Trying to impart information to a community that has over 3,500 homes and 6,000 residents where 40 percent of our residents are seasonal can be quite a challenge.
It is a challenge that your current Board worked on for the past two years. There are many ways we have developed to share information such as:
• our current website (www.scshca.com);
• our monthly magazine (the View);
• our Smart TVs located in our clubhouses; and
• flyers located in the clubhouses.
What can you find on our current website?
You can look up our financial statements; see our Board videos (if you weren’t able to attend the meeting); pull up the open forum Board book the Friday afternoon before the Board meeting to know what will be discussed; and review minutes from the committees who have met, information on our clubs, information about our food and beverage venues, all of our governing documents (CC&Rs, By-laws, Rules and Regs, DRC Rules and Regs, Charter Club Rules and Regs), the event calendar for the community, and the latest issue of the View. We also include information on what is going on within the City of Indio as well as updates on the Jefferson Interchange project and so much more.
If you have a question, you can go to the “Ask a Question” box on the website and type in your question. The Information Advisory Committee reviews the question, forwards it to the person in the community who handles that issue, and gets an answer that is then sent to you. You can also ask a question by emailing Hot Topics or a Board member or Ceasar Larrach (our GM) directly.
Our fabulous monthly magazine (the View) contains more detailed information about things in our community and human interest stories to help us learn more about our neighbors and the interesting lives they have lead before coming here.
Both the website committee and magazine committee work together to get as much information as possible to the community. Both the website committee and magazine committee members spend their time trying to inform the community. We appreciate so much their wonderful efforts and, obviously, we have a tremendously talented group as you can see from the results they produce for us each month.
You may have noticed that, in the front of The View, you will find each Board member’s phone number and email address, so if you have a question about the community you can always contact a Board member to get an answer. We all try to respond within 48 hours of receiving an email.
Once a month a Meet a Board Member session is held rotating between the Santa Rosa Clubhouse and the Montecito Clubhouse. This is where two Board members meet with residents and listen to their concerns. These are relaxed sessions where the Board members can hear resident concerns in more detail or explain decisions that have been made by the Board.
The Board has been talking about additional communication tools which are in the research stage. One is a texting system that residents could sign up to receive and, when something urgent occurs (a gate is closed, we have a natural disaster, etc.), we can let residents know. Another possibility is a radio station that would broadcast to our community and to your cell phone if it has a radio app. We could communicate resident information on events, clubs and, in case of a disaster, we could broadcast what is going on and the steps we need residents to take to remain safe. As a resident of the community, how you can help yourself and your neighbors is to stay informed about what is going on in the community by going onto our website and checking out the information.
If you have any difficulties in getting signed in, Gus Ramirez (gus.ramirez@associa.us) is always willing to help you get registered. If you have ideas about how we can help get more information out to the residents, the Board is always willing to review them.
Joan