Sunrise Mountain View Estates
5550 Paseo Otoño
Tucson, AZ 85750
Volume 25 No. 1
Welcome to the Sunrise Mountain View Estates Spring 2016 Newsletter!
The SMVE website and SMVE News Alert emails are the primary vehicles to communicate important information to homeowners in a timely fashion. All information will be published on the website as soon as the information is available. We recommend subscribing to website update emails to receive the most timely information.
Twice each year, articles published on the website since the prior newsletter are consolidated into a newsletter like the one you are reading. An SMVE News Alert is sent to notify homeowners that the newsletter is available. Articles that are no longer relevant at the time the newsletter is published are omitted. We mail a printed copy of the newsletter only to those homeowners without email.
I’d like to take special notice of how homeowner volunteer efforts make a real difference to our HOA. Our association functions because of volunteer efforts. We have a Board of Directors, Committee Chairs, and committee members. But who are we, really? We’re homeowners just like you. We’re all volunteers and receive no compensation for what we do. Without the volunteers on committees and on the Board, little would get done and it is likely that amenities would decline.
In the last year, we’ve had almost a complete changeover on the Board, and most of our Committee chairs have changed as well. I hope you will join me in welcoming and thanking the new Directors you elected–Kip Longan (Direct0r), Kathy Mitton (Secretary), Larry Spencer (Treasurer), and Joe Steiner (Vice-President).
Homeowners who volunteer for tasks as committee members are the lifeblood of getting things done. Recent new volunteers are Jim Dinniman and Jane Spalding who, as regular walkers, have volunteered to look for sidewalk problems and tell us about any new issues. Bob Mix brings his experience with the paving process to the Roads committee. Steve Struck has joined the Finance Committee, bringing his HOA and business management experience to us. Susie Struck, Jane Spalding, John Klein, and Pam Negri all assist with landscaping problem identification.
We more than welcome homeowners who want to contribute. Please talk to me or any Board member about your ideas and ways you might contribute. We welcome people interested in participating in any way–as a volunteer, a committee member, a committee chair, or a Board member. We especially welcome the newer homeowners who are part of the new generation moving in.
Some of our particular needs at this time are:
Facilities/Maintenance Chair. You would need to manage contractors for a variety of intermittent tasks such as lighting, sidewalk repairs, painting, roofs, ramadas, etc. You would need to get bids, consult with the Board on costs and budget, and work with other committees about maintenance needs. Because maintenance tasks often require an on-site presence, we prefer the chairperson be here for most of the year (full-time resident). Other roles in the committee could be handled by part-time residents.
Roads Chair. We need someone who can focus just on roads and what we need. We’d like to find someone comfortable with working with contractors for large projects. Experience with letting and evaluating bids or overseeing contract compliance would be useful. Since we prefer to do road work in the summer–when road work will disrupt the fewest people–we need someone who will be able to devote time to this year-round. Updating our roads will be a significant endeavor requiring evaluation of vendors, analysis of costs, and more so part time residents are invited to assist on the committee.
Hospitality Committee members. Hospitality events are produced entirely by members of the committee. The more volunteers we have, the easier events are to produce and the better they can be. And it’s fun to work with other people putting on an event! Don’t be shy! The committee would love to have a half dozen or more new members. Any resident, whether part-time, full-time, or tenant is welcome.
Interested in participating but the above tasks aren’t a fit? Worried that something you are interested in requires full time residency and you are a part timer? Talk to any of us about your experience and skills and interests. There are many things we would like to accomplish and if you have not found a specific task, we might identify one once we know your skill set. Are you a photographer, a computer specialist, a CPA, or a manager? All of those skills, and many others, can make a contribution to your community.
I want to thank the more than 100 people who attended our Annual Meeting on Monday, February 15, 2016. I especially appreciated hearing everyone’s comments during the open question session at the end of the meeting. The Annual Meeting is a great way to hear the concerns of our homeowners and your thoughts on issues facing us.
Remember you can raise issues like these at any regularly scheduled Board meeting. We have time set aside at each meeting to hear homeowner concerns.
At the Annual Meeting you re-elected Kip Longan and Kathy Mitton to 3-year terms on the Board of Directors. The two ballot measures passed–approval of minutes of the 2015 meeting by 88 to 2 and approval of the Amended and Restated By Laws by 83 to 8.
