Ralston Management
41800 Enterprise Circle South, Suite F
Temecula CA 92590, Tel 951-296-9030
Member requests for any action must be a written request sent to Ralston Management.
Current Address & Phone Numbers
Please make sure that the HOA (Ralston Management) has your current/correct phone numbers, where you can be reached for emergencies, (home and cell) and mailing address to receive HOA documents.
HOA Annual Meeting
Set For 5/23/10 1-4 PM
Where: Ralston Management
41800 Enterprise Circle South, Suite F
Temecula CA 92590, Tel 951-296-9030
Agenda:
2009 Accomplishments
2010 Budget
ACC Report
Common Area Report
2010 Board Election
Neighborhood Watch
This is an wake up call for all of us. If you see anyone suspicious,
get their car license number and call the Sheriff. There are two things
that you have to be on the watch for:
1. There are reports from neighbors that their children have been approached, with candy etc.,
by people that may be predators or sex offenders.
2. Strangers, on the pretext of looking for work, may be casing your home as some of our
neighbors' homes have been burglarized.
YOUR HOA
Each quarter we will highlight the duties of one of our officers or committees.
Common Easement Area Maintenance Committee (CEAM) formally called the HOA Roads Committee: The Committee monitors the common areas (roads) during the year for damage and normal/emergency repair needs; Coordinates routine grading; recommends and obtains bids for major road maintenance (washout repairs, culvert placement, fill material needs, signs, environmental problems) and forwards recommendations to the Board of Directors for action and funding approval.
Info for Members
Call for Candidates
The HOA needs members to run for the BOD and be on Committees.
HOA volunteers have been working hard for many years on behalf of
the membership to maintain the common areas and to enforce the
governing documents. Some of your board and committee members
are getting older and are choosing not to run for the board or be
appointed to committees. The HOA needs new blood to participate
and take on the responsibilities. If you can spare some time please
fill out the “Call for Candidates” form and have your voice heard as a Board Member.
Finding owners willing to serve on boards is a growing problem. Some of the reasons include:
Owners are too busy working and raising families; Stress caused by "crazies" who constantly harass and threaten boards; and the increasing number of laws that must be followed.
No Business Without a Board. By law, corporations must have boards of directors:
Each corporation shall have a board of directors. . . . the activities and affairs of a corporation shall be conducted and all corporate powers shall be exercised by, or under, the direction of the board. . . the activities and affairs of the corporation shall be managed and all corporate powers shall be exercised under the ultimate direction of the board. Corp. Code §7210.
Without a board, an association cannot conduct business, which means insurance coverage will lapse, maintenance ceases, rules enforcement ends, the association's corporate status lapses and lawsuits cannot be answered. This exposes each owner to potential liability. Resignations by all directors without appointing replacements may also be a breach of the resigning directors' fiduciary duties.
Management companies have no independent authority to oversee associations. Managers can try to persuade owners to volunteer, but managers have no authority to appoint directors. Without a board, the management company should immediately resign the account or face potential liability itself.
Incentives. Creating incentive, positive or negative, for owners to serve on the board is problematic. Associations cannot penalize owners for refusing to serve on boards. Nor can they reward owners for serving, such as waiving their homeowner dues, since this makes the directors "paid" professional directors and removes the protections afforded volunteer directors.
Unfortunately, there is no real solution to the problem. California continues to enact laws that increase the burdens on HOA’s and its directors, and every association seems to have its allotment of "crazies." Even so, when push comes to shove, most owners realize they have an investment to protect and will reluctantly volunteer their service.
COLLAPSE OF AN ASSOCIATION
Reprinted from Davis-Stirling.com
by Adams Kessler PLC
The HOA has had inquiries from members who wish to dissolve the HOA so they would not have to pay dues and/or be regulated by CC&Rs and Bylaws. The following is a question from a small association but relates to our HOA. If these members had their way it looks as if the liability of, and cost to, each property owner could be huge.
QUESTION: Most of the owners in our 12-unit association stopped paying their dues. The board is not holding meetings and the management company terminated the account. The insurance has not been paid; the landscape, trash, etc. are not serviced as the vendors haven't been paid. At this point I think the intent is for all the owners to stop paying dues. Do you know what happens next?
ANSWER: What you describe is quite serious. Without insurance, all owners are personally exposed if someone is injured in your common areas. Each member could be sued and there will be no insurance to defend them or to pay any judgment. Each owner would need to pay out of pocket for an attorney and each could be liable for the entire judgment (joint and several liabilities). Your association has probably had its corporate status suspended, which means it cannot defend itself against lawsuits. Deferred maintenance will accumulate, leading to water damage and mold in the common areas (more potential litigation). In addition to owners being vulnerable to litigation, directors from the last board of record could be sued for breach of their fiduciary duties. Finally, the market values of your units will plummet to the point of being unsalable. Sellers must disclose to potential buyers the true state of your association's affairs, and who in their right mind would buy into your association?
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy; A Chapter 7 bankruptcy by your association would likely not be granted.
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy; A Chapter 11 bankruptcy (reorganization) is possible if an association has debt and needs time to repay it. The federal bankruptcy court fashions a repayment plan which would likely include a special assessment against all owners to raise funds to pay those debts. It resolves debt issues but not your lack of management.
