Board Meeting Highlights

The Board:

January

19, 2022

• Approved Treasurer Karen Warren’s financial reports: November 2022 treasurer’s report as shown on page 3 of the January Courier and December 2022, as shown on this page.

• Approved the revised planting plan for the Jeronimo Street slope from gate 3 to the corner of Jeronimo and Olympiad Streets. Gave approval for the Greenbelt Committee to create the bid documents and obtain sealed bids to present to the Board of Directors at a later date.

• Approved proposals from Santa Margarita Plumbing for repair of sewer lines at 27991 Calle Casal and 27705 Calle Valdes due to common area tree roots for a total cost of $13,380.

• Approved the proposal from from PWLC1 for demolishing and repairing the concrete driveway at 23666 Pellicer due to common area tree-root damage at a cost of $4,872 plus a homeowner reimbursement of $2,150 for a combined cost of $7,022.

• Approved forming an Ad Hoc Committee for the purpose of reviewing and updating all policies and procedures of Casta del Sol. The committee will include the Board President, two current Board members, past Board members, committee chairs, including the Budget and Finance committee, and four residents with experience in writing procedures. The committee will meet twice a month until the project is complete and present a set of policies and procedures to the full board for approval.

• Approved the Annual Calendar and Budget Calendar for the year 2023 as presented.

• Approved the proposed Candidate Application form for the 2023 Board of Directors election in June 2023.

• Approved the Social Committee’s proposed schedule of social events for the 2023 calendar year.

• General Manager Marilyn Smith reported that there were 33 delinquencies for a total of $48,824.92 and two properties approved for filing liens. The budget mailing went to all residents as required by law. Committee chair orientation has been scheduled.

• Maintenance Services Supervisor Ed Pedroncelli reported on ongoing maintenance projects. He reported there were 67 projects completed last year: 29 by vendors and 38 by staff. By having maintenance staff rather than vendors complete the work saved the association $319,742 for 2022.

• Landscape Services Coordinator Bill Thornton reported there were 123 landscape maintenance requests for December, bringing the total for 2022 to 3,570. There was a large branch blown down in the recent rains. There was no property damage, but the tree will be removed. There were many calls about overflowing drains during the recent rains. He reminded residents that drains on the side of residences are the responsibility of the homeowner.

• Recreation Director Valerie Hanich announced the age verification program is coming up. Forms will be included in the Courier. Please complete them and take them to the recreation office. She reminded residents that all payments for activities and parties are paid by check. There are no cash payments accepted at the Rec Office.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Directors will be held February 16, 2023, at 1 p.m. in the Vista Room. The next workshop meeting will be held February 2, at 9 a.m. in the Vista Room.

Fran Morgan, Courier Chair

News You Can Use

Personal Directions on Guest Passes

In order for directions to be on your guests’ passes when they enter Casta del Sol, residents need to go to the Dwelling Live system. Log onto https:// community.dwellinglive.com/castadelsol.aspx and enter the directions manually. When guests or workers enter the gate, the driver will receive a pass with your written directions to your home on it for reference. If you need help logging onto Dwelling Live, please call the Rec Ctr 1 office at (949) 455-4681 for assistance.

**For a copy of the December 2022 Treasurer’s Report, refer to castadelsol.com, Recreation Center bulletin boards, and/or eblasts.

December Treasurer’s Report

Total HOA Assets as of December 31, 2022 are $6,384,419, an increase of $309,092 from last month. This includes the following:

• Operating Cash is $1,485,664. This includes $839,244 in cash, $143,485 invested in a money market account and $500,000 invested in four CDs with interest rates between 2.50 and 4.35%. There are no operating CDs that mature in January 2023.

• Reserve Cash is $4,572,816. This includes $422,375 invested in a money market account, $4,200,000 invested in 21 CDs with interest rates between .70 and 4.50%, plus prepaid taxes, interest, and expenses due to operating costs. There are no Reserve CDs that mature in January 2023.