On the following Wednesday, the Board met to elect officers for 2016. Please welcome the new officers:
All exterior construction requires Architecture Committee Approval. Whether raising a wall, changing a gate or front door, replacing a window, changing a post lamp or any light fixture, adding an extension, building a BBQ in your back yard, etc. contact ✉ Guy Scharf at to gain approval for your project before starting work. If you cannot reach Guy, you can call ✉ Joe Steiner at to get the necessary forms to submit. Approvals are given in the shortest possible time.
Every homeowner is urged to contact the Architecture Committee prior to undertaking any landscape or structural change or addition. This will avoid the possibility of having to make possibly costly changes.
As more homes in SMVE are sold and new owners move in, we have had an increase in interior remodeling. Most new homeowners have been very cooperative and have requested the “Rules for Contractors,” which the contractors read and sign, stating that they are aware of our rules and agree to follow them. This results in many fewer complaints of roads and driveways being blocked, avoids visible portable toilets, dumpsters, etc. Neighbors are much more amenable to the less disruptive improvements to the neighborhood.
The most common request to the Architecture Committee is for a copy of the Approved Paint Colors. You can always find the current list of approved paint colors on our website at http://smve.org/approved-paint-colors. The approved list for 2016 is attached to this newsletter; please print it and put it in a place where you can find it when needed.
A representative of Cherry Landscape will contact you to set up an appointment to learn the scope of the work you wish done and quote you a price to do it. If you agree to the quote from a representative of Cherry Landscape, they will set up a date (convenient to you) to have the work done. They have been very reasonable and have done fine work.
For both Architectural requests or tree trimming, if you cannot reach ✉ Guy Scharf, ✉ Joe Steiner or ✉ Kathy Mitton, call Chris Bruyn at AME Management to get started.
In February, John Marus stepped down from the Treasurer position after 3 1/2 years in that role. He wants to devote more time to tutoring school children in reading skills through the Reading Seed Program with Literacy Connect. Please join me in thanking John for his years of service to the community. The Board appointed Larry Spencer to fill the Treasurer position. Also in February homeowner Steve Struck volunteered to be a member of the Finance Committee.
The Finance Committee kicked off 2016 by making an extensive search of banks offering FDIC insured business savings accounts and short-term Certificates of Deposits. As a result of the findings, $213,980 of Operating Funds were moved from Chase to Capital One, and $213,887 of Reserve Funds were moved from UBS to BBVA Compass to take advantage of better interest rates.
$31,020 was transferred to the Capital Reserve Fund from the Operating Fund in March.
In March, monthly and annual SMVE financial statements were posted to the SMVE website for the first time, along with the annual budgets for 2013-2016. The Finance page now contains the HOA insurance policy, Reserve Study, budgets, and monthly and annual financial statements.
We added a website article to explain transfer fees that apply when a home within the HOA is sold. To help homeowners understand the HOA budget, we added an article showing how your monthly dues were used. If you have questions about HOA finances, please reach out to me.
Please join me in thanking Mike Jump for his years of service to our community as chair of the Maintenance Committee. For three and a half years, Mike has done a wonderful job of keeping our facilities working properly and looking great!
With Mike’s departure, we have re-organized the Maintenance Committee into four smaller tasks: Pools, Tennis, Facilities, and Roads. Kip Longan has assumed responsibility for pools and Leon Radziemski will handle the tennis courts. Chairs of the Facilities and Roads committees are still vacant so Board members are filling in as needed. If you would like to help with any of these committees, please contact Guy Scharf or any Board member. We’d love to have you work with us.
The South Pool, which was closed for the winter, re-opened on March 4th. The pool and spa heaters, both scheduled for replacement this year, failed a few weeks later and were replaced. The pool deck was repaired and resurfaced during the winter while the pool was closed and looks very good. A safety bar was added to the shower area. Ironwork at the front and back gates will be repainted this year.
The pool deck at the North Pool was also repaired and resurfaced last fall. One of the two pool heaters failed and was replaced. Vandalism to the shower surround was repaired and we added some hooks to hang towels inside the surround.
