Your Casablanca February 2013

Your CasaBlanca February 2013

Annual Meeting is March 16 The Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 16, at the Joslyn Center. It is at 73-750 Catalina Way, in Palm Desert. The meeting is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM. You should have received you ballot voting materials in the mail by now. If you have not received them, call Carrie Gordon-Dearth at Desert Management ( 862-1202) or email her at cgordon@desertmanagement. com.

Most important to the Association is that you

Following the presentation, the meeting was

vote and mail in your proxy. We need a simple majority of proxies (68) to be returned in order to make a quorum for the meeting. If we donʼt get a quorum, the Association has the expense of doing the whole thing over again. Three people are running for three positions. Incumbents are Ken Bates, and Dorothy Saulnier. the new candidate is Ken Jackson.

opened to the Member Forum. Charlotte Jackson indicated that plants had been placed at pool #3 and they would be planted this Friday by our landscape crew. A question was asked if asphalt street sealing was on the agenda in the near future. the answer was yes, within the next year. The minutes from the January 17 Board meeting were approved a written.

February 21 Board Meeting

The Treasurers Report was given by Lindsey Griffith. The total amount of monies available are down in the Reserve Account due to the payment of bills for work that has been done. The Reserves and Operating Accounts are down about $20,000 from the January report. The figures and amounts in each account can be obtained from Management to homeowners who want this information. An Authorization to place a Lien on a property was approved to go into effect after April 1. The Board agreed to

Board members John Medina and Ken Bates were absent from the meeting. About six homeowners were in attendance. The Board meeting began with a representative of Grand Mark Landscape presenting an explanation to the Board various options for the proposed redesign of the main entry way landscape to a desert landscape theme. 1

Your Casablanca February 2013 give the owner that amount of time to bring his account up to date.

The Communication Committee met at the pool #1 deck area. The meeting was called to order at 10:00 AM by Chairman, Syd Sonneborn. Approximately 10 homeowners were present.

Business/Review/ New Business was reported by Carrie Gordon-Dearth, our Manager. Most of it dealt with the proposed front entrance landscape. The proposed work includes re-doing the center island and landscape next to the perimeter walls, replastering the fountain pools, repairing the water fall, and staining the entry way walls. Some of the cost could be paid for with a CVWD rebate Program for the removal of sod. But this program is currently out of funds. The whole project could total more $20,000. Lindsey Griffith indicated she was “uneasy” about the cost of the project with the uncertainty of the economy and the current reserve account balance. The rest of the Board concurred and tabled the project until rebate funding becomes available once again from CVWD. Then the whole project will be reviewed again. " The Work Orders were reviewed and a comment was made that we have had the fewest work orders associated with landscape over the last month in anyones memory with only four of them. Evelyn Ferrier, a member of the Architectural Committee requested permission to install a ceiling fan on her patio. It was approved.

Syd asked Gail Christiansen, President, to explain some developments with the new owner of Portofino; Comstock Homes, Bob Comstock. Gail was asking for cooperation from them with the coyote nuisance problem we are experiencing. He denied that there was suitable habitat for coyotes and we were free to look for ourselves. Ken Jackson & Gail not only found possible habitat but trash, graffiti painted on the perimeter wall and holes in screening fencing. Gail has recontacted Bob Comstock and indicated he should read the legal agreement we have with the Portofino Development. She also indicated we need to respect their property and not have our homeowners dump waste onto their side of the wall too. " The Annual Meeting will be held at the Joslyn Center on Saturday, March 16. Ken Jackson has indicated he will run for a position on the Board. Due to the Annual Meeting on the 16th, there will be no regular Board Meeting on the 21st of March. Member Forum: The Eco-Lab technician had started placing rat baiting stations out in our complex and leaving packing materials just lying around. A homeowner complained to management. Turns out the stations are the wrong kind also. Eco-Lab is to start out with the proper equipment on the 18th. " The Spring Mardi - Gras party will be held Saturday, March 2 at pool #4. Notices will be going out soon for this pot-luck party. Please plan to attend and bring a food dish to share with others.

The next Board meeting will be the Annual Meeting on March 16 and the the next regular Board meeting will be on April 18 at 10:30 AM at the US Bank building. Committee Reports: The Architectural Committee just had the ceiling fan mentioned above. The Landscape Committee just had the pool 3 plantings mentioned above too. Casablanca HOA Communications Committee Meeting Minutes 2/12/2013

The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 AM

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Your Casablanca February 2013 Respectfully submitted by Syd Sonneborn, Chair, Communications Committee

Home care key as many begin to leave to escape the heat

Jim Lewis, Owner of Desert Management reported that the Association does not have any legal responsibility to do anything about the coyote problem we currently have. These are wild animals that are the responsibility of the State Fish and Game Dept. The Association can not be sued if there is an incident with humans or pet animals and the coyotes. Individual homeowners need to take the proper precautions to protect themselves, their children and animals. To start with, do not feed or water animals out of doors. Keep garbage cans covered when placed outside. And to quote Theodore Roosevelt, “Walk softly and carry a big stick”.

