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A SaddleBrooke Commentary
My Columns
Editorials
The recent HOA#1 annual meeting had even fewer people than normal. Some are content (things
are pretty good these days), others were busy doing other things, and even more probably never
got the word. Too bad, they missed a good meeting. All of the presentations are on the new web
site. It’s quite nice, so go take a look if you have not browsed there yet.
One of the highlights for me (your resident budget nerd) was Treasurer Dave Taylor’s report. He
came up with simplified statements that eliminated depreciation and reserves and got down to good
old cash on the barrel head. Dividing by the number of homes, he calculated the annual cash
expenditure per house for the various categories and activities. Here is a summary: General &
Admin $619, Golf $501, Common Areas $285, Clubhouse $184, Janitorial $137, Facilities
Maintenance $136, Road Repairs $136, Food & Beverage $105, Patrol $97, Pool $48, Fitness
Center $46, Tennis $22, Arts & Crafts $13, and Activities Center $6. Since HOA#1 spends nothing
to support Pickle Ball, I’m going to add that as $0.
And the result – we spend more on Golf than Pickle Ball, the Activity Center, Arts & Crafts, Tennis,
the Fitness Center, the Pool, Food & Beverage, and the Clubhouse COMBINED – with enough left
over to cover half of Road Repairs. Talk about the 800 pound Golf Gorilla gobbling up our budget.
Most of us came here for the wide array of activities available, which are all forced to compete with
the Golf Gorilla. As the community continues to age, is this a wise decision and the best use of our
scarce budget dollars? It’s long past time that we had a meaningful discussion about this.
Moving on, Board President Terry Ayer gave an interesting presentation on goals which also was
the lead article in the latest Communicator. She broke it down into three areas. The first was
Amenities. Food & beverage will focus on hitting budget targets, implementing many of the
consultant’s recommendations, and developing a plan to “improve and expand the capacity of the
Agave Lounge” (sounds good to me). The Arts & Crafts Center will get a critical look including the
feasibility of expanding it. A Common Area Master Plan will be developed by September to keep our
common areas looking fresh. A marketing plan for Golf will be developed by September to highlight
and promote the many recent improvements.
The second area is Management, especially a review of our organizational structure with an eye
towards updating it. Also on the list are completing the new web site by year end, providing
continuous status reports as the “IT” (Information Technology) project draws to a close, and
defining the new more detailed reports and info available from the IT system that can help us better
manage our operations.
The third area is Residents. There will be a new resident survey in early 2013 to update the last
one from 2006. Also, we will “develop a plan of action to communicate and educate residents on
ways to increase their involvement in the Association”. That’s always a challenge. Good luck!
This is all good stuff. Just “keeping on keeping on” with the nose to the grindstone every day is
NOT a plan for improvement. We have fallen into that trap all too easily in the past, so I’m happy to
see the Board is trying to focus on larger objectives. However, the devil is in the details of how we
go about executing these plans and accomplishing our goals. Despite frequent claims that we want
to “run HOA#1 like a business”, we have not done as well as I think we could. “Management 101”
says the Board needs to provide clear goals and priorities for the staff (getting better here), get
back a “project plan” about when and how staff proposes to accomplish the tasks (we hardly ever
get such project plans – the staff might have a plan but how does the Board know it), and then get
timely and detailed progress reports about how we’re doing versus the plan (like pulling teeth).
It’s not rocket science – been there, done that, got the T-shirt. A good manager should anticipate
the needs of the Board and provide them with all the relevant info they need to make good
decisions. I remember being on the job as GM for a couple of years when one day it dawned on me
– the Board is really listening to me now! You earn their trust, and then you work even harder to
keep it. Our GM has been here long enough so that he should be ready to “blossom”, too. Go for it!
are pretty good these days), others were busy doing other things, and even more probably never
got the word. Too bad, they missed a good meeting. All of the presentations are on the new web
site. It’s quite nice, so go take a look if you have not browsed there yet.
One of the highlights for me (your resident budget nerd) was Treasurer Dave Taylor’s report. He
came up with simplified statements that eliminated depreciation and reserves and got down to good
old cash on the barrel head. Dividing by the number of homes, he calculated the annual cash
expenditure per house for the various categories and activities. Here is a summary: General &
Admin $619, Golf $501, Common Areas $285, Clubhouse $184, Janitorial $137, Facilities
Maintenance $136, Road Repairs $136, Food & Beverage $105, Patrol $97, Pool $48, Fitness
Center $46, Tennis $22, Arts & Crafts $13, and Activities Center $6. Since HOA#1 spends nothing
to support Pickle Ball, I’m going to add that as $0.
