RECENT NEWSLETTERS
Below is the current SCA View and recent back issues from January 2016. For earlier newsletters, see Archives.
Please note that the below newsletter reprints may contain corrections of disclosed errors and omissions.
January 5
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Today’s Anthem View
Management’s Proposed 2017 Budget & Recommendation for an Assessment Increase
Management’s recent 2017 Budget Workshop presentation was illuminating for its detail and thoroughness of the topics covered. Among management’s proposals was a recommendation for a $110 assessment increase in 2017. In recognition of the Association’s aging repair needs, coupled with the need to accelerate such funding for items with a shorter lifespan than was initially projected, management proposed that all of that recommended increase be allocated to the Reserve Fund.
The amount allocated to the Reserve Fund in 2016 is projected to be just under $2 million, which is equivalent to $277 per home and an accumulated Reserve Fund Balance of $10.5 million. In one of two Reserve Funding scenarios prepared by the GM, that per home amount will gradually increase over the next 30 years to $635/home. An alternative scenario reflects a relatively stable, non-increasing contribution, but which results in an ending Fund Balance that’s 44% lower than the resulting Balance from the staggered scenario as well as inadequate financial strength (below 70% of the fully funded amount in the final years).
The table below compares the 2016 Budget to the proposed 2017 Budget, showing the dollar and percentage changes.
Some may note that the Reserve Contribution in 2016 is $1.366 million, which reflects the amount that was initially included in the 2016 Budget. The actual amount contributed to reserves in 2016 will reflect the Board’s recent decision to augment that initial amount by $610,000, which will bring the total contribution to $1.976 million.
The Year-End TGIF Band on the North Lawn
This past Friday, it was a beautiful evening on the North Lawn overlooking the lights on the strip. We had brought some snacks to munch on while we enjoyed listening to the music. Then soon after the band started playing, I thought to myself, “something doesn’t sound right.” I didn’t know the music and wondered whether it was me or my age. After all, this was Sun City Anthem and the average age of homeowner was likely in their seventies. We grew up listening to music in the 1950s and 60s and we were looking forward to listening and dancing to the music and songs we understood.
Instead, SCA’s management staff contracted to provide homeowners with what the band described as a steel band playing generally unfamiliar music from the 80s or later by artists who, for the most part, were unknown to most homeowners.
Unfortunately, when brought to their attention, I understand that management was not especially concerned about their apparent failure to meet the music preferences of most residents who came out Friday evening looking for some fun and familiar music on the North Lawn.
About Costco’s St. Rose Construction Plans
While Costco has completed the City’s planning and permit requirements some time ago and is authorized to begin construction at their discretion, Costco has yet to announce when they will turn over the first shovel of dirt on their St. Rose property. Whether Costco’s delay represents a short or long-term hiatus is unknown.
A Las Vegas Review Journal Special Rate Reminder
Since I continue to receive inquiries about the special subscription rate for Sun City residents, I wanted to repeat that information.
Since some homeowners are paying well over $200/yr and upon renewal they can do so for only $85.80/yr, I encourage other SCA bloggers, with or without attribution, to provide this information to their subscribers so that they too may benefit from this substantial savings.
New and existing subscribers in Sun City Anthem are entitled to a special rate of $85.80 for a 7-day, 52-week subscription.
1. Who does that special rate apply to? Residents of Sun City Anthem. 2. Does that special rate apply to your current subscription? You can receive a credit towards your renewal as illustrated below. 3. Does that special rate apply to your next renewal? Yes. 4. Does that special rate apply to your previous renewal? No. 5. Will that special rate be applicable in 2017? As far as I know today, the answer is Yes. 6. Will that special rate change? I was told that the special rate should be applicable through 2017. When and how that special rate will change in the future is unknown. 7. Does that special rate entitle you to a cash refund? No. 8. Are you entitled to receive a credit on your upcoming renewal? Yes. 9. How does that credit work? Subscribers will receive a pro rata extension on their next renewal equivalent to the difference between the amount you paid on your existing subscription and $85.80. For example, say your current 12-month subscription is scheduled to expire on 12/1/2016 and you had paid the LVRJ $171.60 in 2015. Your upcoming 12-month renewal rate will be $85.80. Since the amount you had paid in 2015 was equal to 100% of the special subscription amount of $85.80, you are entitled to an extension to your 2016 renewal equal to 100% of 52 weeks, which is 52 weeks. In this example, the subscriber would have their subscription extended for an additional 52 weeks beyond 2017, until the extended subscription expires on 12/1/ 2018. 10. How do new or current subscribers get this special rate? In order to receive this special rate, you need to do three things: a. Call the LVRJ at this number ONLY: 702-383-4613 b. Talk to or leave a message for Anna Martinez, Head of the Subscription Department. That number is her direct line and if she does not answer, leave a message to call you. c. You must tell here you are a Sun City Anthem resident. d. Do not call any other LVRJ subscription number as Ms. Martinez is the only person who is authorized to provided SCA residents this special rate. 11. How did this special rate come about? In response to my recent article about the LVRJ, I was contacted by one of our residents who wishes to remain anonymous who told me of an arrangement that had been made with a LVRJ representative for a special rate for residents of Sun City Anthem.
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Volcano surfing in Nicaragua. (#22).
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Today’s Anthem View
The September Board Meeting (continued) and today’s Restaurant Meeting
There is one very important area left to discuss about the September Board meeting. That is the 2016 Updated Reserve Study, which is likely to have profound financial implications on assessments going forward, if not in 2017, in the years to come.
A possible assessment increase in 2017, politics, and Criterium Engineers’ 2016 Updated Reserve Study
The completed, still highly secret, 2016 Updated Reserve Study by Criterium Engineers reportedly disclosed the need for $2.4 million in 2017 recommended repairs. Unanswered today is where will that money come from?
If I had to guess, that $2.4 million obligation is one the Association is not prepared to assume, that is, not without an increase in member assessments. That dire prospect was offered by Director Jim Mayfield, who said that he would not be surprised if we will need an assessment increase in 2017. Jim then asked this question: What will be the methodology that will drive the amount of the Association’s reserves contribution to fund the needed repairs?
Whether the Board will propose an assessment increase in 2017 is problematic and depends on a number of considerations and questions, including:
Incredibly, the Board managed to avoid any reference to the existence of this reserve study in making the following announcement of what the Board accomplished at the September Board meeting: “Accepted Management’s report on recommended 2017 Reserve Expenditures and Community Improvement Projects.”
Today’s Restaurant Meeting, Monday the 27th
Today’s Restaurant Meeting was conducted by GM Sandy Seddon and the Board of Directors. It was a standing room only event with chairs lining three walls of the Delaware Room, 3-5 rows deep. The sole purpose of the meeting was give residents an opportunity to voice their opinion about the closed restaurant.
Everyone who wanted to speak had an opportunity to do so within the allotted 2 hours that was set aside, which concluded after only 1-½ hours.
Below are some of the ideas that were suggested.
GM Sandy Seddon said that she had a lot of experience in self-managed operations and will be providing information about her experience in the future.
GM Sandy Seddon and President Rex Weddle thanked those who attended, while promising to keep everyone informed about what’s happening on this issue. At the moment, there are no future Restaurant meetings scheduled. Ron Johnson
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Biking on the Cliffs of Moher. (#21).
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Today’s Anthem View
The General Manager's Report, Sept. 2016
UPDATE ON LIBERTY CENTER As previously reported, repairs at Liberty Center began on June 15, 2016. The scope of repairs includes, among other items: solar removal, roof repairs, exterior weather proofing, interior and exterior pool decks, re-plastering of pools, drywall framing and repairs, tile replacement, HVAC work, remodeling of locker rooms, duct cleaning and interior painting. The construction hours are Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with periodic work on Saturday and Sunday. Many residents have asked when this work will be completed. The construction management company had a target month to reopen Liberty Center in September. Unfortunately, the latest update from them is that we are now looking at October or the beginning of November.
BURGALRIES There have been three burglaries in SCA on 8/29, 9/6, and 9/8. All three were during the day and the front door was damaged. I reached out to Captain Dane Mattoon of Henderson police and he indicated that they are also investigating six similar cases in Solera over the past two weeks. According to the Captain a preliminary look at the reports and times, they assume the burglaries were by the same person(s). No residents were home in any of the burglaries and because a couple of them are within a short time span, the suspects may have been in that area and observed homeowners leaving their houses and/or knocked on the door and did not receive a response from anybody inside the home. Just as a reminder that the crime of Burglary is “the entering of a structure to illegally take items belonging to another.” Robbery is “the taking of items, from another person through fear or force.” All of the crimes listed in this e-mail are clearly “burglaries” since nobody was confronted by the suspect(s). Since these thieves were probably driving or walking around SCA and Solera, the Captain highly encourage the residents to always be vigilant and call 3-1-1 to report suspicious vehicles and/or people in their neighborhoods. If solicitors are knocking on the doors, also call 3-1-1 to report them so they can be identified by the police and be confirmed to be operating legitimately. If there is a knock on the door, be sure to ask who it is and through the closed and locked door, advise that you are not interested. This will let a burglar know people are present in the home. If no response is made to the knock, they may assume the house is empty, making the house a possible target.
If they continue to insist on talking to you after you have advised you are not interested, tell them to leave and that you are calling the police; then call 9-1-1. There are also affordable products on the market which consist of a doorbell/camera system which can be connected to your Wi-Fi and you will then be alerted to a doorbell ring from an ‘application’ on your phone. You may then choose to “answer” the doorbell from any location in the world where you have access to internet service. In that way, if you happen to be away from your house, you can still talk to the person with two-way communication, making the person at the door think people are inside the home. This type of system also allows you to do this if you are within your home, eliminating the need for the resident to approach the door to see who is outside. Captain Mattoon indicated that working together we can make difference and apprehend these bad guys. They are diligently working the leads they have to identify and charge the suspects in these burglaries, but also need the assistance of residents by reporting suspicious people and circumstances. You citizens are the eyes and ears of the city, and they rely heavily on that to assist in their daily patrols and crime prevention.
BOARD MEET AND GREET On Monday, September 26th from 3 – 6pm SCA will have the board member meet and greet. This is your opportunity to meet the board members and chat with them.
COMMUNITY MEETING TO DISCUSS THE RESTARUANT A workshop has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 9 am in the Delaware room. This workshop is an opportunity for residents to share feedback to Management and the Board regarding the restaurant space. The Board has instructed me that addressing the restaurant issue is a management task. To that end, we hope that this scheduled workshop is productive and meaningful. There is no specific timeline or process that has been outlined yet related to the restaurant. This is just the beginning.
ACCOUNTING On Thursday, September 29th at 9 AM there will be a budget workshop in the Delaware Room. The draft budget will be presented by management.
FITNESS First, a quick thank you to our fantastic Facilities staff for the expeditious completion of the semi-annual maintenance on the Anthem indoor pool, spa and deck this month. All areas look great and were re-opened right on schedule. Moving forward, bids have been attained for the replacement of the Anthem weight room flooring. This project will coincide with the locker room project later this year. Research and pricing has begun for the upcoming year’s scheduled replacement of reserve equipment. We hope to install 2017 reserve pieces early in the first quarter. New barbells will arrive this week for the Anthem Center Strength Room. Lastly, the Group Exercise program is happy to announce the return of “Urban Line Dance with Roberta Mason” to the schedule starting in October.
