not being removed from the street by midnight on trash day, to reckless driving or abusive language, and a plethora of items in between.

When an alleged violation occurs, a notice is sent to the homeowner (not a tenant) about what the options are to deal with the citation, including how to appear before the Board and explain their side of the situation. These notices must go to the homeowner on the deed per legal requirements.

If the homeowner does wish to come before the Board and explain the situation, the homeowner is scheduled to come to a Covenants Meeting. The Covenants Committee is made up of your HOA Board of Directors. At this meeting will be the five Board members, the General Manager, the Community Safety Director, and an administrative assistant. If the violation is a traffic issue, the homeowner is shown a copy of the violation video, if one is available, and then the homeowner will have an opportunity to discuss what is on the video. After listening to the homeowner, the homeowner leaves and the Board members then discuss what they have heard from the homeowner, the information from security and the video, and then make a determination. This could range from turning it into a warning, levying a fine according to the fine schedule, fining and suspending, for a period of time, or dismissing the ticket. Fine and suspend means the fine is noted in the record of the homeowner but no money is paid and, if there are no further citations issued in the period noted, it is removed from the record of the homeowner.

If the issue concerns Design Review Committee violations, the homeowner is again given a notice of the alleged violation and a period of time to correct the situation. After that date, if there is no correction, the matter comes before the Covenants Committee and, as with traffic citations, the homeowner is given an opportunity to come before the Board and explain the situation. The Board then reviews all the information and makes a determination.

It is never comfortable having to serve as judge and jury against your neighbors, but when serving on the Board it is required in order to enforce the governing documents and maintain the homogeny of our community.

Joan Dzuro
President

One of the functions that your Board of Directors now and in the past has taken seriously is how to make information easily available for our residents. As technology gets more and more sophisticated, we are able to offer more and more ways for you to get information on your community. We have two advisory committees, Communication Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Information Advisory Committee (IAC), that focus on various ways to communicate information.

The CAC creates the monthly magazine we know as the View. This magazine focuses on the calendar of events occurring throughout the month, information on the various clubs and groups that you may be interested in joining, highlights about our various residents who live in our community, and our fitness schedule for keeping us all young not just at heart but physically as well.

The IAC works with technology to create numerous ways to get information to the residents. One of their main ways is our scshca.com website. This website contains an electronic copy of the View so that when you are away from the community you can stay informed. It also includes videos of various Board meetings that were held during the month, financial information regarding our community, information on security issues, highlights of events going on in the community, and an important way to get additional information, “Ask a Question.” If you click on the button called “Ask a Question,” you can type in your question. Members of the IAC then look at what the topic concerns and forward the question to whomever is dealing with that issue to get a factual response. They then respond to the question, and the question and answer is posted on the website in case others have the same question.

Another item is email blasts. If you sign up at the HOA office you can, every Monday, receive an email blast that tells you the highlights of what is going on in the community that week. We also use this email blast for urgent items, like a gate that may be down and undergoing repairs.

We have a phone app if you have a smartphone that will allow you to see events going on in the community. And we are working on eventually being able to send out notifications, if you want them, to the phone when urgent items occur, like the aforementioned gate closing.

Robert Firring, a member of our community, has also embraced and overseen the fabulous Podcasts that will help educate you on a plethora of topics in and around our community. The Podcasts can be received on your computers or smartphones, and they usually run under seven minutes in length. They are great to listen to while taking your daily walk or exercising in the fitness center. Thank you, Robert and Gus, for these great Podcasts.

There are also individual flyers in flyer holders in each clubhouse that will give you details about the huge variety of events to choose from over the month. You can pick these up, take them home, and place them on your bulletin board as reminders about what is coming up.

In 2014 “Meet a Board Member” began. Each month, two board members sit down with any resident who wants to attend and ask any question that they have or make comments about how to improve the community. During the corporate Board meetings, comments have to be restricted to a maximum of three minutes in order for the Board to complete the business of the corporation. The Meet a Board Member sessions afford residents more time to explain their recommendations or ask their questions. These meetings are noted in both the View and on the website. Board members hope to see you there.

As you can see, we have added a lot of ways that you can gather information about what is going on in the community. But if you have additional ideas on how to dispense information, we always want to hear them. You can email ceasar.larrach@associa.us or any Board member (our emails are listed in the front of the View), or you can go to Ask a Question on the website and make your recommendation or ask your question.