And the result – we spend more on Golf than Pickle Ball, the Activity Center, Arts & Crafts, Tennis,
the Fitness Center, the Pool, Food & Beverage, and the Clubhouse COMBINED – with enough left
over to cover half of Road Repairs. Talk about the 800 pound Golf Gorilla gobbling up our budget.
Most of us came here for the wide array of activities available, which are all forced to compete with
the Golf Gorilla. As the community continues to age, is this a wise decision and the best use of our
scarce budget dollars? It’s long past time that we had a meaningful discussion about this.
Moving on, Board President Terry Ayer gave an interesting presentation on goals which also was
the lead article in the latest Communicator. She broke it down into three areas. The first was
Amenities. Food & beverage will focus on hitting budget targets, implementing many of the
consultant’s recommendations, and developing a plan to “improve and expand the capacity of the
Agave Lounge” (sounds good to me). The Arts & Crafts Center will get a critical look including the
feasibility of expanding it. A Common Area Master Plan will be developed by September to keep our
common areas looking fresh. A marketing plan for Golf will be developed by September to highlight
and promote the many recent improvements.
The second area is Management, especially a review of our organizational structure with an eye
towards updating it. Also on the list are completing the new web site by year end, providing
continuous status reports as the “IT” (Information Technology) project draws to a close, and
defining the new more detailed reports and info available from the IT system that can help us better
manage our operations.
The third area is Residents. There will be a new resident survey in early 2013 to update the last
one from 2006. Also, we will “develop a plan of action to communicate and educate residents on
ways to increase their involvement in the Association”. That’s always a challenge. Good luck!
This is all good stuff. Just “keeping on keeping on” with the nose to the grindstone every day is
NOT a plan for improvement. We have fallen into that trap all too easily in the past, so I’m happy to
see the Board is trying to focus on larger objectives. However, the devil is in the details of how we
go about executing these plans and accomplishing our goals. Despite frequent claims that we want
to “run HOA#1 like a business”, we have not done as well as I think we could. “Management 101”
says the Board needs to provide clear goals and priorities for the staff (getting better here), get
back a “project plan” about when and how staff proposes to accomplish the tasks (we hardly ever
get such project plans – the staff might have a plan but how does the Board know it), and then get
timely and detailed progress reports about how we’re doing versus the plan (like pulling teeth).
It’s not rocket science – been there, done that, got the T-shirt. A good manager should anticipate
the needs of the Board and provide them with all the relevant info they need to make good
decisions. I remember being on the job as GM for a couple of years when one day it dawned on me
– the Board is really listening to me now! You earn their trust, and then you work even harder to
keep it. Our GM has been here long enough so that he should be ready to “blossom”, too. Go for it!
Commentary
As SaddleBrooke ages, more of us may need a little help if we are to be able to live independently
in our own homes as we "age in place". There are quite a few services out there, but finding and
accessing them is a problem. The new TRIAD will help.
Pinal County already has functioning TRIADS in eleven other areas. The concept is for the two
concerned county agencies (plus two other local ones) to meet regularly with representatives of the
residents (a "Council of Elders"?) to determine what services are needed and to better coordinate
their delivery. The County agencies are the Pinal County Sheriff’s office, and the Pinal County
Attorney’s office. The Sheriff sponsors the popular “Home Alone” program (as in, “help I’ve fallen
and I can’t get up”), and the Attorney helps in cases of fraud or abuse. A TRIAD for the Saddle-
Brooke area would also include Golder Ranch FD, and Catalina Community Services.
Much more info is on the SB Seniors web site at http://www.sbseniors.org/triad.html
in our own homes as we "age in place". There are quite a few services out there, but finding and
accessing them is a problem. The new TRIAD will help.
Pinal County already has functioning TRIADS in eleven other areas. The concept is for the two
concerned county agencies (plus two other local ones) to meet regularly with representatives of the
residents (a "Council of Elders"?) to determine what services are needed and to better coordinate
their delivery. The County agencies are the Pinal County Sheriff’s office, and the Pinal County
Attorney’s office. The Sheriff sponsors the popular “Home Alone” program (as in, “help I’ve fallen
and I can’t get up”), and the Attorney helps in cases of fraud or abuse. A TRIAD for the Saddle-
Brooke area would also include Golder Ranch FD, and Catalina Community Services.
Much more info is on the SB Seniors web site at http://www.sbseniors.org/triad.html
SaddleBrooke TRIAD Formed May 17