December 9, 2015
The board received a newsletter this week that was very disappointing in that it stated that a small group of residents in this community, headed up by several lawyers, is at “war” with the board. The board does not consider itself at “war” with anyone. We all do our best, the board members, the volunteers who chair our committees and serve on our committees to keep our community the wonderful place it is to live.
They mentioned that they want to stop a radio station. The Information Advisory Committee looks at various ways to communicate information to our residents (website, smart phone app, smart TVs inc clubhouses, etc.). A company that helps establish local radio stations has met with the IAC that is in the process of evaluating if this is something that would benefit our community. The current radio stations have come a long way, this station would be for our community only and would not need a DJ but would actually be run through Podcasts and MP3 programs through a computer. If there was an emergency where residents needed to be made aware of a local danger , that could be broadcast over this radio station. When no emergency the station could be used for club news, what is coming up in the week for residents to participate in, etc.. All of this is under review and the board is waiting to hear if this is a feasible concept and all the details, at which time it will come before the board in open session.
The IAC (Information Advisory Committee) is a committee made up of about 7 local residents who volunteer their time and expertise to keep our website up-to-date with the latest news of what is going on in our community as well as the SmartTVs in the clubhouses. They were responsible for getting the smart phone app that we can all download and keep up-to-date on current events in our community from anywhere. They also send the questions received by the “Ask a Question” and Hot Topics emails to the people who need to answer them. They make no decisions, they make recommendations (as do all advisory committees) to the board for board review and decisions.
If you want to find out something about the community my first recommendation is to go to the official website of SCSH (www.scshca.com) and the board has worked diligently to have all the information on the website (financials, governing documents, committee reports, board reports and videos of board meetings, club events, etc.). You can also ask a question from the website by going to “Ask a Question” or email your question on our Hot Topics email. These questions are sent to whoever is responsible for handling that issue for the community and an answer is then written and sent back to the person who asks the question. You can also email our General Manager directly, Ceasar Larrach, or any board member for an answer. You can also attend a Meet a Board Member and express your concerns which are held monthly. At the board meetings you can also express your concerns (we have to limit comments to 3 minutes in order to hear from everyone and get the board business done in a timely manner).
The board is perplexed why enforcing the rules and regulations that each of us signed an agreement to follow when we purchased our home is considered “draconian”? I understand that draconian means: harsh, cruel. Board members are required, when we take the position on the board, to make sure all governing documents are followed in an equitable manner. Fines are never pleasant but even if we lived outside of our walls in the City of Indio there are fines (they charge $25 for trash cans left out overnight, their running a stop sign fine is over $400). The first seven months our fine schedule was implemented resulted in speeding citations dropping 59% and failure to stops by 40%.
Corkage fees came up as an issue because a new vendor read the club rules in order to make sure they followed them as they were servicing the community. They found that in 2011 it was required that clubs who bring their own wine had to be charged a corkage fee. To comply the vendor suggested $1 per club event (not per bottle) and a $5 corkage fee in The Shadows restaurant. After listening to the residents the board voted to suspend the corkage fee until the Charter Club Rules could be reviewed and updated. Clubs are being asked to review them and send their feedback to the governing documents committee that is working on updating all of our documents.
The new Design Rules (including types of statuary allowed in the yards) were discussed at open study sessions where all residents were encouraged to attend. The rules were also made available for review and comment. The board received 3 comments against the new regulation that statuary of humans cannot be nude, out of 3425 homes and 6000+ residents not a lot of negative feedback on this change.
The board is responsible for running a $12,000,000 non-profit corporation. The board, committee chairs and committee members as well as PCM staff take this responsibility seriously and work for the good of all (even those that say they are at war with the board).