Joan Duzro
President

One question I get quite often is, “With what laws do we have to comply in our HOA?” Well, there are several. Here is the list of areas with which we, the Board of Directors, are required to comply while taking care of our community day to day:

• Civil code
• Davis-Stirling Act
• California Business & Professions Code
• Several sections of the following codes:
  • California Government Code
  • California Health & Safety code
  • California Insurance Code
  • California Labor Code
  • California Public Resources Code
  • California Vehicle Code
  • California Code of Regulations
  • U.S. Code
  • Code of Federal Regulations

Also, we have our own HOA Governing Documents (these are currently being updated – all our members will get to vote on the changes in 2017). These governing documents are:

• CC&Rs
• By-laws
• Design Review Rules & Regulations
• Association Rules & Regulations
• Club Rules
• Group Rules

As you can see, this is an extensive list of regulations that we work hard to follow as a Board as we move our community forward. This is one reason why it is so critical to have a very good legal firm advising the Association to make sure the Board remains in compliance. Epsten Grinnell & Howell is our legal firm. The attorney that specifically helps us is Mary Howell, who has over 40 years of HOA legal experience and actually has written part of the State Bar Exam on HOA law. She attends the Ad Hoc Litigation Committee meetings, Executive Closed Sessions, and the General Sessions to ensure that we are following all the above regulations. Her duty is to the Association, not to any particular Board member. The Board’s fiduciary responsibility is to do research and make the best decisions we can for the entire community. Mary helps us do this each day.

The purpose of your Board is to oversee our $12,000,000 Non-Profit Benefit Corporation to keep our community looking great, be the fun place to live we all expected when we moved here, and keep it fiscally sound.

Obviously, serving on the Board of Directors is a complex volunteer position, and we are very grateful for the immense help we get from our Advisory Committees. They are: Finance Advisory Committee, Design Review Committee, Communication Advisory Committee, Information Advisory Committee, Food & Beverage Advisory Committee, Golf Advisory Committee, Landscape Advisory Committee, Safety Advisory Committee, Emergency Preparedness Sub-Committee, Transition Ad Hoc Committee, and Governing Documents Ad Hoc Committee. All of the members serving on these various committees research ideas from residents and Board members for the betterment of the community, then present their recommendations to the Board. Without benefit of the many hours these committees devote, a Director’s job would require a commitment far greater than a full-time job. The Board is very grateful for all the hard work each member of our advisory committees does for us all.

Because we are human, none of us will achieve perfection. Each Board member performs duties to the best of her ability. It is helpful to the Board to hear your concerns and recommendations about how to improve, but they are most helpful when provided politely. We are your neighbors. All of us live in this community, and all are subject to the same rules and regulations plus pay the same assessments and fees. Each of us has a responsibility to continue to keep our community the wonderful place it is. Thank you, and Happy New Year!

Joan Dzuro
President

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa to everyone. This is a time to reflect on our past year and look to the future. Our future in Sun City Shadow Hills includes a large project in front of us in 2017: the review, update, and approval of our revised governing documents.

When developers begin a project such as Sun City Shadow Hills, they must create governing documents like Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, CC&Rs, Architectural Rules and Regulations, and general Rules and Regulations, just to name a few. Until the developer finishes building and leaves the community, the major documents (Bylaws and CC&Rs) must remain unchanged. Pulte (our developer) has now left, so we can now update these documents. Below is a general explanation of what needs to occur. The Board will be consulting with our Association attorney as we go through the process to make sure we are following all the regulations.

This process is important because we need to remove all references to the developer (identified in our documents as the declarant) and update the regulations to conform to the laws that have passed since 2004, when the developer implemented the initial documents for our community. The Board of Directors established an Ad Hoc Governing Documents Committee made up of residents who are retired attorneys in many fields of law to review the documents and prepare a first draft to update them. The next step, underway now, is to have the Association’s law firm of Epsten, Grinnell, and Howell review the proposed changes to make sure they follow the current laws and make sure we have included all applicable laws.

The next steps are where the Board of Directors needs everyone’s participation:

1. A red-lined draft (one per household) will be available to each member for review and comment through our website and an email blast. If you want a hard copy, you can request one from the HOA office.
2. A meeting will be held so that residents can share their comments on the proposed changes and whether anything else needs to be updated. If anyone is not comfortable speaking in public, we will have an email address set up especially for these comments that will be monitored daily and shared with the Board.
3. After a period of time (yet to be determined), when the Board feels everyone has had time to review and comment, the Board will make final changes to the documents; have one further legal review; and then prepare the final version for a vote.
4. For most provisions, the Bylaws and CC&Rs require that 51 percent of all households must vote YES to accept a change. That means that we will need 1,725 yes votes in order for changes to take effect.
5. If the Association does not meet this 1,725 threshold, the current documents will remain in effect.

