August 2016

Community associations are a representative form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people. Much of our country is based on the principles of representative democracy. It starts with organizations such as community associations and progresses through our school boards, city governments, county governments, state governments—all the way to the federal government. We vote for a person, or persons, who will act on our behalf.

Some might advocate that a board should not take action without a vote of the members to find out what the people want. That would be counter-productive. If association members were to vote on every issue before a decision was made, there would be no need for a board, but simply someone to send out ballots and tally results. However, boards find out what their constituents want in other ways. Many make time to hear from residents at each board meeting. But, it’s up to you to attend meetings, voice your opinions and participate in the exchange of ideas with the board and their appointed committees. We also encourage your involvement and participation. Perhaps you would consider joining a committee. We want your input, ideas, thoughts and opinions.

The new Tahoe Donner board of directors has been elected by the community and they have set their annual calendar of meetings to address association business, including electing a new board president, Jeff Bonzon. Board meetings are going digital and will now be available online after board meetings and very soon available to be viewed live with some level of interactive engagement capability being put in place in the coming months for those who are not able to attend in person.

One of the first priorities each new board addresses is the upcoming annual budget, and resulting annual assessment, for the following fiscal year. You will find a brief update on that process by our director of Finance and Accounting, Michael Salmon, on page six in this issue. At this point, the board has provided staff the strategic guidance to hold the annual assessment and recreation fee flat at 2016 levels, if possible, as we begin the annual budget development process. Regarding improved engagement between your board of directors, the following trends are interesting to note:

Candidate Night Video (as of July 18, 2016)

• Total page views: 68, 65 of which were unique.
• The bounce rate of this page, at over 95 percent, is very high, meaning the viewer clicked onto that page and left without interacting with the page at all.
• The average time on the page is 3:38 minutes.

Annual Meeting Video (as of July 18 2016)

• Total page views: 140, 125 of which were unique.
• The bounce rate, at over 83 percent, is high, meaning the viewer clicked onto that page and left without interacting with the page at all.
• The average time on the page is 2:53 minutes.

Recent membership voter participation rates in Tahoe Donner Elections:

• 2016 – 31 percent eligible voters
• 2015 – Uncontested election.
• 2014 – 27 percent eligible voters
• 2013 – 30 percent eligible voters

With so many owners in Tahoe Donner, I thought it would be useful to review some important safety concepts for our community. First, drive the speed limit! We all live in this great community, and with many busy summer schedules, we should remind ourselves to slow down and enjoy the summer safely.  If you are an owner who leases your unit, we’d like to make the leasing experience successful and positive for everyone by informing you of your responsibilities. This will help preserve your property value specifically and maintain the association’s property value in general and maintain a safe community.

Your tenants may not be familiar with common-interest community living. Please take a few minutes to explain to them that living in a community association is very different from living in a rental apartment community. Specifically, your tenants, like all residents, are subject to the rules and regulations of the association, and it’s up to you to educate them and see that they comply. The association will assist you in this area, but the responsibility lies with you. We recommend you provide your tenants with written copies of all policies and rules and advise them on the proper use of the association’s facilities. You can obtain copies of these and other useful documents online or from the member service office in the Northwoods Clubhouse. The most important items to remind your guests are to drive safely, to keep pets on leash, to pick up after your pets, to be courteous to your neighbors, and to respect the rules of the association and community by being fire safe and respecting parking and quiet hours responsibly.

We strongly recommend that you have a written lease agreement with your tenant. As a lessor (landlord) of a home in a community association, the lease you use must require tenants to comply with the association’s governing documents. In the event your tenant fails to comply with these documents, including the bylaws, or its rules and regulations, a representative of the association will first contact your tenants in an attempt to remedy the problem. The association will send you a copy of any notice sent to your tenant.  If the tenant does not correct the violation, the association will contact you and expect you to remedy the violation using the recourse available to you through your lease agreement. If you are unable to correct the violation, the association may pursue appropriate action to protect the interest of the neighborhood and community — and, just as importantly — to ensure your guests have access to information on all the fun this community has to offer!

Enjoy this great summer and your own personal resort community!

Robb Etnyre | General Manager