FAQ

The Annual SMVE Homeowner’s Association Meeting is held at the North Recreation Area Clubhouse at 7:00 PM on the third Monday of February. The meeting is open to all SMVE homeowners or their designated representative. Occasionally exceptions are made for prospective homeowners (e.g. homes in closing or from those persons considering buying) by the President of the SMVE HOA. Requests must be made in advance of the meeting by email or phone so the Board can accommodate all who wish to attend.

Usually only Homeowners within the Sunrise Mountain View Estates or their designated representative attend the monthly Board of Directors Meeting consistent with Arizona Revised Statues 33-­1804 Open Meeting Laws. Occasionally, prospective homeowners may be given permission to attend a specific meeting with requests made to the President of the SMVE HOA Board of Directors by email or phone in advance of the meeting. Meetings are conducted employing informal rules based on Robert’s Rules of Order to maximize dialogue, efficiency, and time constraints that the Board is under.

Meetings are scheduled for the third Monday of every month except June, July, and August and are held at the North Recreation Area Clubhouse at 3:30 PM (7:00 PM in February). An Agenda is available for each meeting and is posted 48 hours in advance on the North pool bulletin board and on this website. Extra agendas are available at the meeting for Homeowners.

Sunrise Mountain View Estates Homeowners Association (SMVE HOA) is a non-profit corporation in AZ. The duly elected Board of Directors is charged by AZ governing documents (Conditions Covenants & Restrictions, Bylaws, & Rules and Regulations) to lead and manage all aspects of the SMVE Community Commons, structures, road etc. in the Tucson Catalina Foothills of the SMVE Community.

Further, the SMVE HOA has been “self-governed” by volunteers without a property management company for over 20 years. Volunteer Homeowners share their credentialed expertise, cumulative experience, and personal time and energy for the benefit of their neighbors without financial remuneration. Each Board of Director serves for 3-year terms making themselves available all year except for occasional vacation time which is then covered by other Board members in their absence.

The first step to becoming a member of the Board or Committee would be to email or call the Chair of the Nominating Committee and Board President and tell him what special expertise you want to share. The committee requires a short resume (1-page written) plus a Cover Letter including degrees earned, expertise in your life work, how you want to contribute with continuous time and effort. Your willingness to attend monthly board meetings is a great start. Consistent attendance is a requirement for maximum input to problem solving, dialogue, continuous learning, and willingness to assume responsibility for special projects. Such beginning efforts detailed above would help acquaint you with the operation and the organization of the HOA, get to know the Chairmen of Committees, and learn about the organization’s structure, financials, budgets and prospective planning future capital expenditures on major committee projects for each year.

Each year the SMVE board of directors oversees the purchase of goods and services amounting to more than $250,000. In addition, from time to time, there is spending on significant repairs and replacements from the reserve fund. The board has a fiduciary duty to spend these funds responsibly for the benefit of the homeowners in our HOA. This includes careful and responsible selection of vendors.

Within the annual operating budget, approximately 25% of the expense money goes to monopoly companies or government organizations such as Tucson Water and Southwest Gas. But the balance of the money spent on services and materials needed to maintain our community in good repair goes to vendors selected by the board or committee chairs. To insure responsible decisions and careful management of how our money is directed, the board of directors has an established procedure for purchasing and contracts that spells out the criteria for selection of vendors, as well as what approvals are needed for various expenditures. For example, in the case of ongoing services such as landscaping or pool maintenance, the procedure requires that competitive bids be solicited at least every five years and also specifies what contract value thresholds require board approval.

The same is true of major capital expenditures such as road repaving. Also contained in this procedure are criteria for vendor selection, including the need for insurance, any applicable county or state licenses, vendor history with the HOA and more. This guideline can be viewed in its entirety here.

The board takes very seriously its responsibility to spend HOA money wisely. We encourage you to become familiar with the procedures and guidelines we follow.