While it may seem surprising that we’ve had to replace three heaters in the last six months, we’re actually doing quite well and these replacements were budgeted. We expect heaters to last about 8 years. The North pool heater failed a year earlier than expected; the South pool heater was expected to need replacement this year. The South spa heater lasted an amazing 26 years.
At the North entrance, an intermittent problem with the lights staying on was finally corrected by replacing wiring. This was a difficult problem to resolve. Kudos to Mike Jump for his effort in working through this problem with the electricians over a period of months.
We have several other projects ahead of us in 2016. This year we will repaint the old mail “package” boxes to match the new mailboxes so all boxes will be the same color. Additionally, our first step in the Roads project will be to contract with an engineer to identify the maintenance required in each section of our 3.2 miles of roads. After that we will obtain bids, schedule the work, communicate with affected homeowners, and monitor the work being done. We expect this work will stretch out through the remainder of the year. We are fortunate to have homeowner Bob Mix helping us on this large project; his experience will be invaluable.
Again, we will need additional volunteers helping with Facilities and Maintenance. It is an excellent way to meet other neighbors and help the community. Please contact me if you can help.
At the March board meeting we approved the Landscape Master Plan that describes what we do to maintain the common area. Since I’m new to Landscape Committee, creating this document gave me a chance to capture what the current process is for anyone who might follow in my footsteps. I also learned a thing or two while working on the document. For example, did you know you shouldn’t trim large trees during bird nesting season (February-September). I didn’t and fortunately Pam Negri spotted this oversight just in time for me to postpone this year’s large tree trimming to a time when birds weren’t nesting. I also learned that one of the large trees at the south end of Via Gelsomino has a Cooper’s Hawk building a nest! Having beautiful green space in our community that attracts wildlife is one of the reasons I enjoy living here.
At the March Board meeting we also approved the Yard Rules and Regulations that is a simple and easy to understand policy that articulates what each homeowner should be doing to maintain their yard. The need for this document came about because of the confusion about what homeowners can do behind their walls in the common area and some complaints about weedy yards. If you are wondering, you can trim weeds and low shrubs only in the 10-12 feet of flat area behind your home. You cannot trim trees! Remember that trimmed plant material should NEVER be left in the common area but must be removed as it is too tempting to pack rats. Most of our homeowners do a great job of keeping their visible yards maintained which helps the overall appearance of our community so thanks to all of you for that! I’d like to thank John Klein, Susie Struck, Pam Negri, and Guy Scharf who all helped get these documents in order.
The one planned landscape “enhancement” project for 2016 was completed in January. This was the landscape refresh at the south side of the clubhouse. The area is now much more attractive!
We will be spending the remaining part of 2016 doing normal maintenance (keeping our common areas neat and tidy, trimming a few designated large trees, bi-yearly pre-emergent spraying of 37 sites, quarterly pack rat control, handling irrigation problems.)
I want to thank the homeowners who have notified us of water leaks. The faster we address these the less it will impact our water bills. Please don’t hesitate to call or email me if you notice a leak and it can be helpful if you specify the closest address and time/day you spotted the leak. As summer approaches I expect we’ll see a few more of these leaks.
We had a very nice turnout for our annual neighborhood watch meeting that was held March 22, 2016. The topic, “Scams and Frauds,” is one that concerns us all. We were advised to be extremely careful about giving out personal information in response to emails, telephone calls, and solicitors who arrive at our doors. Solicitors, by the way, are actually trespassing. Call 911 if one appears. Then call me or Guy Scharf.
We’ve enlisted the assistance of homeowners who are walkers to spot problems with our sidewalks. Sidewalks that are cracked can pose safety hazards for us. While walking is beneficial on a personal level, having walkers involved in spotting problems in our HOA can prove beneficial to our community as well. Walkers can see evidence of leaking pipes and irrigation systems. Call or email me or Guy to report what you see.
Walkers can also spot other unusual activities in our HOA. Anyone seeing a suspicious person or suspicious activity should call 911. The Sheriff’s Department encourages us to call them, so don’t be shy. After your call to the Sheriff’s Department, please call one of the board members to keep us informed.
When all is said and done, walkers can represent an expanded neighborhood watch program that can enhance the safety and security of our area. If you are a walker, and would like more information about how you can help, please call us.