If homeowners do not approve the changes, the Board will work with legal counsel on next steps and decide how additional votes will be taken. In some HOAs, especially of our size, we understand it has taken over three years, and sometimes several votes, to get the necessary 51% yes votes.

How can you help?

1. Attend the meetings that the Board holds to explain the proposed changes.
2. Review the entire document and send your constructive feedback to the Board about where you have concerns and which areas you believe are good.
3. Vote – when the time comes.

More information will be coming forward after the first of the year. In the meantime, let’s enjoy this season of joy and well-being and have fun with our friends, neighbors, and family.

Joan Dzuro
President

I realize that we are all election-weary as of the publication of this magazine, but it is time for our community to start preparing for our election of Board members in 2017. For those of you who are new to our community, here is the process:

• Each November, the Board votes on the members of the Nomination Committee.
• Nomination forms are mailed out to each home, and a member in good standing (defined in our CC&Rs) can either self-nominate or nominate another member in good standing (just be sure they agree to the nomination).
• The Nomination Committee reviews all nomination forms and confirms each person who is nominated is a member in good standing.
• At the December Board meeting, the Nomination Committee presents the slate of candidates who will be running for the SCSH HOA Board. (In 2017 there will be two openings – Erica Hedlund’s and Barbara Stocky’s.)
• Campaigning can begin the day after the Board meeting when the slate of officers has been approved. The candidates can campaign in our community through ads and door-to-door contact. Yard signs can only go up 30 days before our Annual Meeting and must be removed the day after that meeting.
• Ballots will be mailed to each home by a contracted third-party election vendor that specializes in HOA elections. Each home will get two votes (one for each candidate they want to elect).
• At our Annual Meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, March 2, 2017, the election company will make sure a quorum of votes has been received and then will count each ballot. About 2 – 3 pm that day (depending on the number of ballots received), the election company will announce the tabulation of the vote.
• The top two vote-getters will then take seats on the stage with current Board members. They will then recess into Executive Session to discuss the various positions on the Board (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Member-at-Large) and decide who should have which position.
• The new Board will then reconvene the open session to announce who will serve in each position on the board.

Your vote is always critical in these elections. The people that you elect to serve on our Board are responsible for making sure that the $12,000,000 received each year is carefully handled for the benefit of all residents and that we keep our reserves strong. The Board also has the responsibility for dealing with conflicts that arise when residents do not follow the rules and regulations in our community.

There are numerous laws and governing documents that the Board has to know about and follow in this capacity. They must follow the Davis-Stirling Act, Corporate Code, Civil Codes, Association’s CC&Rs, By-laws, and various Rules and Regulations. There are 12 Board meetings each year plus 12 covenant meetings (where citations are heard and decided on); and each Board member serves on at least two committees as a liaison between the committee and the Board. Each Board member is required to read numerous materials to prepare for each Board meeting to meet their fiduciary duty and be prepared to discuss and vote on every issue.

Serving this community is an honor. Good luck to all those who are willing to serve.

Joan Dzuro
President

As I have mentioned before, your Board of Directors has been hard at work over the summer implementing several of our goals (which you can find in the residents only section of our website – www.scshca.com).

The Board hired Troon Golf Company to take over our Food and Beverage and Golf operations as of July 1, 2016. Troon handles several organizations in our valley:  The Vue in Indian Wells as well as the Classic Club/Bellatrix, our neighbor. We are looking forward to everyone enjoying the Troon golf and dining experience as we start our new season.

The Board has been hard at work over the summer on our 2017 budget. With the increase in water rates, State-mandated increases in salaries, and benefit increases, we have spent a lot of time working on what other items need to be added to our community to keep us moving forward, while not overburdening our residents. The Board will be looking to finalize the budget at the October Board meetings, and it will be mailed to our residents in early November. At this point it does appear that an assessment increase will be necessary, to what extent is not known until we get close to our final numbers and, as of the writing of this article, we are not there. Please check updates from Carey Thompson (our Treasurer) for more information as we get closer to finalizing the budget.

The Board asked Ceasar to hire a third party media group to create a video of our community that our residents can use to show their friends and family where they live, assist realtors in selling homes for those that need to sell, and inform our City government of the jewel that is located in the midst of the City of Indio. You can find this video on the web, and we hope that you enjoy it and share it with your friends and relatives.

We had a ribbon-cutting celebrating the opening of the Phase 3 Dog Park that Pulte built for our community. It is located in the northeast corner of our property. I hope you will check it out.

