PRESIDENT’S MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
September 2012
Dear Sunburst Farms Residents:
Everybody received a letter from our auditing firm, Colby & Powell, which asked for a response if you did not agree with the amount of money that Sunburst Farms stated that you owed. This is called ‘testing receivables’ which is a component of an annual audit or review that we are required by law to do every year. By testing receivables, the auditing firm makes a determination on the quality of the funds owed to the District and the likelihood of collecting the money. Some people felt insulted because they pay on time every month; however, the letter is a necessary part of the process even if you pay on time.
The District is looking into becoming part of an electrical district to purchase power at a wholesale rate. Electrical District 7 was formed in 1950 for the purpose of providing power for use primarily for pumping water for irrigation. Calculations were done to evaluate what savings the District would realize; and from July 2011 through July 2012, a thirteen-month period, our savings would have been $79,351.47. This is a 43.74 percent reduction in our cost of power to run the pumps. There is a lot of information on the District website, www.sbfid.com., for homeowners to evaluate. It may require one third of the homeowners to sign a petition for inclusion into ED7.
The GPS committee, chaired by Larry Hudson, met with several residents in attendance. Everybody was amazed at the amount of useful information that can be gleaned from the tracking devices. A couple of people that were initially against installing the devices called me to say they now realize the benefit of them. Currently, the irrigation truck and the maintenance truck have GPS devices. The Board voted to install the system on the irrigation manager’s truck. The cost is minimal and the benefits are great.
A complaint was filed with the Attorney General’s office about Open Meeting violations against the District, (It will be posted on the District website.). The complaint had thirty-one signatures. Of the eight points of contention identified in the complaint, the AG’s OMLET (Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team) Division sent me a letter requesting a response on only three. I spoke with Chris Munns with OMLET and gave him a quick verbal explanation of the three occurrences and it appears there are two minor Open Meeting Law violations. One violation was that the Board discussed and then voted on renewing our insurance policy. We could get no other insurance companies to quote the policy and there were no changes to the policy from the prior year. The policy was due to expire a week after the meeting. The Open Meeting Law violation was that the agenda stated “discuss insurance renewal policy”. The agenda should have stated “discuss and possible action on insurance policy renewal”. The second violation was similar to the first in that our agenda did not provide sufficient information. I apologize that these violations occurred and we will be sure to take greater care in the preparation of our agendas.
Sherry Kimmell called me to let me know that there were some errors in her column in the HOA Newsletter about the Irrigation District This is the second month in a row that errors were made. In my letter last month I identified the errors. I will not do so this month because she assured me that she will note the corrections in her column next month. I also told her that I list my phone number and e-mail address on every monthly newsletter and she is free to contact me at any time for clarity on issues and facts.
By the way, if you have not been on the District website lately, you should do so. There is a lot of new, useful information available. You can thank Board member Carrie Kuitunen for her efforts in making the site more user-friendly and informative.
Remember, election for a Board position is coming up. You must register to vote at the District office by September 25, 2012. The current list of registered voters is on the District website.
Victor Armendariz, Board President varmendariz@hotmail.com 623.934.6457