A P R I L 2 0 1 7

Desert Cedars

HOA Board of Directors

Terrell Hoffman, Bob Marsh, Dale Brinkman, Tim Hamlin,

Ron Di Maria

City Property

Management Co.

Community Manager

Mark Miller mmiller@cityproperty.com

Main: (602) 437-4777

ext.2153

www.CityProperty.com

The Desert Cedars HOA website:

http://desertcedarshoa.com

And the Portal:

https://homeowners.cityproperty

.com

Notes from the March HOA Board Meeting

The next

HOA Board

meeting

Thursday,

April 13th, 6:15 PM

(Board of

Directors

Executive Session

at 5:45 PM)

At the Police

Substation near

Copper Sky.

This past month’s Board meeting was literally

“Open to the Public.” Due to a scheduling

conflict at Copper Sky, it was held in the casual,

al fresco setting of our main park’s ramada.

People brought chairs and gathered around in a

circle reminiscent of many thousands of years of

human tribal gatherings. Just like those fire

circles of ancient times, we came together to

share our stories of what we’ve accomplished,

what our problems and plans are, and what our

pipe dreams are for our community’s future.

Common area landscaping is always the

#1 HOA

topic as it’s the Board’s top responsibility and a

visible sign of the quality of a community and the

capabilities of its management team and vendors.

ILM, our landscape vendor, discussed their plan

for pre-emergent and post-emergent weed

control and their continuing work with the

Board’s Water Management Task Force to

keep our irrigation costs under control. Their

efforts have saved us several thousands of dollars

in recent months.

Just FYI, ILM is now watering our turf areas on

Wednesday nights and possibly a second night

each week as temperatures rise. They are

coordinating tightly with the Board’s Water

Management Task Force and also with the

Landscape Committee. If you’re out in the

park late Wednesday nights, you might see the

turf spray running.

With new landscape plantings, ILM is increasing

selected parts of our drip irrigation from 2

evenings per week to three.

The Water Management Task Force asks all

residents to PLEASE report any apparent

common area water leaks to Mark Miller ASAP

so ILM can jump in and get them fixed. Irrigation

water is our biggest variable expense. Use the

CITYLink HOA APP (iOS and Android) to report

maintenance issues like that, or just call or email

Mark Miller with photo(s) if possible. His contact

info is on the left side of this page. We’re all in

this water management situation together – it

comes with the territory with an aging irrigation

system.

Other issues the Board discussed included:

Homeowner Responsibility: The HOA has

responsibility to maintain land in our

subdivision designated on the official

subdivision plat maps as “Tracts.” Owners

have the responsibility to maintain their

front yards and non-HOA Tract public

rights-of way adjacent to their property, and

that includes maintaining the shared wall

adjacent to the public right-of-way. If your

property has an outside wall bordering a

street and you are uncertain whether you

or the HOA has to maintain that outside

area, call Mark for clarification.

Mailbox Solar Light Repairs: Mark used vendor

warranty and credits to get the lights

working and he requests that you contact

him immediately if you see one not working.

SPRING FLING: Our annual party in the

park is scheduled for Saturday, April 1st. If

you have a canopy and/or table and chairs,

please bring them. See page 2 and this link.

Community Garage/Yard Sale: The Board set

Saturday, April 8th, for the Spring sale. See

page 4 for details.

The next HOA Board meeting will be in air

conditioned comfort, Thursday April 13th, 6:15

PM, back at the Copper Sky Police Substation

meeting room. All homeowners are invited to

attend to be informed and involved.

P A G E 2

Easter Egg Hunts — April 15th

EASTER EGG HUNT:

Location: UltraStar For more information check out this link.

SPRING EGG DIVE Location: Copper Sky Aquatic

Center

Check out the online version of the

Spring PLAY

Brochure

Click here (The info is on page 18.)

There is fun for big kids and parents,

too!

