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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | JANUARY 2017 | 3 By Doug Swenson FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK Every year the Board goes through the process of approving the budget. During the year, on a monthly basis, we go through the process of approving projects of things that need to be done to maintain the common facilities and grounds of Sun Lakes Country Club. During these processes the word "Reserves" keeps being referenced and I am sure not all the residents are aware of what this is. Reserves are monies that are put away for future use for either repairing or replacing physical items that the association has purchased in the past. For instance, if the Board needs to buy a new piece of equipment that we do not currently have, the monies for it would come out of Capital and the item would be added to the Reserve list of items owned by the Association. Monies are then budgeted to be collected each month in the Reserves, so that when the item wears out there are monies available to replace it. Each year we hire a Reserve study expert who reviews all the items we have to make sure we are allocating enough funds for their future replacement. As you can imagine, with an HOA of our size, this list is hundreds of pages long. Each time an item needs replacing, the Board reviews the reserve study for that item to make sure sufficient money has been put away to cover its cost. The estimate is not always correct but history shows that most of the time there are sufficient funds put away to cover the replacement cost. If the HOA did not put money away in Reserves to cover these items, when the need came up to replace them, we would have no choice but to have a special assessment which we have never had and hope we never do. I thought a brief explanation of this process would clarify it to those who closely follow what the Board is doing. It is 2017 and once again, the election for Master Board members is right around the corner. This year there will be two positions that need to be filled. Members of Sun Lakes Country Club always ask me how much time is needed to perform the duties of a Master Board member. My response is always that it depends on the individual. There is one Executive meeting the afternoon of the second Wednesday of the month and an Executive and Open session the fourth Wednesday of the month. The Executive meetings take an afternoon and the Open session takes an evening. Along with this comes being a liaison to two of three committees which each take approximately one hour. There is also a District Delegate meeting the second Thursday of each month for two hours. These are the specific scheduled commitments of time that are needed. As you can see, it is not a large number of hours each month but it is a commitment of from 15 to 20 hours each month. Along with these known meetings are the special ones which are unknown other than the budget meetings. Please review your individual situation and if you feel this is something you would have an interest in, contact Tami Morgan in Administration and she can provide you with the schedule of events. The Sun Lakes Country Club Homeowners Association Annual Meeting of the Membership and Election of Directors will be April 2017. There will be two open positions on the Board. Each newly elected director will serve a two-year term. Any homeowner interested in running for the Board should fill out a Board Candidacy Form. These forms will be available in the administration office beginning Mon., Feb. 6. Candidacy forms must be returned no later than 5 pm on Mon., Feb. 27. The Inspector of Election will review each candidacy form it receives and place all eligible candidates on the ballot. Two "Meet the Candidates" forums will be conducted in the Main Clubhouse Ballroom in March. The forum dates and additional election information will be in the February edition of Lifestyles. 2017 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP AND ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

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