Court Appointed Custodian; If necessary, courts can appoint a third party (a receiver or custodian) to oversee and to manage the association as provided for in Code of Civil Procedure 564(b)(9). The receiver would have the power to run the association, including the power to assess the membership for all costs needed to pay for operations. The downside is that there are no restrictions on the size or frequency of assessments imposed by the receiver. The membership would have no say in what services were provided, what was repaired or when or how much is paid for operations and repairs. All of that would be in the hands of the receiver. Moreover, the receiver would likely special assess the membership to pay for his/her services.
RECOMMENDATION: You should immediately seek legal counsel to determine your best course of action. A court-appointed receiver may be the quickest way to limit your exposure, especially since the association has no insurance. If the membership were smart, they would promptly restart association operations.
ATTORNEYS AT BOARD MEETINGS
Reprinted from Davis-Stirling.com
by Adams Kessler PLC
QUESTION: Are HOA attorneys required to attend the HOA's monthly board meetings?
ANSWER: There is no law requiring that attorneys attend board or membership meetings. However, boards will frequently ask legal counsel to attend meetings whenever someone starts threatening directors. Because board members are unpaid lay people who are not versed in the complexities of corporate law and the Davis-Stirling Act, it is not unusual that they would seek help by asking legal counsel to attend meetings until the crisis passes. I am always amazed at the ability of one person, whether a fellow director or a member of the audience, to generate chaos and drive up legal expenses. Their ranting, defamatory communications, and threats can force good directors off boards and create a large spike in legal expenses, which are ultimately paid by fellow owners through special assessments and higher monthly dues.
Environmental Gardening
Planning a Native Plant Garden
“Indigenous plants usually require less maintenance
and money to thrive.”
Native gardens are not only good for the environment but they’re also
easy on your bank account, since indigenous plants usually require
less maintenance, water and money to thrive. Take it from the pros
at The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, the largest
botanical garden dedicated exclusively to native California plants.
Here are some expert tips you can use to create your own native
garden no matter what region you live in.
Select the right plant for the right place
Every year, thousands of new arrivals are added to the collection of
more than 70,000 plants at Rancho Santa Ana. Their distribution
among the garden’s 86 acres is determined by climate, geology and
geography, also known as a plant’s “floristic province.” Of the 13 floristic provinces in North America, 4 are represented at Rancho Santa Ana: Californian (hot dry summers and cool wet winters); Vancouverian (California’s major forests); Sonorian (giant cacti and desert scrub); and Great Basin (lots of high-elevation sagebrush scrub). When choosing plants, don’t just research what’s native to your state; also consider the environment specific to different parts of your property.
How to find plants native to your region
The extensive native California plant list at Rancho Santa Ana is available online. For other regions, the United States Department of Agriculture has built a nationwide PLANTS Database, searchable by state and county. It also contains information about which noxious and invasive plants to avoid. When designing a native landscape, the first key to success is choose plants that match your garden environment rather than trying to mimic the conditions in a location where that plant wouldn’t normally grow. It’s also important to group plants based on similar requirements for sun, water and drainage so one plant doesn’t thrive while another wilts. Turf is generally kept to a minimum in native gardens in favor of low-maintenance ground covers or mulch that help retain heat and moisture. It’s simple to lay a soft mulch path between garden beds. There are mulches in a variety of colors to enhance the beauty of your garden while helping your plants stay healthy and thrive.
Create a greener garden
When put in a suitable place, native plants require little maintenance after they’re established, helping conserve water, energy, fertilizer and funds. Over time, they’ve adapted well to resisting local pests; in fact, their oils and fragrances often act as natural deterrents. Native plants also contribute to the local ecosystem, providing food and shelter to local flora and fauna—an important function of Rancho Santa Ana. Nursery’s offer lots of Eco Options products and expertise to help you support a more eco-friendly garden.
Encourage diverse native species
Just 10 percent of the more than 250,000 known species of plants worldwide have been lab-tested for potential therapeutic purposes such as food, medicine and other products, and we’re losing species faster than we can begin to understand their full potential. Follow the example set by our national parks and botanical gardens such as Rancho Santa Ana; by creating a native garden of your own, you’ll help preserve valuable natural resources.
Keeping up with BOD actions
The board wants to keep our members informed of what the board and committees have been discussing and working on during the first quarter.
1. Meeting with HOA attorney on February 3rd and 15th to discuss
Gray Squirrel “prescriptive rights” road closure action, by property owner.
2. The Board transferred money from the reserve fund into operating expenses
at the first of the year for a court ordered expense.
3. Environmental issues:
a. The HOA has received several “Code Enforcement Violations” from the county for Storm Water Pollutants entering the watershed. Storm Water Pollutants for the HOA and property owners are defined as water with silt/dirt/debris leaving the property. This means that (storm) water leaving every property in the HOA must be clear. As a "heads up," the BOD wants you to know that the county will be looking at HOA properties for violations and may be sending out code violation and may be sending out code violation letters to property owners if violations are found.. Fines, up to $25,000 per day for each violation, could be assessed to individual property owners if violations are not corrected.
b. Individual property owners must put their own Best Management Practices in place.
c. The HOA has purchased straw bales, rebar and rock and have put them in place on roads and around culverts to prevent Storm Water Pollutants from entering the watershed.