(While on that page read about

Eggcathalon Adults)

Curious about the progress on the 347 Overpass? An informational meeting will be held on

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Presentation will begin at 6 p.m.)

MUSD Board Room, 44150 W Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway

“The purpose of this meeting is to provide information and gather community input in

advance of construction.”

“The project team will be available to answer individual and property-specific questions at

the public information meeting. Maps and displays will also be available for viewing.”

See more at:: http://www.maricopa-az.gov/web/city-news-feed/60-news-releases/2610-

from-adot-informational-meeting-about-sr347-overpass

If you are interested dining locally for Easter Brunch in Maricopa, – make reservations

by checking out the Arroyo Grille and UltraStar websites.

This Saturday,

April 1st

The annual

Desert Cedars’

SPRING FLING

11AM to 2PM

Check out this link for

more information

P A G E 3 Bits and Pieces

“Spice of Life” Senior Variety Show

Saturday, April 8 at 6 p.m.

Maricopa High School Performing Arts Center,

45012 W. Honeycutt Ave.

Tickets $15 More info at this link.

FREE

Grab a lawn chair or a blanket for an evening under the stars and enjoy quality entertainment. Food concessions begin at 7pm Movies at dusk (between 7 and 7:30pm) Check this link to see the list of movies.

(Movies were not posted by press time.)

Homebound Delivery:

A new free service from the City of

Maricopa Public Library

All homebound residents of Maricopa

and surrounding communities now

have access to the library’s collection

of books, music, movies, audio, and

more out to your home.

* If you would like this service email

homebound@maricopa-az.gov or

call (520) 568-2926.

Community-Wide Yard Sale

Saturday, April 8th

7am to noon Signs will be placed on 347 at the entrances to our Desert

Cedars community.

Place your own sign(s), or get together with your

neighbors to place signs directing people to your street

and your yard/garage sale.

To help you with your yard sale, an ad announcing the

Community-wide sale will be placed on the InMaricopa

website. Consider also placing your own ad on that site,

and/or in CraigsList, NextDoor, or the yard sale Facebook

sites. Listing the types of items you have to sell will create

interest and draw people to your sale.

Check out the Maricopa Insider brochure (pictured above). It

is the City of Maricopa’s quarterly list of events, classes, guided

trips, activities at Copper Sky, and information.

If you have not had a chance to read the brochure mailed to

your home you can read the Spring 2017 issue online.

Click here.

P A G E 4

Desert Cedars’ Residents Participating

in City Meetings and Commissions

Flood Control District • Three of our residents are participating in

Maricopa Flood Control District meetings to

keep our flood plain situation on the agenda

with that board.

Planning and Zoning Commission

• Desert Cedars resident and former board

member Linda Huggins was voted by her

peer Commissioners to chair the city’s

Planning & Zoning Commission for a one-

year term.

• Desert Cedars is well-represented on the

Planning & Zoning Commission with three

out of seven commissioners: Bob Marsh, Ted

Yocum, and Linda Huggins.

Arizona has many backcountry

roads that are mostly unpaved.

If you are interested in exploring them it

is important to read this first.

http://azstateparks.com/ohv/training.html

Desert Survival tips that can save your life can be found at this link.

Information for crossing from Arizona into

Mexico can be found at this link,

Traveling from AZ into Nogales, Mexico, click

here. And here.

From AZ to Puerto Penasco, Mexico (Rocky

Point) info at this link.

Landscape Committee We have new plants! You might have noticed that a variety of new plants were installed Tuesday along Desert

Cedars/Brittlebush, and bougainvillea shrubs were planted along the North Basin wall.

The Landscape Committee chose shrubs and trees that will add color at different times of the year and have low

water requirements. All are small at this point, but will grow to colorfully fill in the planting areas. It is a start, and

we have developed plans in our landscape app for more of our common areas as money becomes available.

