Learn more about annual LFR on commons and what owners can do as well
INSIDE THIS ISSUE SROA News.............. 4 Calendar................. 15
Public Safety............ 30 Classified Ads.......... 39
Deputy Fire Chief Rod Bjorvik talks about what owners can do to protect their property
Pages 6 & 9
Page 31
S U N R I V E R
S C E N E A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
MARCH 2025
VOLUME XLVIII • NUMBER 3
Board approves move to online voting program
"This is a building Sunriver owners can be proud of." –Bill Hepburn, former SSD board chair
Welcome to Sunriver’s new fire/police department The Sunriver Service District held an official ribbon cutting and open house Feb. 20 to showcase its new combined police and fire public safety facility. Tours were led throughout the day with attendees including Deschutes County Commissioners and other county officials, contractors who worked on the project, Sunriver owners, area stakeholders and members of the public. Although the fire department also underwent a major remodel, the new police department addition includes secure office spaces and evidence storage, holding cells and a private room for interviews, gated and covered parking for police vehicles as well as a communal community space to hold meetings, training classes and other small-scale activities or events. See additional photos, page 5.
Limited access to SROA admin office week of March 31-April 4 SROA NEWS – The Sunriver Owners Association’s administration offices will be periodically unavailable at the end of March to begin the second phase of the administration remodel project. Some SROA departments will be offline and/or unavailable between March 31 and April 4 for the moving of desks, computers, equipment, etc. into new and/or temporary office spaces. Those who need to drop off project submittals for Community Development, make a maintenance fee payment, etc. can still leave those materials in the foyer. There is a locked drop box for payments and other sensitive documents. Should you need additional as-
sistance, you can call front desk staff at 541-593-2411. Starting in early April, SROA’s front desk will also undergo remodeling and temporarily relocated to the new Com-
THE WENATCHEE WORLD 14 N MISSION ST WENATCHEE, WA 98801
or Current Resident
Turn to Vote, page 3
Walls have been removed in the former police department to make way for additional SROA offices.
munity Development office (former police department). Anyone visiting SROA will need to use the new Community Development entrance through the end of May/early June. SUNRIVER SCENE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSN. VOLUME XLVII I • NUMBER 3 P.O. BOX 3278 SUNRIVER, OR 97707
SROA NEWS – At its February meeting, the SROA Board of Directors approved moving the association’s annual ballot process to an online system. The benefits of using an online vote format are numerous and include increased security, accurate ballot counting, allowing owners to vote at their convenience on a phone, computer or tablet, plus a secure and auditable process that ensures voter anonymity and provides certified results quickly. It also eliminates the need for an independent audit process after SROA volunteers have hand-counted the ballots as it is currently done. Additionally, the majority of homeowner associations utilizing online voting that were contacted by staff reported they achieved a better voter turnout by moving to an online system and would never consider going back to a paper ballot. Printing and postage fees also have continued to increase, and it is becoming difficult to find a local printing company to produce and facilitate mailing the printed materials. The USPS has had its own issues with its inability to get mail delivered in a timely manner. This applies to when the ballot is being mailed to the owner or when it is returned to SROA as “undeliverable” – resulting in unnecessary delays. The online system allows candidate bios and photos as well as ballot measure language and pro/con statements to all be included as part of the information posted online for the election. Additionally, candidates can be listed in random order, so the same candidate does not come up in the top ballot spot every time. Online voting provides the owner of record for a property with a unique user code/password to access their ballot along with receiving emailed
MARKETING MAIL US Postage PAID Permit #241 Wenatchee, WA 98801