ACTIVITIES September 27 – Tuesday – Bus trip – Joyce Straus Art Gallery Tour 10:15am – 3:00pm September 30-TGIF (West Coast Travelers) – Anthem North Lawn -8:00pm -10:00pm October 1 – Saturday -Bus Trip – UNLV football game UNLV vs. Fresno State October 7 – Friday – First Friday Health and Wellness Delaware Room 9:00am – 11:00am October 8 – Saturday –Fall Home Expo 9:00a.m. – 1:00pm October 8 – Saturday – Movie (Ricki and the Flash) – Anthem North Lawn 7:00-9:00pm October 14 – Friday – Lunch & Learn Delaware Room 11am -1pm Dr. Lee Wittenberg Apache Foot & Ankle October 14 – Friday – Bella Donna – Freedom Hall 7:00pm October 18 – Tuesday – “Got Health” Sunrise Hospital – Delaware Rm 6:00pm – 8:00pm October 19 -Wednesday -Bus Trip – Wayne Newton Casa de Shenandoah Tour October 21 – Friday – TGIF—Women of Rock – Anthem North Lawn 8:00pm -10:00pm October 22-Saturday Fall Arts and Crafts – 9:00am -1:00pm October 23 – Sunday – Tammy Graham Show– Freedom Hall 3:00 pm
FACILITIES MAINTENANCE The Anthem indoor pool & spa had its semiannual maintenance performed this month. The re-plastering of the indoor and outdoor spas at Anthem are scheduled to start after Liberty re-opens. The 4 new Pool and Spa chemical controllers for Anthem are being installed. The 4 for Liberty are scheduled for installation next week. Half the outdoor patio furniture for Anthem has been returned refinished and re-strapped. The second half has been picked. We plan on having the second half re-strapped the same way as the first half, with the blue accent color. The new Envise smoke controllers for Anthem have been installed. Final testing is being scheduled. The coating of the concrete area outside the entrance doors at Independence is complete. The 16 new arm chairs for the Emerson/Franklin room at Anthem have been delivered and put into use. The 4 new pool tables for Anthem have been ordered and should arrive in the next 3 weeks. The repair to the 7 at Independence is being scheduled. The replacement of the rubberized flooring in the strength room at fitness is scheduled to be installed after Liberty re-opens and the work on the Locker rooms begin here at Anthem. All new Handicap signs have been installed in the parking lot between Anthem and Independence. New pool signage is being ordered for both Anthem and Liberty. The existing signage is faded and needs to be updated with current CPO (certified pool operator) names and license numbers. The balance of the Bocce Ball courts here at Anthem have been repaired. The city of Henderson’s Life Safety inspector was out this month and inspected Anthem for any Life Safety violations. None were found. Desert Fire performed Stand pipe flow testing at Liberty this month. Everything passed. Siemens, our File Life Safety vendor tested all our smoke detectors at Anthem this month and everything passed. An extra 2 sets of new drapes are being ordered for SCA TV. These will be fire treated. New lights are being installed in the fitness cardo room and the walking track. These lights will be brighter. Diamond plate has been installed in the hall behind the Delaware room to help protect the walls form damage. New walk mats have been put into place between the indoor pool and locker rooms here at Anthem to help prevent slipping. Palm Tree trimming here at Anthem is scheduled for next week. New plant material is scheduled to be planted at Liberty before it re-opens. Also, all the trees have been trimmed. CMC projects (AMOR)
o The improper curbs in the Handicap showers at Independence and the cracked shower pans in the men’s and women’s locker rooms at Independence are all being scheduled.
Other Board News
Status of Chapter 40 construction defect mediation process on Liberty Center
President Rex Weddle announced at their executive session that with very little progress being made on mediation, the Board decided to authorize legal counsel to file a lawsuit against the developer. The Board anticipates that the lawsuit will prompt the parties to get more involved in the process as the matter heads to court.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Case
This month’s executive session also addressed a pending ADR mediation case. There is a reasonable presumption that this matter was the case that had been filed by Ron Johnson in an effort to resolve the Association’s long-term refusal to provide member access to tax audit documents the Association had submitted to the IRS in 2012 in an effort to resolve a $1.345 million IRS claim.
According to Nevada law, before any civil action can be taken regarding a dispute relating to governing documents of a homeowners association, the disputing parties must complete the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process under NRS 38. The parties to the mediation provide the mediator a statement and relevant documents pertaining to the dispute, including a statement concerning an acceptable resolution. The mediator works with the parties to resolve the dispute with a written agreement.
Whether that mediation process will result in a resolution is unknown. However, based on the experience of those SCA members who have filed ADR claims, I am not aware of any case that resulted in a resolution of the dispute. To some, that might suggest the Association has not been disposed to mediate disputes, thereby obliging members to incur the expense of litigation if the homeowner wants to pursue the matter.
Collections
Management reported that there were 24 units in collections involving about $62,000.
Surplus Funds
This surplus funds issue involved two things: 1) the accumulation of funds in excess of monies needed to pay our bills, which in the past has been reported to be about a million dollars; and 2) the disposition of those funds, i.e., whether those funds should be transferred to the Reserve Fund or returned to the unit owners.
According to Director Jim Mayfield, this 8-year issue has festered much too long. Jim believed that an acceptable resolution was finally in sight. As previously reported, that resolution was developed by SCA’s Finance Committee (FC) in a report defining “surplus funds,” how to compute the accumulated surplus, and how to manage the disposition of those funds. That FC report was presented at the August 25th Board meeting, which you can view here,.
At this month’s meeting, Treasurer Tom Nissen presented the Board’s response to the FC’s recommendations on Surplus Funds. That response was generally receptive to adopting the FC’s recommendations, with one key exception. That exception concerned what the FC defined as the “Minimum Acceptable Equity.” According to the FC, such minimum amount was “established to insure a modest margin of safety against potential cash shortage or even bankruptcy of the HOA.” The recommended MAE amount was $250,000.
In practical terms, that amount would reduce the available surplus by $250,000. For example, say the prior year’s computed surplus, as calculated and reported by the Association’s auditors, was $600,000. That amount would be reduced by the amount of the MAE, that is, by $250,000, leaving a net surplus of $350,000 to be transferred to the Reserve Fund or refunded to the homeowners, at the Board’s discretion. In doing so, the Board would have an available cushion equal to $250,000 against a potential cash shortage.
Some might view the existence of this amount as an unbudgeted, off-budget, or a contingency fund that’s equivalent in concept to the amount of “working capital” the Board has been carrying over year after year. So, in some sense while there has been progress in addressing the surplus funds issue, some of the board’s past accounting practices have not changed.
Tom Nissen’s recommendation to the Board was to increase that MAE amount from $250,000 to $500,000, giving the Association a $500,000 cushion against a potential cash shortage. Most Board members appeared eager to accept Tom’s recommendation, voicing the opinion that the Association would be better protected in the event of a cash shortage.
Interestingly, Former Finance Committee Chair Forrest Quinn rose to address this potential cash shortage issue. He said that based on his historical analysis, the Association has always had more than enough cash on hand to meet their expenses. Since there was no historical basis to conclude that the Association will ever have a need for any MAE amount to protect it from a cash shortage, one might question the need for such protection.
After all, in the event of a cash emergency, the Association has other alternatives, including a special assessment, deferring a portion of planned reserve transfers, or borrowing from the Reserve Fund.
In the end, the seven-member Board approved Mr. Nissen’s proposal to adopt the FC recommendation, as amended to reflect the $500,000 MAE, but with one modification. That modification was to revisit the amount of the MAE after one year, instead of two years as Tom had initially recommended. In addition, the Board approved a FC recommendation to transfer excess funds carried over from 2015 ($610,000) to the Reserve Fund.
Going forward, the Board anticipates that our CFO Jim Orlick and in-house staff will produce more accurate budgets than what the Association was accustomed to receiving from FSR. That tightening effort may substantially reduce the accumulation of surplus funds as the reported income and amounts expensed are in line with the amounts that were budgeted.
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Glacier boarding anywhere. (#20).
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Today’s Anthem View
The September Board Agenda Review Meeting
In attending recent Board Agenda Review meetings, one is struck by certain realities:
Highlights of the Agenda review include.
It’s unclear whether Mr. Nissen’s position on Surplus Funds is the same today or has changed since he announced last year that the Association has no surplus funds. Mr. Mayfield said that any recommendation on Surplus Funds should also include a recommendation to transfer the Surplus, estimated to be in excess of $600,000, from the main Operating fund to the Reserve Fund prior to the adoption of the 2017 budget in October. Such a transfer was recommended by the Finance Committee.
The 8-page Report, supplemental information and narrative Presentation, 26 pages in all, by Directors Aletta Waterhouse and Bob Burch sets forth their recommendations to the Board on the proposed structure of SCA Committees under self-management. You can read that Report here.
Here are those Committee recommendations:
Commentary on the role of SCA Committees by Ron Johnson
That in-your-face decision to bypass input from the community and committee officers’ smacks of the Board’s ill-considered and thoughtless judgment in how best to address this important issue. Then again, considering the Board’s performance of late, perhaps we are expecting too much.
As the report noted, the committee’s primary reason for being, i.e., managing the PIRF process and all that entailed, was excised by the Board and given to SCA’s new management team. With that mission gone, it appears that there would be little substance left to warrant the Committee’s continued life.
SCA residents are invited to the following events: Board of Directors Meet and Greet
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Walking over a crevice. (#19).
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Today’s Anthem View
The Property & Grounds Committee Meeting
In leading this month’s P&G meeting, Vice Chair Steve Smolenski appeared challenged in opining on the future role of the Committee. There are good reasons for his apparent uncertainty. For the foreseeable future, the Board is not accepting new community projects, which in the past had been initiated through the committee’s PIRF process. Suspension of that process was necessary for the Board to focus on the more pressing needs of deferred maintenance and Liberty Center’s construction defects.
In commenting on the committee’s role in the community’s reserve study process, Steve said that the committee was looking forward to this year’s Updated study by Criterium Engineers. In responding to a question about the committee’s current role of the committee, GM manager Sandy Seddon said that her staff had assumed sole responsibility for the update to the reserve study and that she will be forwarding those results to the Board for their review and action as the Board had directed. Sandy said that while the P&G committee will eventually receive a copy of the study, the committee is not part of the decision-making process.
The Updated reserve study is expected to report that the community is falling further behind in meeting the community’s projected reserve requirements. That report will compare the community’s actual Reserve Fund Balance to the study’s fully funded level, i.e., when the projected reserve balance is 100 percent funded. To the extent that the Reserve Fund is underfunded, the association is devalued.
Recent actions by the Board in purchasing equipment suggests that reserves are being expensed faster than projected. In other words, monies are being taken out of the reserve fund in advance of the projected useful life of the equipment that is being replaced. That apparent necessity will contribute to the underfunding of the reserve fund. For example, you will frequently see reported in the monthly Agendas that the Board had to “Accelerate the purchase of “x” to be paid from Reserves.” The money that was supposed to fund the replacement of “x” was scheduled to be set aside in the reserve fund at a certain time in the future based on the projected useful life of “x.” The Board has to decide on how it’s going to address this and an array of reserve funding issues.
Here are some other P&G tidbits.
The Community Lifestyle Committee Mtg.
Nicole Duffel, Vice Chair of the International Culture Connections Club was back again to address the Club’s plans to hold a holiday event on 27 November for family and children. Given that the Club had deleted certain outside aspects from their initial event proposal, there was no need for the committee to act on ICCC’s proposal since planned event was no longer considered a Special Event, one that would require the committee’s approval.
There will be a Club Fair on Saturday, 3 December, from 8 – 1 in the Ballroom.
Director Jim Mayfield’s Thoughts on a New SCA Restaurant By Jim Mayfield
Commentary on Mayfield’s Restaurant Thoughts by Ron Johnson
Other News
News for SCA residents and subscribers to the Las Vegas Review Journal
This is an update to my earlier article regarding the subscription rate for the Las Vegas Review Journal.
New and existing subscribers in Sun City Anthem are entitled to a special rate of $85.80 for a 7-day, 52-week subscription.
For example, say your current 12-month subscription is scheduled to expire on 12/1/2016 and you had paid the LVRJ $171.60 in 2015. Your upcoming 12-month renewal rate will be $85.80. Since the amount you had paid in 2015 was equal to 100% of the special subscription amount of $85.80, you are entitled to an extension to your 2016 renewal equal to 100% of 52 weeks, which is 52 weeks. In this example, the subscriber would have their subscription extended for an additional 52 weeks beyond 2017, until the extended subscription expires on 12/1/ 2018.
Where will be the new Costco be located? Costco will be located on the south side of St. Rose Pkwy. just east of Executive Airport Dr.
St. Rose Pkwy. Costco Seven Hill Dr. Eastern Ave
Executive Airport Dr. Airport Runway Sun City Anthem Dr.
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Sitting around at Yosemite. (#18).
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Today’s Anthem View
The Sept. Community Lifestyle Workshop Meeting
Upon entering the Community Lifestyle Committee Workshop meeting room, I was struck by the standing-room only audience, as additional chairs were being delivered as more and more members were arriving. The room was literally packed to accommodate the understandable interests of the Clubs in promoting their respective activities in common areas in the Anthem and Independence Centers. More on that in a minute.
First, the Committee was set to vote on two seemingly routine “room” requests, which we were told by Chair Pat Carrel was standard operating procedure for the Committee’s monthly Workshops. As the attendees were reminded by Board Director Carl Weinstein, Workshops are not the proper venue to conduct the Committee’s official business—Committee votes should be taken only at regular Committee meetings. The attendees were told by Carrel that the two “Special Event” requests before the Committee were merely “room” requests and, therefore, could be properly acted on by the Committee. But were these requests merely a room request or something more?