In prior years, new plants often died or did not do well because of insufficient irrigation. The Committee has been

working diligently with ILM, and Ed, our ILM irrigation specialist, will be checking each new plant/tree/shrub to

make sure they are receiving adequate water. Also, the new fertigation system he installed will fertilize plants while

they are being watered. Now that the water is turned back on, members of the Committee will be walking the

property to check for pooling water or other signs of leaks, but we cannot cover it all every day. Valves are aging,

and spaghetti lines split and are being chewed by rabbits and gophers.

Please help: If you see any leaks, contact our Community Manager, Mark Miller ((602) 437-4777 ext.2153,

mmiller@cityproperty.com) so they can be fixed right away. Money saved on watering will help us purchase more

plants for other areas of Desert Cedars.

Water Management Task Force After visiting other communities and consulting with our irrigation specialist, the Water Management Task Force is

developing plans to restore the North Basin (Tract G) so irrigation costs can be managed. The Task Force’s

recommendations for reviving the area will be presented to the Landscape Committee for their review and revision.

In addition, the Landscape Committee has been working on a staging strategy to replant and revitalize Tract G to fit

into the limited budget. Now that bougainvillea has been planted, the Committee is planning what will come next in

this area that has been neglected for years.

P A G E 5

TAKE A HIKE. DO IT RIGHT A new awareness campaign.

You might have noticed the media reporting about the numerous mountain rescues in recent weeks. Now the Arizona

Office of Tourism, the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association, and the City of Phoenix Parks & Recreation Department have

launched the "Take a Hike. Do it Right." campaign to raise awareness and give information so you can safely enjoy hiking

Arizona’s trails and not put yourself and first responders in danger.

These links offer suggestions so you can “do it right” and enjoy the beauty of Arizona.

http://www.visitarizona.com/arizona-hiking-tips,

http://www.desertusa.com/thingstodo/du_ttd_hike2.html, and

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/hike-tips.htm

Trails closer to Maricopa: (This site also includes an interactive map) http://www.everytrail.com/best/hiking-mesa-arizona

P A G E 6

Information About Your Home’s HVAC Filters!

Do you know that frequent changes of your home’s air filters prolong the life of your air conditioner?

Dirty recirculating air filters (and filters that are too restrictive, as one resident found out when it burned out

their fan motor) reduce airflow and make your HVAC system work harder, increasing your electricity bill.

Dirty filters – or no filter – reduce air quality in the air you breathe affecting your allergies, spreading dust, dirt,

pollen, pet dander, and fungal spores (like Valley Fever) throughout your home, your ductwork, and your HVAC

system components.

Since we live in an extremely dusty region, it’s important to get filters with the right rating – not just the right

size filters. Consulting with a professional HVAC service provider or a helpful hardware store expert can help

you get the right filters for your home.

• Click HERE for HVAC maintenance advice from Lennar, the builder of our Desert Cedars homes.

• Click HERE to go to energy.gov.

But wait, there’s more. The Arizona desert area we live in has some unique dusty air issues. Most Desert

Cedars homes have a duct in the HVAC system for incoming air from outside, and there’s typically a slot on that

duct’s opening for an incoming air filter.

The photo on the left shows a resident’s homemade incoming air filter installed. The other photo compares a

clean filter and a used one. You can see the amount of dust that the filter on the right collected. You can get

filter material at stores like Ace, Walmart, Lowe’s, or Amazon and cut it to make your own to fit the incoming

air filter slot in your ductwork, typically in one of the chambers with main air return filters.

This incoming air filter isn’t a recirculating air filter, so it’s ok to use a really restrictive filter. It is important to

use a filter material that captures fine dust and spores, something like 3M-Filtrete Micro Allergen filters or

equivalent. If you’re handy with scissors and duct tape, you can easily build a filter to fit your duct by cutting up a

larger filter and building one that fits. Change the little filter when you change the big one. It’s worth the effort.

Homemade

incoming air filter

The larger

recirculating air

filter is held in

place by the lid