The HOA office expansion has been completed. You will find a video on the web giving you a virtual tour of the office. The expansion has been in the works for many years. It allows the staff to move out of closets (literally) into reasonable workspace plus have adequate workspace for the research, copying, and formulating of documents they do for the Board, committees and residents.  The expansion also adds an additional meeting room to our community, which was so desperately needed.

You will soon see a “Hall of Fame” for the staff members who work on our property helping the residents enjoy their retirement and keeping our community the beautiful location it is. Anyone who has been working on staff in our community for 10 years or longer will have their photo placed on the wall in our clubhouses. We are grateful for all they do each day to make our retirements so enjoyable.

Ceasar and our new Lifestyle Director, Chris Fizer, have some wonderful events planned for this upcoming season as does our new Fitness Director, Chet Sheehan. Please introduce yourself to them, and I and the rest of the Board hope that you have a great season.

Joan Dzuro
President

As we get ready to start a new season soon, I want to address how all of you can help your Board serve you better.

No one person has all the answers to any question or problem. Our community is blessed to have such a wealth of knowledge in all types of areas: landscaping, finance, communications, and beyond. Getting recommendations from our great residents on how to improve our community is very helpful.

When you see or hear of a concern, please tell either our General Manager, Ceasar Larrach (ceasar.larrach@associa.us), a Board member or make a suggestion or ask a question through the email address hot-topics@scshca.com. If you have any ideas about how to address the concern, please let us know that as well. All ideas are evaluated by the appropriate advisory committee, and then recommended actions are presented to the Board.

Your Board works hard, for free, to keep our community financially sound and beautiful. We want everyone, including those of us who serve
on the Board, to enjoy our community for decades to come. Sometimes when things aren’t going as we would like, we can let our frustrations manifest themselves in calling people names, yelling, and harassing people. We are a community that is better than this.

Our General Manager and Board members want to hear all your concerns. Many a time we on the Board hear rumors of what people may be concerned about, yet neither our GM nor any Board member has received any communication on that issue.

The Board works hard to evaluate all information before making a decision. Will you always get the answer you want? Probably not. We have 6,500 residents; and pleasing them all, all the time, is just not possible. We do try to do the things we believe benefit the community as a whole, and hopefully the majority of you agree.

We are excited about our new season and welcoming everyone home from their summer vacations or their seasonal home. Once back, please help the Board serve you by attending or watching videos of Board meetings (they are available on the SCSHCA website), reading the news in the View magazine and daily on the community news website -- (including checking the Recent Questions and Answers area), signing up for our Monday morning email blasts (click here), and letting the Board know what you like and what you may have concerns about (click here). Together we can continue to make our great community even better.

Joan

When you read this we will be mid-way through the summer season but you will find that your Board, Ceasar, and his staff have been hard at work getting things ready for our busy season.

Over the past several weeks the Board has met and discussed specific areas that we would like Ceasar and his staff to work on, besides the dayto- day operations of the community. These seven (7) goals have been outlined and are posted on the association’s website (www.scshca.com) in the resident only section.

Working on improving our food and beverage and golf operations is number one goal for everyone. We are all thrilled to have Troon here to help operate our golf and Food and Beverage venues. They just started July 1, but I believe by the beginning of our season our community will see a great improvement in both areas.

We live in such a beautiful and wonderful community that we wanted to be able for our residents to share the beauty of their community with their friends and family by creating a short video showing the various things there are to do in our community. This video could also be used by residents when they need to sell their home. Ceasar will be working on getting this video established.

The other big goal that the Board, Ceasar, and his staff will be working on is getting an intracommunity shuttle started. There are lots of issues with establishing this shuttle, but we believe they are worth working through and many of our residents have indicated they agree. Whether we can have the shuttle go outside of the community is yet to be decided, but we thought we would start by making it available to help our residents get from their home to the clubhouses or the restaurant.

Recognizing the many staff members who stay in our community to make it this wonderful place is important. Ceasar is working on recognition pins that the employees can wear and a “hall of fame” where staff members who have been here 10 years or longer can be recognized.

More goals have been established and I hope you will check out the list on the www.scshca.com website.

The Golf Advisory Committee is working on the looks and playability of the course and will be coordinating the Board approved final plan with Troon and the Board appreciates all the time and effort that our GAC members are putting in to get a master plan created. The ultimate goal is for our course to look nice year round and become more playable for all ages.

We hope the rest of your summer is great and we look forward to seeing everyone at the end of summer as the new season begins.

