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4/28/2022 37 Comments

Just the facts?

​An email was sent to all homeowners from a CDAC member, Diane McAlpine with the username of “Community Design Advisory Committee".  This was actually sent with Diane’s personal email ([email protected]).   Diane McAlpine, led the Landscape revitalization presentations and told us that we have only this one opportunity to revitalize our landscape due to both rising labor costs and Loan interest rates.

This plan was presented as a $5.26 million project with additional interest payments totaling $ 2.1 million. Here is what Diane is personally promising:

1.      No personal Liability (no mention of Future assessments or dues increases when the Loan interest rate resets in 7.5 years)

2.      Annual interest costs of $117 per year (we do not have a loan commitment the interest amount is unknown)

3.      No Impact on Freddie/Fannie Mortgage loan eligibility (Have we heard from the Consultant the HOA board hired to provide recommendations to fix our loan eligibility issues?)

4.      Quote for Contractor is 5.26 Million (no bids have been solicited – the quote came from O’Connell)

5.      Quote for Commercial Loan = 5% (we have no Loan commitment and no guarantee of interest rate after 7.5 years)

6.      Three Bids Competitive Blind Anonymous Bidding (There have been no bids to date and the scope of work has not been defined for the 7 areas that will be rejuvenated. What are the vendors bidding on?)

7.      Sell anytime - you never owe more than your last dues payment (if this turns out to be a bad deal, this is your only way out)

The Blog would like to know your thoughts.


37 Comments

4/16/2022 63 Comments

You have an opportunity to choose how your money will be spent to revitilize our landscape

An email was sent out expressing concerns that the Board would like the the homeowners  to authorize a commercial Loan that will fund a project to "revitalize" our landscape.   This loan will be collateralized by the HOA's receivables.  In other words,  the board is asking every homeowner to be personally liable for $7.1 million  to be paid back over the next 15 years . 

The email is shown below.

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The Blog would like to know your thoughts.
63 Comments

4/8/2022 7 Comments

Landscape Revitalization Project - Unanswered Plan Information

The HOA and Board are planning to send out a Ballot for voting on the Landscape Revitalization Project's  funding.   About 200 residents have seen the CDAC Landscape Revitalization presentation that is driving the request by the Board to take out a $5,260,000 loan. 

The Landscape Revitalization Project is being presented as an “ALL or Nothing” Project that will be completed in 18 months.  The Board will decide next Monday whether to spend the $4000-$10000 on a ballot vote to allow the HOA to take out the 
$5,280,000 loan. .

So far, the CDAC committee has not supplied any of the homeowners with access to the Town Hall CDAC Landscape Revitalization Presentation, only the 4 year old RGA Master Plan that served as an example of plants and materials that could be used.    Missing still is the actual plan for all 7 phases of the landscape revitalization plan.  

The CDAC FAQ’S does not address the following:


  • What specifically will be done in each of the 7 phases?

  • Who will be developing and approving the plans for each of the 7 phases?

  • Who is going to supervise the Landscape Revitalization project?

  • How much of the $5.26 million will be spent for each phase?

  • What happens if the all the bids exceed the $5.26 million?

  • Will these funds be held in the reserves(like the slab leak funds)?

  • Will we stop the project if the timeframe exceeds the 18 month timeframe?

  • Will any of the bidders be willing to bid without escalation clauses in their contracts to cover their material and labor cost increases over the 18 months?

Let your voice be heard, contact your 7 board members at the following email addresses and ask for answers:

Peter Webb [email protected]
Terri Swartz [email protected]
Russ Holowachuk  [email protected]
Bob Mangold [email protected]
Bill Bergstrom [email protected]
Martin Backstrom [email protected]
Mark Brown [email protected]
 
We welcome your comments on the Blog

 

7 Comments

4/4/2022 20 Comments

BOARD BALLOT ALERT

On April 11th at 1:00pm the Board is planning to vote on sending out a Ballot to gain approval for the CDAC Landscape Revitalization Plan.

