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Mary Schmit, General Manager and Teresa Beally, Activity Director each write a column weekly during the season and monthly during the off season to keep Residents abreast of "what's happening at Venture Out." Scroll down to read their current columns.

Manager's Corner

February 17, 2012

This week’s occupancy is 1,533 or 88% vs. 1,516 last week and 1,501 for the year prior. There are 420 renters currently in the park.

The annual meeting is over and we had an excellent attendance. Congratulations to Robert Hayes on a second term and Mike Ellis and Jim Wallace as our new Board members. Thanks to everyone for running too, and as we said, run again. Some Past Board presidents will tell you they ran two and three times before being elected. A special thanks to Denta Persinger and Walt Just who retired. Two more supportive and dedicated people you cannot find. It has been such a pleasure to work with them.

For all of you who were at the meeting, Paul Hanson our auditor gave us a good snapshot of the Associations health. He in particular noted that out of $4.2 million in assessments, there was only an accounts receivable in the amount of $20,000. He noted that that kind of record was phenomenal. His firm does over 400 HOA audits and he said some of those have accounts receivables in the hundreds of thousands and even millions! So while we can be very pleased and as he jokingly said... “you can smile and wave at your neighbor because everyone pays their bills to live here”…the Arizona Legislature is actually working against us this year, to turn that record upside down.

I guess I should say that it is no surprise that our Legislators concoct these kinds of bills, but sometimes you just have to shake your head in disbelief at the sheer audacity of them. One SB1469 would actually make it possible to not pay your assessments at all. Assessments could only be collected at the time of a property transfer. The law now states that you can file a lien after condo fees are in arrears of one year or $1,200 in arrears whichever comes first. I live in an HOA too and I cannot believe that they would think that it is OK for homeowners to pick up their neighbor’s bills for as long as they choose to live there. Especially in a community such as VO where so many services are offered and where basic utilities and services such as water, sewer, and trash collection are rolled into the fees. This unfair piece of legislation needs to be stopped immediately.

Ken Dowlin who is the Chair of the Legislative Committee will be sending me a Talking Points Memo along with the Legislators names and how best to contact them. Because this is potentially so detrimental to VO, we are going to use the FASTMAIL system as well as the Out-Lines to get this word out. Hopefully EVERYONE will mobilize and write their letter or e-mails to ALL of the Legislators. We are also working with several other properties such as the other four Homeowner RV parks and Leisure World to beef up the numbers of respondents. They need to be hit with thousands of letters of protest.

Another really bad piece of legislation, SB1468 would make the Board Members personally responsible for any lawsuit that might be decided on against an Association. They should title this bill... “Who will run for the Condo Board” if it passes. So please pay a lot of attention to the Out-Lines and the FastMail in the next few days. Better yet, call Ken Dowlin or Carol Perkinson and volunteer to help write letters. We need everyone’s help to defeat these two bills and a few more that are out there.

On a more upbeat topic. We tried out a second street sweeper this week in the 600 block of Navajo. I had good feedback from both lot owners and staff that it did a good job of picking up the dust and grit, even in the valley gutters. It’s even better news because it was a dry vac, which is a fraction of the cost of the Wet Vac that was out here two weeks ago. We will be trying out one more sweeper next week and then will make a recommendation to the Condo Board at Budget. Thank you for chiming in.

We had a door to door solicitor slip in to the park by giving one of the staffs names at the Activity Office. While we have a pretty good system, it’s not foolproof. If you have ANYONE that approaches you in the park about doing work, call Security or ADMIN immediately. Get a description of their car/truck that they are driving and we will remove them from the park. We caught this one, and escorted him out of the park and now have his picture and license plate for future reference, but please... don’t allow anyone to solicit you or do work for you. They are almost always bad news and scam operators. Good honest contractors have a waiting list for work. They don’t have to go door to door.

Have a wonderful weekend! The Arabian Horse show is in Scottsdale and might be worth your time to go and see.

