Reminder: Annual HOA Meeting

05/21/2018summerfieldestates

Summerfield Annual HOA Meeting

Please plan to join us for our annual review, updating everyone on our association activities, expenses and the planned budget, the election results, and an open forum for questions.

Thursday, May 31 at 6:30 p.m.

Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, 16889 Espola Road.

HOMEOWNERS – PLEASE MAIL YOUR BALLOT BY MAY 24

— or —

BRING IT TO THE MEETING

We need at least 50% of all home owner votes for the election to be valid, per state law.

Please note – we have two candidates and two board vacancies.

Thank You!

Pool closing for cleaning May 22-23

05/19/2018summerfieldestates

The pool will be closing for cleaning on Tuesday and Wednesday May 22-23, 2018. The plan is to remove buildup on the tiles surrounding the pool.

Pool temporarily closed

04/30/2018summerfieldestates

The pool will be closed for a day or two (starting 4/30/18) while we fix a plumbing problem…

Houston… We have a problem…

04/07/2018summerfieldestates

Houston . . . We have a problem…  Without a volunteer from within Summerfield, we may need to raise HOA dues and go outside for Architectural Committee Leadership.

Earlier requests for volunteers have not succeeded.  We are now two months away from the end of Dick Woodward’s tenure.  Should we not find a viable replacement in the next two months we face the possibility of having to hire an outside independent contractor to take on this role. That option has considerable downsides for Summerfield, including a significant increase to homeowner annual fees, less responsiveness to owners, and less willingness to work with owners who have extenuating circumstances in resolving violations.  This would be a last resort for the Summerfield HOA Board of Directors and one which could jeopardize our ability to keep the reputation as an attractive community.

If you want to be sure we remain a desirable place to live and with very low HOA dues, we need to hear from you now.

So, what are we looking for in Dick’s replacement?  Anyone who is willing to work about 15 hours a month on average in this role is someone we would like to hear from.  The role, fortunately, does not require a Ph. D.  It doesn’t require extensive computer skills either, although experience with MS Word and file management will make the job a lot easier.  Mostly, the committee chair needs to be someone who is organized and willing to create and maintain records and correspondence related to Architectural Committee meetings and actions.

We are looking for someone who will take the maintenance of our architectural standards seriously while keeping an open mind when disputes arise.  We are looking for someone who appreciates the work of this committee in preserving Summerfield’s attractiveness and home values, and who can personally contribute to sustaining those efforts.  If this describes your situation, we need to hear from you asap.

Dick indicates that the Architectural Chair position is quite the opposite of a “thankless job.”  On the contrary, he has received many more thank you’s than complaints.  There is the added benefit of working with other members of the committee and the SHOA board – both pretty nice (and fun) groups of your neighbors.

So, please help us.  Volunteer to serve if you can, if not, try to recruit a neighbor who might.

Please contact board member Tom Halfaker if you are interested.  He can be reached at 858-774-4103 or [email protected].

Thanks for considering our request,

The SHOA Architectural Committee and Board of Directors

2018 Pool Opening

03/25/2018summerfieldestates

The solar heating system is on and the Summerfield Pool will open Sunday April 1! (But of course, keep in mind that it will take a series of warm days to get the pool up to a reasonable temperature!)

We have made more repairs and updates (more info in the next Scoops) in the pool area and hope everyone will have a great season of safe fun at the pool.

Pool safety reminder: https://summerfieldpoway.com/2017/07/pool-safety/

Pool rules reminder (pg 4 and 5): Community Information document

Have fun everyone!

Call for Board Members

03/13/2018summerfieldestates

PLEASE HELP US MAINTAIN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

The annual meeting for the Summerfield Homeowners Association (SHOA) is right around the corner (the meeting will be held in late-May).  In advance of that meeting, we are requesting assistance with the governance of our community.

As your current SHOA Board of Directors, we hope everyone appreciates the value our neighborhood derives from having an active HOA.  Through the efforts of neighborhood volunteers, the Association has been instrumental in keeping Summerfield one of the nicest and well-maintained areas in north Poway.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR OUR
HOMEOWNERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Your SHOA board is a five-member team of volunteers who meet monthly for a couple of hours.  In addition, board members typically spend an additional four to eight hours per month conducting board business.  Is this something you could do on behalf of your neighbors and community?

For retirees, helping out with the HOA is a great way to add some low stress work back into your life.  We are a bit weak on compensation (you won’t get paid!), but we are generally (ok, at least sometimes) an interesting and entertaining group to work with.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO RUN FOR BOARD POSITIONS NOW!  The election of new board members will be held in the month prior to annual meeting.

