Members»Management»GM Messages»June 2016

June 2016

Annual Election
First, I want to thank those members who turned out for meetings and provided written feedback regarding the board’s review of the Beach Club Marina boat launch and waterline for safety, updated election rules, smoking ban rule, drone rule, and ongoing maintenance rules, along with our recent town hall meeting on various aspects of the Architectural Standards programs. The board and staff greatly appreciate input from members as we continue to refine and improve our programs and services to meet a variety of needs and objectives of our rather large and diverse community. As the board and community members continue to review these topics and others in order to determine which issues should be addressed, I thought it would be useful to review our Strategic Plan – which details the current priorities and goals of the community, as expressed by your elected board of directors. June 2016 marks the seventh year of the association having a strategic plan. First vetted and approved in 2009, it has again been updated with the board and membership in 2015. While the two documents are not significantly different, they do represent a consistent view of the priorities of seven different boards of directors over the last seven years.

Tahoe Donner Strategic Plan Vision:
Tahoe Donner is a vibrant and desirable mountain community, providing attractive and well-maintained facilities, events, programs, and leading customer service to its members, guests, and public, all while maintaining accessible and healthy natural surroundings.
Last year the membership was comprehensively surveyed by an outside firm to determine the value and priorities for future capital infrastructure investments. The following chart shows the answers to the question, “How much do you agree or disagree with the vision statement about Tahoe Donner?”

Tahoe Donner Mission Statement:
Tahoe Donner is a recreational oriented mountain residential community, whose mutual benefit association of 6,500 owners provides for the standards, regular operation and long-term maintenance of programs, facilities and open space. Through continuous improvement, customer service, and fiscal accountability, the association maintains leading standards of natural resource stewardship, facilities, programs and services to benefit the owners/members. Organizational effectiveness and innovation within the association is sustained by maintaining a highly professional board of directors, staff, and homeowner committee volunteers, while also engaging the local community in an effective and collaborative relationship.
Our recent survey also tried to determine the overall value owners find from the annual assessment, since this is reviewed annually by the board in order to provide for association operations and capital investment. The following chart depicts the responses to the question, “How do you feel about the value you receive from the Annual Assessment you pay, which helps fund all of Tahoe Donner’s amenities?”

 

2015-2020 Tahoe Donner Association Strategic Plan Goals:

  1. Execute the board-approved Capital Plan on time and within budget.
    1. Development Fund
      1. Implement the 2030 General Plan
      2. Work with the General Plan Committee to draft the 2035 General Plan
    2. Replacement Reserve Fund
      1. Execute a replacement reserve program in concert with the reserve study
      2. Ensure the Reserve Fund is adequately funded.
    3. New Machinery and Equipment Fund
      1. Ensure adequate funding supports Goal #2.
  2. Balance operating revenue and expenses with the need to provide first class services for members, member guests, and where appropriate, the public.
    1. Maintain an equitable relationship between operating revenue and assessed revenue while not sacrificing membership service level expectations.
    2. Establish outstanding year-round association programs and special events to benefit the membership.
    3. Employ and retain knowledgeable and dedicated full-time and seasonal employees who are willing to serve member needs.
    4. Continue to improve information technology services to support and integrate resort and member operations.
    5. Ensure employee and customer health and safety are first and foremost in our planning and operations, while encouraging individual responsibility, given the inherent assumption of risk in resort activities.
  3. Execute effective approaches to maintaining the association’s architectural, covenants, and communication standards.
    1. Execute the long-term architectural standards homeowner inspection program as approved by the board of directors.
    2. Continue to improve the communication vehicles to the membership with regard to resort activities, while also emphasizing our unique large scale common interest development budgetary model.
    3. Update the association’s governing documents to align with the California Corporation’s Code and current Davis-Stirling Act.
  4. Establish a proactive approach to maintaining the health of our natural resources and defensible space.
    1. Implement the ten-year forest management plan.
    2. Continue to emphasize and execute the eight year homeowner lot defensible space inspection program.
    3. Promote efficiencies in energy and water use for greater self-reliance and energy independence while properly maintaining our amenities.
    4. Develop an association-wide recycling program for amenities.
    5. Continue to develop a land management plan in cooperation with the board-established Land Management Working Group.
    6. Implement the Trails Master Plan as approved by the board of directors.

Lastly, as our organization moves forward in pursuit of our strategic goals, we shall align ourselves daily with these principles. They are cornerstones which support our direction and philosophy, and provide a basis for everything we do. Every goal in this plan is founded on the following principles:

  • Support the customer first and always.
  • Sustain the foundation of Tahoe Donner programs and services.
  • Encourage environmental stewardship.
  • Engage in local community involvement and participation.
  • Minimize annual operating assessment by allowing homeowners to pay for the amenities they desire to use.
  • Responsibly maintain, preserve and enhance the common property.

Board members are elected annually (on staggered terms of three years) by the owners. With each annual election, articles are published in the monthly magazine, email blasts are sent to the owners, and hard ballot mailings are sent to all eligible owners. I encourage all the owners to participate in our annual election as part of our larger governance model for the association.

Summer is rapidly approaching and the amenities and trail system are looking great for your summer fun.

Robb Etnyre | General Manager