“Special Event” requests, while of interest to some SCA residents looking for a free event to attend, also have the potential of raising funds for the Club, attracting outside attendees, and meeting the needs of vendors or others who have their own financial interests in offering their products or services for sale. This was no less the case for the Pet Club’s popular Woofstock event and ICCC’s Bling and Fun Books event, offered at no cost to local hospitals that have ill children by artist John Rothman.
Club Promotions and Ticket Sales
The Committee had invited Clubs and others to voice their concerns over the past use of tables in Anthem and Independence Centers to promote their Club’s activities with current and future event information and ticket sales. Under current management policies, however, those event tables have been declared verboten. That prohibition has brought this issue to the forefront of the Committee’s attention. The Committee’s efforts were directed at learning more about the Club’s concerns and interests in meeting the community’s event planning needs.
Briefly, the information, performing and entertainment Clubs would like to be able to better communicate with interested residents on a personal basis. Past efforts have demonstrated that is best accomplished by offering event information and sales opportunities at tables that are conveniently located where the action is—Anthem and Independence Centers.
SCA’s activities representative and Lifestyle Director Meg Poulson stressed that they can assist the Clubs in promoting their events through various mediums: Flyers, LCD TV screens, Posters, Spirit magazine, SCA TV, Box Office, and eBlasts.
Two suggestions of possible Committee interest included one by David Berman. David suggested that the presence of Club tables give needed flavor to the community and could be permanently (or temporarily) installed for subsequent reservation by potential users.
Another noteworthy suggestion was to include a Playbill type template in the Spirit or Relay that would advertise upcoming performances and special events.
Other News
On the Renewal of the Las Vegas Review Journal
If you subscribe to the Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper, you should take a good look at this year’s RENEWAL notice. There are two potential problem areas. First, is the newspaper’s cost. Having been a long-term subscriber, I was surprised to learn that the LVRJ has markedly different rates for SCA subscribers. For example, I’m currently paying $94 for a 12-month, 7-day subscription. On the other hand, for the same 12-month period and frequency, my neighbor is currently paying 82% more, or $171/yr.
While there may be a reasonable explanation for such a substantial disparity in subscription costs, the LVRJ appears to be open to matching my neighbor’s cost to my subscription rate. I wrote “appears” because my neighbor is waiting for a new renewal notice with the revised amounts for this base year and the new amount for the next 12-month period. As an aside, my renewal rate increased 35% from $94 to $127.
The second issue is a little more complicated and it apparently impacts all subscribers renewing this year. In the RENEWAL notice’s box labeled RENEW TODAY, it displays the following information: the period, e.g., 52 weeks, the new rate and finally, the new period ending date, 09/01/2017. Elsewhere on the notice, my Expiration Date is reported as 09/02/2016. Since my actual expiration date is 12/21/2016, it’s unclear why the LVRJ had moved my expiration date up almost 4 months.
Was that a clerical error or did the LVRJ intend that renewal should expire on 9/1/2017? My neighbor’s expiration date had been move up too, leading me to concluded that the changes appearing on my RENEWAL notice were not unique to me.
LVRJ’s attempt to explain what had happened was basically unintelligible. Nevertheless, they readily agreed to correct their record in my and my neighbor’s case. In doing so, however, I had the impression that the LVRJ is doing so ONLY for those persons who contact them. If these changes are occurring in your subscription, you may wish to contact the LVRJ at 702-383-0400 and ask that your subscription date be corrected and a new statement be issued.
Had I gone ahead and paid for the renewal as reflected on LVRJ’s faulty notice, it’s unclear when my 52-week subscription ending in 2017 would have expired, on 09/01/2017 or on 12/21/2017.
Dryer Problems
Is your dryer taking too long to dry—like taking 2, 3 or 4 times to dry your loads? Failure to address this issue will likely result in increased energy costs and may eventually cause the heating element to fail. If you have this problem, a solution is within reach. I have recently learned that the source of the problem is not so much the dryer, which is typically operating as intended, but is the dryer’s clogged vent that exits the roof.
I contacted John Frey, The Duct Man of Nevada, 702-240-3828, who may be the only person that’s capable of thoroughly cleaning your dryer, removing all vestiges of lint and debris from the dryer, power blowing the vent to expel any remnants of lint and accessing your roof to remove several inches of caked-on lint that’s been trapped by a screen. As a final service, he will remove that offending lint screen on the roof so that the blockage problem will not reoccur. Some homeowners might prefer to call a local handyman or another company to clean the dryer.
However, based on my experience, I would not recommend those other options. In general, a local handyman is neither equipped nor disposed to address the real culprit, which requires a qualified person to climb on the roof and access the vent’s exit.
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Cycling on a ledge in Norway. (#17).
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Today’s Anthem View
The August Board Meeting
Board wusses succeed in putting off consideration of the Finance Committee’s proposal on Surplus Funds.
In his slide presentation on Surplus Funds, reconfigured by Ron Johnson, Finance Committee (FC) Chair Andrew Muha offered a rather coherent and detailed explanation of the Committee’s recommendations on how and when to compute the Association’s annual surplus.
However, when it came time to listen to how those recommendations were received by members of the Board, there was obvious disappointment. It was clearly evident that some Board members had not done their homework on this designated action item. Not only did those naysayers not ask any questions that might have addressed their concerns it was clear that they hadn’t even thought about what questions to ask, despite professing that there were so many unanswered questions.
Eventually, the Board agreed to revisit the FC’s recommendations at the September Board meeting, while also prompting members to submit any questions they might have in writing to the FC.
Ordinarily, Roz Berman, a former Board and FC member who does not get upset easily, was motivated to go to the microphone to chastise certain Board members who were seemingly ill-prepared to address this important matter.
Ron Johnson
GM Sandy Seddon’s August Report, courtesy of David’s Anthem Journal
UPDATE ON LIBERTY CENTER As previously reported, repairs at Liberty Center began on June 15, 2016.The scope of repairs includes, among other items: solar removal; roof repairs; exterior weather proofing; interior and exterior pool decks; re-plastering of pools; drywall framing and repairs; tile replacement; HVAC work; remodeling of locker rooms; duct cleaning, and interior painting. The construction hours are Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with periodic work on Saturday and Sunday. Many residents have asked when this work will be completed. The construction management company had a target month to reopen Liberty Center in September. Unfortunately, the latest update from them is that we are now looking at October. To date, the Association has recovered the following insurance proceeds: · $51,785.36 in repair costs · $5,413.99 in repair costs · $72,174.44 in repair costs · $50,000 from insurance (limit amount of coverage for mold remediation) · $4,983 (coverage for the security company to secure premises) There are still unresolved claims that are pending. On June 8, 2016, all residents were mailed a letter from our construction defect attorney, Francis Lynch. This letter was sent to comply with Chapter 40 Notice Pursuant to NRS 40.645. As required, the letter contained a copy of the builder response which basically disputes our claims. Pulte did agree to engage in mediation, which is scheduled for September 2016. EXECUTIVE SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT The Board of Directors will have an executive session on Friday, September 9th. You will notice that is it listed in the September Spirit Magazine as an Emergency Executive Session. Some residents have inquired with us wondering why we call it an Emergency Executive Session. SCA uses the word "emergency" in this instance in order to announce the Board is holding an Executive Session on this date. NRS 116.31083 (12) defines "emergency" as any occurrence or combination of occurrences that: (a) could not be reasonably foreseen; (b) affects the health, welfare and safety of the units' owners or residents of the common-interest community; (c) requires the immediate attention of, and possible action by, the executive board; and (d) makes it impracticable to comply with the provisions of subsection 2 or 5. Subsection 2 of this statute relates to, at minimum, the requirement of a 10-day notice of a meeting with the executive board. Since there is no guarantee that the Spirit magazine (which is the official communication for SCA) will be mailed within a minimum 10 days before the noted meeting, SCA, being transparent to the unit owners, is noticing the meeting accordingly as an emergency executive session meeting. Subsection 5, as it relates to the term “emergency” references that the executive board may take action on an item which is not listed on the agenda as an item on which action may be taken. COMMUNITY MEETING TO DISCUSS THE RESTARUANT A workshop has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 9 am in the Delaware room. This workshop is an opportunity for residents to share feedback to Management and the Board regarding the restaurant space. The Board has instructed me that addressing the restaurant issue is a management task. To that end, we hope that this scheduled workshop is productive and meaningful. There is no specific timeline or process that has been outlined yet related to the restaurant. This is just the beginning. SPIRIT MAGAZINE – ADVERTISING REDHEAD ENTERPRISES After a longstanding relationship with Redhead Enterprises, we have officially ended our contract with them. Redhead Enterprises had a contract with SCA to sell advertising for Spirit Magazine. SCA received a portion of the advertising sales on a monthly basis per our contractual agreement. Our contract with Redhead ended on April 30, 2016, and we elected, for the time being, to be on a month to month basis with them. The primary reason was that Redhead had fallen behind in payment to us. At Redhead’s request, they came up with a payment plan to make the Association “whole” by July of 2016. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Redhead was unable to fulfill the payment plan that they had requested and we elected to end the relationship. Currently Redhead owes SCA $36,943.33. This amounts to approximately 1 1/3 months (on average) of our portion of advertising. While we wish Redhead Enterprises every success moving forward, we will obviously pursue all courses of action to recoup the funds due to SCA. Meanwhile, your self-management team has taken steps to secure advertising in the Spirit Magazine. The September issue will be smaller in pages and contain less advertising. Moving forward, our goal is to retain as many advertisers as possible and seek new advertisers for future editions. ACCOUNTING · Enrollment for the 401k Plan has been completed and the plan is in place. · We continue with VMS Training, both from the software provider and from Taylor Management. · The Budget Process is in full swing. · The Reserve Study Update is also in progress. The initial draft has been reviewed and changes have been discussed with Criterium. We just received draft two back and management is now reviewing it. · The transition continues to be a transition, wherein we learn new things about the past each and every day, and continue to work on bringing processing for accounting in house, with less dependence on Taylor Management. · Edwin Elias has joined our Team as our Accounts Receivable Specialist. Edwin has a strong experience level in our field and also has previous experience with our VMS software. Welcome aboard. FITNESS · The new heaters for the outdoor pool and indoor spa have been installed. · The process has begun to refurbish the worn out pool furniture both indoor and out at the Anthem Center. New cushions have arrived for the indoor furniture and the first round of outdoor furniture has been sent off for re-strapping and paint. Supplemental furniture has been brought over from Liberty in the meantime. · Bids have been obtained for the replacement of the Anthem weight room flooring. This project will coincide with the locker room project later this year. · All class slots in the Group Exercise schedule have been filled with the exception of one. We hope to have the Rollax classes back to two times a week this Fall. ACTIVITIES · August 28th at 3pm we are pleased to present “Let’s Duet” in Freedom Hall. · Join us for the First Friday on September 2nd at 9am in the Delaware Room. · Monday, September 5th is Labor Day and the Activities Office will be closed. · September 9th is the Lunch and Learn at 11am and the Neil Diamond Tribute is 7pm in Freedom Hall. · The shredder truck returns Saturday September 17 from 8-noon. That evening, grab your lawn chair for “The Intern,” Cinema on the Lawn. · Flu Shots will be September 20th in the Greene Room from 2-6pm. · Video Poker 101 Seminar with Henry Tamburin is in the Delaware Room September 22nd from 1:30-3:00pm. · There is much to see and do at Sun City Anthem, please check the Spirit for more information.. FACILITIES MAINTENANCE · The new indoor spa and outdoor pool heaters at Anthem have been installed · The re-finishing of the two monument signs on Anthem Parkway is complete. · The two boilers for the outdoor spa and indoor warm water pool at Liberty have been replaced. · The re-plastering of the indoor and outdoor spas at Anthem is being scheduled. · Most of our uniforms have arrived and staff is wearing them. There are a few still waiting for shirts. · Half the outdoor patio furniture at Anthem Center has been picked up to re-finish. As soon as we receive the first half back we’ll send in the second. Some of the patio furniture from Liberty Center has been brought over to Anthem Center to fill in. · New Envise smoke controllers for Anthem Center have been ordered. These controllers are responsible for controlling the fan to remove smoke in case of a fire. · The coating of the concrete area outside the entrance doors at Independence is being worked on. · The re-landscaping project at the waterfall area is complete. · New alarm panic buttons have been installed in both Handicap restrooms and at the walking track. · Handicap stickers have been installed at Freedom Hall. · 16 new adjustable arm chairs for the Emerson/Franklin room at Anthem have been ordered. These chairs will be in a different but complimentary fabric and expect that they will remain in the Emerson Franklin room. · New cushions for the patio furniture at the Independence Center court area have been installed. Also, new cushions have been installed on the patio furniture outside of Anthem Center’s fitness area. · The circulation pump on the domestic hot water heater at Anthem Center has been replaced. · A new partition door was installed in the women’s front restroom. · New volume controls have been installed for the strength room and locker rooms. · Bids are being obtained to upgrade our security camera here at Anthem Center and Independence Center. · Generator testing at Independence Center and Anthem Center is complete. At Independence Center everything worked as expected. At Anthem Center we had quite a few issues, the worst being a safety issue in the fire pump panel. Rodents have been nesting in the lower section and have eaten the insulation off the wires. This was a serious safety issue that has been repaired by installing new wire. o The elevator did not recall to the first floor and open the doors. o Three access control areas did not function correctly. Stanley, our contracted vendor, has been contacted. o The Fire Panel did not respond correctly. Siemens, our contracted vendor, has been called regarding these issues. o Three computer switches did not have emergency power. Two ran on battery power and one went sown completely. These issues are being addressed. · CMC projects (AMOR) o The center-court awning at Independence Center has been repaired. o Drywall repair and painting at Independence Center is being scheduled. o The painting & VCT floor replacement in the sewing and arts & crafts rooms at Anthem Center is complete. o Drywall repair and painting of the soffits and above at Anthem Center is being scheduled. o New light bulbs for the tennis and bocce ball courts at Liberty Center is being scheduled. o Work in the Delaware Room includes electrical, woodwork repair, replacement of drapes and curtains, new chairs, carpet and repairs to the fabric on the air walls. o The Anthem Center Locker Room work will begin once Liberty Center reopens.
