Northgrove

November 2004

Nov 11, 2004

COMMUNITY YARD SALE

SATURDAY, NOV. 13
7:00AM ?– 11:00AM

Clean out those closets and the garage?—Northgrove is holding its semi-annual yard sale this Saturday morning. Signs will be posted on Brown. Any residents wishing to park in the office complex parking lot to the west of Northgrove are welcome to do so in order to accommodate the buyers?’ vehicles.

DOG PARK SATURDAY

SATURDAY, NOV. 20
10:30AM ?– 11:00AM

Does your dog get excited when it sees another dog while out for a walk? Let's let the many dogs that live at Northgrove meet and play at the Quail Run Off-Leash Dog Park! Dogs LOVE to run and play at this 3+ acre fully-fenced grassy park near Greenfield/Loop 202. There is a separate fenced area for small/timid dogs, and plastic bags are provided to clean up any doggie-doo. The park also has benches and water fountains for both people and dogs.

From Northgrove, head left (east) on Brown Road. Left (north) on Greenfield through McDowell Road. Left (west) at the light at Virginia. Follow this road (it will curve to the left). Turn left into the parking lot and follow it to the end. The fenced dog-park is to the south of the parking lot.

HOPE TO SEE YOU AND YOUR DOG(S) THERE!

HOLIDAY DECORATION CONTEST

FRIDAY, NOV. 25 ?– SATURDAY, JAN. 8

Show off your holiday spirit with exterior holiday decorations beginning the day after Thanksgiving through January 8th!

Judging to be held by ALL Northgrove residents via email the week of December 26th. One vote per household. Winner to be announced on New Year's Day.

A prize (as yet to be determined) will be awarded for 1st Place!

NORTHGROVE WEBSITE

Northgrove now has a website! Go to: www.neighborhoodlink.com/mesa/northgrove. Included is neighborhood contact information, a list of officers, a Northgrove community calendar, and a ?“Talk About It?” section that can be used to discuss issues/concerns, post want ads, etc. The Northgrove Newsletter is also posted on the website, as well as useful City of Mesa information. Please bookmark this page and check it often for updates.

ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE UPDATE

In an effort to give everyone some time to do repairs, the Architectural Committee has suspended the monthly review of homes from September through February 2005. Since the deadline for having all Northgrove homes repainted in the approved colors is March 1, 2005, the Committee wants to give everyone enough time to work on improvements, repairs and painting without the burden of review.

However, this time-out does not include reminders for those who leave garbage/recycling cans out or for those who have serious oil stains that need removing. The cans are a hazard to driving in our very small community when they are left out, especially because the garbage trucks cannot put the cans down as close to the house as they should be. The oil stains are not just an eye-sore but also contribute to hazards on the asphalt. Some are so soaked with oil that one can literally dig out the asphalt underneath with a spoon. Persons who have been advised of a violation or of an action to take regarding an issue at their home are not released from correcting the problems.
TAX DEDUCTION

A homeowner recently asked the Board if they could continue to pay $130/mo instead of $100 and use the additional $30 as a tax deduction since our HOA is a not-for-profit organization. Our property management company looked into this and found that if a homeowner wishes to pay an amount more than $100/mo (not including fines) or a one-time donation, it may be used as a tax write-off. If you are interested in doing this, please contact Jack Leibert at Community Management for more details: 602-943-2384.

WATER USAGE

How much was your sample water bill? The amount of your water bill is the amount out of your $100 that Northgrove has paid for your water each month in the past. Some water bills are upwards of $80! That means only $20 was left to pay for landscaping, pool maintenance, SRP, etc. One resident exclaimed, ?“Now I understand why we haven?’t been able to start a reserve fund!?”

PARKING COMMITTEE UPDATE

Northgrove has seen many new residents as a result of home sales in the past year. This is a reminder that vehicles are allowed in garages, driveways and parking cutouts only. All other areas on the property are no-parking fire lanes, even if they do not have a sign posted to that affect. Vehicles parked in these areas will be towed at the owner?’s expense. Please remind your guests to park in any available cutout.

2005 BUDGET

The Board, with the help of the Architectural, Parking, Landscape and Pool Committees, has been working with the property management company on the 2005 budget. The goal has been to identify current and future projects that are vital to the upkeep of Northgrove.

Items such as pool equipment have a 15-20 year life expectancy. Our community is now 18 years old and many repairs are needed. Below is a list of items the Board agrees are necessary to maintaining property values at Northgrove that are not currently included in the operating budget, and their estimated annual expense (please note that while not every project will be done each year, most of these do need to be done soon):

Pool fence repair (to be in compliance with City of Mesa codes by 1/1/05): $3500
Pool lighting repair: $500
New pool filter (current filter is old and on its last leg): $1000
Asphalt resealing (done once every several years): $4600
Repair underground drainage on west end of property: $600
Repair pool cabana roof (the wood has dry-rot and is structurally unsafe): $500
Fertilize lawn monthly in warm months: $500
Trim palm trees once/year: $600
Fertilize palm trees 3 times/year: $450
Paint/seal pool decking: $250
Paint front wall, pool cabana, common area walls: $1500
Sign(s) for front wall: $1500

As you can see, these items add up to over $15,000. This does not include money set aside for a much-needed emergency reserve fund.

The monthly assessment will go down soon as a result of the individual water meter installation. While no one likes the thought of an assessment increase just after we?’ve made such strides in lowering it, this will be a very important topic that will need to be addressed at the next Annual Meeting in April.