Joan

One question that the Board receives quite often is, how does the Association select vendors with whom to contract for work in our community?

When the Board sees a need to hire or replace a contractor, the General Manager is asked to research companies that do the necessary work and come up with at least three bids (if there are three companies that do the work). The GM then presents the Board with three proposals along with references on the companies that bid.

In Executive Session, the Board discusses the scope of the work, each company’s references, and the bid amounts to clarify who each Board member believes would be the best contractor for the project. In open session, the Board then votes on which company to use. Under our HOA By-laws the Board can only obligate the community to a one-year agreement, although they can renew each year, but there must always be an “out clause” in every contract.

Every major contract is sent out for bid every three years. This category usually includes the contracts for our management firm, our attorney, our landscape firm, our security firm, our golf management, and food and beverage.

The previous Board negotiated different termination dates on our major contracts so that the Board and staff have time to review each contract carefully. Before this change, the Board had to look at two or three contracts at one time under short time constraints. Now we have time to get the bids in, make a careful review, and have a full discussion before decisions are made.

When money is spent to keep our community in the beautiful condition it is, two Board members must review and approve every invoice before payment. The two Board members rotate each week so that different eyes look at all the expenses and we make sure that our money, as well as yours, is being spent efficiently. It takes your Board at least one to two hours, depending on the number of invoices, to review and approve them each week – time we all believe is well spent to make sure we are wisely spending our $217 each month.

We have started working on our budget for 2017 and, beginning in September, the Finance Advisory Committee will have some preliminary numbers for the Board to start discussing. These budget meetings are open to residents to attend and hear what the Board is discussing. They are not exciting, as you will hear the Board go line by line to make sure we understand what the item is for and how we arrived at that number. Items will be removed, added, and changed as we work through this process. Look on the website or in the View for when these sessions are scheduled, we would love to see you there.

Joan

Each month your HOA Board of Directors (BOD) participates in several meetings. I thought it might be helpful if I outlined those:

• Board of Directors Executive Session: Each month the BOD meets in closed session to discuss litigation, contracts (including bids for new contracts), personnel issues, and resident hearings

• Board of Directors General Session: Each month (usually the last Monday of the month), the BOD meets to vote on contract items, review staff and committee reports, and review the financial statements to accept them for review by our auditor. These sessions are open for all homeowners in our community to attend, and we encourage you to come so that you are aware of where the funds are going that you pay each month in your assessments. We videotape the open session and place the videotape on our website (www.scshca.com) so that all residents, whether here or out of town, can keep up to date on what is occurring in the community. At the general session, homeowners have upto three minutes to address the Board on any issue that they would like. The Board has to limit this time to three minutes in order to get through all of the business that is necessary.

• Each month the Board President and one other Board member attend a Meet a Board Member session. At this meeting, the Board members are there to listen to resident concerns with no time limit on their presentation.

• Committee Liaisons: We have about a dozen advisory committees that are made up of homeowners who are volunteering to help the community. They consist of Design Review, Finance, Safety and Emergency Sub-Committee, Food and Beverage, Communication, Information, Landscape, Golf, and two temporary committees: Governing Documents and Transition. A Board member attends each committee meeting as a liaison between the committee and the Board.

• Budget: Each year the Board holds a series of budget meetings that are open to homeowners to attend and listen as the Board goes line by line through the budget and determines the appropriate amounts for the next year plus whether any change to the monthly assessment is needed.

The Board of Directors is elected to represent and promote the best interests of the community as a whole. Ultimately, the role of the Board is to
protect the community and its assets. This is accomplished by overseeing the management company that handles day-to-day operations at the Board’s direction, maintaining the common property, and enforcing the governing documents (CC&Rs, By-laws, Design Rules, Rules and Regulations, Charter Club/Group Rules, etc.).

The Board has established several ways for homeowners to ask questions and get information about the community. You can email Hot-Topics@scshca.com  or go to the website and “Ask a Question”; and you can email our General Manager, Ceasar Larrach, or any of the Board members (their contact information appears on the inside front page of the View magazine each month as well as on the website).

As summer approaches and we all take some time out from the heat, I hope you will remain connected to our community through our phone
apps, podcasts, and website.

Have a great summer!

Joan

It is hard to believe, but we are coming to the end of another season here in the Coachella Valley. Some of our seasonal residents have already headed back to their other residences. We wish you safe travels, we miss all of you, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

For those who are year-round residents, we hope you enjoy the short trips that most of us take now and then to get a break from the heat.