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Standing on the Wdgewalk in Toronto (#16).
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Today’s Anthem View
The Finance Committee Meeting On Surplus Funds
The August FC meeting delivered what the Board had requested: A recommendation on how to compute the Association’s surplus and the disposition of that surplus, if any.
Unlike what is supposed to happen at Board meetings, where directors discuss, decide and vote at a meeting that’s open to all members, all FC deliberations and decisions were behind closed doors. As a result, at this week’s meeting there would be no discussion by the assembled FC members on the surplus funds issue—those decisions were already an accomplished fact long before the FC meeting was Called to Order.
Fortunately for those who were in attendance, the FC had made available certain financial printouts for the Main Operating Fund through 6/30/2016 and copies of their recommendations to the Board on the computation of the surplus going forward as well as the accumulated surplus as of 12/31/2015. Those recommendations, at least in part, followed the guidance provided by our CC&Rs at Section 8.1(e) while also appearing to deviate significantly from NRS 116.3114 on how such surpluses should be disbursed.
After making certain adjustments, the FC noted that the computation of accumulated surplus that had been carried forward from 2015 to 2016 equaled $860,067. According to the FC’s handout, they unanimously recommended that the Board transfer this amount “to the Main Association’s Reserve Fund as soon as possible.” Assuming the Board agrees with that recommendation, would that amount be in addition to the quarterly reserve transfer of about $342,000?
When the FC came to the issue of what should happen to the surplus, It’s my impression the committee essentially punted, i.e., rather than biting the bullet they handed off that responsibility by recommending that “the Board shall determine whether the surplus, if any, is refunded to the Owners, deposited in the reserve account, or otherwise used in accordance with CC&Rs 8.1(e).” In doing so, the FC opened a can of worms by not properly qualifying the alternative disbursement of the surplus to “otherwise used” to a member ratified revised budget if the Board wanted to apply excess funds to anything other than reserves or to return the excess to the Owners.
Finally, there are two other issues. One is the FC’s recommendation to provide the Board with what is essentially a nominal “Working Capital,” or slush, fund equal to $250,000, euphemistically referred to as “Minimum Acceptance Equity.” The alleged purpose of this amount is to provide “the lowest amount that’s considered prudent to avoid negative equity and maintain sufficient cash at all times to meet SCA’s financial obligations.”
While the FC recommendation is seemingly commendable to ostensibly preclude potential bankruptcy, the FC’s accompanying table of Operating Cash Balances since March 2015, and among similar Cash Balance tables since 2013, demonstrated that the monthly balance amount rarely and only slightly dipped below $2 million. With that in mind, what possible purpose would be served by reducing (as proposed by the FC) any potential surplus by $250,000?
However, in recommending that Minimum Acceptance Equity amount of $250,000, it was unclear whether that amount also represented a cap on working capital or whether such amount can increase beyond $250,000.
Lastly, the FC announced that the computation of an accumulated surplus for 2016, noted above equal to $860,067, was a one-time event. I took that to mean that the FC does not anticipate that there will be any appreciable growth or accumulation of surplus funds in the future.
Future surplus will be dealt with annually relying the auditor’s annual report for the Association’s main operating fund and using the accrual method of accounting. Such a surplus will be “computed by starting with the ‘excess of revenues over expenses’ from the most recent audited financial statement and making necessary adjustments to arrive at ‘surplus’.” According to FC, “At the time the external auditing firm presents the audited financial statement to the Board, it will also present a calculation of the amount of any surplus for the preceding fiscal year . . .”
Ron Johnson
Who Will Win the Presidency? From the FiveThirtyEight 2016 Election Forecast
Here is an interesting website that provides an array of statistical data graphically and otherwise nationally, by battleground states, and by state. Click on this Link: http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Climbing Mt. Wellington. (#15).
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Today’s Anthem View
The Fence Painting Contract & Homeowner Sign Up Instructions
Dear Residents of Arroyo Vista, Big Sky, Desert Sky and Shadow Canyon,
At the July Board Meeting, the Board of Directors approved common area fence painting in your areas. The contractor (Charger Construction, LLC) has agreed to honor the same pricing for any resident in this area that would like to have any fencing that is the responsibility of the homeowner.
The Association has agreed to assist with the sign up. If you are interested in participating, please come to the Administration Office or call the office at (702) 614-5816. Please be prepared to provide your name, address, phone number and which of the neighborhoods you live in. The deadline to contact us is September 15, 2016. After this date, all lists will be turned over to the contractor. They will contact you directly. They will provide you a quote and payment will be directly between the resident and the contractor.
For more information, please contact Anneliese Gamboa at (702) 614-5815.
Sun City Anthem Management Team
[Note: ONLY residents living in the Villages listed above are eligible to have their fences repainted in 2016. In 2017, SCA will award a contract to paint the remaining Villages, at which time residents will likely be able to have their fences repainted under similar pricing conditions. Homeowners are cautioned to make sure that the contractor has sufficient access from potentially obstructing bushes and trees to paint the fence. By Ron Johnson]
DON’T BE SCAMMED-A PERSONAL STORY
This past week an SCA Eblast “Don’t Be Scammed,” see below, warned residents about a recent spate of telephone and computer scammers. According to the Eblast, a computer scammer either badly infected or rendered the homeowner’s computer inoperable.
I became aware of this problem when a friend informed me that their computer had been rendered inoperable with a message to immediately call a certain number that was displayed on the screen in order for the operator to regain access to their computer. The homeowner had received and opened an email from an unknown sender. While the recipient did not ordinarily open messages from unknown senders, the email’s subject line mislead the homeowner into believing that the sender might be communicating about their prior correspondence with SCA’s Spirit magazine staff since the word “spirit” appeared in the subject heading. Routine efforts to delete the message or to turn off the computer were unsuccessful. However, and for unknown reasons, perhaps due the homeowner’s failure to timely call that designated telephone number, the ransom-ware message suddenly disappeared and homeowner access to the computer was restored. But that’s not the end of this story.
In contacting a computer repair store, I learned that such a ransom-ware program once on your computer will remain there until it is deleted. Not only that, this malware might be pre-programmed to render your computer inoperable again at a future time, e.g., in so many days or weeks.
This malicious program may be viewed as a Potentially Unwanted Modification (or PUM), which targets and modifies the Window’s operating registry. Such programs when inadvertently opened may, among other things, allow hackers to gain access to your computer, backup devices, files and contact email addresses. As a general practice, homeowners do not make changes to the operating system’s registry, unless they are computer experts. Note that a PUM program is distinguished from a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) in which the operator downloaded one or more programs in bundled software that was wanted. While most PUPs are harmless, containing adware or intrusive advertising, some PUPs may contain spyware or malicious viruses.
This owner’s antivirus program, Webroot’s SecureAnywhere, failed to detect, notify or remove this malicious program. When the MalwareBytes’ Anti-Malware program was installed a week later, which has a free version, it detected and removed this malicious program. Click here to see a list of 10 free anti-spyware 2016 programs.
Ron Johnson
Eblast sent on 8/16/2016 SUN CITY ANTHEM Don’t Be Scammed… - Terri Begas, SCA Computer Club president Lately, a number of individuals in our community are being taken in by false warnings about their computers being infected. Some of these people have had their computers either badly infected or rendered inoperable, in addition to being charged a considerable amount of money. Typically, either you receive a phone call or a popup message appears on your computer screen warning that your computer is infected or is sending out a barrage of infected e-mailings. Then an attempt is made to gain access to your computer promising to “solve” the supposed problems. Once into your computer they infect it in various ways and usually require a high fee to possibly fix it. If this happens to you, immediately hang up on these types of callers, do not click on these types of links, and DO NOT give any of them your credit card number or access to your computer!!!
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Today’s Anthem View
The Finance Committee Workshop on Surplus Funds, August 10
This week’s FC Workshop on Surplus Funds was both illuminating and distressing for what we learned about the intricacies and complexity of the committee’s Board-assigned task of coming up with a recommendation on Surplus Funds.
The workshop was chaired by FC member Tom Revell and was assisted by former FC Chair Forrest Quinn, who presented some historical perspective and background materials related to this topic. Also contributing was Treasurer Tom Nissen and Association legal counsel John Leach, who provided valuable insights on potential legal issues involving the budget process. Also in attendance as observers were Board members, GM Sandy Seddon and Chief Financial Officer Jim Orlick, among other committee members and residents.
Detracting from the Workshop’s presentation and deliberations was the announcement that Board Director Jim Mayfield had been asked not to attend. Since this workshop was presumably designed to inform members about the issues, the exclusion of Mr. Mayfield considered views on this topic from those in attendance was indeed unfortunate and a sad commentary on the state of governance in our community.
The issue of Surplus Funds was being discussed due to the ongoing controversy over the Association’s legal duty to comply with Nevada’s law on homeowner associations regarding the disposition of Surplus Funds as mandated by NRS 116.3114. From Revell’s presentation, it was abundantly clear that the definition of what “surplus funds” is would be at best a judgement call after evaluating a number of accounting variables rather than any particular line item from the Association’s financial documents. The reason for that was because both NRS and the governing agency, the Nevada Real Estate Division, are devoid of a definition of “surplus funds,” while at the same time describing what must be done with those funds. However, without knowing how “surplus funds” should be defined, HOA’s are left to their own devices to decide how best to define how those funds should be calculated.
While NRS addresses the disposition of surplus funds, i.e., to pay or credit the unit owners, NRS also permits HOAs to dispose of such funds in accordance with their own governing documents. In SCA’s case, our CC&Rs at Section 8.1(e) happen to address both of these outstanding issues: 1) the disposition of surplus funds; and 2) a clue if not an actual method on how to calculate the surplus.
Notwithstanding the existence of such guidance on how to calculate the surplus, there remain a number of unresolved accounting issues the committee must deal with, e.g., should certain line items be excluded or adjusted in the calculation. Since the calculation of the surplus is at a point in time, when should the surplus be calculated, e.g., as of the end of the year or as of some other date, such as when the year-end Audit Report is available? Is the starting point for computing the surplus on 1 January or when the Audit Report is received? Since Revenues are calculated on an Accrual basis and Expenditures are calculated on a Cash basis, do those different methodologies affect how the surplus should be calculated? Additionally, how should the FC deal with incurred liabilities in calculating the surplus, e.g., for capital improvement projects, for which funds have yet to be disbursed in the following year? Should transfers to reserves be included or excluded from the calculation of the surplus since such funds represent Association income from assessments?
Although there are a number of variables for the committee to consider in their determination of surplus funds, I had the impression that Tom Revell had a keen understanding of how to go about conducting this particular task and arriving at a recommendation.
Hopefully, we may have the benefit of the committee’s recommendation at their 17 August meeting at 1:00 p.m. in the Anthem Center.
Ron Johnson
OTHER NEWS
240 Water Street, Henderson, NV, 89015
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Today’s Anthem View
An Important Announcement Affecting the Governance of Sun City Anthem
The Finance Committee Workshop on Surplus Funds, August 10 at 1 in the Delaware Room
Below is a rather innocuous appearing unsigned eblast titled “Dear Resident” about next week’s Finance Committee (FC) Workshop on Surplus Funds. Rather than a routine announcement of a forthcoming meeting, this announcement, presumably authored by President Rex Weddle, is actually a warning from the Board that they will not tolerate what they view as interference in their illegal practice of retaining and spending surplus funds.