Mary Schmit
General Manager
ventureoutgm@qwestoffice.net

Recreation Update

February 17, 2012

Ladies and gentlemen it’s time for the annual performance by the incomparable Hams at Heart Club! Plan to be mesmerized by their production of “Ham It Up” either Monday, February 20 or Tuesday, February 21 in the Buena Vista Ballroom. A show guaranteed to tickle your funny bone. Tickets can be purchased from the Activity Office or at the door the evenings of the performances. Curtain rises at 7:00 pm sharp!

This past weekend’s Home Tour proved to be as popular as ever. Thank you Chairwoman Sally Barker, committee heads, drivers, bakers, proof readers and all other Pet Association volunteers who made this project possible. And of course, thank you to the residents who allowed their beautiful homes to be shown.

The copy machine in the Post Office hallway continues to be vandalized. Please do not break into the locked cabinet to remove paper for your personal use. That is so not cool...

Thank you Pickleball Club for the over-the-top City Tournament you hosted this past week. Final numbers indicate $5,382.00 was raised for the Social Club. Outstanding!!!

There is still a bit of time to get those Fish Fry tickets. By a bit of time I mean by noon today, Friday, February 17. Hurry before it’s too late!

Tickets may still be purchased from the Activity Office for the February 27 Enchilada Dinner. The club wants to ensure everyone that they have gone back to their original recipe and cheese supplier. I am sure the meal will be delicious!

Thank you to David Butt and all the wonderful volunteers who helped me with the Art-A-Go-Go. We pulled it off and it was a success because of your volunteer efforts. I’d also like to thank the many, many residents who donated art work for this event. Through your donations the silent auction alone brought in almost $2,000 to the Social Club.

Congratulations to the newly elected Condo Board directors; Jim Wallace, Robert Hayes and Mike Ellis. I have a feeling the next three years are going to be quite busy and exciting for the three of you.

The third Saturday of the month, which is tomorrow, is traditionally reserved for the Softball Association’s famous Hamburger BBQ’s. If you are new to our community you won’t want to miss this event. Simply bring $4.00 for lunch, an extra $1.50 for ice cream and your table service to the Baja Bistro between 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. You will not be disappointed.

The Berry Sweet Breakfast was sooooo good! Thank you Breakfast Crew for all your efforts. Keep in mind this group of early risers does not represent any club. They volunteer for the Recreation Department and put on nine mouthwatering breakfasts each season. A special thank you must be extended to the Sing & Strum who performed during this last breakfast. They were outrageously good as well!

Mark your calendar for Thursday, February 23 and plan to come to the Venture Out Great Outdoor Cook-off and Motor Expo. See who will be the recipient of a $1,000 sponsored cash grand prize for the best pork ribs. You can also enjoy lunch and have an opportunity to view various motor homes, cars and park models which will be on display. This will take place around the Community Center parking lot from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm. Check out the ad in this edition of the Out-Lines for more information.

If you have grandkids visiting be sure to let them have a go at the Ms. Pac Man game located next to the display cases in the Baja Bistro. It’s still free and tons of fun.

The Venture Out award-winning Kitchen Band will be the featured entertainment at the Tuesday, February 21 Ice Cream Social. Enjoy some ice cream while listening to one of the most entertaining groups in the valley.

The annual Ice Cream Social Wood Carvers Carve Off was quite the sensation. Carving an ice cream scoop by hand... in 35 minutes... is quite impressive. Congratulations to all participants including carving winners; 1st place-Bob Crandall, 2nd Place-Mini Kardash and 3rd Place-Matt Haapaula.

Still accepting wood for the annual two-night Weenie Roast scheduled in March. Donations may be dropped off at the Higley wall behind the Oasis.

The Activity Office is currently holding 60 Photo Yearbooks which were paid for last year. Could one be yours? Stop in and check. We also have additional yearbooks for purchase for $30.00.

See you at the “Books are Fun” sale, Thursday, February 23 in the Baja Bistro!

Teresa Beally
Activity Director
ventureoutrec@qwestoffice.net