The Sunrise Mountain View Estates Spring Potluck took place on Saturday, April 9th and 47 people attended. Based on the smiles, laughter and festive feeling it was easy to tell that everyone was having a great time. The tables with pastel colored table cloths and simple yet inviting table decorations helped set a tone. The food was plentiful, attractive, and good quality–very tasty with just the right balance of choices. We even had a few fun surprise activities for those that chose to join in, adding to the festive feeling. We had time to meet new neighbors and make new friends, as well as catching up with old friends.
We’re looking forward to more events and would love to have your support and input as to what events you would like to see. Just click on the email link above and tell us your ideas for events and any other suggestions you have. During the summer months, the committee will take a break–unless volunteers are interested in joining it and making an event happen. Only two of our committee members will be here during the summer.
Also, we’re making it easy to join in as a volunteer. You don’t need to make a long-term commitment; you can get involved with one event or as many as you choose. You pick the amount of involvement that will fit into your schedule. There will be an event coordinator that will lead each event, and with enough volunteers we can spread the work, fun and interesting activities.
Stay tuned for news about the next Hospitality Committee by reading the website articles and flyers on the mailboxes. The easy way of getting news about SMVE is to subscribe to website updates by email. Click here to start your subscription.
Thanks for your attention. So, let’s hear it for SMVE community and creating an enjoyable, friendly community. We’d love to get to know you and have you participate.
Teresa Scharf – Committee Chairman
Event Coordinators – Carole Stephen, Grazyna Fercz, Jane Spalding, and Joyce Steiner
Each year we send homeowners a page full of numbers–the budgets and actual expenses for five years. This year 62% of your dues will be used for operating expenses. 38% goes to the reserves, which will fund capital projects such as patching, seal coating, and repaving our roads over the next ten years.
To make the operating budget clearer, we have created this overview that shows how your monthly dues of $154 are used. For clarity, we’ve chosen to group operating expenses slightly differently than on the budget report: common area expenses have been broken into three groups–landscaping, trash collection, and roads and other maintenance items. The pie slice labelled “Reserves” is the contribution to reserves to fund current and future capital projects, not the amount spent on capital projects this year.
Click on the chart to see a larger image.
We monitor our operating expenses closely. For example, while we cannot control utility rates, we have some control over utility use. Closing the South pool in the winter saves utility costs for gas and electricity. Irrigation repairs reduce water loss and the water bill. Close examination of our bills has produced savings as when we discovered a billing error for trash collection and will receive a more than $3,800 refund. As you can see on the budget report you received, we also work hard to manage capital expenses. Of the Reserve Study components completed in 2015, being flexible in scheduling and selective in our choice of vendors allowed us to save more than $4,000 compared to the budgeted amount.
We’re more than happy to answer questions about the budget and our use of funds. Just click on the email link below and ask!
When a sales agreement is made for a property in the SMVE HOA, an escrow is opened with an escrow or title company. Arizona law requires that once official notice is received of an escrow being opened, an information request and resale certificate must be prepared and provided to the escrow company within 10 days. In order to meet that timeframe, SMVE has outsourced this work to its official statutory agent, AME Management.
AME fills out a questionnaire of about 60 items called a “Homeowners Association Information” form. This usually goes to the seller’s agent.
AME also prepares a “Resale Notification” form for the escrow or title company. This document provides information such as what is covered by the association fees, what governing documents there are, what the common area amenities are, and general information.
AME prepares documents detailing any back dues owed, when the next dues are owed, and outstanding violations.
AME prepares a new owner packet and mails it to the buyer. This consists of a letter to the buyer and HOA documents such as governance documents, rules and regulations, a reserve study summary, and an annual compilation financial statement for SMVE. The packet also includes a form for the buyer to acknowledge receipt of the packet.
When the sale is completed, the escrow company sends AME a copy of the deed, and a check for the $300 transfer fee (fee as of January 2018) collected at closing. The transfer fee is collected by the escrow company and does not go through the SMVE HOA. (Note this fee is subject to change. Check with the HOA management company for the current fee).
The buyer is asked to complete an information sheet about him or her self, including what the buyer’s permanent address and phone numbers will be. The buyer is asked to sign an acknowledgement that the buyer packet was received and then mail the two documents to AME.