The Board is understandably reluctant to embrace the term “slush fund” to describe their 2016 use of roughly one million dollars in unbudgeted monies, but regrettably there is no better term. The Board’s past and current practice runs counter to their legal authority to spend only those funds that were ratified by members in a Board-adopted budget in 2015. That ratified budget does NOT give the Board what amounts to a blank check to expense funds that were carried over from 2015 as it sees fit.
If the Board wants such authority, there is a legally accepted remedy available to the Board, one proposed and advanced by the State. That remedy is for the Board to offer members a revised budget, which would detail the manner in which such surplus funds would be expensed. However, the Board has refused to accept such advice from the Nevada Real Estate Division, preferring instead the extra-legal option of using a slush fund.
While the Board is ostensibly seeking an independent recommendation from the FC on the proper treatment of Surplus Funds, that’s not how I read their announcement. The choice before the FC, and ultimately the Board, has the appearance of being simple: either come into compliance with Nevada law and, or our CC&Rs on the disposition of surplus funds or ignore what our governing documents require the Board to do with surplus funds. According to NRS 116.3114, such surplus funds can be used for reserves and, or to refund unit owners or credit such owners against future assessments.
According to the announcement, here is what the Board would like their readers to understand. “Many issues are integrally related to this important [matter] and the members of the committee need resident input as well as that of SCA’s legal and accounting firms, both of which will be in attendance.”
It appears that the Board believes the FC acting alone in their deliberations on an accounting matter is ill qualified to make a recommendation on surplus funds without needed help. In my view, that apparent belief is absurd.
So, what’s really going on? It’s evident to me the Board is attempting to stack the odds in their favor by compromise the integrity of the FC. Is there any evidence to support that conclusion? I believe there is. When the 2015 Board sought and received similar advice on this surplus funds issue, Treasurer Tom Nissen made this incredible announcement at the August Board meeting: The Association had no surplus funds. Tom Nissen made this announcement despite a reported $1.1 million in surplus funds that had been carried over to 2015 from 2014.
Given that questionable and unsupported outcome in 2015, can we trust the Board to tell members the truth about surplus funds? We had been led to believe that “interested parties” had led Tom Nissen to conclude that the Association had no surplus funds in 2015 when there was evidence that that conclusion was demonstrably false. I gather from the below announcement that the Board would like members to believe that the FC and the Board should rely on those same “interested parties” in making a determination of what “surplus funds” means under NRS and our governing documents.
Lastly, the Board’s announcement appears to go to great lengths to warn, if not threaten, members who are categorized as purveyors of “outside efforts” who may be attempting to influence the FC’s recommendation on surplus funds. Might some of those “outside efforts” be coming from former chairpersons of the Finance Committee, persons who happen to have an expertise in accounting?
If I were a FC member, I would be more concerned about the Board’s overt efforts to control the outcome of the committee’s recommendation on surplus funds.
Ron Johnson
Dear Resident, The Finance Committee will be conducting a Community Workshop on August 10 at 1 pm in the Delaware Room. The committee has been tasked by the Board to develop and propose policies and related suggestions directed at defining surplus and or surplus funds in order to better comply with NRS 116. Many issues are integrally related to this important [matter] and the members of the committee need resident input as well as that of SCA’s legal and accounting firms, both of which will be in attendance. The Finance Committee is entering into this workshop with no illusions that it will be an easy task, nor does it have preconceived conclusions. We have some ideas as to the documents we must interpret to reach definitive positions, but the matter is of such importance, that input from all interested parties, most especially the residents, is critical to reach the appropriate results to minimize further conflict with residents and NRED on this matter. The committee is of the view that this task has been presented to us and input from all interested parties is needed; however, outside efforts designed to “urge” the committee to adopt certain positions are uncalled for and any such efforts will be called out. Please participate in this important workshop. The August Finance Committee meeting has been moved to August 17 at 1 pm in the Bristol Room. OTHER NEWS The Community Service Group invites SCA residents to the following monthly meetings:
All men and their significant others are invited to attend our meeting. It is most helpful to men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, or with an increasing PSA level. Learn from the experience of others. If you know men who are affected, please tell them of our meeting.
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Just having a look around (#12).
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Today’s Anthem View
The July 28th Board Meeting
You can read Sandy Seddon’s detailed July Report to the Board here.
The Planned Restaurant Workshop. One highlight from Sandy’s report is the planned Restaurant Workshop on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 9 am in the Delaware room. GM Seddon writes that “this workshop is an opportunity for residents to share feedback to Management and the Board regarding the restaurant space. The Board has instructed me that securing a restaurant is a management task. I think we can all agree that a restaurant is needed; it’s just a matter of what kind and how we go about it. To that end, we hope that this scheduled workshop is productive and meaningful. There is no specific timeline or process that has been outlined yet related to the restaurant. This is just the beginning.”
On the 28 July Board of Director’s Meeting
Did President Rex Weddle attack the integrity and motives of Director Jim Mayfield? Yes! Rex did so when he questioned Mayfield’s Surplus Funds presentation on his decision to omit any reference to the Board’s discretion to disburse surplus funds as supposedly permitted by our CC&Rs.
I believe that Rex’ effort to discredit Mayfield was but one clog in the Board’s attempt to justify their past and current practice of operating outside of the budget restrictions that apply to common interest communities. I expect such efforts will continue at the August 10th Finance Committee’s Workshop as well as on the Committee’s members in making their collective recommendation on this topic to the Board.
Mr. Mayfield had completed his updated slide presentation and was responding to questions when Rex addressed Jim about his presentation.
Stepping back a bit, Jim’s presentation had provided a historical perspective, analysis and commentary that laid out a rather compelling argument that the association needed to clean up its act if it was going to comply with the law governing SCA and our own regulations on surplus funds. According to Jim, the best guidance on surplus funds is from our own CC&Rs, Sec. 8.1(e), which you can read here. In very general terms, if the association took in more revenue than it disbursed, that difference is surplus funds. While there are different accounting approaches to calculating surplus funds in existence at the end of the budget year, both methods put that figure just over one million dollars at the end of 2015.
Following the guidance provided by Sec. 8.1(e), below is a chart that explains what should happen in the event there is a surplus in the case of the Regular Operating Budget and in the case of a Revised Budget. You will note that the surplus options available to the Board are materially different depending on the particular budgetary circumstance.
Since decisions regarding the disposition of surplus funds occur after the ratification of the regular annual budget, the surplus funds options that are available to the Board are limited by SCA’s CC&Rs. In other words, the ratified budget had by law established the budget authority of the Board to disburse funds only for those purposes identified in the budget. Once the regular budget was ratified, and absent emergency conditions, the Board lacks discretion to disburse surplus funds for any other purpose than those listed in “A” above.
However, the Board does have the authority to revise the regular budget and in doing so may identify “in its discretion” alternative disbursement purposes for available surplus funds., as listed in “B” above. A revised budget must be ratified by the members.
Now, getting back to Wendell’s verbal attack on Mayfield. Rex wanted Jim to explain why he failed to mention the apparent fact under Sec. 8.1(e) that the Board had the authority to allocate surplus funds for any purpose “in its discretion.” The impression being conveyed was that if the Board had such authority, then Mayfield’s presentation was irrelevant and superfluous. As noted by Rex, that “in its discretion” clause was not uttered by Mayfield, which was true. In disclosing Jim’s apparent omission, Rex was attempting to impugn Jim’s integrity and motives by implying that Jim had potentially deceived the Board and the community on this important matter.
Here is how that last sentence in Sec. 8.1(e) reads: “In the alternative the Board may apply such excess amount to operating or capital reserve accounts or otherwise, in its discretion.” Standing alone, this sentence might be misinterpreted by an uninformed reader as applying to the Board’s overall authority to apply surplus funds “in its discretion.”
However, Rex’ presumed understanding is contradicted by the clear distinctions that Sec. 8.1(e) makes between the Board’s Operating Budget for the full year and the fact that “The Board may revise the budget and adjust the Base Assessments from time to time during the year, . . .” It’s evident from its placement in the CC&Rs immediately following the revised budget paragraph that the “in its discretion” clause refers only to a revised budget and not to the Board’s Operating Budget.
I believe President Weddle owes Mr. Mayfield an apology.
Ron Johnson
AND THEN, ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST Tree camping in Germany (#11).
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Today’s Anthem View
The July Agenda Review Meeting
The July Agenda Review meeting, in advance of Thursday’s Board Meeting at 1:30 in Freedom Hall, reached another milestone when it was seemingly over just after it began. At least that’s what Dave Leshefsky and others wanted to know why board President Rex Weddle was seemingly rolling over or ignoring agenda items as if they did not exist. For example, there would be no report from the General Manager, despite GM Sandy Seddon’s presence, and no report on the Association’s financials due to Jim Orlick’s absence for personal reasons. As a result, there was no information provided about the status of Liberty Center’s repairs, how those repairs are being financed and other Liberty Center issues. In the absence Orlick, surely someone could have provided the attendees with credible highlights from SCA’s financials. Without relevant discussion on these agenda items, there was no opportunity for feedback or questions, raising again the relevance of the Agenda Review meetings.
Despite the brevity of the meeting, there was some news to share as well as one hot-topic item.
Other News
Caregivers Support Group – Wednesday, August 3 in the Arlington Room of Anthem Center at 10 AM. Caregivers can develop specific coping strategies to stay healthy. One such strategy is talking with other caregivers and providing support to one another. Our goal is to provide caregivers a safe and confidential setting in which to share concerns, challenges, and successes. No one should face the caregiving challenge alone.
Be willing to serve for a minimum of two years and be able to attend two-thirds of the committee’s regularly scheduled meetings; Be an Association member/owner in good standing for at least one year; Have sound financial training and/or experience; Be computer literate; Exhibit good oral and written communications skills; and Be a team player.
While the exact responsibilities of the Finance Committee have yet to be determined following the transition to self-management, it is expected that the committee will serve both a management function, working closely with the self-management team, and a policy function working with the Board of Directors. In the management area, the Finance Committee will assist the CFO in the analysis and/or preparation of financial reports, projections and budgets. In the policy area, the committee will provide two members to serve on the Audit Committee (along with two members of the Board) and auditing the financial activities of Clubs. It is expected that the CFO and the Board may, from time-to-time, request the committee to assist in other financial projects as needed.
To apply, please forward a volunteer application, which may be obtained at the Volunteers tab on the SCA website or from the Anthem Center front desk, to volunteer@scacai.com, or place the completed application in the Volunteers Coordinator mailbox in the Anthem Fitness Center.
Commentary
What’s the definition of a Finance Committee CPA “Team Player?” If you are creative, have ideas for improvement and, or wish to preserve your professional integrity, volunteering to be “Team Player” may be a challenge you did not anticipate.
AND THEN,
ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST
Skywalking on Mount Nimbus in Canada (#10).
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Today’s Anthem View
Announcements & News
Regarding 2nd Quarter Assessments. As transition to self-management on 1 April is around the corner, there is one pressing issue that requires your attention. That issue involves the payment of your second quarter assessments to the association. Payment instructions were recently mailed to all homeowners by General Manager (GM) Sandy Seddon. Seddon’s letter states that your 2nd quarter assessment payment should be sent to a P.O. Box.
Drop off voided check and form at Admin Office. In correspondence between us, Sandy wrote that she had made arrangements with FSR so that homeowners may now drop off their 2nd quarter payments and bank Authorization Form at the Anthem Center’s Admin Office. She wrote that this drop off option will be included in a forthcoming eblast next week providing answers to a number of questions.
If you are completing the ACH Authorization Form, enter your bank’s checking account number under the heading “Property Address,” after “Acct #.” The bank’s name should be entered after the colon in the following:
DEPOSITORY NAME: [name of bank]
Policy Manual Workshop. Beginning at 9:00 am, Monday the 14th in the Delaware Room, the board will be conducting a meeting to address Policy Manual changes needed to conform to self-management operations and the assumption by the General Manager of all management duties that do not detract from the board’s fiduciary responsibilities. According to Jim Mayfield, the board will postpone making changes to Section 7-8 of the Manual dealing with the Committees and Service Organizations until they hear more from the GM, affected parties and the community.