A few things to keep in mind:
1. Please be careful to secure your home while you are gone for any length of time to avoid indicating your home is not occupied: stop your newspapers and mail, and ask a neighbor to watch for packages that might be delivered. Don’t notify your vendors you will be gone – but please do tell our Community Safety Director, Dave Archer (David.archer@associa.us). Security cannot provide a house watch service but, as they patrol, they can watch for signs of suspicious activity. Please be sure that your contact number is up to date at the HOA office in case we need to call you regarding irrigation or other pressing issues.

2. Although our seasonal residents are gone, 60 percent of us live here year-round (over 3,500 people) and all of us will be using our facilities,
especially during the early morning and evening hours. So please use caution when driving, biking, and walking to remain safe.

3. Our Food and Beverage Department will be reducing its summer operations. Please check our website (www.scshca.com) or the View for specific
hours and continue to support our F&B outlets.

4. The Board will continue to work on our goals for this year:
a. Reducing the subsidy to our F&B operation.
b. Answering all your financial questions. Our Treasurer, Carey Thompson, will ensure the replies are posted on our website for everyone to read.
c. Developing a golf master plan – starting with the bunkers on the South Course.
d. Beefing up our emergency preparedness plan so residents know how to take care of themselves for a couple of weeks.
e. Continuing our “Meet a Board Member” sessions – Board members will take turns to join me.
f. Being prepared when Pulte leaves and we are 100 percent on our own.
g. Reviewing all our governing documents and updating them.
h. Continuing to tweak the Vendor Access program to keep it working for all residents.
i. Reviewing our strategic plan, determining what needs to be addressed in 2017, and researching costs for the budgeting process that will occur in September.

As you can see, we have a full slate; but we are all eager to work on these issues to continue to improve our community.

Whether you are here or away this summer, we hope you will stay in touch with us by checking our website regularly or using our mobile device app on your phone or tablet. And don't forget to subscribe to our new Sun City Shadow Hills Podcasts! Links to the mobile apps and the Podcasts can be found on the homepage of the www.scshca.com community news website.

Your comments and questions are always welcome. You can send them to the Board through “Ask a Question” on our website, by emailing “Hot Topics,” or by emailing our General Manager and/or the Board directly.

I hope to see you all at the eighth annual Memorial Day ceremony that our Veteran’s Club is again organizing.

Joan

SCSH Community/Coachella Valley HOA Study

A study was recently completed by John Hoffner, a new resident of SCSH, at his initiative, which analyzed the management structures of HOAs in the Coachella Valley and the financial performance comparisons of SCSH HOA to some other HOA-owned golf communities of similar size and composition of amenities. The Board has reviewed this study, has had it validated by the independent Certified Public Accounting firm of Baltes & Associates, believes it provides helpful, fact-based information about HOA management and our community, and as such, has authorized its publication and distribution to all residents.

John Hoffner: “As a new resident, I felt it was important to obtain some facts about how our community compares to others, and how other HOAs in the Coachella Valley are managed, so residents could make informed and knowledgeable decisions about living here. I undertook the study with no pre-conceived ideas or point of view, and with no influence from any group or entity. My singular objective was to provide all of my SCSH friends and neighbors with some objective, non-personal, and big-picture information which could serve to make all of us more informed and bring us closer together.”

A summary of the Study Highlights is as follows:

1. There are approximately 550 HOA communities in the Coachella Valley.
2. Roughly 95% of them are managed by professional management companies.
3. About 5% of them are self-managed.
4. Approximately 85% of all professionally managed HOAs are managed by just 8 firms.
5. Those firms are Personalized Property Management (113); Associa/PCM (95); Desert (60); J&W (55); Joanne Allen (47); Management Trust (38); Albert (27); and Avail (19).
6. Of these firms, Associa/PCM has the second largest market share and arguably the most prominent HOA client list: SCSH, Toscana, Thunderbird, Rancho La Quinta, Traditions, Hideaway, Rancho Las Palmas, Tamarisk, Palm Valley, Woodhaven, and Madison Estates.
7. Some of the most prominent self-managed HOAs are: Sun City Palm Desert, Heritage Palms, The Lakes, Big Horn, and Marrakesh.
8. Approximately 58 HOA communities owned one or more full size golf courses.
9. In these HOA golf communities, monthly HOA fees ranged from $217 to $1,100.
10. The golf communities with the lowest monthly HOA Fees were: SCSH $217; Sun Lakes $236; SC Palm Desert $239; Portola $278; Golf Club at La Quinta $288; Indian Springs $290; Thunderbird $292; The Palms $335; Heritage Palms $350; Avondale $363; and Palm Desert Resort $390.
11. SCSH monthly HOA Fees are the lowest of any HOA golf community in the Valley and are about 35% below the CV HOA Fees average, according to a recent article in the Desert Sun.
12. Four HOA golf communities with characteristics similar to SCSH were also compared: SCSH, SC Palm Desert, Sun Lakes, and Heritage Palms. Two were professionally managed – Sun Lakes and SCSH. Two were self-managed – Heritage Palms and SCPD.
13. Monthly HOA Fees of these four HOA golf communities are: SCSH $217, Sun Lakes $236, SCPD $239, and Heritage Palms $350.
14. Reserves Funding Levels of these four HOA golf communities are: SCSH 90%, Sun Lakes 78%, Heritage Palms 65%, and SCPD 56%.
15. A comparison of the 2014 audited financial statements and 2015 operating budgets for these four HOA golf communities on: Monthly HOA Fees, Reserves Funding, G&A Admin Expense % of Revenues, and Surplus or Deficit % of Revenues showed the following:

