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. To receive the Newsletter by Email contact Ralston Management.
YOUR HOA
BOD & Committee Responsibilities
Board of Directors:
President: The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and at all meetings of the Members; shall implement the orders and resolutions of the Board; shall sign all leases, mortgages, deeds and other written instruments; and shall sign all promissory notes of the Association.
Vice President: The Vice President shall act in the place and stead of the President in the event of his absence, inability or refusal to act, and shall exercise and discharge such other duties as may be required of him by the Board.
Secretary: The Secretary shall record the votes and keep the minutes of all meetings and proceedings of the Board and of the Members; serve notice of meetings of the Board and of its Members; keep, or cause to be kept, appropriate current records showing the Members of the Association, together with their addresses; and shall perform such other duties as may be required by the Board.
Treasurer: The Treasurer shall receive and deposit in appropriate bank accounts all monies of the Association and shall disburse such funds as directed by resolution of the Board; shall sign all promissory notes of the Association; and keep proper books of account. The Treasurer may delegate the foregoing duties (except the duty to affix his signature to documents) to any person adequately covered by a fidelity bond unless express prohibited there from by the Board.
Member at Large: Voting member of the Board of Directors; lead/carry out special projects; represents the interest of the individual members.
Committees: Committees are appointed by the B0D and serve at the pleasure of the BOD.
Architectural Review Committee (ARC): The ARC is responsible for reviewing property-planned improvements including final site and grading plans showing the location and nature of the improvement. In accordance with the CC&Rs, the ARC is responsible for issuing written decisions to the requesting property owner concerning the property improvement approval request. In considering any application, the Committee may, but shall not be obliged to, take into account (1) the quality of workmanship and materials to be used, (2) harmony of external design with existing structures in the Properties, and (3) the interference, or potential for interference, with the view from any Lot.
Common Easement Area Maintenance Committee (CEAM): Survey’s common roads for damage and repair needs; Coordinates routine grading; recommends and obtains bids for major road maintenance (washout repairs, culvert placement, fill material needs, signs) and forwards to the Board of Directors for action and funding approval.
CC&R/Bylaws Modernization Committee: Coordinate and facilitate review meetings to produce an updated RGO HOA set of CC&R and Bylaws. Work with attorney to ensure legal compliance. Present recommendations to the BOD for approval to proceed with a membership vote on the updated CC&R & Bylaws. Work with Ralston Management to track membership responses and make any required follow-up contacts for those members not responding.
CC&R Rules Hearing Committee: Notify the offending Member in writing of the alleged violations and a date for hearing, shall hear the charges and evaluate the evidence of the alleged violation, deliver to the BOD a written decision, which specifies the fines or penalties levied, if any, and the reasons therefore, for review and approval, after BOD approval deliver to the Member so charged, the written decision which specifies the fines or penalties levied, track status of CC&R violations.
The Inspector of Election: In accordance with the Davis-Sterling CID Act, an independent third party is selected by the Board of Directors prior to the annual meeting of the association to serve as Inspector of Election from the close of the annual meeting until the close of the next annual meeting. The Inspector of Election shall be responsible for Receiving the Vote, Counting the Vote, Custody of Ballots and Reporting Election Results.
Nominating Committee: The Board of Directors prior to each annual meeting of the Members shall appoint the Nominating Committee, to serve from the close of such annual meeting until the close of the next annual meeting. The Nominating Committee, consisting of a chairman who is a Member of the Board of Directors, and two (2) or more Members of the Association, shall make a Call for Candidates, Prepare Ballot Package for mailing, log all received responses, develop scoring criteria for assessing candidate’s qualification to serve on the Board, and Make nominations for the office of a Member of the Board of Directors from the qualified candidates.
Environmental Liaison Committee: Coordinates HOA activities to be in concert with governmental and environmental agencies, works with the ARC to ensure compliance with landscaping and erosion control, identifies current and potential threats to the environment in the HOA, establishes a “rules of operation” (policy), reviews and approves Property Improvement Plans as part of the ARC approval process, Contacts/works/coordinates with agencies concerned and authorized to regulate environment issues, reports current/potential environment threats to the area and establishes and submits drafted/updated “Rules of Operation” (policies) and plans to the BOD as recommendations for review, approval, appropriate action and/or adoption.