Mayfield on the Policy Manual. In advance of Monday’s meeting and in an effort to give direction to his fellow board members, Jim has offered his considered thoughts on what their meeting should ultimately accomplish. In part, Jim writes that “next Monday, the Board will begin the more significant work of making decisions that will affect cultural roles of SCA volunteers and how volunteers, including the Board, will be organized and used to govern versus manage under self-management.” While Jim writes that he does not favor eliminating standing committees, he goes on to say that he “believe[s] each of the standing committees needs to be evaluated to determine if they are supporting governance or management objectives.” Click here to read Jim’s extensive thoughts on this important issue.
The purpose of such a Notice is to provide the developer or contractor with an opportunity to evaluate the claim and to provide a response not later than 90 days after receipt of a Notice stating whether they have elected to repair the alleged defect or provide monetary compensation. If the claimant is an HOA, the association is required to send a copy of the response to each member of the association.
Only in instances where the developer/contractor has not elected to repair the alleged defect may the claimant (Sun city Anthem) bring a cause of action against the developer/contractor in court. No such action has taken place at this time.
Rumors. Some believe that without rumors and gossip, the lifeblood of the community would be drained. On the other hand, there is usually a morsel of truth in those circulating stories.
What Happened to the Chair Survey? FSR reported that residents who were sampling the chairs for use in Independence Center were unhappy with the selection. Starting over?
News from Committee Meetings
Finance Committee (FC)
With only one of three committee member in attendance, Andy Muha was the focus of everyone’s attention and questions. Andy said the Committee has three applicants, but no vote was taken in the absence of a quorum. Some of the potential issues and, or questions arising from the meeting included.
Communications Committee
If you are looking for a clue about what might happen to our standing committees, look no further. When FSR took over from Communications total responsibility for new-member meetings and the board called an indefinite halt to the further development and implementation of the association’s website, the committee members could see the writing on the wall. Their services were no longer needed. As a result, at this week’s meeting the committee voted to suspend further meetings.
Board liaison Jim Mayfield suggested that our new GM Sandy Seddon will have considerable influence on the direction and usefulness of our standing committees to the extent that their activities are contributing the management of the association. I take Jim’s views to mean that many if not most of the existing functions performed by the committees are managerial in nature and properly belong under the purview of the GM in a self-management environment.
Assuming Mayfield is correct and my take on Jim’s view prevails, what does that mean for the future of homeowner involvement in the processes currently undertaken by committees and for future homeowner access to information about what’s happening in our community? Will a future SCA become one in which the only communications venues are those which are officially sanctioned and reported by the Board and the General Manager?
Community Lifestyle Committee
The committee voted to approve the installation of a cabinet in the billiards room. The cabinet will be built in the association’s wood shop, will be mounted to the wall by Facilities, and will hold a poster board for announcements and game results.
Will there be a Canasta Club?
Speaking during the Member Comment period, Strategy Games Club (SGC) founder Elizabeth Breir addressed an upcoming matter that is likely to become a hotly contested Lifestyle Committee issue. Breir was responding to the proposed creation of a Canasta Club. Since Canasta is one of the games played by members of the Strategy Games Club when they meet on Thursdays, and Canasta is identified as a named game in their Club documents, and since the Lifestyle Committee prevented the SGC from offering games played by another club, there is no provision under existing CLC practices that would permit the formation of a club that plays games that are offered by the SGC. How come? Any Club offering to the play the same game(s) played by the for the SGC would be subject to the same restrictive conditions that apply to the SGC.
A Possible Resolution! Here is one possible scenario that would avoid the problems created by the application CLC existing policies.
Property and Grounds Committee
There continues to be a disconnect in communications on the status of construction PIRFs that are processed by the Facilities and those contracted under Amour Engineering purview. As a consequence, the Committee is unable to follow up on the status of some PIRFs.
The previously approved Shuffleboard PIRF had a low priority and was not included in the 2016 budget.
Ron Johnson
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Today’s Anthem View
Announcements
Message from the Election Committee
The candidate forum will be held tomorrow, Sunday, February 28 at 3 p.m. at the Freedom Hall in the Independence Center.
Unlike regular nighttime board meetings, where one might find a dozen or so members, this event attracted around 200 residents. As we learned, virtually all of those members were present to hear an update from the Henderson Police Department (HPD) concerning a recent home invasion. That presentation, made in advance of the start of the evening’s agenda, was made by Detective Michael Johnston. The hall quickly emptied following their presentation.
Johnston informed us that the investigation to apprehend the perpetrators was ongoing, that this was one of three similar home invasions in the greater Henderson area (the other two being outside of our community), that entry to the home was gained by kicking in a door, and that the PD does not believe that this was an “inside job” or was conducted by persons working in the area. He said a more common means of entry is through an unlocked sliding glass door.
Johnston said the suspects may have been recently arrested by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in a similar home invasion case and that they will be following up with Metro detectives to determine whether those suspects were responsible for our invasion.
This was followed by a presentation by a representative from their Community Relations Bureau on efforts residents can make to make their homes safer. You can view a video presentation on Home Security from HPD’s website to see if your house is an easy target for burglars by clicking on this link: http://www.cityofhenderson.com/docs/default-source/police-docs/home-security-presentation.ppt?sfvrsn=2.
You can also see what security areas of your home need improvement by taken this Home Security Survey: http://www.cityofhenderson.com/docs/default-source/police-docs/home-security-survey.pdf?sfvrsn=2.
The HPD will also conduct a survey of individual homes and recommend improvements that will reduce the likelihood of crime. For more information, call 702-267-5100.
Here are a few highlights of the meeting.
SCA General Manager Sandy Seddon Report
Sandy updated her progress in the community’s transition to Self-Management. Among other items that were covered, Sandy reported that she has made offers to 75% of the positions; had hired a Chief Financial Officer (unnamed); advised that there will be no roll over of tenure or benefits from FSR to the association; and that she is continuing to work on employee benefit package, including a 401K program.
Regarding the status of the existing standing Committees, Sandy said that she does not know what they will eventually look like and that there was no rush to make a decision at this time.
President’s Comments on Responding to Member Comments
Bella Meese reiterated that the board is divided on the issue of whether directors should respond to member comments. She said that in the future she will respond but only if the answer to the inquiry can be answered with a “Yes” or “No” response. Bella said that the board did not want to turn their meeting into a Town Hall type of meeting. From her comments, it appeared that other directors were free to respond if they wished to do so.
It’s my recollection that it’s been quite a while since the board made itself available as a body at a Town Hall meeting to respond to questions from members.
Restaurant Space Update
Jean Capillupo reported that kitchen equipment operations will not be authorized for future catering events. However, she proposed that an area of the kitchen with tables might be cordoned off for vendors to use for staging purposes at catering events.
While it’s premature to ponder the restaurant’s future, history should have taught us that despite good intentions the board’s involvement in the selection process has yielded disastrous outcomes over and over again. I expect that many autopsies will be offered up for consideration.
Liberty Center Update
On February 19th the board voted to confer with Lynch, Hopper, Salzano & Smith to assess the prospect of initiating a construction defect law suit under NRS Chapter 40. That firm has years of litigation experience in addressing construction defect claims.
Based on the advice of that firm, the association filed suit on 24 February, which happened to be the last day before the expiration of the six-year statute of limitations. At the board meeting on the 25th, the board voted to ratify their engagement of Lynch, Hopper, Salzano & Smith.
Jim acknowledged that the association’s filing of the suit was incomplete and will have to be amended in incorporate a complete assessment of the repairs that will be required under the Chapter 40 filing. That assessment, involving interior, roof and structural issues, will be undertaken by professional engineers, who I assume will be under contract to the law firm.
As a result of this litigation, all work on Liberty Center has been halted. That in turn will mean that Liberty Center will be closed at least through August 2016.
One can assume that work to repair Liberty Center will not commence until the construction defect suit has been settled. That might suggest that a quick resolution to a potentially contested legal matter may be unlikely and take much longer than was suggested by Mayfield.
The association has also filed an insurance claim.
Ron Johnson
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Today’s Anthem View Announcements
February Board Meeting
The Board’s February meeting will be held on Thursday, February 25 at 6:30 p.m. in Freedom Hall. Members will have the opportunity to comment.
The February Agenda Review Meeting
As meetings go, Agenda Review meetings are designed to provide the community with helpful information about key topics on the board’s agenda. To facilitate that process, the board sends out an e-blast informing members of items on the agenda and inviting members to attend. For example, this month’s e-blast highlighted the following agenda items, among others:
Before getting into the excitement that the above agenda items created, I would like to share the following two events. First, regarding the recent home invasion, President Bella Meese announced that a Henderson Police Department captain will be present at Thursday’s board meeting to update the community about that home invasion.
Second, regarding the board’s policy of not responding to member comments and questions at board meetings, Bella announced that the board had not reached a consensus on this matter. She said that she will be making a statement about this at Thursday evening’s board meeting. The board’s self-imposed gag order prompted a quite testy verbal exchange between Carl Weinstein, who favors more board openness in communicating with member comments, and Rex Weddle, who challenged Carl in the apparent belief that Carl’s outspoken comments on this topic reflected an attack on him.
Approval of Landscaping and Nuisance Abatement Procedure
For almost a decade, successive boards have turned a blind eye to the plight created by wanton abandonment of homes in our community, watching feebly as the landscaping dies, trash accumulates, and property values decline. Not only were boards aware of the problem but more recently the board went to some lengths to actually document the extent of the landscaping compliance problem by conducting inspections. From such a list, one assumes the board was able to identify which homes had the more egregious compliance issues.
So, what’s the landscaping and nuisance abatement procedure all about? At least in theory, the board appears prepared to assume responsibility for the “cleanup of yard.” As I see it, that’s about it! Following due process, notification letters and the opportunity to attend a hearing, the matter will be in the hands of the board to take whatever action they deem appropriate. All costs incurred by the association in addressing exterior maintenance issues shall be borne by the property’s owner in accordance with the provisions set forth in the procedures, including where appropriate placing a lien on the property and, or other recovery actions.
While the proposed procedures appear to address the deterioration of the lot’s landscaping, it’s unclear what steps the association is prepared to take to mitigate the presence of dying or dead landscaping, other than the removal of the blight.
While the association declares that it is “a Covenant Protected Community,” you may conclude differently when you learn about “when” the association will take action to protect our community. There is every reason to believe that the association is privy to information on the number and location of homes that have been effectively abandoned. But just in case that’s not entirely accurate, the board is capable of tasking the General Manager to identify homes that pose an abatement resolution. However, the real question is, will the association be taking action to initiate proceedings on their own? As conveyed at the meeting, the answer to the question of whether the association will take action on its own initiative to protect the community was an emphatic “NO.” From comments expressed at the meeting, I gather that the board was too timid to take on that responsibility. Rather, the board’s position was that they will take action ONLY in response to a homeowner’s formal complaint, presumably from a nearby neighbor.
Update on Anthem Center restaurant space
With a slight touch of laryngitis, Jean Capillupo said that she had nothing to report at this time, but would do so at the board meeting.
Update on Liberty Center
Ratification of the engagement of Lynch, Hopper, Salzano & Smith, Attys, regarding Liberty Center
In reality, it’s been a month since Mayfield had provided his last status report on Liberty Center’s construction issues and when that center might be open. Are we to assume that there was literally nothing to report since January? Even a no change in status would have been helpful.
Then again, going on to the second item Jim covered, there was the likely prospect that the association might be considering filing a construction defect lawsuit over some of the recently disclosed issues at Liberty Center. That would appear to be the case given the association’s contact with above mentioned law firm that specialized in construction defect matters. With a 6-year statute of limitations and the date of the grand opening of Liberty Center being on the 26th of February 2010, there might be an issue of the statute running out about this time and the date that Liberty Center was legally transferred from Pulte Homes to SCACAI. I assume Jim will have that information on Thursday.
The board’s apparent failure to keep the community informed on Tuesday about what was planned for Thursday’s board meeting caused considerable concern among several who were in attendance. Several voiced their concern about what they viewed as a breach of duty to do what members expected and what the board had promised to do at such meetings, namely, to keep members fully informed well in advance of the board meeting so that they would be able to offer considered comments.
Approval of two operating fund expenditures: seated stage risers for the Independence Center, Freedom Hall and stretching machines for the Anthem Fitness Center.
One would ordinarily assume there would be no major issues surrounding what appeared to be routine purchases, albeit, costly items. Although identified in the Board’s Agenda as operating fund expenditures, there continued to be uncertainty about whether the items were actually replacing existing equipment, as appeared to be the case, and therefore should be funded from the reserve fund. Despite the board’s comments, that issue was not satisfactorily resolved.
Again, several attendees voice their concern about the absence of any written documentation in the Board Book justifying the expenditures. While there was documentation from prior meetings, the general feeling was that the Board Book should stand on its own with sufficient information to justify the decisions being made at the meeting when the expenditures are being approved.
