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Since 1963

SCHOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

MINUTES FOR MEETING SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

Jim Stark opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.

In attendance were: Jim Stark, Jim Powell, Walt Patterson, Lyle Roth, Greg Eisert, Pete Granucci, Roy Logan, Lloyd Maple, Pamela Schwartz, Rita Tillery, Tom Wilson, Marilyn Slater and Carole Studdard.

The proposed Agenda was accepted.

Minutes from the last Board Meeting on May 27, 2014 were accepted.

Treasurer’s Report: There were no updates to the budget that was sent to all Board members. Lyle and Tom have been working on the proposed budget for the fiscal year November, 2014 – October, 2015.

Meeting rules were suspended inviting guests to speak.

  1. Don Schultz continues to be concerned regarding 11031 Cumberland Drive. He said there were still a large number of people coming and going of all ages. He wanted to know how many individuals could reside in a home. Tom Wilson and Fire Chief Michael Thompson said there was no limitation how many individuals can live in a single-family home. Mr. Schulz did say the situation has improved and he knows the Sheriff’s office is paying more attention than in the past. He is still concerned there is no fire wall in the garage. As this is in violation of Maricopa County, President Stark stressed Mr. Schultz follow up with the County. When Mr. Schultz referenced roaches at the property, Pam Schwartz encouraged him to contact the County Health Department since this is a public health issue and the roaches could attract rats. Chief Thompson suggested contacting the Fire Department if there were any concerns regarding fire safety. Pete asked if the owner of the property lived there; Mr. Schultz said she did along with her sister, both of whom are of age.
  1. Mike Calacarro reported a rental property in his neighborhood and he believes the residents are under age. The Board stressed this be reported to the Compliance Department as the under-age overlay must be enforced. SCHOA will do a preliminary investigation.
  1. Kay Stark thanked Jim Powell for working with MCDOT on the medians in Phase 1 to be improved. She is concerned how poorly they are looking. Jim Powell believes the County worked with the contractor who provided the lowest bid and the work wasn’t done as well as it should have been. He also believes there has been an improvement and the appearance will continue to improve. Jim has been in touch with Clint Hickman and representatives with MCDOT; Roberta Bonaski will be responding to Jim Powell; Jim believed in several months there were be an improvement. There should have been a weed killer used as well as a scraper to remove the roots where grass was to be removed. This wasn’t done. There needs to be a commitment from MCDOT.

Guest Speaker Sun City Fire Chief Mike Thompson addressed the Board to discuss an aggressive plan to place an ambulance program in Sun City. To do this a Certificate of Necessity is required, which is difficult go get; the Sun City Fire Department has applied for this. Currently Rural Metro has a monopoly in Sun City; they have purchased all EMT companies. Only Rural Metro currently has a Certificate of Necessity in Sun City. Chief Thompson said that the Sun City Fire Department could manage the calls instead of turning the work over to Rural Metro and there would be quicker response time.

Sun City could manage all 911 calls instead of turning over to a Rural Metro ambulance company. Money has been put away for capital projects, which could be used to repairs trucks as well as purchase trucks/ambulances. SC Fire Department does not want to float a bond or take out a loan which would involve paying interest.

He would like to see an ambulance at each station as well as one in reserve. This would allow Medicare to be billed as well as secondary coverage to be paying SC Fire Department. The Sun City ambulances would stay in Sun City; the only time they would work outside of Sun City would be for an emergency. SC Fire Department would like to control the care of Sun City residents as opposed to outside emergency vehicles not knowing the area and extending the response time, which could be critical.

Chief Thompson is asking for a resolution or letter of support from SCHOA; this will be used when making their proposal for the Certificate of Necessity.

Following discussion the Board agreed to discuss at their next Work Session as well as in the Executive Session. The Chief said after the filing is done, the state takes several weeks to review and follow up with the Fire Department. If there is no opposition, it could be approved in three – six months; but usually the process takes a year to eighteen months.

The motion was tabled; the Chief asked for a date to revisit the issue with the Board and will bring other staff members to join the discussion.

Regular Order of Business:

Marilyn’s Membership Report: see attached.

  1. Business Partner Program continues to work well. Recently all business partners were asked to wear lanyards provided by SCHOA; this lends credibility when business representatives are visiting Sun City homes. Recent repair work was done in kitchen to include flooring replacement, refrigerator and microwave. A new janitorial service has been hired to begin October 1.

