Sun City Anthem eMail Bulletin - President's Report at the July Board Meeting, 7/23/2009
Liberty Center Status:
Pulte provided a Liberty Center status report for the month of July. Interior wall framing is ongoing. Drywall hanging for interior walls will begin by month’s end. Framing for drywall ceilings will be complete this month. Flat roofing is close to complete and mechanical equipment units on the roof have been set. Rooftop stanchions for mounting of solar thermal and photovoltaic panels is complete. Interior building sprinkler piping is substantially complete and is being tested. Sprinkler head drops to be installed following completion of ceiling framing. Exterior building stone installation is ongoing. Lath is being installed for exterior building stucco. Site curb and gutter work continues and bocce court curbing is being installed. Mechanical and electrical interior rough-in continues. The construction project remains targeted for completion by the 4th quarter of 2009. As mentioned in previous Board President Reports, once all construction is completed and Pulte turns the building over to SCA for occupancy, then SCA will begin the process for acceptance and the project to prepare the building for occupancy and an opening. This process may take at least one to two months.
As a side note, recent rumors such as the one that SCA will receive a building without telephone wiring or security wiring and that SCA will have to tear into the walls after accepting the building in order to install that wiring should be responded to. Inquiries were made to Pulte some time ago regarding such concerns. Although there will be no phone system installed, SCA has been informed that there will be empty conduit, voice and data outlets installed for SCA’s system suppliers. Box and conduit rough-in locations have been identified for future security cameras in the building. Although there will be no cable TV installed, cable-ready connections and conduit will be installed. There should be no need to break through any walls.
S&D Café Lawsuit Status:
At the June 25 Executive Session the Board rejected the offer of judgment received from S&D Café on June 18. Also, as a result of the recent continuance of the trial, for the S&D Café lawsuit, to a five week stack of cases commencing September 8, 2009 rather than June 29, 2009, Attorney Kirk Lenhard, of Jones Vargas, became available to participate in the trial. The Board approved retaining Attorney Kirk Lenhard as first chair along with Attorney Amanda Cowley, of Jones Vargas, as second chair instead of Attorney Sean Anderson, of Leach, Johnson, Song & Gruchow, as second chair.
SCA’s attorneys have been working with all parties to arrange a mediation, which is now scheduled to occur on July 29. Phil Aurbach, of the law firm of Marquis & Aurbach, will mediate. Mediation is a fairly common method to attempt resolution before the parties go into full trial preparation. SCA insurer, CNA, will be attending by phone and the SCA attorneys understand that Attorney Mike Hall will attend with authority from the SCA insurers Chubb and Travelers. SCA tendered its defense to those companies as well as CNA. Del Webb’s attorney will also attend. SCA’s attorneys, Kirk Lenhard and Amanda Cowley, will attend the mediation. The SCA Board will be represented by the President and Vice President.
Trial preparations continue and witness statements are in the process of being finalized. Designation of the SCA expected trial exhibits is now occurring, and SCA’s attorneys are currently working on a number of briefs, including (1) a Pre-trial Disclosure Statement (2) a Pre-Trial Memorandum and (3) Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, which Judge Gonzalez requires.
Executive Sessions:
At the June 25 Executive Session, a motion was passed to deny a request for waiver of fees and fines and motions were passed to seek legal counsel in response to alleged NRS violations.
The July 9 Executive Session was cancelled.
City of Henderson Status Report on the Study of Anthem Loop Road:
Alyssa Reynolds of the Henderson Traffic Services Department provided a status report regarding the recommendations related to the study of the Anthem loop road. Median replanting should be underway. Periodic enforcement is still occurring on the loop. Vehicular data collection at the intersections is complete. The Traffic Services Department staff met with Pulte and their engineer. They have developed a tentative plan for intersection control options. The Department staff is also collecting some additional pedestrian data at several sites around the loop. This should be complete by the end of the month and will help staff determine whether any additional pedestrian improvements are necessary. The Traffic Services Department anticipates presenting their final recommendations to City Council sometime this summer.
Town Hall Chat:
The next Town Chat is scheduled in the Penn or Nelson Room at Independence Center for Thursday, July 30 at 6:30 pm. At this session Jack Troia and Roger Cooper will focus on the topics of Trumpets restaurant and catering, Liberty Center, ARC Committee and the Covenants Committee. On August 20, the Town Chat will be with Jack Troia and Carl Weinstein who will focus on the topics of Contracts and Management, Construction Defects, BLM Mining, Property & Grounds and Capital and Reserves Budget.
Community Associoations Institute (CAI) Training Recognition:
Mary Bruner, Karl Bruner, and Melodie Norman have been and are deeply involved with SCA leadership. On Saturday, June 27, at the regular monthly meeting of the Nevada Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (i.e., CAI), they were recognized for completing the requirements for Dedicated Community Association Leader (i.e., DCAL) certification. CAI is a professional organization of homeowners associations throughout the country. The Nevada Chapter is one of the largest chapters in the country, and provides ongoing training for Board members, community association managers, and other homeowner association volunteer leaders. This Chapter offers the DCAL certification program for those CAI members who routinely participate in the training programs. In order to receive DCAL certification, a member must attend seven seminars and write an article for the CAI monthly magazine. The education and training received from CAI should result in more effective leadership, and correspondingly benefit SCA.
Former Board members, Kay Dwyer and Elaine Berg, have been and continue to be active in CAI and also hold the DCAL certification. Thank you to all of them for their active participation in this program, and their dedication to SCA.
Merrill Rosenbaum:
This past month, we lost another very valued volunteer, Merrill Rosenbaum, who gave his time and efforts unselfishly for the betterment of our community. Merrill literally touched and enriched the lives of hundreds of our residents. He and his wife Carolyn moved to Sun City Anthem in early 2001. In 2002 Merrill started the “Movement Support Group”. In 2004 Merrill became the President of the SCA Community Service Club and he held that position for two years. He also volunteered at the St. Rose Wellness Center, served on the Community Service Club’s Medical Equipment Committee and Home Maintenance Committee, and served as a Trustee of The Minuteman Foundation. Always an active member, he helped on many projects such as the bus service for SCA residents and also the formation of the Low Vision Support Group. SCA residents could always count on Merrill to come up with new ideas to serve our seniors. He had a unique ability to get people involved and he never let his own disabilities slow him down. He always worked hard to recruit people who would commit to volunteering. He will be sadly missed.
Trumpets Update:
SCA has received the initial rent deposit of $7,000 and the $14,000 security deposit for the Trumpets lease. Possession and control of the premises was delivered to the tenant. The Henderson City Council approved the tenant’s business license and the Henderson Planning Commission approved the Association’s conditional use permit for a restaurant with bar this month. It is expected that Tirzo’s Bistro at Trumpets might open in early September. The timely and effective efforts of Treasurer Shirley Cheri, Secretary Roger Cooper, Assistant Secretary Ann Small, Assistant CAM Chris Wood and Facilities Manager Bruno Panek, related to expediting the process with the City of Henderson, are much appreciated.
Many recent concerns stated by residents, such as rumors that SCA does not have a legal lease and that gaming is not prohibited, should be responded to. Attorney Ed Song was at the Board meeting and spoke to the Board and residents to provide legal counsel on the use of the phrases “which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld” and “which consent may not be unreasonably withheld” as used in some of the sections of the lease. Mr. Song also commented on the prohibition of gaming section in the lease.
Roz Berman
Board President