• SCSH had the highest Operating Surplus % of Revenues of these four communities.
• SCSH had the lowest G&A Admin Expense % of Revenues.
• SCSH had the highest Reserves Funding Level.
• SCSH had the lowest Monthly HOA Fees, and the lowest Fees of any HOA golf community in the Valley.

The two professionally managed communities have the lowest monthly HOA Fees, the lowest G&A Admin Expense % of Revenues, and the highest Reserves Funding Levels.

The two self-managed communities have the highest monthly HOA Fees, the highest G&A Admin Expense % of Revenues, and the lowest Reserves Funding Levels.

In addition to comparing HOA communities on these fact-based and objective measures, it is also important to evaluate them on the breadth and quality of the amenities and services they offer, as well as on the strength of and results delivered by their Boards and management, to ensure that property values and community desirability have been and will continue to be sustained over time.

In considering both types of measures, it clearly appears that Sun City Shadow Hills compares quite favorably on these important metrics to many other HOA communities; is part of the vast majority of Coachella Valley HOAs which are professionally managed; and is partnered with one of the strongest and most successful management companies in the Coachella Valley.

To learn more about John Hoffner click here

Data Sources:

Coachella Valley Community HOA Listings provided by Equity Title Co. and Gallaudet Properties.  As of 6/18/15.

2014 Audited Financial Statements and 2015 Operating Budgets for 4 communities.

Real Estate Multiple Listing Service for detail on HOA fees, amenities, year built, #units, types, etc.

HOA Community Websites.

Phone calls to management of various HOA Communities.

Real Estate Websites: Jenny Robinson, Team Gaffney, Diane Williamson.

“Coachella Valley HOA Fees among the highest in the U.S.” Desert Sun Sept 11, 2015.

<>One of the questions the Board receives quite often is how living in an HOA differs from living outside of an HOA. I thought I would try and outline just a few of the differences; doe to space restrictions, I am unable to cover them all.

One of the main differences in living in an HOA is the homogeneous look of the community designed to keep our home values the best the market will allow. When living outside of an HOA, your neighbor could paint their home pink with purple polka dots, which in most cases, would start to devalue neighboring homes. Here, we have a pallet of colors that can give your home your own touch within an acceptable range

If you want to change anything on the outside of our homes from what was originally installed, then we need to follow the community Design Rules (if you are logged into the website, you can click here to read them) and submit the plans to the Design Review Committee (DRC). The DRC checks the plans to make sure they comply with DRC Rules. Once approved, you re okay to make the change. Outside of our HOA, the City of Indio has requirements for some changes; but you can make a larger number of alterations without this step.

Since our side streets do not have sidewalks,our side streets are used for people walking, walking dogs, parking while visiting friends, and our vendors use them for parking while working. This becomes a very congested place to maneuver down during the week. There are some rules that you may not find in the City, such as no overnight parking on side street. But leaving trash cans out overnight is a violation in the City as it is in our community with the same amount of fine, $25. The idea in our HOA is to try and keep the side streets as empty as we can so that our residents can walk and drive down them while remaining as safe as possible.

Indio has a great police department, but they have a city of 33 square miles to cover 24/7 with over 90,000 people who live here; during March and April, its population ruses to over 200,000. Trying to patrol and keep all of our properties safe is a daunting task for our police. Living in our HOA, we have additional layer of security with or contracted security company, UPS, which has a security officer in each phase 24/7; plus we have guards at the two main gates (Jefferson and 40th). Although security can never prevent all crime, it does help to have these roving patrols. Remember, security and the police have to right 100% of the tine t prevent crime; but the criminal only has to get it right once.