Tom’s Compliance Report: see attached.

  1. The number of liens has decreased.
  2. There is better compliance from residents.
  3. Three compliance officers are now working four days a week; this has improved coverage in each phase and is better use of staff; this is a cost savings in the long run. Additional staff is not anticipated but Compliance will continue utilizing current staff hours. Gene Turiano is now Assistant Compliance Manager working five day a week.
  4. There were recently three Compliance complaints; when investigating, none of them were justified. Carole commented on the number of calls and emails from residents expressing their appreciation for SCHOA services.
  5. Board expressed appreciation to Compliance recognizing the “kinder/friendlier” attitude is serving SCHOA well.
  6. IT service has been changed from Team Logic to Phoenix IT. There will be a $140/monthly increase for superior service. They also offer four hours/month of free time which may be used on site or remotely. They also one day/month for maintenance.
  7. Team Logic has been contacted requesting any SCHOA property (software, etc.) be returned no later than the end of October.
  8. Tom recognized Krystal Wilkinson, owner of Adultcare Assistance Homecare for their support of Sun City and SCHOA by presenting her with an appreciation plaque. Krystal thanked SCHOA for being caring of Sun City residents.

Carole’s Marketing Report:

  1. There are currently eight residents who have expressed an interest in being candidates for the upcoming 2014 Board election. Voting will begin November 5 and will end on November 19 for on-line voting as well as paper ballots.
  2. She is working with Larry Woods to be assured on-line voting is in place; we will have a test completed by the next Board meeting.
  3. Town Hall Meetings
  4. September’s Town Hall Meeting was well received; the speakers were from Arizona Fish and Game.
  5. October’s speakers will be from MCDOT addressing Safety Concerns in Sun City; the meeting will take place October 15.
  6. November’s speaker will be from Luke Air Force Base updating Sun City regarding “Recent Changes at Luke Transitioning from the F-16 to the F-35.” The Honor Guard will be attending to honor Sun City veterans.
  7. The recent summer Golf Cart Bill Signing Event as well as September’s RUCO Meeting were extremely well attended.
  8. On Friday, September 26, AARP will be cosponsoring with the RCSC a “Meet the Candidates” forum. Future ACC commissioners will be attending. The meeting room is being set for 1,500 attendees based on the current concern about the EPCOR Water Company proposed water/wastewater rate increase.
  9. SCHOA continues to make letters of opposition as well as petitions (both are available on line the SCHOA website) asking for signatures from residents opposing the increase. Residents have been extremely responsive; SCHOA is mailing the letters on behalf of the community. Petitions will be hand delivered to the ACC by Greg.
  10. In October SCHOA will be attending the Fire Expo sponsored by the Sun City Visitors Center.
  11. The annual Membership Drive will begin October 1 with the hope of increasing SCHOA membership as well as increasing the number of resident eligible to vote in the upcoming election.
  12. Registrations are available for the Open Aire Market; there is currently over $1,000 paid in registration fees

Committee reports:

Greg Eisert - Government Affairs

  1. Reported on the EPCOR/ACC waste water issue. Two groups have requested a full consolidation; Staff asked EPCOR to do a study which included full consolidation and would have a huge impact on Sun City. Greg and Jim Stark have applied to be interveners on SCHOA’s behalf. We hope to have at least 6,000 signatures on the petitions; currently there are approximately 2,000. There is more time.

Rita Tilley – Marketing

  1. Nothing to add to Carole’s Report.

Jim Powell – Compliance

  1. There were four meetings scheduled in September; two residents attended their hearings.
  2. An underage; it is questionable whether the age qualifier is living at the residence ten months out of the year. This was extended to allow the Compliance Department to continue to follow.
  3. A setback was only a few inches; the recommendation was for a variance to be presented to the Board.
  4. Tom will follow up with residents who did not appear for their hearings. If they don’t respond, the compliance process will continues.

Roy Logan – Transportation

  1. Meeting is scheduled September 24 at 10:00 a.m.

Walt Patterson – Environmental

  1. No report – No report; the next meeting is scheduled Friday, October 17, at 9:00 a.m.

Pete Granucci – Election and Planning

  1. Election applications are still available.

Jim Stark reported a Work Session will be scheduled to discuss next year’s proposed budget.

Meeting adjourned at 10:15 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Carole Studdard