Please help us keep Summerfield the great neighborhood it is (with our low HOA dues afforded by volunteer governance).  Please email us ([email protected]) with your interest to participate or contact one of the board members listed on the SHOA website summerfieldpoway.com.  Any of us would be happy to explain how the board operates and what you could expect if elected as a member.

Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Summerfield HOA

Common Courtesy in Common Areas

02/27/2018summerfieldestates

We have recently had rocks and debris scattered in the grass and shrub areas by the pool, rocks thrown into the pool, holes dug in the pool area yard, sprinkler lines broken and toys left scattered and unattended overnight. This creates a potential hazard and liability for us all and for landscaping workers (consider the potential harm if a toy or rock is left out and thrown by a lawn mower, for example.)

The pool area (including the adjacent yards) is a community resource for which all Homeowners share responsibility (and liability).  We need to ask that everyone do whatever you can to help keep the pool and surrounding area clean and safe.  Please do not wait for a board member or “someone else” to take action when necessary.  If you observe something like this happening, please contact the parents involved or intervene directly and tell the kids to stop and leave the pool and yard area clean and ready for others to safely play in.

Please be considerate of your neighbors.

Thank you!

Photo by Daniel Watson on Unsplash

Architectural Committee Needs YOU

01/28/2018summerfieldestates

Can you help keep our neighborhood looking great?

Summerfield needs a new chairperson for our Architectural Committee.  After five years in the role, Dick Woodward is stepping down when his current term expires in June of this year.  We now need a new volunteer from within the neighborhood to join and lead the Architectural Committee.

Most of you know that Summerfield benefits greatly from the efforts of our Architectural Committee.  Their work makes a major contribution to sustaining the beauty of and high demand for homes in our neighborhood.  Historically, we have always had a homeowner serve as the leader of the committee.  We hope to we can continue to do so (the alternative could be very expensive and raise our annual dues).

So, how do we find Dick’s replacement?  Frankly, anyone who is willing to work about 15 hours a month on average in this role is someone we would like to hear from.  The job, fortunately, does not require a Ph.D.  It doesn’t require extensive computer skills either, although experience with MS Word and file management will make the job a lot easier.

We are looking for someone who will take the maintenance of our architectural standards seriously while keeping an open mind when disputes arise.  Historically, the ideal candidate has been someone who is either (a) retired, or (b) still works but has limited job hours and manageable job-related travel.  We are looking for someone who appreciates the work of this committee in preserving Summerfield’s attractiveness and home values, and who now can personally contribute to sustaining those efforts.  If this describes your situation, we’d really like to hear from you.

Dick indicates that the Architectural Chair position is quite the opposite of a “thankless job.”  On the contrary, he has received many more thank you’s than complaints; the gratitude of our neighbors can make this role a “feel good” opportunity.  There is the added benefit of working with other members of the committee and the SHOA board – both pretty nice (and fun) groups of your neighbors.

And lastly, don’t forget the many financial benefits that come with the job!  You will not be paid!  You will not go on exciting junkets!  And, your annual bonus will always get “lost in the mail.”  But, you will get support from your peers and the knowledge that you are giving back to a great neighborhood.

So, please help us.  Volunteer to serve if you can, but if not, try to recruit a neighbor who might.

Please contact board member Tom Halfaker if you are interested.  He can be reached at 858-774-4103 or [email protected].

Thanks for considering our request,

The SHOA Architectural Committee and Board of Directors

Summerfield Pool: West Yard Improvement

11/19/2017summerfieldestates

Dear Summerfield Neighbors,

The board is embarking on a number of updates in the pool area: fixing the drains and repairing uneven sidewalk areas among other things.

The area to the west of the pool and south of the covered patio area has a small grassy area surrounded by a sidewalk that has become very uneven. We would like to find a way to allow the neighborhood to have the best use of this area and return it to being an asset for us all. See the yellow shaded area in the picture below for reference.

We want to survey the neighborhood for ideas on which approach to take towards renovating this area. For example, perhaps we can make it a better area for parents and toddlers to hang out while older kids play on the south lawn.  No matter what we do, we want it to be safe and kid friendly.

Please consider which options would be most appealing to you and best enhance our community. We encourage you to go look at the area to help formulate your responses.

We cannot guarantee that we will go with the items with the most votes (we will need to see what the cost and practical implications will be) – but we want to hear from YOU!

Look for the survey in your email, on our private Facebook group or NextDoor!

Of course, if anyone wants to directly talk with any board member or send us an email at [email protected], we look forward to your input.

We plan to leave the survey open until December 5, 2017 so that we can review the results at the next HOA board meeting on December 7. We will report back to the neighborhood as we proceed with this process.

Thanks!

2017 Pool Closing Date

10/25/2017summerfieldestates

The pool will be closing this year on Monday October 30. See you next spring!