Web Master: Develop and maintain the content of the Rancho Glenoaks Homeowners Association website, responsible for implementing the ongoing development/maintenance, setting standards for design, performing navigation and browser compatibility, performing quality-control, and maintaining and developing small web applications, document web best practices and write documentation, assist in development of a new look and feel for web site, update all content. Advise HOA on how to best optimize their content for online deployment.
Dues Are Increasing
The HOA BOD has raised the dues by 20% again this year. The increase of dues by 20% a year should have started back in the 1980’s when the HOA was formed to give our HOA enough revenue to operate effectively in today’s world. With new law requirements that a long-range Reserve Funding Plan be put in place and monies are accumulated to support the plan. Legal fees to review new and revised Policy Resolutions, required by the Davis-Stirling Act are also costing the HOA money. Your BOD is writing these Resolutions, to save the HOA money, but each must have a legal review.
HOA Members Volunteer
HOA Board and Committees Members volunteer their time. Some of our association members have the misconception that by paying dues they are paying the salaries of these volunteers. When an association member asks the Board or Committee member a question or has a problem they try to get back to them with the answer ASAP but, unless it is an emergency,
this does not always happen. You have to remember that these people have obligations and commitments to family, work, friends, etc. just as you do. If they don’t get back to you right away, you can give them a little nudge, I mean reminder, by calling them again.
Some of the Board and Committees Members give 20, 30, or more hours a week working on HOA business. They are saving our association money, otherwise this work would have to be done by the management company, and attorney or others who the HOA would have to pay. If you can help as a volunteer please contact a board member. This help may not be more than depending on your expertise, reviewing documents and/or advising our committee members, but it would help lots.
Davis-Stirling Act
Maintenance Responsibilities
As part of their duties, Boards are obligated to maintain the common areas. This often impacts insurance premiums, deductibles and liability for damage. This, in turn, affects property values, annual budgets, special assessments, and reserves.
In most planned developments, depending on the CC&Rs, maintenance responsibilities are generally allocated as follows:
The Association, unless the CC&Rs provide otherwise, is responsible for repairing, replacing, or maintaining the common areas.
Owners in planned developments where the homes are single family residences, are responsible for maintaining all aspects of their house and lot unless the CC&Rs provide otherwise.
Enforcement. When owners fail to maintain their property, the Association can enforce maintenance standards as provided for in the governing documents.
Potential Liability. The Association; failure to maintain the common areas can result in liability for the Association. Owners; most CC&Rs fail to properly address the maintenance responsibilities when it comes to owner improvements, which frequently leads to litigation or threats of litigation.
Deferred Maintenance
QUESTION: The board claims our reserves are badly underfunded and raised our dues by 20%. They plan to raise them again next year because our manager said we have too much deferred maintenance. I disagree. When I was on the board we always minimized repairs because we have older people who can't afford high dues. Don't you agree that boards have to take into consideration people who can't afford their assessments? Can't we wait until something breaks and let insurance pay to replace it?
ANSWER: Wow. Where do I start? The fundamental duty of a board is to maintain the common areas. Collecting sufficient assessments to carry out that duty is required by statute. Civil Code §1366(a) Deferring maintenance for the wrong reasons can be a serious breach of the board's fiduciary duties.
Improper Deferrals. Deferring maintenance to avoid spending money or raising dues is harmful to the membership because it (i) exposes the Association to litigation and potential liability for damage caused by the deferrals, (ii) lowers property values, and (iii) increases the cost of the eventual repairs (which can result in huge special assessments). In addition, it may
expose directors to claims of gross negligence, breach of CC&Rs, breach of statute (Civil Code §1364(a)), and breach of fiduciary duties. Under those conditions, the business judgment rule will probably not protect the directors from personal liability.
Proper Deferrals. Planned short deferrals to (i) raise funds for making repairs or (ii) stagger repairs for scheduling purposes are considered acceptable business practices. Even so, boards must take care to protect members from any damage that might be caused by the delays.
