2018 Budget and Assessments
The board has prepared and approved the 2018 budget. This budget includes a $1/month increase to each homeowner’s monthly assessments (dues). Starting in 2018, the new monthly assessment will be $40/month (an increase of 2.5%).
The primary consideration for this increase is an expected water rate increase from the City of Tempe. In particular, the city is expecting to raise rates by 7% in 2018 (on top of the previous rate increase of 20% in 2016). Water bills represent over 25% of the HOA’s expenses, so rate increases have a major impact on HOA finances.
Painted Utility Boxes
Over the past few years, the board has discussed several ideas to improve the appearance of the utility boxes on the corner of Maple Ave. and Warner Rd. For example, we considered putting in xeriscape landscaping with bushes to conceal the boxes. However, the utility boxes require a set-back of several feet, making this option infeasible.
This year, board member Jeff Johnson was visiting NAU and saw how they improved the appearance of utility boxes using students’ artwork. He proposed to the board that we do something similar for our neighborhood. As shown below, the board decided to go with a camouflage color to give the boxes a uniform appearance and partially conceal them.
This project turned out to be a simple and low-cost solution to improve the appearance of the utility boxes. Since painting the boxes, the HOA has also received positive feedback from several homeowners.
Common Area Maintenance Update
This year, there have been relatively few maintenance projects. However, one area of ongoing maintenance has been repairing the damage from mature trees’ roots on our sidewalks and common area walls. Below are some pictures of sidewalk damage which was repaired earlier this year.
The next major project will be to replace the sprinkler and electrical systems in each of our monuments. These systems are over 25 years old and have been prone to failures.
Coyote Sighting
A homeowner recently saw a coyote near Carver Rd. and Mill Ave. Coyotes have been known to attack small pets, so please be on the lookout. The Humane Society also has some useful information about protecting pets from coyotes.