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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | NOVEMBER 2016 | 3 By Doug Swenson FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK November is already here and your current Board has been in place for six months. Over these last six months there have been many issues that the Board has had to address. I am proud to say we have come together as a team and have completed the tasks to the betterment of the residents and Sun Lakes Country Club. Every April there is an election and once that is complete, the Board has to feel their way along for a period until all the different personalities have been given a chance to find their place on the Board. There are subjects that each member has an opinion on and there are many disagreements between the various members. This is good since the subjects get a better review and in the end, the majority rules, and we move on. Many Boards get bogged down because of one member of a Board not accepting the vote on a given subject. This leads to certain subjects coming up again and again for discussion when one time should be enough. The members of this Board have all handled this process professionally and we have been able to complete a lot of work. When the Board began work in April, we had several major subjects on the table. We had the solar project, the turf reduction project, as well as the water issue with the city of Banning and the water runoff issue with Beaumont and Loma Linda. We have resolved the Banning water issue and now have the monies left over from what we had set aside to be used for other projects. We recently received word from Beaumont and Loma Linda that they have a plan to resolve the silt runoff issue on holes 14 - 16. They hope to have them completed within the next couple months. The turf reduction project and the solar project are now in the forefront. We are doing our homework on each of them, so when we come to the residents, we will be able to present you with all the information you need to make an informed decision as to what we should do in the future. We have also performed a complete review of the financial documents to simplify them. As is normal, the Board addresses smaller projects on a weekly basis. We have been able to move forward on those that we felt were needed in a timely fashion so as to not delay their completion. Along with the above-mentioned projects, there was the major effort that always goes into the completion of the next year's budget. This process began in April and will be finalized at the Oct. 26 Open Board meeting. I want to thank the Finance Advisory Committee for their assistance in completing the budget as well as the many Sun Lakes residents who took the time to attend the meetings and provide input on the many diverse areas of the budget. I also want to thank the PCM staff with presenting their needs for 2017 with enough backup for the Board to make an informed decision on what is really needed for next year. In light of the fact that we are again running a surplus for 2016, the Board has agreed to lower the monthly HOA fee for 2017 from $245 to $240 as well as provide a rebate of $60 which will be reflected on your statement in early 2017. As you can see, the Board is always busy making sure that the monies collected are properly utilized, and the facilities are maintained and improved to reflect the wants and needs of the Sun Lakes Country Club residents. The holiday season is soon upon us and along with that, the arrival of many family members as well as other guests. Please make sure all of your guests are accompanied by a resident when they make their way around Sun Lakes. We want their visit to be positive and transparent to all concerned so they leave here with the feeling that this is a friendly place to live and visit.

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