SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE UPDATE

Jim Duffey, Safety and Security Committee Chair

The Safety and Security of this community have always been a high priority for the Desert Mountain Board of Directors. During the past year, the Safety and Security Committee, with the support of the Board, has completed several objectives to improve upon existing safety and security measures.

During the past year, we’ve completed the perimeter fence that gives us defined borders that allow, when necessary, local law enforcement to enforce trespassing and provides a physical barrier to better protect our property. Communication and communication technology have improved by hiring an additional dispatcher position. We also set up the Desert Mountain Mass Emergency Notification System, which alerts residents of impending hazards (weather, fire, active shooter, etc.) or other high-profile security situations.

Thanks to the persistence of the CCMC staff and numerous concerned individuals, our team is now providing 24/7 security to Seven Desert Mountain. We have also continued our efforts to make the parkway a safe place for all residents through active speed reduction measures and calming strips near the stop signs. On average, speed reduction had decreased from 5.09% to 2.11%, with the goal being 1%.

Firewise is another important initiative for community safety. To date, we’re making excellent progress toward 100% compliance with nearly 35% compliance community-wide.

This can’t be done without the participation of our homeowners. Thank you to all the homeowners who have evaluated their landscape with the Firewise guidelines in mind and have made the appropriate changes to meet the standards set by the program. If you still need to make this evaluation, please take a few moments to visit the community website and learn more about the program. If you have questions about what to do, please contact the staff at 480-635-5600 or firewise@desertmthoa. com.

Another critical topic regarding Safety and Security is staff training and retention. The Safety and Security Committee continues to work with our service provider in maintaining quality members of our security staff. Like most businesses, the retention of quality professionals in today’s labor market is a very challenging prospect. Our team members continue to perform salary and benefit analysis to ensure we maintain the ability to hire, train, promote, and maintain the highest quality security staff in the business. Our partners at Anderson Security listen to our concerns and have done an excellent job of meeting our requirements in a very difficult labor market.

The security team prides itself on being the most well-trained staff with the most capabilities in Scottsdale. If you ever have to interact with this great team, I’m sure you’ve experienced the pride with which they perform their duties.