Edited by Syd Sonneborn

As temperatures begin the inevitable climb toward triple digits, seasonal residents are beginning to migrate to cooler environs to wait out the Coachella Valley summer. And that leaves dozens of homes vacant and untended for weeks, if not months. Leaving is more than just flipping a few switches and locking the doors. Whether you are leaving your desert home for a few weeks during the peak of summer or you will not be returning from your permanent residence until next fall, planing for the care of your home is as important as finding the right child or pet sitter for your children or pets.

Emergency Radio Upgrade The City of Palm Desert as well as the rest of the desert cities have upgraded the Emergency Operating Center radio frequencies to accommodate an additional broadcast site. In addition to the EOC Center itself at City Hall and the repeater broadcast tower in the Indio Hills, a third broadcast tower has been added at Edom Hill. This new site will be able to operate on battery power alone for over 24 hours if need be. This third station is entitled “Backup” on our radioʼs choice of frequencies. Syd had the upgrade made to our radio on February 15.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR Whether you choose to prep your home for the summer shutdown on your own, or enlist an agency or friend to do the work and periodically checkup on your residence, there are a variety of problems that can crop up. Water damage issues are a critical source of potential problems. Water leaks and floods can be a result of broken pipes that are either above ground or under the slab, or from any number of other sources. I am aware of three incidents here in Casablanca, of copper hot water pipes bursting due to electrolysis. All happened in the summer months.

FOR OUR SEASONAL HOMEOWNERS: Itʼs getting to be that time again,The article below is repeated on an almost annual basis to assist new seasonal homeowners in our complex

Unplugging ice machines, turning off the hot and cold water to the washer, and unplugging hot water circulating pumps will reduce the likelihood of flooding. We're in a hostile environment. The intense heat can wreck havoc on an absentee homeowner's plumbing. Left unattended, toilet 3

Your Casablanca February 2013 water can dry up in 45 to 60 days. Periodic flushing can eliminate the threat of an unpleasant homecoming for the homeowner.

• Disconnect insta-hot units • Disconnect golf cart battery • Put car battery on trickle charger or disconnect car battery • If you have plants growing on your patio while away, please contract with a gardener to maintain the area for the time you are gone

Doors, wood furnishings, oil paintings and decorative items are also sensitive to the desert environment. It's important that proper interior humidity is maintained to prevent doors, decorative pieces and furniture from becoming too dry and developing cracks."

ALSO REMEMBER TO WATER HELPS • Remove all perishables from refrigerator Filling buckets of water and putting them on hard surfaces around the house adds moisture to the air. This moisture keeps artwork and wood items from drying and cracking.

• Remove all open flour products (cereals, crackers, flour, etc.) • Clean and store trash containers

Bugs are another concern. It's important for absentee owners to maintain their pest control service while they are out of town.

• Place brown paper on inside of exposed windows to block direct sunlight • Place brown paper under edges of window coverings to protect carpet

Additionally, patio furniture and other presumably resilient outdoor items are no match for the hot desert summers. If there's a place to put it inside, put it inside. It will be in better condition when you come back in the fall.

• Drape plastic over hanging clothes • Cover upholstered furniture. Cover oil paintings with sheets of linen or coverings

TIPS TO GO

• Fill buckets of water and set out for humidity control

mechanical shutdown • Clean and store patio furniture and cushions inside (garage maybe?) • In case of an earthquake, move breakables or valuables, such as lamps, vases and artwork from high shelves and walls to floor

Things to turn off disconnect, unplug or drain: • Turn off all gas pilots • Turn off water main to house if home will be left unattended for extended periods

• Use museum putty to secure items in place

• Turn off hot and cold water to washer

• Leave a key with a trusted friend who summers here to assist in opening the house in case of an emergency while you are away. Have him or her check in the house periodically.

• Drain, flush and refill water heaters to remove sediment • Unplug hot water circulating pumps 4

Your Casablanca February 2013 • Arrange for maintenance for plants on your unitʼs patio. Have someone trim the plants and clean up the debris and make sure the irrigation system is operating properly. The clean up should be at least once a month. Unkept patios also are “advertising” that the homeowner is gone to potential thieves. Leaving the patio go all season makes for more work for you when you return and adds to the Associationʼs management expenses in mailing out notices to errant homeowners. Plus, our landscapers have been instructed that any potted plants that have died and left on patio walls are to be thrown away, pot and all.

Casablanca Management Board of Directors Gail Christiansen, President Dorothy Saulnier, Vice President Lindsey Griffith, Treasurer John Medina, Secretary Ken Bates, Director

Desert Management, Inc. Carrie Gordon-Dearth Manager, 760-862-1202 PO Box 799, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

This issue of your Casablanca was produced by: Syd Sonneborn, Editor/Publisher Gail Christiansen, President Dorothy Saulnier, Vice-President Howard Butzer, Landscape

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