AME scans the deed, buyer information sheet, and acknowledgment; and sends them to the SMVE HOA for updating our master database.
Dog poop has been an increasing problem for some time. We have especially noted it in some homeowner front yards along Velazquez midway between Gelsomino and the top of the hill. Both HOA rules and Pima county regulations require that dogs be on-leash and that any dog poop be picked up immediately. Both the HOA and the county can impose fines for violations. So, please, when you or your guests or tenants take a dog for a walk, take along a plastic baggie to remove any presents they leave in common areas or homeowner’s yards.
While most homeowners may be familiar with HOA rules, guests and tenants may not be. When you have guests or tenants, please let them know that they must pick up after their pets. Significant penalties can be assessed to the homeowner for violation of rules, whether the violation is by the homeowner, tenant, or guest. These and other rules can be found on the SMVE website on the Documents & Policies page, and more on dog rules here.
If you observe someone not picking up after their dog, or see dogs off-leash, please contact any Board member with details of time, place, and a description of the dog to help us identify the responsible homeowner.
For those of you interested in real estate activity at SMVE, twelve homes had new owners in 2015. Over the last 12 years, the number of homes sold each year has varied between 8 and 28, so last year’s 12 is an average number. Almost 60 homes have new owners in the last five years. That’s one quarter of all homes in our HOA.
Mostly we are seeing an expected generational turnover, with original owners now moving on. Many of the new owners are younger, often near retirement age.
Activity this year looks like it may be brisk. Six homes closed by the end of March and there are currently eleven homes on the market, three of which are in escrow.
My wife and I are former dog owners. Over the course of a long marriage, we have had many dogs. More than once, our dog helped to extricate us from a bad situation. The dogs were incredibly smart. However, after years of obedience training, I was never able to train any of these beloved creatures to pick up their droppings and put them in a bag.
Our SMVE residents have not been successful either. Some of our residents are relying on their neighbors to pick up after their dogs, or they just leave the droppings where they fall, including in the common area. Why don’t they pick up after their dogs? Disposable bags are available for this purpose and we do see most folks toting them as they walk their dog.
What can we do to remedy this problem? If you see someone failing to pick up after their pet, you can remind them that they need to do that. Why? They are not helping to better neighborly relations when they don’t. If they simply do not want to be bothered, the next two paragraphs may be of interest and a call to 911 might be in order to correct their behavior.
For those irresponsible dog owners there are legal issues that pertain to their behavior. Title 6 of Pima County’s Code of Ordinances states (6.04.030E): “ It shall be unlawful for the owner or person having custody of any dog or canine-wild animal hybrid to fail immediately to remove and dispose of in a sanitary manner any solid waste deposited by such dog or canine-wild animal hybrid on public property or deposited on private property without the consent of the person in control of the property.”
For those who decide to continue not doing the right thing, there may be financial consequences. In 6.04.030F of the Code, there is a provision for penalties: “A person convicted of the offense prohibited by subsection (E) of this section is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, thirty days in jail, one year probation, or any combination thereof. No judge may grant probation in lieu of, or otherwise suspend, the imposition of the minimum fine prescribed herein.”
Sunrise Mountain View Estates HOA carries an insurance policy covering certain liability and property damage. Individual homeowners need to insure their own properties, including fire fighting and emergency medical service, which is offered in our area by Rural Metro.
The property damage for SMVE HOA insurance policy covers things like the tennis courts, clubhouse, pools, furniture, ramadas, fences, and signs.
In addition to property and liability coverage, the policy has “Directors and Officers Liability” coverage to protect directors, officers, volunteers and committee members against claims alleging wrongful acts in carrying out their duties. The policy also has “Dishonest Employee” coverage that protects the HOA in the event of a direct physical loss to Business Personal Property and money and securities caused by a dishonest act committed by directors or officers. This portion of the policy covers the same risks as are typically covered by separate fidelity insurance policy. You can see the policy details on the Finance page of the SMVE website.
SMVE bank deposits are separately protected by FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per bank.
We’ve recently found glass bottles in the pool areas near the spas. We want to remind everyone that no glass bottles or containers are allowed in the pool areas. Broken glass can cause injury to others. If broken glass is in a spa, we may have to drain the spa, at considerable expense, to remove it. We prefer not to spend homeowner dues for events that responsible behavior could avoid.