The Board is asking our community to rely on information in their presentation that was gathered from 2018 to 2020.  The information presented to the community was delayed for 2 years due to the pandemic.  The CDAC Presentation, to date, has been seen/heard by less than 250 homeowners. 

This raises the following questions:

  • Why has the Board scheduled a special meeting on April 11th to authorize a ballot for this project?  Why can’t the ballot be addressed at the next regular meeting on April 29th when the community has had time to review and absorb the information supplied by the Board?
 
  • Where was the two way dialog to discuss the CDAC Landscape plan as promised previously by the HOA board?
 
  • How can homeowners make an intelligent decision to support a $5.26 million assessment when there are no concrete plans?
 
  • Is the Board rushing a ballot through without giving the homeowners reasonable time to determine if this CDAC approach is the best solution for our community to update our landscape?

  • Why was the landscape revitalization project, created by the CDAC committee, positioned as an all or nothing project without asking the community what their needs, wants and expectations are?

  • Is our community ready to make this decision or should the ballot be delayed?
 
Let your voice be heard, contact your 7 board members at the following email addresses ASAP:

Peter Webb [email protected]
Terri Swartz [email protected]
Russ Holowachuk  [email protected]
Bob Mangold [email protected]
Bill Bergstrom [email protected]
Martin Backstrom [email protected]
Mark Brown [email protected]
 
We w
elcome your comments on the Blog
20 Comments

4/1/2022 43 Comments

IS THE PROPOSED CDAC LANDSCAPE REVITALIZATION PLAN THE MOST PRUDENT APPROACH FOR OUR COMMUNITY?

Do we need to revitalize certain parts of our Desert Princess landscape?

The answer is a definite YES!  The concern is, do we have enough information at this point to commit to the revitalization plan proposed by the CDAC?

The CDAC is asking every homeowner to commit to 15 years of monthly payments on a loan of $5,260,000 to be used to revitalize our landscape.
​

Based on the presentation by the CDAC at the recent Town Halls, we know the following:

  • The $5.26 million cost estimate is at least 2 years old and no formal quotes have been solicited.
 
  • The cost of repaying the loan was not included in the presentation (loan costs can be estimated at about $1.99 million on a 15 year loan at the 4.5% as discussed, thus reducing the actual funds available to about $3.27 million).  How much of the proposed revitalization will actually be completed at $3.27 million?
     
  • It is unclear how it will be determined where plants and materials are going to be placed, i.e. there are no drawings beyond a few example renderings from over 4 years ago.
     
  • It is not understood why the revitalization plan has to be completed in 18 months.  Can it not be accomplished methodically over time with costs incorporated in the regular annual budgets instead of being imposed as a special assessment?

  • What impact could a $5,260,000 burden have on our current Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae issues when homeowners try to get a mortgage or refinance? 

  • How will this loan be secured?  Will homeowners be asked to immediately pay back this loan, if for any reason, the loan is called in the future?
     
  • In accordance with our CC&Rs, this special assessment requires an affirmative vote by at least 604 homeowners to be approved.  If approved, each of the 1206 units will be assessed a total of approximately $4,361.  For some, a one-time payment may be preferable over committing to a monthly increase of at least $32 for the 15 year life of the proposed loan.  Why was this option not presented?

  • Is there really any reason that we have to commit to this loan now without having all the facts?  Would it be prudent for the CDAC and the Board to first address all the above questions with detailed definitive information before asking for a vote?

    THE BLOG WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS.
43 Comments

    Charter

    This blog is designed as a means to provide transparency and informative access to the policies and protocols of the Desert Princess Palm Springs Homeowners Association, the governance of the HOA Board of Directors and the management of the community’s assets by The Management Trust. The expressed intent is to establish a neighborhood hub for trusted connections and the exchange of helpful information, goods, and services; it is hoped that homeowners will use it to build a stronger and safer Desert Princess Palm Springs.

    This Blog will not publish any comments that are personal attacks or unrelated to the published post.

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