Insurance. Boards who ignore their duties hoping to shift repair costs to the Association's insurance company are in serious breach of their duties. Insurance companies will not pay for deferred maintenance. The purpose of insurance is to pay for unexpected catastrophic losses, such as fires, storms, floods, etc. Board members who think they can get a free ride by dumping their deferred maintenance on an insurance carrier are incredibly misguided.
Info for Members
Control Noxious Weeds
What is a noxious weed: A weed is designated noxious when it is considered by a governmental agency to be injurious to public health, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, or property. Some general characteristics of noxious weed are their ability to spread rapidly, reproduce in high numbers, and crowd out native plants. Noxious weeds also tend to be very difficult to control.
Noxious weeds can be annuals, completing their life cycle in one growing season, or perennials, having a life cycle spanning more than one growing season. Most noxious weeds were originally from other countries. Many arrived in shipments of desirable seeds, in the ballast of sailing ships, or were introduced intentionally as garden plants. Noxious weeds thrive in disturbed areas like roadsides, building sites, maintenance areas, irrigation ditches, dirt parking areas, trails, and campgrounds. Once noxious weeds gain a foothold, they can increase water and wind erosion, alter nutrient cycling, destroy wildlife habitat, reduce the usefulness of recreation areas, and decrease agricultural productivity.
The purpose here is to identify the most common weeds homeowners might encounter but be aware that the chief danger remains in the annual grasses that appear in spring. These grasses, chiefly wild oats, quickly die back and become a fire danger.
The Wild Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca), pictured below, is noxious weed spreading through out our area. Found in disturbed areas, this is highly invasive perennial weed, is also quite toxic and takes water out of the ground and from your landscaping. It is usually spindly in appearance with bright yellow elongated flowers. For more information on noxious weeds go to the following website:
http://www.ocagcomm.com/va_common_weeds.asp
Erosion Control
During the coming rainy season endanagered plants such as Oak trees, natrual water ways, roadways, homes and properties downhill from land that have been or is being scraped or graded are in danger of mudslides and silt runoff.
Stormwater management and erosion control must be employed on these properties to stabilize the hills. Reclamation by hydroseeding, hydromulching, and drill seeding works on revegetation of hillsides that have been striped of plant growth. Some of the other methods also employed are erosion control blankets and silt fencing along with many other products.
Dust control is also becoming a larger issue in the United States, especially in the desert, but it’s an increasing concern along the West Coast as well. The EPA is implementing more stringent regulations regarding the fine, dry dust in the air that comes from the scraping/grading of properties and construction sites.
Hydroseeding products are getting more sophisticated, cost-effective, and durable. Some of the new products include improved mulches and BFMs, and Profile Product’s FGM (flexible growth medium), Flexterra, which begins to control erosion while it is still drying and curing.
When controling erosion hydroseeding or by hand planting/seeding of hillsides use plants that were/are native to our area and that are drought resistance. Another concern when replanting is the avaibilty of water to the property. Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) has put in a water system to service our area but if you do not have a water meter and drip lines/sprinklers to get the plants established, they will die and your time and money will have done no good. You have already paid for a water meter so to get a meter, mark the spot that you want the meter installed and call EMWD. Remember that EMWD water pipes do not go everywhere but they do service all properties in our HOA, so when you mark where you want the meter make sure that there is a water pipe in the ground for EMWD to connect the meter to.
Power Outage Info
Generator Safety During A Power Outage
Even though the electric lines in our HOA are underground we still have power outages. Some of our home owners have, or are thinking of installing, generators in case of an outage. Here are some of the things you should be aware of.
Report a Power Outage
If your electricity stays off for longer than a few minutes, call 800-611-1911.
Powering up for safety
Make sure a generator is rated for more than the amount of power that you think you will need. Look at the labels on lighting, appliances, and equipment you plan to connect to the generator to determine the amount of power that will be needed. This is best determined by an electrician.
Safe Portable Generator Hook-up
Connecting a portable generator to your home’s electrical wiring is dangerous and can cause serious injuries or electrocution. Do not hook up a generator directly into an electrical panel. The safe way is to connect the electrical equipment to a portable generator using a properly sized extension cord.
If your needs require a generator to be wired directly to your home, California state law mandates that you notify SCE. We also recommend that you enlist the service of a qualified electrician to perform the task.
For more information, please call (800) 611-1911.