Another huge benefit to our community are the over 60 clubs that our residents can participate in each day. The variety of things to do is mind boggling and such a great way to get to know your neighbors. Outside of our community you would have to join the nearest Senior Center, and they do not have the resources to offer as many options as we do in our community. Trying to get to a senior center can be difficult at times whereas, within our community, we can jump in our golf carts and go anywhere within our walls.

Being responsible for our own common areas and streets, we are able to keep both these areas looking nice year around. Cities do not have staff or sometimes the budget to fix a pothole, trim a tree, etc., as quickly as can in our community.

The Board of Directors' job is to look out for ALL 6,000 residents who live here; work to keep our property value high and our community as safe as possible so people can enjoy our amenities; and keep us as financially strong as possible.

It is an honor to serve the people of this community as a member of the Board.

Joan

Welcome back to our full-time residents that took some time off to get a break from the heat and to our seasonal residents who are returning to enjoy our fabulous winters.

Over the summer we had a lot of exciting things occur:

1. The Board approved the expansion of the lobby area of the HOA office as well as construction of a couple of additional office spaces and a new meeting room that the Board and committees can use. We hope this will address resident concerns that there wasn’t enough room in the office for them to conduct their business. This will free up the La Jolla room in the Santa Rosa Clubhouse so that our clubs have another place to meet (another resident issue that the Board has been trying to address). This is still in the planning stage, but we hope the work will be completed over the next six months.

2. After 10 years of wear and tear, our ballroom was refreshed with new carpet, wall coverings, dance floor, stage floor, and cabinets.

3. Listening to our racket clubs, the Board approved removing two of the eight bocce ball courts and installing four new Pickleball courts. There was a ribbon cutting at the new courts on October 6, 2015.

4. The Board sent out a Request for Proposal to about 11 different restaurant professionals asking them to bid on running our five food venues. We received two responses, and the Board chose Western Golf Properties to operate all five venues (The Shadows, Golf Snack Bar, Montecito Café, Santa Rosa Bistro, and our catering service). By the time your receive this magazine, you should start to see improvement in the operation of these venues.

5. The Landscape Advisory Committee, with Board liaison John Council, have been working on taking advantage of more turf reduction rebates from IWA and CVWD. These efforts will help us conserve water as well as keep the beautiful appearance of our community.

6. Lifestyle has been hard at work planning more fun adventures throughout the fall and winter months. Again, welcome back, it is great to have all of our friends and neighbors back in the community.

Joan

Community Documents

Your Board has embarked on a new task of rewording some of our community documents. We have approved an ad hoc committee to do so. The committee consists of R.D. Corrette, Fera Mostow, Lee Powell, Gordon Smith, Georgeana Mimms, Charles Hemphill, and myself. We may be forming some subcommittees in the future and asking for additional volunteers. More about that later. Many of the committee members have been attorneys in their past lives so they are familiar with legal documents, and that is what we are dealing with here.

What are the community governing documents?

In order of authority they are:

1. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions: Commonly referred to as the CC&Rs, they are a legally binding recorded document. They include information about the property, language establishing the HOA, descriptions of units and common areas, restrictions on use, and more. Basically they are the rules of our community. They govern what you can, cannot, or must do with regard to your home and the common areas.
2. Bylaws: The Bylaws state how the HOA will be run and contain information on voting processes, quorum requirements, provisions for holding annual and special meetings, how board members are elected, and other operating guidelines.
3. Rules and Regulations: They clarify and provide additional details to ambiguous language in any of the above governing documents.

Any of these governing documents cannot trump or contradict the rules and laws set forth in the documents that hold more authority. Basically, if you change one there may be cause to change another.

Our Rules and Regulations are an evolving document and have already been amended and will probably be revised again. Changes to them require only a majority of the HOA Board to approve.

Why are we changing them? Our CC&Rs were written for the developer. They are well done but were created many years ago. Time changes many things, and our CC&Rs are not an exception. They need to be updated and brought into the 21st century.

How will this process happen? The ad hoc committee will review the documents looking for out-dated language and may suggest more current verbiage. The document will then be reviewed by our Board and sent to the Association’s attorney for final wording. The board will then submit it to all of our members for a vote. Fifty-one percent of members must approve the changes.

When will this process happen? We hope to have the documents ready for a vote shortly after our developer is gone from the community. This will probably be sometime next year.

If subcommittees are approved, and you are interested in helping, please fill out a committee interest form at the HOA office.