One person questioned whether the proposed risers could be used by the Choraliers, an issue that was not answered.
Other Agenda matters
On the Finance Committee Reports. While the board will vote to accept the year ending financial statements and analysis prepared by the Finance Committee, conspicuously missing from the Board Book was the FC’s page of their presentation that reported the amount of net cash that was carried forward from 2015 to 2016. That reported amount, designated as “Working Capital” was $1.188 million.
In his monthly report to the board, Vice-Chairman Tom Revell included his statement read at the February Finance Committee meeting about the resignation of Chairman Forrest Quinn from the Finance Committee. That statement follows:
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Today’s Anthem View
Announcements
2016 Board Election
In alphabetical order, here are the names of the six candidates vying for the three open Board seats in this year’s election:
Stephen Anderson
Presidential Candidate Ben Carson
Doors open at 5 pm and everyone must be seated by 6:30. Due to limited seating, reservations are required.
Contact Virginia Finnegan to make your reservation: 702-270-0425 or by email to: virginiafaye@cox.net. Sponsored by the Republican Club.
Information About a Recent Home Invasion
Please see the below press release from the City of Henderson Police Department concerning the home invasion that took place early this morning on the 17th of February. The Community Patrol wants to reinforce the advice given to residents in the press release. It is imperative for all residents to immediately call 311 concerning any suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. Let the Henderson Police Department check things out. When people come to your door trying to sell things, please call 311 and make a suspicious person report of people posing as solicitors. Ask that the HPD come and check them out. Please notify the Community Patrol of this activity, but only after having made your 311 call. It is very important that the resident themselves call 311 immediately as they can provide the best information to the police. Further if you feel any sense of threat it is important to never hesitate to call 911 immediately.
Steve Anderson, Chief
CITY OF HENDERSONNEWS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE February 17, 2016223 Lead St., Henderson, NV, 89015 FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASEPlease contact Michelle French, Senior Public Information Officer, 702-267-4509
Early Morning Home-Invasion Robbery
Two male suspects entered the home on Garden City Avenue in Sun City Anthem, near Sun City Anthem Drive and Olivia Heights Avenue about 2:15 am. The suspects brandished a firearm, demanding valuables.
The suspects tied up the 72-year-old female homeowner and made off with cash and jewelry from the home. The victim had minor injuries.
Detectives are continuing to follow up on leads. The suspects were only described as male.
IMPORTANT: Henderson Police reminds residents to lock your doors, keep your home well-lit, secure sliding glass doors and always lock the door to an attached garage. Watch out for your neighbors. Take an active role in preventing crime in your neighborhood.
Anyone with information in this case is urged to call the Henderson Police Department at 702-267-4911, 3-1-1, or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or visit Crime Stoppers website or text: “CRIMENV” + tip info to 274637 (CRIMES). Message & data rates may apply. Tips directly leading to a felony arrest or an indictment processed through Crime Stoppers may result in a cash reward.
On the Finance Committee Meeting and Related Events
When Nelson Orth asked acting Chair Tom Revell about the amount of surplus funds reported in the year-ending financial statement, Nelson complained that he thought he was getting the runaround when Tom responded that the number was $136,000. Nelson had understood that this number should be about a million dollars but that “surplus funds” figure failed to show up anywhere in the year-end financial reports. So, what’s going on? Actually, both Nelson and Tom were correct. While Tom was referring to balance statement amounts reported for income and expenses, Nelson was looking for the year-end figures for excess membership income over membership expenses.
The excess or “surplus” income amount that Nelson was looking for would be the amount of cash that was on the books as of 12-31-2015 and was carried over to 2016. That figure reflects the excess of revenue over expenses or cash flow from the association’s operating activities. Based on unaudited results, that year-ending amount was $2.726 million. However, that amount is misleading since it does not reflect the NET increase in cash that’s ostensibly available for other uses in 2016. The NET increase in cash was arrived at by making about a dozen or more accounting adjustments, e.g., for prepaid assessments. When those adjustments were taken into account, the NET year-end increase in cash was $1.188 million. That $1.188 million is the amount of “Excess of Revenue over Expenses” that Nelson was looking for but could not see because it was reported as such by the Committee’s year-end financial statements.
How do we know that is the proper metric for reporting the value of Excess of Revenue over Expenses? We know that for two reasons. The first reason is that this amount is the amount that is annually reported by the association’s current auditor, Kondler & Associates, typically around May 1st of the year. The second reason is historical since the amount of Excess assessments over and above the amounts used for the operation of the association has been tracked and reported here for over 10 years. Those amounts were reported on Schedule M-3 of the association’s Form 1120 tax return as “Other Income” as being carried forward from the prior year to the current tax year along with the amount that would be carried forward to the next tax year. Successive boards regularly reported such carryforward amounts at their tax planning workshops. For the 2011 tax year, the association decided to adopt the more simplified tax return that was specifically designed by the IRS for use by certain qualified HOAs.
When the association migrated from using the Form 1120 to Form 1120-H to file their tax return for 2011, the carry forward amount from the prior year to the current year ceased to be reported as a separate amount on the form. To the extent the association actually incurs an excess of income over expenses at the end of the tax year, that carry forward amount would most likely be totaled along with other income totals to report a combined total for what the IRS refers to as “Total exempt function income.” Even though that carryforward amount is not separately reported on the tax return, the association’s auditor does report the amount of any such Excess income in their annual audit report.
However, there remains some uncertainty about whether the $1.2 million that was carried forward from 2015 to 2016 constitutes “exempt function income” as defined at CFR § 1.528-9 and whether there are any constraints on the association’s use of such Excess income, such as for working capital purposes. I am hopeful the IRS will have answers to those two questions when they respond to my inquiry. That particular regulation sets forth the definition of what constitutes “Exempt function income” as that term is used in the filing of the association’s tax return.
I have a sense the community has been dealing with the issue of surplus or Excess income for well over a decade. Unless I’m mistaken, it’s my understanding that there is no difference between the meaning of Excess income at the end of 2015 and the meaning of Excess income at the end of 2007, or any other year in which the association had accumulated surplus income.
When the issue of surplus funds was addressed by Association Treasurer Tom Nissen last year, he appeared to turn the concept of what the term “surplus funds” means on its head, first by essentially ignoring the community’s long history of accounting for the accumulation of Excess income and second, by declaring that the association (in 2015) was not accumulating surplus funds. In stark contrast to the past, Mr. Nissen would have members believe that the value of such Excess income the association had been accumulating was actually “zero,” as he declared at a board meeting. So, whatever the net carry forward amount was from 2014 to 2015, that amount, at least according to Tom, was zero. In actuality, the 2015 auditor’s report reported that the net increase in cash, i.e., the amount that was carried forward to 2015, was $1.097 million. So, what did Tom mean by declaring that that amount was actually zero?
In doing so, I gathered that Tom wanted to dispel the widespread belief, which appeared to be supported by the auditor’s report, that the association was retaining surplus funds that had been carried over from 2014. Why would Tom want to do that? It seems that Tom may have had at least a couple of reasons. First, the board was in the midst of planning for the association’s transition to self-management, which potentially entailed uncertain financial outlays going forward. And second, and likely more critical to the board’s decision-making process, was the fact that the association faced the legal prospect that the association had no right under Nevada law to retain surplus funds.
Virtually copying a similar provision from the IRS, Nevada law at NRS 116.3114 mandated that “surplus funds” must be paid to the unit owners or credited to reduce their future assessments. As a result of that instruction on the use of surplus funds, the board opted to effectively ignore the Nevada statute by declaring that it had no idea what the term “surplus funds” meant, a view that’s ostensibly supported by Director Jim Mayfield’s failed efforts to obtain a meaningful written clarification on the meaning of “surplus funds” from the Nevada Real Estate Division that interprets and enforces NRS 116.
The association is currently proceeding on the assumption that they are not barred from using surplus funds (Excess income) for any purpose they deem appropriate and in compliance with the Nevada Real Estate Division Advisory Opinion 16-01 on the use of surplus funds for capital improvements.
Given the Finance Committee’s apparent decision to categorize net Excess income as working capital, one must assume that they are in agreement with the views Tom Nissen and the Board on the proper treatment of Excess income as Working Capital.
Ron Johnson For more information, contact Ron Johnson at (702) 617-8172 or email to rljohnson32@lvcoxmail.com. For included features and more information, visit this website: In March a Classified ad will appear in the Relay.
Corrections
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Today’s Anthem View
Announcements
2016 Presidents’ Day Holiday Weekend
Message from the Election Committee
The Election Committee is seeking volunteers to help count ballots for the Board of Directors election on May 2, 2016.
If you are interested, please contact Judy Salvage, committee chair, at 702-558-0995 or Election.Committee@scacai.com.
Message from the Property & Grounds Committee
The P&G Committee is seeking volunteers for three vacancies. If you are interested, please send an inquiry to: PG-Committee@scacai.com.
Some Committee Tidbits
Community Lifestyle Committee Meeting (8 February)
Chuck Naill was welcomed as a new member.
Kaleidoscope Productions(KP). In a colloquy between Director Carl Weinstein and Committee member Kathie Strombom, we learned that Pat Carrell has been working with KP and the Performing Arts Club(PAC) to see if there is an opportunity for KP to become special interest group within the PAC. Should that arrangement come about, the Association most likely would consider KP as part of a club rather than as an outside vendor, where such vendors are subject to executing a formal contract with applicable fees.
More chairs. FSR is in the process of conducting a “chair survey” to determine which chair to purchase for the rooms at Independence Center(IC), currently on exhibit at IC. Apparently the only ones who knew about this new purchase were members of the affected clubs.
Shuffleboard. An avid shuffleboard player expressed his concern at the poor condition of the shuffleboard table at the Anthem Center and wondered out loud why the table has not been repaired or replaced? Interestingly, Committee members were keenly aware of the long-standing problems with the table but expressed little interest in doing anything about it. To demonstrate their apparent lack of interest, the Committee appeared eager to saddle the concerned player with the task of determining the extent of the amenity’s usage, apparently in an effort to establish a “usage” test that might justify either continuing or discontinuing amenities in general. If the Committee was interested in gathering usage data, I assume that task properly belongs with FSR or the new GM, who could be expected to establish an acceptable method for keeping track of member interest in shuffleboard.
Property & Grounds Committee Meeting (9 February)
Carol Siebel was unanimously voted to be the new chair of the Committee, replacing the always erudite Roy Montambeau, whose four-year term expired with this meeting.
PIRFs. A Project Item Request Form for proposed projects, otherwise known as a PIRF, should be submitted to the Facilities Department through the Admin Office located in the Anthem Center. Your project will be assigned a number for tracking purposes and forwarded to the affected Committee(s) for their review and consideration. You can download a copy of this form by clicking on the second row heading on the Association’s website: Maintenance & Facilities.
The CMC (Amor Architectural). The Association’s Construction Management Company, Amor, oversees construction projects, including PIRFs, which involve two or more building trades. AMOR does not perform the work themselves but oversees the work performed by contractors.
Committee members expressed concern that the status of PIRFs that are administered by Amor get lost in the system. As a result, the status or progress on such PIRFs is not reported back to the Committee and the Committee is unable to relay any information to affected Club or members.
Special Board Discussion Session, at 9:00 am The meeting will discuss efforts to implement Self-Management(SM) at Sun City Anthem, focusing on two areas: 1) changes to the Policy Manual; and 2) changes to the role of the Board. Future meetings will focus on how SM will impact the Committees, Clubs and other groups.
More on Liberty Center
In the Link below, you can read an article by David Berman from David’s Anthem Journal, dated 8 February 2016. In that article, David provides two messages from Director Jim Mayfield, the latest and more substantive dated the 8th, and a review of the history of Liberty Center that David claims addresses falsehoods being circulated (actually appearing on Dick Arendt’s Anthem Opinions), about the alleged Liberty Center role that was played by then Director Roz Berman.
To read more, click on this Link.
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Today’s Anthem View
The board’s monthly Board Book provides an official record of the contents and supporting materials for the items on the agenda. That material is supposed to be available in advance of the meeting not only for the benefit of the directors but also for the benefit of the members so that they may be able to provide relevant comments at Agenda Review meetings held on the Tuesday before the Thursday board meeting.
However, Occasionally, the board will leave a blank page or no page at all where the report or documentation should be. When the board publishes their “complete” Board Book the week following the meeting, those “missing” reports or documents are present. The board’s typical explanation for withholding information from members prior to the meeting goes something like this: “We needed the additional two days to prepare . . . .“ While that may be true, the reality concerning those decisions can be found elsewhere. I and other observers believe that the board does not want to show its hand on potentially hot button topics, least members will be given timely warning to ask relevant questions about the board’s decisions.
