No , this is not a picture of buried ruins from an architectural dig in the Middle East

June 2008

• At what point did the Board lose the planned 3rd recreation center?
• At what point did the Board lose the opportunity for securing an interested restaurant operator for Trumpets?

While these and similar questions are being asked by some members of the community, nothing (we assume) has really been lost, at least we hope not. However, the perception of loss or lack of control over these matters is out there and can pose problems in the absence of better communications from the Board.

On Trumpets, some, no doubt, will be starting to question whether in discarding our old operator, S&D Café V, we effectively tossed the baby out with the bath water, compared to what we have been able to achieve in return for offering the use of our dining facility. One assumes that we will be hearing more about the results of Mike Dixon’s agreeable negotiating skills soon.

In mentioning Mike Dixon, and as an update on City use of street lighting for cell phone towers, I understand we can thank Mike for his stated “no problem” approval at a meeting of the Anthem Council and Cricket's representative that related to the installation of their cell devices on the City’s street light poles within the confines of Sun City.

For another puzzler, consider the new recreation center. What do we really know? According to president Roz Berman in her May report, “Pulte has gone out for new bids weeks ago.  The prior bids expired.” I find that report troubling, even difficult to comprehend knowing what little I know about the construction industry.

While our Board has told us that Pulte is looking to obtain new bids on constructing the new recreation center, allegedly because the old bids had expired, is that the real story? Is that even true? As some might want to suggest, that story may be nothing more than a story, or more harshly stated, a lie.

Why do I doubt that story? In general, the only bids that expire are bids for work one is proposing to do at some definite point in the future. In that case, bids may expire in 60 or 90 days, or at some other specified time, from the date the bid was submitted, in our case, by a general contractor in charge of the overall construction project. The question here is whether that "expired bids" scenario accurately describes our situation with our new recreation center building? That's highly unlikely.  

The scenario presented to the Community by our Board president would suggest to us that Pulte was sitting on one or more expired bids from general contractors for a project (our third recreation center) that was delayed while the Board took months to evaluate the pros and cons of going “green” and adopting energy saving technologies in the design of the new center. During this period, the Board had suggested that Pulte was continuing to review the cost of going "green," as if Pulte was engaged in efforts to reassess the cost of the project. We were told that "greening" costs had been reevaluated but the total continued to be in excess of the $1.375 million Pulte had promised in 2002. The Board expressed some interest in pursuing this potential reserve funding issue further.

The obvious problem with that "expired bids" scenario is that Pulte already had a signed contract with a general contractor to construct the third recreation center. One cannot have an "expired bid" from contractor "A" on a yet to be negotiated contract and a signed contract by contractor "A" on that very same project at the same time. That's a nonsequiter or nonsense.

Since construction had already begun on the recreation center project, one must assume that Pulte already had a signed contract with a general contractor to do the job. As the picture at the top of page would appear to illustrate, construction activities had actually commenced on the work site. Then the Board got involved with the issue and cost of going "green" and the $1.375 million promise in 2002 to fund reserves or use co generation technology. Work came to a halt while the Board dithered for months, i.e., performed their due diligence on the greening issues.

With my father’s general contracting experience to guide me, it is highly unlikely for any work to commence on a building project unless there was a signed contract in place with a general contractor. While it's conceivable that Pulte awarded the work to more than one general contractor, splitting the job into manageable parts, like the building, on the one hand, and the outside court areas on the other hand, that would be an unusual step. Typically, only one general contractor has the entire project and lets numerous subcontracts to specialized building trades in phased stages to work on the project. There is no reason to believe that this subcontracting process was not followed for the recreation center project.

So what’s really going on? Perhaps there is a potential dispute between the general contractor with the contract and Pulte concerning the delay issue. That dispute may involve one or more of the following issues: construction costs; potential breach of contract; and damages resulting from the delay. Such issues, if present, may not be resolved in a timely manner. Pulte may be reevaluating the scope of the project or even the need to proceed on the project. On the other hand, Pulte may have cancelled their original contract due to the long delay and is seeking new bids as we were initially told.

Why might Pulte be rethinking their options? Pulte's financial problems are well known. Will Pulte's financial woes hinder or change Pulte's commitment to complete recreation center three as orignally proposed? For example, in the last 12 months, the value of Pulte's stock, currently about $11/share, has declined by 58%, from a high of $25/share to low of $8/share, while experiencing an income loss of almost $3 billion, according to MSN Money at this website Link on Pulte Homes: http://moneycentral.msn.com/companyreport?symbol=PHM&pkw=PI&vendor=Paid+Inclusion&OCID=iSEMPI

What do we really know? Given the uncertainty, I believe the homeowners are entitled to a more complete explanation of where we stand in the construction of our third recreation center.

Here is an article on Vandalism and Graffiti recently sent to security patrol members by Security Patrol Chief Dave Servello. Dave voices his concern and issues a plea for additional volunteer support needed to make our community a safer place to live the lifestyle we all deserve. Dave Servello on Vandalism and Graffiti.

     The hazards of driving on Sun City Anthem Drive are many. While this driver did not intend on hitting one of the several emergency water shutoff valves along the parkway that feeds the community of Inspirda, here seen turned on its side along with the truck, that is exactly what happened just before this picture was taken on this June afternoon drive.

     Since this accident happened just west of Scotts Valley,we do not know whether the driver was unduly distracted by the late afternoon sun, by construction activity at Scotts Valley related to the installation of new cell phone technology, or by something else.

     We hope the driver is OK and was not badly injured.

From hollow sounding floor tiles to peeling cabinet finishes, from defective plumbing to settling cracks as homes are wanting to move, it seems Sun City homeowners are awash in one type of construction defect or another. Here is an old "defect" that may have already found its way to your cabinet doors or will be there in the not to distant future. According to the manufacturer, this recurring problem is really not a defect at all but instead the result of the adoption of poor techniques used by persons who installed the cabinets.

Every cabinet door in a Phase 1 home utilized a 1/2” Blum hinge. As some homeowners are already aware, those door hinges have been failing. That failure is most likely due to the hinge’s use of a plastic part that rotates as the cabinet door opens and closes. That rotating motion over time may cause that piece of plastic to break off. Whether the failure of the hinge is due to improper installation practices is immaterial to the homeowner since the hinge has a lifetime warranty backed by the manufacturer.

For further information on our website on this issue and how to obtain a replacement hinge, Click here.

Some Men Are in Need of a Few More Inches.

You know who you are! It's a plain fact that some men who are not height challenged but nevertheless feel they are in desperate need of gaining a few more inches. I think I can help some of you. I've helped myself and it works beautifully. Moreover, in the process of helping myself and as an added benefit, I was able to bring more pleasure to Olga, my loving wife. If you want to learn more about what you can do, please Click here.

Ron Johnson, 15 June 2008