• Capital Improvement Cash is $187,885. This account is funded by budgeting $6 per month per homeowner that results in monthly capital contributions of $11,562 plus interest.

• Total Outstanding Accounts Receivable is $66,083. The allowance for Bad Debts is $46,056 and is adjusted monthly. It is equal to outstanding receivable balances over 31 days.

The following is a selection of our operating category expenses for the twelve months of 2022.

General & Administration is: $1,181,619 which is $59,971 under budget.

Land Maintenance is: $3,280,289 which is $37,521 under budget.

Recreation/Lifestyle is: $423,860 which is $43,394 under budget.

Repairs and Maintenance is: $265,621 which is $35,790 under budget.

Traffic Control is: $833,257 which is $8,472 under budget.

Utilities are: $1,711,483 which is $175,589 under budget.

TOTAL Operating Expenses

Before Reserves is: $7,696,130 which is $360,736 under budget.

TOTAL Operating Expense

Including Reserves and Interest is: $11,272,229 which is $309,433 under budget. The following is a sampling of operating category expense for the month of December 2022.

General and Administration

• Newsletter Services: Editor is $4,542 which is $2,225 over budget due to transition to new Newsletter Editor.

Land Maintenance

• Land Maintenance Contract is $257,087 which is $48,964 over budget due to an increase in bi-monthly contractual expenses.

Maintenance

• Irrigation Repair and Maintenance is $11,807 which is $6,390 over budget due to additional irrigation repair expenses.

Utilities

• Gas is $14,939 which is $6,089 over budget due to seasonal increase in the usage of Gas.

Treasurer’s Comments:

This Treasurer’s report includes all information compiled through December 31, 2022. There will be adjustments in the next two months due to accruals. We continue to work towards completion of the Jeronimo slope. We are coming close to sending out RFPs for the bids on a new Landscape Maintenance Contract. The Board will keep the membership apprised of all progress made on all outstanding projects. We had one reserve CD of $200,000 rolled over at 4.50% and one operating CD of $200,000 rolled over at 4.35%. The Board wishes all the membership a Happy 2023.

Financial Statement:

Upon motion duly made and seconded on January 19, 2023, the Board approved the December 31, 2022 financial statement, this Treasurer’s Report, and ratifies the review by the individual Board members, as well as all transfers of funds, and purchase of any new CDs made in this period and reflected in the financial statement.

Respectfully submitted,

Karen Warren, Treasurer

Two Casta Couples Celebrate 70th Wedding Anniversary

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Earl and Shirley Denos

After high school, Earl went to Long Beach City College. He knew he wanted to marry Shirley. To get her parents’ permission, they promised she would graduate from high school, and he would be gainfully employed.

Earl got a job at Douglas Aircraft. He attended California State University, Long Beach three to four nights per week majoring in industrial technology. The couple married after her sophomore year in high school. He was 18, she was 16. After her junior year, Shirley became pregnant. She attended night school and graduated with her class. Earl was in the bleachers, cheering her on with a baby in his arms.

For ten years, Earl continued to work at Douglas Aircraft. Then he pursued other jobs including selling supplies to hospitals and building boats.

Shirley worked at home, raising their family which included nine children. Both are active in their church. Shirley worked in the church’s Family

History Center and began tracing her family roots, reaching back to an ancestor in Scotland in the 800s.

As the years passed, their family continued to grow. They now have 28 grandchildren and 48 great grandchildren—the most recent was born in December 2022. These numbers do not include spouses. They are a close family with many members living nearby, including their oldest son who is a Casta del Sol resident. Getting together as a family can be tricky with numbers like these, but they do have family reunions. Since more than 60 people often attend, finding a site can be difficult. For three recent reunions, they rented a Cub Scout camp in Arizona that has cabins and a lodge with a commercial kitchen.

Both Earl and Shirley say the secret to a long happy marriage is commitment and sharing their faith.

Cheers to 50 Years!

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