After 8 years as President of Association 1, I have decided to step down from the Presidency. I remain a board member, having been named Vice-President by the Board during our Organization Meeting that followed the Annual Meeting.
The Board elected me President in 2009 when the previous president Deb White was not re-elected to the board. In that vacuum, I wanted to continue her strong fiscal responsibility, having brought us back from the brink of insolvency after some very bad years. But I also wanted to move us from survival mode to an association that would be the envy of the entire development.
During these 8 years, I was able to accomplish a lot, with the guidance and wisdom of my boards each year. I wanted our finances to get stronger, our physical plant to be improved and beautified, and our vendors to be admired and not loathed.
We did this! We have had solid reserves, without the need for any special assessments during my presidency. Our reserve percentages have been in the top 5% of HOA’s nationwide the last few years, generally close to or exceeding 100% (50-65% is typical). Your monthly assessments have NOT gone up in 8 years, generally with a small reduction. We made smart difficult decisions that allowed us to keep assessments at this level, while still addressing our physical plant as much as possible.
We have vastly overhauled and improved our landscaping, and continue to do this with our new desertscaping projects. We made it through the drought without paying excessive fines, and are structuring our landscaping so that we can meet the future tight (and increasingly expensive) valley water supply.
We successfully worked with Welk and the Golf Club, along with several of our neighboring associations, to overhaul the Paseo Real median, creating a beautiful new drive for all of us. (A more complete success would be if they come through with their recent statement that they will do paying work on the road later this year.)
We have painted our buildings in colors admired around the complex. We’ve replaced incandescent lights with new LED lighting, allowing savings often in excess of 30% on electric bills. We’ve met federal pool drainage requirements, plus overhauled our aging pool equipment, and kept the pools sparkling and clear for almost a decade.
I wanted to stay in the position as President until I crossed enough successes off the list so that I can hand the Association over in much better shape that when I first came into office. There is still MUCH to do, and I’m very happy to have a worthy successor step up to the plate. I nominated Bill Messersmith as President during our Organization Meeting, and the other Board members were unanimous with their consent. I am certain he will continue overseeing the work we started and lead the Association to many more years of success.
I plan to remain on the board for solid continuity, and because I bring some important history, going all the way back to 2006.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone with whom I’ve worked on the Boards back to then, as well as our Managers and our vendors. I’ve appreciated the kudos and praises from many of our homeowners. All of us working together have done just what we supposed to do: listen, execute, improve and accomplish. May we keep doing so to the success of Association 1.
Keith