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COMMUNITY NEWS | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | APRIL 2015 | 3 By George Moyer, SLCC HOA President FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK number of issues are facing our community at this time. One of them is our election on April 8. If you have not taken the time to send in your ballot please vote and mail it today, or bring it to the Main Clubhouse Ballroom at 9 am on April 8. A second issue that has drawn a lot of attention and controversy is the subject of a dog park. This is not the first time this issue has been brought up. Over the past ten years previous boards were approached regarding the topic, but were unable to find a suitable location or excess funds to build it. The current board has spent a lot of time investigating and discussing the subject. The questions that are being asked are: Is this a community desire? Where do we put it? How much are we willing to spend on it? What would the ongoing costs to operate it be? Although there are residents that are very passionate about it, how many residents would really use it? I can tell you that the board has investigated every suggested location and none appear to be acceptable. One location, near the Memorial Tree Farm off of Breckenridge is the most acceptable location, but we have been told that people would not go there. I can tell you that we have received quotes for fencing, providing utilities, landscaping, shading for residents, parking of vehicles and golf carts. These quotes were for the minimum requirements for a safe and usable dog park. Those quotes totaled over $125,000. In addition to construction costs the ongoing costs would also be significant. Our insurance premium would see an increase. We would have to compensate our landscape maintenance contractor to maintain the turf. Personnel would need to be hired to monitor and maintain the facility. We have been asked to put the issue on the ballot for the community to vote on. However, that request was made too late for this year's election. Instead, the board has referred the matter to the Delegate Assembly for their review and recommendation. They have created a sub-committee to investigate the subject and report back to the full assembly at their next meeting. In addition, they are conducting unofficial surveys in their districts to determine the feeling of the community regarding this issue. Water is, as it has been, a matter of real concern. We have the ongoing drought in spite of the recent rain. The city cannot provide recycled water at this time. This combination, should it continue, could very easily create problems for us in the near future. There is already a rumor that the Beaumont/Cherry Water District is considering a moratorium on new connections. Can Banning be far behind in declaring some sort of mandatory cuts in usage? The board has been instituting water saving measures over the past several years. We have installed new computer controlled controllers in the common areas and golf courses. The new pumps for the golf course are saving us both water and electric. All common landscaped areas have been converted to drip systems. As a result of all this we have cut our consumption of water considerably. Late last year we contracted with a golf course architect to look at our golf course and give us a plan to convert areas of turf to drought tolerant plantings. We recently received his suggested plan. It recommends that we convert about 55 acres, 242,000 square feet of turf. The cost to do this would be somewhere between $1.5 and $3.5 million. The water saving would be about $350,000 to $450,000 per year. The big question, of course, is how do we pay for it? Another is, do we do it all at once or make it a three, four or five year project? The only thing we are sure of is that if we do this we will be in much better shape going into the future than we would be by doing nothing. The board will keep the community advised as we address this issue. Finally, the city is in the process of developing a pilot program that will permit Sun Lakes residents to drive unlicensed golf carts on Sun Lakes Blvd. This will allow residents to get to the Albertson's center in their unlicensed golf carts. The pilot program will be for 90 days and should be instituted within the next 60 days. We will inform the residents when they can begin driving on Sun Lakes Blvd. in their carts. 2015 ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERSHIP & ELECTION OF DIRECTORS The Sun Lakes Country Club Homeowners Association Annual Meeting of the Membership and Election of Directors will be Wed., April 8, at 9 am in the Main Clubhouse Ballroom. There will be two open positions on the Board. Each newly elected director will serve a two-year term. A

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