Understandably, the board is reluctant to share in advance what they may view as sensitive, controversial or questionable decisions that might encourage public criticism. This board, unlike past practice, reinforces that impression by refusing to answer member comments at board meetings. That policy virtually guarantees very sparse attendance at regular board meetings when confronted by an unresponsive board.
Below is one example of a potentially hot-topic issue the board (Jim Mayfield) decided to keep under wraps until after the board meeting. That slide presentation (months in development as it has been carried over from previous board meetings) was in response to the Real Estate Division’s Advisory Opinion on whether a homeowner vote was required to approve a capital improvement expense.
Very generally, member notification would be required for a capital improvement involving a change in the usage of an amenity or facility. According to the position taken by the board, they may proceed with the proposed change in usage if less than 10% of total membership disapproves of the expense. That 10% threshold would be reached if 714 homeowners out of 7,144 homeowners voted their written disapproval of the proposed expense for the capital improvement.
Whether the board’s position conforms to the position taken by the Real Estate Division is not clear and may be the subject of a formal dispute.
You can read Mayfield’s presentation by clicking on this Link.
Below are two additional January reports of general interest to homeowners.
General Manager Sandy Seddon’s Report to the Board, 28 Jan 2016
Jean Capillupo’s Restaurant Status Report, Final
Other News
Channel 99 Roundtable
View Larry Carroll’s Roundtable interview of Treasurer Tom Nissen and our new General Manager Sandy Seddon. Beginning this week, this video is showing on Channel 99 and 1960 at 5 and 10 pm and on SCA-TV by clicking on this Link: http://www.sca-tv.com/BoardRoundtable/index.html
Upcoming Activity Department Events
More details on these and other February (and March) activities and events for SCA residents are on pages 18-21 of the February Spirit magazine.
We have a spectacular evening planned for residents. Start the Valentine’s Day weekend with a night of oldies but goodies to dance by, courtesy of John Acosta’s Bee Gees Gold Tribute. Enjoy a lavish dessert spread. Tickets are only $24 per person, available at the Anthem Center front desk or online at www.sca-hoa.org. A few full tables for eight are still available, so call your friends and invite them out for this fun-filled night. Or buy some tickets and make new friends at your table. Don’t wait to get your seats, this event will be a sellout as it has been in years past. A cash bar will be available.
January 28, 2016 Board Meeting Summary
* Reviewed the annual report of the Community Patrol and complimented the patrol members for their service to Sun City Anthem
* Treasurer’s report announced
* Approved revision to the Rules and Regulations regarding the biennial age survey which will subject non-compliant members to possible fines
* Accepted a report on the repair work at Liberty Center with an estimated date to reopen May 1, 2016 or later
* Received a report on the member notification process for capital expenditures
* Approved bids for:
* Committed to review member comment guidelines for Board of Directors meeting
* Received a report on the status of the restaurant;
* Approved appointments to Covenants, Health and Fitness, and Properties & Grounds Committees.
Board Book. The complete Board Book for this meeting along with all related documents will be posted on the SCA website by business end on Wednesday, February 3. It can be viewed by logging in at www.sca-hoa.org, clicking on Documents / Board of Directors / Board Book / 2016 and then the file. You can click on blue text links in the agenda to go to the material related to that item in the Board Book. You may also review the Book in hard-copy form at the Membership Office.
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Today’s Anthem View Biennial Age Survey.
To qualify as a senior community, associations must be able to demonstrate that at least 80% of the occupied units must be occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older. In order to comply with that requirement, the association must comply with age verification procedures. In order for the association to certify compliance with the law, it conducts a biennial survey of unit owners.
If you received a survey form and did not submit it, it is very important that you do so. The January board amended the Rules and Regulations to permit the association to fine homeowners if they fail to comply with the requirement to return the age verification survey form. Those rules now state the following:
“If the Association does not receive the completed survey form within 30 days from the date of the first notice letter then a notice of hearing letter may be sent to the homeowner advising of a scheduled hearing before the Covenants Committee. Fines, and/or sanctions may be imposed by the Covenants Committee. The maximum fine the Covenants Committee may impose for this violation is a $100 initial fine and a continuing violation fine of $100 per week until compliance is achieved. The committee may also suspend all activity cards associated with the property address until compliance is achieved.”
You may pick up the survey form at the Admin office or download the form and instruction page by clicking here.
Restaurant Status Report.
Jean Capillupo reported that the settlement with Anthem Restaurant Partners resulted in an estimated loss to the association of $22,000. Her report will be available in the forthcoming completed Board Book by mid-week.
Jim Mayfield said that the restaurant issue may have to wait until fall before the board will have time to focus their attention on how to proceed. In addition to hearing from homeowners, Jim said that the board will be calling on GM Sandy Seddon’s knowledge and experience in operating a successful restaurant.
Liberty Center Repairs.
Jim Mayfield reported that the best estimate for reopening Liberty Center will be May 1st, depending on the work proceeds. He said that the cost of repairs is far in excess of what had been projected, now estimated to be roughly $500,000.
Criterion Engineers is scheduled to conduct an update to their 2014 Reserve Study. Given the association’s transition to SM, Tom Nissen said that the schedule for the update study (no onsite visit) will have to be delayed. According to Tom, the 2014 study was a marked improvement over prior studies, but that several issues remained in establishing an accurate inventory of the association’s assets. Towards that end, Finance Committee chair Forrest Quinn recently reported that his initial analysis of the 2014 RS disclosed no less than 60 apparent major inconsistencies in the data that Criterion had reported. In response to Quinn’s report, Jim Mayfield uncharacteristically proceeded to rebuke the committee’s efforts and suggested in so many words that they should mind their own business.
Assuming that Jim reflects the views of the board that might suggest the board is not at all interested in correcting an array of problems with the reserves database.
SCACAI Staffing.
In a lengthy report to be made available in the forthcoming Board Book, GM Sandy Seddon said that she is currently accepting applications for employment by the association. Sandy said that the application process will include a background check on all applicants. Her temporary office is located in the upper gallery of the Anthem Center in the converted Greene Room.
Board Elections.
If you are interested in running for the board, the deadline to submit your application to the Admin office is Friday, February 12th at 4:00 p.m.
The following homeowners have submitted their applications: Tom Revell, Robert Burch, Barry Goldstein, and Stephen Anderson.
At the board meeting, Carl Weinstein lamented the fact that some prospective applicants invariably will wait until the very last minute to submit their applications. There are three seats open on the board as the terms for Jean Capillupo, Tom Nissen, and Don Schramski will end in 2016. Whether one or more current board members will reapply is not known.
Foundation Assisting Seniors.
Efforts to approve an Affiliation Agreement and a Lease Agreement between the Foundation and the Association encountered a snag, causing the matter to be tabled until issues can be addressed. Some of those issues include language that appears to restrict the operations of the Community Service Group (CSG), the fact that the CSG had no knowledge of the Agreement’s existence, and whether the execution of the Agreements will have broader implications for similar organizations that might seek comparable benefits from the association. Admittedly, the Agreements are designed to formalize the long-standing practices of both parties.
Member Notification Process for Capital Improvement.
Jim Mayfield made a very credible presentation on the board’s duty to notify homeowners of capital projects, citing pertinent provisions of the community’s CC&Rs. For example, according to Section 7.9, the board may terminate provided services or to change the use of portions of the Common Area by providing appropriately worded notice of the change to all owners if within 30 days of the notice less than 10% of the members submit written objection. So, if 714 or more members object to the proposed change, the board will not have the power to proceed with the proposed capital improvement.
Although used in NRED’s Advisory Opinion 16-01 on the issue of homeowner vote to approve capital improvement expenses and the use of surplus funds to pay for such improvements, the term “capital improvement” is defined nowhere. That fact and the yet undefined term “surplus funds” present the association with an apparent but unacknowledged predicament on how to proceed with a backlog of pending and proposed projects to fund.
While Jim frequently stresses that the association has no intention to delegate “governance” duties to the GM Sandy Seddon, it’s not clear what that really means in practice when the board tells the GM how she is to interpret the laws that govern the association when she is practicing her management duties.
Mayfield’s slide presentation on the notification process, which will be available in the Board Book, omitted by design any reference to the source of the funds that will fund those capital improvement projects.
An Announcement from the SCA View-Journal
This will announce the creation of a new SCA View website, which replaces the one we have grown familiar with, www.scaview.org. The new website, currently under construction but minimally operational, is www.scaview.info.
A Message from Rana Goodman
SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE SCA RESIDENTS, 29 January 2016
There is a schedule in the February edition of the Vegas Voice supplement, which marks the one year anniversary of our entry into attempting to "fix" some of the issues victims of the guardianship scandal have, and continue to face daily. This schedule list the locations where Dan and/or I have been invited to speak on where things are today in reform from the state wide commission standpoint, the current laws, and what can be done to protect yourselves etc.
Community and Clubhouse Center at:
Sun City MacDonald Ranch
Sun City Aliante
Sun City Summerlin
Rana
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Today’s Anthem View Of the 50 or so attendees at this Monday’s Presentation on Governance* by Director Jim Mayfield, some may have been comforted in the belief that board was in control of the process that would yield an effective transition to self-management. Unfortunately, I believe they would be disappointed.
Yes, we witnessed a number of self-congratulatory pronouncements and, indeed, there were many well-wishers in attendance. But on balance, it was my impression that the board’s presenter had actually painted a rocky, if not troubled picture ahead. Admittedly, the presentation was limited primarily to a discussion of the differences between governance and management along with a discussion of who has what authority to act and the differing roles of the Board and the mew General Manager going forward. To help you get a better sense of where I think the board is on some of the SM issues facing the board, I have highlighted some problem areas.
So why isn’t that happening? It’s especially ironic that SM’s board convert and articulate proponent, Jim Mayfield, appears to be unwilling to yield his personal control over all things that are Alchemy Design. Was the new GM told that she will have no responsibility over the disposition of construction and maintenance projects? If true, how was that decision justified?
The Question of the Day
Was the dispute between the association and Kaleidoscope Productions really only a “contract issue” as claimed by Director Jean Capillupo at the January meeting of the Community Lifestyle Committee? Apparently the association is not at all embarrassed for their unwillingness to address this matter in a mutually beneficial manner.
AND THEN, It’s time for some earth-shattering news! The California Institute of Technology has announced the discovery of our solar system’s “Planet Nine,” at the far edge of the solar system and estimated to be 5-10 larger than earth. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/new-evidence-suggests-a-ninth-planet-lurking-at-the-edge-of-the-solar-system/ar-BBotNpO?ocid=spartandhp
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Today’s Anthem View
Seddon said she has applied to the Real Estate Division for a temporary license to become the association’s CAM. She also advised that FSR had waived their right to retain 5 key employees.
Jim said that the mold remediation work is almost complete. When asked when he thought the center would reopen, Jim said that “I do not know.” The board appeared eager to back-peddle the LEED “Silver” certification issue, suggesting that’s a nonissue since there is no requirement to recertify following an initial determination and that certification was merely an outcome of the developer’s design and not necessarily an association requirement.
Unlike a recent Republicans Club candidate event that required the club to go outside and rent hundreds of additional chairs, should one assume that FSR was on this occasion able to find enough chairs to meet the needs of this Democrats Club event? [Rumor has it that there was no real shortage of available chairs for that other event.] |
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Today’s Anthem View Announcements Presidential Candidate Clinton to Speak
Although not on Thursday’s Agenda, expect residents to inquire about the status of the restaurant. Will transition to self-management occur before June 1st?
The Communications Committee meeting on Friday, January 8 is cancelled.
The Covenants Committee is seeking homeowner applicants for a current opening. The committee meets to conduct a business meeting and hold hearings on the Wednesday prior to the second Thursday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the Anthem Center. On rare occasions, the committee may also hold a special meeting or hearing.
The Covenants Committee serves as the hearing tribunal for the Association. Monthly meetings are held to determine whether violations of Sun City Anthem’s governing documents exist and if so, whether fines or sanctions should be imposed. Committee members must sign a confidentiality agreement.
If you are interested in serving on this important committee, please complete a Volunteer Application, which you may pick up at the Anthem Center front desk. Place the completed application in the Volunteers Coordinator's mailbox at the entrance to the Anthem Fitness Center, or scan and email the application to volunteer@scacai.com.
This year, we have 12 new contestants among the entrants, as the winners from last year may not compete in this year’s program. We are in for a great afternoon of song and dance, instrumentals and variety acts – all first-rate performances by SCA residents.
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