Image Up Advertising & Design

| OHCC LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2024 | 3 President's Message By Greg Kusiak, HOA President (2023-2024) Continued on following page Back-to-school time in Ocean Hills Country Club is entirely a vicarious experience since all of those returning little miracles live elsewhere. Still, most of the fond memories we have of our own days — new pencils and our personal pencil sharpener, a shiny new ruler, a couple of fresh canary ruled pads and a new pair of shoes — have faded into history. My talented and accomplished grandchildren, grandnieces and grandnephews have little relationship to those objects, with the possible exception of shoes that cost more than our era's bicycles (and probably are more "high tech"). And as bad as my printing and handwriting have become in my old age, it is sadly much better than any of theirs. Our challenge as the most experienced citizens and wannabe mentors to those less experienced is to adapt to inevitable change while standing fast for those things which are timeless. ose features which we most enjoy about life in OHCC — civility, camaraderie and caring for one another — are worth our best efforts to preserve and share. We oen hear references to "our staff " with respect to the community patrol, the Clubhouse, landscaping and the HOA office. While all these people are part of our larger community, it is important to know that the HOA has no employees. ose who staff our facilities work for Securitas or O'Connell or Keystone or others. is is an important distinction. First, California is a very challenging state for an employer with its voluminous regulations and requirements. Second, there are significant economies of scale which we are not large enough to enjoy. And finally, there are significant potential financial liabilities for California employers which the Association does well to avoid. Our contracts for these services give the Board input on overall staffing levels, organization and costs which is essential to hold the providers accountable for meeting our needs and standards. It does not, however, give us supervisory oversight. e Board is satisfied with the balance that this strikes between HOA services and HOA costs. We also hear references to our "security services" when speaking of the community patrol services currently provided by Securitas. While we sometimes fondly refer to Ocean Hills Country Club as our "little, white-walled city," it is most definitely not truly a "city." As a homeowners' association we have very limited authority to enforce our own rules, although we can levy files on homeowners and ultimately foreclose on a property under certain circumstances. However, we must rely on the civil authorities — in our case, the Oceanside Police Department — just like any other Oceanside neighborhood. We have no ability to detain anyone; even denying entry to an undesirable party largely relies on voluntary compliance. Our patrol officers augment the safety factors built into our community such as gates and walls, help enforce our safety rules like speed limits and provide resident assistance. However, they are neither trained, equipped nor legally authorized to act as police officers. As a side note, it is our intention to have all contracts like the Securitas contract online and available to Members to examine. We have had difficulty posting the Securitas contract due to its size. Until we have succeeded, it is available like other contracts to view at the HOA Office. e civil engineering firm we retained to prepare a Storm Water Quality Management Plan required by the State of California for the lake project was scheduled to complete its work at the end of July. However, they have advised that it has proven to be too complicated for their firm's resources. Accordingly, we are seeking additional assistance in finishing the Plan. is will take more time and, of course, more money. Only following this completion can we finish our response to the City and await the City's response. is will likely push the start of construction to October and increase the risk of rain interfering with construction. We are continuing our discussions with multiple vendors regarding fiber optic Internet services.

• Cover