We’d also like to remind everyone that infants, or anyone who normally wears diapers, may not use the pool or spa. Contamination can be expensive to remedy.
While most homeowners may be familiar with HOA rules, guests and tenants may not be. When you have guests or tenants, please let them know that glass must never be brought into the pool areas. Significant penalties can be assessed to the homeowner for violation of rules, whether the violation is by the homeowner, tenant, or guest. These and other rules can be found on the SMVE website on the Documents & Policies page.
Below are the current Pool and Spa rules.
ALWAYS OBTAIN ENTRY IN TO THE POOL AREA BY USING YOUR KEY!
IF SOMEONE IS OBSERVED CLIMBING OVER THE GATE OR WALL IT IS ASSUMED THAT A TRESPASS IS OCCURRING AND THERE IS A STRONG POSSIBILITY THAT THE SHERIFF WILL BE CALLED TO MAKE AN ARREST FOR TRESPASSING.
Use of the pool and spa is limited to SMVE residents, the immediate family, and no more than 6 guests at a time. The resident shall be responsible when guests use the pool or spa.
Use of the pool and spa is restricted to between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.
No lifeguard is on duty – swim at your own risk!
Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
All persons using the pool or spa must wear swim suits. Infants who normally wear diapers or similar coverings may not use the pool or spa. See Hygiene section.
Shower before using the pool or spa and prior to re-entry to the water after applying.
No diving or jumping into the pool or spa.
No running or boisterous conduct is permitted.
The use of roller blades, scooters, etc., is prohibited in the pool area.
Swimming aids are permitted. However, no toys, floating rafts/chairs, bikes, skates, frisbee or ball playing is permitted in the pool or spa area.
No glass containers or bottles are permitted in the pool area. Food is not permitted in the pool area except in the ramadas. Persons who bring in food are responsible for cleaning the area they used and removing their trash.
No pets are allowed in the pool or in the pool or spa area.
Violation of these rules may result in a fine and/or suspension of pool/spa privileges.
Spa Rules
Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Long exposure may result in nausea, dizziness, or fainting.
Hot water immersion while under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, drugs, or medicines may lead to serious consequences and is not recommended for elderly persons, pregnant women, and those with health conditions Individuals requiring medical care should consult with their physician before entering spa.
Do not use the Spa alone.
Let the Spa timer return to OFF automatically. DO NOT TURN TIMER BACKWARDS!
We are once again experiencing door-to-door salesmen violating our “no soliciting” signs posted at each entrance to our association. Most recently, we’ve seen salespeople saying they represent Dish One and wanting to upgrade your TV service. These people seem to wear a dark gray polo shirt with a white logo of a kangaroo. If you are approached by any salesman, just shut the door and call 911 to report a door-to-door salesperson trespassing on our private streets in violation of our “no soliciting” signs. Then call Joe Steiner (529-2733) or Guy Scharf (305-1472) and tell us about the incident.
If you talk to such a person, they’ll tell you that the “no soliciting” sign doesn’t have the ARS citation, or their management said it was ok, or that our “HOA management” has given them permission to solicit, or some other story. None of this is true and they are trespassing on private property. As we learned at the Neighborhood Watch Meeting in March, you do not have to politely disengage from the conversation; simply close the door and never let them inside your home. Then call 911 and have the salesperson removed from SMVE HOA property.
The North Pool will have landscape maintenance done inside the gate on Wednesday from 7:30-9:00a.m. most Wednesdays. The pool will be open for use during this maintenance but if you are bothered by this activity (blowers and pruning), consider switching your swim schedule to a different time.
Water aerobics classes are held in the North Pool Recreation Area and are open to all SMVE residents. Classes begin April 12, 2016 and end in September.
Classes are on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 8:00am to 9:00am. A kickboard is required.
At last, the much requested Harried Homeowner Helpers for 2016 is available! Last April, we asked SMVE homeowners for their suggestions on helpful vendors. Other Sunrise Association HOAs asked their members. Now we have the compiled result of contractors and other services that you and other homeowners have suggested.
If you do not yet have yours, contact a Board member listed below and make arrangements for a time you can pick up your copy.
