Blog Posts

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 (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.

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.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 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

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 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

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

3/7/2022 51 Comments

Are There Security issues at Desert Princess?

Over the last few months Desert Princess has seen an increase in the number of security issues. Our Gate access operates under the premise that every guest, Vendor, visitor, etc. is properly screened at the gate and issued a pass if they qualify for entry.

Is the entry process working all the time? For example:

Have you experienced vendors/guests arriving on an expired pass?
Have vendors/guests been allowed access without passes and/or notifications (if you are configured to receive notifications)?
Has anyone shown up at your door without your authorization?

The Blog would like to hear your experiences.

51 Comments

2/28/2022 29 Comments

Proposed Updated Reactive Slab Leak Protocol

The HOA has issued proposed updated Reactive Slab Leak Protocol. If adopted, it replaces the existing 2017 Homeowner slab leak protocol. The Blog has reviewed the changes proposed in the new updated Reactive Slab Leak Protocol.

Below is listed the Key changes from the existing slab leak protocol:

The HOA/Patrol services must be contacted by phone. There is no requirement that the HOA responds in a timely manner, no audit trail/emails, etc. to determine if the HOA was contacted in a ‘reasonable time’. If you do not contact them in a reasonable time, the HOA will not pay any costs associated with a slab leak.
If you have not been home for 7 days and the water was on. The HOA will not pay any costs associated with a slab leak.

Homeowners are no longer allowed to contact any service to determine if the problem is a slab leak or another problem. The Homeowner must wait for the HOA’s Leak Detection Service to arrive and determine if there is a slab leak. If you do not follow this procedure the HOA will not pay any costs associated with a slab leak.

If you do not provide the HOA’s plumber/Leak detection service with “timely” access to your property the HOA will not pay any costs associated with a slab leak. “Timely” has not been defined.

If the HOA determines that you have not given them timely access to the slab leak the homeowner can also be fined plus the HOA may legally gain access and you property. The homeowner will be responsible for all attorney costs associated with gaining entry.

If you have a slab leak the HOA will no longer pay for a water extraction service to remove any standing water and setup dry down equipment. This is now the responsibility of the homeowner.

The updated slab leak protocol does not state if the HOA or the homeowner is responsible for arranging and managing the plumbing re-route. If it is the HOA, they no longer will be responsible for the quality of the work being done.

This update will be approved as it is written unless you write the HOA at HOA@desertprincesscc.com and the board members before it is approved at the March Board meeting.

Board members can be reached at the following emails:

pfwebb@telus.net, terriswartz.dp@gmail.com, holowachukr@shaw.ca,
lingold7096@sbcglobal.net, billbergstrom.dp@gmail.com, backstrom@berkeley.edu,
mark@310.net

The Impact of the changes are:

The HOA is pushing more responsibility on the shoulders of the Homeowners.
The HOA has increased the number of ways that Slab Leak reimbursement can be eliminated.
The HOA continues to eliminate benefits that have always been available in the past.

The Blog would like to know your thoughts.

29 Comments

2/12/2022 11 Comments

Do Homeowners Want In-person Meetings?

Last night a letter was sent out to homeowners. This letter made the point that once the mask mandate expires this Tuesday and in-person meeting can resume again.

The blog would like to know the following:

Do homeowners want in-person meetings again?
Should chats, board meetings and town halls be in-person?
If the board does not want in-person gatherings then why are there multiple in-person events scheduled for this month at the Country Club?

At this point in time the chat is the only forum where homeowners have the opportunity to participate in an open two-way conversation with board members.

Homeowners will have the opportunity at today’s Chat to ask board members their personal opinions on resuming in-person meetings.

The link and dial in numbers for the chat is shown below.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84974421921?pwd=U2haTlRuZDdvdUVyTFpyUGd2blZ4dz09
Meeting ID: 849 7442 1921
Passcode: 345491
Dial by your location
1 669 900 6833 US
1 408 638 0968 US
1 346 248 7799 US
1 253 215 8782 US
1 301 715 8592 US
1 312 626 6799 US
1 646 876 9923 US
1 647 374 4685 Canada
1 647 558 0588 Canada
1 778 907 2071 Canada
1 204 272 7920 Canada
1 438 809 7799 Canada
1 587 328 1099 Canada

11 Comments

2/9/2022 13 Comments

Why is the Board doing an end run on two term limits?

Why has the current board decided that Russ Holowachuk can run for a third term on the board even though our bylaws limit all board members to two terms? As of January 1, 2022 California State laws reinstated our HOA bylaw 2 term limit.

The board met with our HOA lawyers last year and asked if he could run. The answer was yes.

The question that has not been asked of our lawyers -- “Is Russ Holowachuk eligible to hold office for a 3rd term after his second term expires and the HOA bylaw’s 2 term limit is in force again”?

The following question arises from these events:

Did the HOA and board intentionally avoid the question of whether Russ can hold office to promote their personal choice?
Why would the Board want to expose the election to questionable legal eligibility?
Is it fair to other candidates who will only have the opportunity to serve up to 2 terms under our bylaws?

The Blog would like to know your thoughts.

13 Comments

2/6/2022 33 Comments

security Alert at desert princess

We are experiencing a dramatic increase in crime on our Desert Princess property.

Here are some examples:

Numerous Condo garages were broken into in one night
14 Golf carts have been stolen in the past year(2 in the last 2 weeks). Only a few have been recovered.
Golf Clubs are being stolen off golf carts at both the country club and in resident’s driveway

In the last 2 weeks brand new installed pool pumps and heaters were stolen

This raises a number of questions:

Why hasn’t the HOA asked Cathedral City Police to patrol our property on a regular basis? We have already paid for their services with our property taxes.
How was all this large pool equipment removed from our property without being seen on any of our 45 cameras?
Why are homeowners not being notified of these crime problems? We all need to be aware and report any suspicious individuals. The more eyes watching the better.
How many transponders are now in the hands of non-residents (contractors, ex-homeowners, ex-employees, guests, etc.)? Why have they not been turned off?
How many people are gaining entry (cab drivers, Uber, Lift, Food delivery, etc.) simply because they can produce a name and address in our complex?
Do homeowners need to start a Crime/Neighborhood watch program

The Blog would like to know your thoughts.

33 Comments

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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.

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