AT ITS JULY 29, 2022 MEETING, THE DESERT PRINCESS HOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
APPROVED (BY A 5-2 VOTE) THE FINAL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023 WHICH BEGINS
ON OCTOBER 1, 2022. THE APPROVED BUDGET CALLS FOR AN INCREASE IN THE MONTHLY
ASSESSMENT OF $38 FOR EACH DP UNIT, RESULTING IN A TOTAL MONTHLY ASSESSMENT OF
$748. THE TOTAL INCREASE AMOUNTS TO $456 ANNUALLY FOR EACH UNIT OR A TOTAL OF
$549,936 FOR THE 1206 UNITS IN DP. MEANWHILE THE BOARD TREASURER IS PROJECTING
A SURPLUS OF $800,000 TO $900,000 IN OPERATING FUNDS AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR
(SEPTEMBER 30, 2022).

  -WHY IS THE BOARD HOLDING BACK HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AS “PLAY
    MONEY” INSTEAD OF USING THE SURPLUS TO OFFSET SOME OR ALL OF THE $38 PER MONTH
    INCREASE?

  -WHY WAS THE $15 MILLION BUDGET APPROVED ON THE BASIS OF THE TREASURER’S ORAL
   RECOMMENDATION WITH NO FINAL PROPOSED DOCUMENT AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW BY BOARD
   MEMBERS PRIOR TO THE VOTE?

 -IS THE REAL PURPOSE OF WITHHOLDING THE $800,000-$900,000 SURPLUS TO FINANCE THE
  BOARD’S SPECIAL “VANITY” PROJECTS OUTSIDE OF THE BUDGET?

THE HOA IS OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF THE BUDGET IN THE ANNUAL MAILING
IN AUGUST. EACH HOMEOWNER SHOULD REQUEST A COMPLETE COPY OF THE BUDGET FROM
THE HOA TO DETERMINE WHERE YOUR MONEY IS ACTUALLY GOING. AS A MEMBER OF THE
ASSOCIATION, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW.

THE BLOG WOULD YOUR THOUGHTS 

A number of homeowners have contacted the Blog with their monthly dues payment issues.  In the past, the HOA gave homeowners up to 30 days before taking action to collect on late dues.  The Board decided to change their collection policy last year, reducing the late payment date to 15 days and instituting a late payment fee($10) along with a 10% penalty($71).

This has resulted in many homeowners being fined and/or receiving letters requiring them to go in front of the Board for a hearing.

The Blog would like to hear from homeowners that have had similar issues, for example:

• Have you received fines for late payment when you mailed a check or paid  through your Bank’s bill payment service?
  
  
• Have you received a letter or email requiring that you pay immediately or face a Board hearing?
  
  
• Have you dropped off your payment on time to the HOA office and afterwards been told that your payments late?
  
  
• Did you know that the Board has changed it's policy and now ignores the postmark and only considers the date that your payment arrives?
  
  
• Do you feel comfortable giving the HOA direct access to your personal accounts as an alternative to paying by check or through your banks payment service?
  
  
• Have you been able to setup your bank’s bill payment service to only send payments electronically to avoid a mailed checks that could arrive late?

The Blog would like to hear your thoughts.

 
The Blog would like to hear from homeowners that are in favor of authorizing the Board to take a $5 million loan.
 
For example:

• Do you feel comfortable spending an additional $2.1 million above the $5 million?

 

•  Do you believe that the only option is to spend $5 million over the next 18 months?

 

• Are you confident that these funds are enough to address the 7 areas targeted by the Landscape redesign committee?
• Do you know what we will be getting at the cost of $7.1 Million
  
  
• Are you comfortable with the fact that the ballot did not specify that the funds will be used ONLY for landscape renovation?  Leaving open the possibility of using these funds for other purposes.

The Blog would like to hear your thoughts?

The ballot sent out to all homeowners is a vote to allow the Board to take out a loan for $5 million.  A follow up summary of the actual loan terms was published on Desert Princess Condo Communities.

A number of homeowners have contacted the Board to get a copy of the “Fixed Term sheet”  that outlines all the details for the loan that we are being asked to vote on.  The HOA has refused to release this information.  How can homeowners make an informed decision on this vote without the facts?

For example:

• Was this the only Loan available to us? 
  
  
• Was there an Request For Proposal from Multiple lenders?
  
  
• What additional conditions and obligations are we committing to?
  
  
• Can/Will the board be restricted from using these funds for other projects?
  
  
•  Will all the funds be available day one or will there be multiple distributions as the Landscape changes are completed?
  
  
• What happens 7.5 years from now if the new interest rate is not competitive (can we pay off the loan without additional expenses?

 

• Do we have any other financial obligations or operational restrictions during the next 15 years in order to meet the loan obligations?

The blog would like to know,  Do we have enough information to Vote for the $5 million loan?

At the HOA Board Meeting last week, the board announced that the bank who is financing the $5 million loan has provided them with a "Fixed Term Sheet"  that outlines the terms and conditions of this loan.

The board also decided to not release the "Fixed Term Sheet" to the homeowners.  As one board member stated,  "I have a PHD and it is hard for me  to comprehend", implying that homeowners do not have the capability to understand all the details.  So the board released a summary of the loan financial terms without any specific obligations (as outlined in the Fixed Term Sheet) that each of us will be committed to if the Board takes out this loan. 

It is a right for all homeowners to request and see the "Fixed Term Sheet" before voting to allow the Board to enter into this loan. 

Without this document,  homeowners will not know all the obligations we have been committed to under the loan contract.

To receive a copy,  send your request to:   Jerry Storage jstorage@desertprincesscc.com

and CC our board members:

Peter Webb pfwebb@telus.net
Terri Swartz terriswartz.dp@gmail.com
Russ Holowachuk  holowachukr@shaw.ca
Bob Mangold lingold7096@sbcglobal.net
Bill Bergstrom billbergstrom.dp@gmail.com
Martin Backstrom backstrom@berkeley.edu
Mark Brown mark@310.net

Please leave any additional comments below

​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 (dmmcalpine@AOL.com).   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.

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.

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 pfwebb@telus.net
Terri Swartz terriswartz.dp@gmail.com
Russ Holowachuk  holowachukr@shaw.ca
Bob Mangold lingold7096@sbcglobal.net
Bill Bergstrom billbergstrom.dp@gmail.com
Martin Backstrom backstrom@berkeley.edu
Mark Brown mark@310.net
 
We welcome your comments on the Blog