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As I said in my last President's message, the days are getting shorter — and they still are! By the time this Living reaches you, we will have only 10 hours of daylight. And before long we will reach the Winter Solstice at 5:30 am on Dec. 21. Dec. 22 (my Happy Day) will be longer than the day before, and that will continue for 182 days! Similarly, we are struggling to emerge from the dark days of the 2020 General Election. The bright spots are that there were enough votes tallied for each Presidential candidate to set an all-time record, and most of the signs which littered our landscape are gone — for now. While the country may remain divided over some of the issues, we hope we can unite over the vast number of things all Americans hold dear. Here in Ocean Hills, I am optimistic that when the masks finally come off, we will find thousands of smiles underneath! That may not happen soon as San Diego County has been placed back in the most restrictive category for COVID-19 countermeasures. We are no more likely to catch the disease than anyone else, but the consequences for our residents tend to be far more severe. Please continue to take precautions, no matter how frustrating, and help protect one another. Hats off to Joe Ashby and Chris Bessey and all of the volunteers who made our celebration honoring our veterans so special. Seeing the conduct and sensing the character of our young women and men in uniform bolstered our spirits and made us proud to be neighbors of Camp Pendleton. This event was an illustration of what can be accomplished by working together for the betterment of our community — and ourselves. We have many ambitious projects under way in OHCC, and they will not be done as quickly or as well without tapping the wonderful talents of our neighbors. At Thursday's Regular Board meeting we re-established two committees and solicited members for another, and there are many other opportunities to get involved. I urge you to consider the fun and the satisfaction of working with your neighbors to improve our lives here. Soon we will be soliciting membership on standing committees, and appointments will be made at the January Regular Board meeting. Please consider working with your friends on these committees. The Board met in Executive Session in person on Nov. 6 to discuss various issues with legal counsel. The Board met in Executive Session via Zoom on Nov. 9, to discuss Legal Issues, Third Party Contracts and Personnel Matters. Actions to note are: • Approval of the Executive Session Minutes of Oct. 5 and Oct. 19, 2020. • Several recent incidents of injuries to domestic pets and their owners by other domestic pets have caused the Board to review our Rules and Regulations regarding dangerous animals. We addressed this at the Regular Meeting on Thurs., Nov. 12 as reported below. • Cases brought to the Board by the Architectural Review Committee have raised questions about the extent and nature of ARC authority and processes. The Board reviewed the comments of legal counsel and discussed possible changes to certain related requirements and processes. However, those matters do not meet the criteria for executive session material or Board action in executive session. Further, they do not constitute an emergency and therefore could not be added to November's agenda. Accordingly, the Board will take them up at a future meeting. President Kusiak and Secretary Gorman were asked to convene a meeting with the Village Presidents to discuss how we might cooperatively address some of the related issues. • A question arose in the meeting concerning the necessity of homeowner deposits accompanying ARC applications. It will be placed on the agenda for discussion at a future Regular meeting. • We reviewed five responses to our requests for proposal to multiple law firms to serve as legal counsel to the Association, including our current firm. A subset of those firms was selected to be interviewed by the Board the week of Nov. 16 in order to enable a decision to be made by the expiration of the current agreement on Nov. 30. • The Board reviewed its protocols for communication with legal counsel and formally adopted a written policy. • Staff presented a proposal developed in cooperation with the Racquet Club to permanently convert Court 2 into three pickleball and paddle tennis courts as part of a planned renovation of the court surfaces, windscreens, lighting and fencing. The Board approved the concept of the conversion, and several contracts for proceeding with the work. Specific aspects of the proposal regarding fence locations and heights were discussed, and staff were asked to obtain additional information. The proposal included a conversion of 28 court lights to LED, but at a cost of $2,200 each the Board wanted more information on expected savings in power and maintenance and other alternatives for improving the lighting before proceeding. The total cost of the proposed project was $232,677, but Trueline was approved for the courts at $76,301, Vista Fence was tabled pending revised estimates of alternatives and Pacific Western Paint was approved at $8,200. Additional costs will be incurred to finish the project, to be determined following review of the additional information. • A contract proposal for annual tree trimming from O'Connell was reviewed and approved in the amount of $62,900 and from Atlas Tree Service arborists to oversee the work at $5,268. • Flooring proposals were considered for the Art Room, and the Board elected to stain and refinish the existing floor, deferring full replacement for a year or more, at a cost not to exceed $1,500. • The Board entertained a recommendation from the Golf | OHCC LIVING | DECEMBER 2020 | 3 President's Message By Gregory Kusiak Continued on page 5

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