THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF PAPER BALLOTS NOT BEING DELIVERED. IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR PAPER BALLOT OR KNOW SOMEONE THAT HAS NOT RECEIVED THEIR BALLOT CONTACT BLAKE OR GO TO THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING AND REQUEST ONE. SOME OF OUR RESIDENTS DO NOT GET EMAIL OR HAVE THE ABILITY TO VOTE ELECTRONICALLY. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE THAT THIS WOULD APPLY TO, PLEASE REACH OUT TO THEM AND MAKE SURE THEY HAVE RECIEVED THEIR PAPER BALLOT.

The first step needed for any proposed development is to meet with one of the planners at the City of Mesa. No one in FOS has approached the City of Mesa Planning Department on the new proposed activity center or on remodeling the existing activity center.

After meeting with the City planner a preliminary Design Review needs to be submitted. This will result in changes to the building, the parking, and the landscaping.

The next step in the process is a full planning and zoning review where all of the submitted documents are distributed to the different City departments for review. This will result in more changes to the building, landscaping, parking, retention, fire lanes, and solid waste enclosure.

The project then goes to the Design Review Board and a public hearing where additional changes may be required.

Once planning and zoning gives approval for the project the design professionals can then prepare and submit the construction documents to the building department for a building permit. These documents will be required to be changed several times before the permit is issued.

Only after a set of construction documents is approved and a building permit is issued will a building contractor give a guaranteed price for the project. Any estimate before this final issuance of the building permit is just an estimate or guess because of the inevitable design changes to the project.

Every contractor knows that there will be change orders to the construction documents no matter how well they be prepared, and the contractor counts on these changes to increase their profit. This is legal and ethical on the contractor’s part and is part of construction reality.

Originally, we were told the roof desperately needed replacement. Invasive studies of the roof found this not to be true. A General Contractor and Architect in our community have reviewed the building studies you paid to have done and have stated it is not necessary to replace our current building.

As far as necessary repairs for our current center, it should not cost the 2.1 million dollars as stated to repair or take the stated 12 months as roof replacement was included in the estimate provided to the community. It is likely we already have enough savings in our reserves to cover not only necessary repairs but give the building a facelift to make it look modern as was done to our administration building.

It is unnecessary to bring our activity center up to current building code. It is not required by law and none of the houses built in FOS are up to current code. It was up to code at the time it was built and that is all that is required.

The board, while asking you to come up with a $3500 special assessment, has budgeted and approved $134000 for additional bocce courts and $375000 for a restroom and $50000 for a shade structure to support the courts totaling $559000.00 (exact cost TBD as these are budgetary). Any improvement to the community should be postponed until the repairs to our Activity Center are completed as that is the boards PRIMARY responsibility.

The board has already stated they could raise HOA dues by 10% annually and they can do so without a vote. It is very possible they will do this if the project is approved or an additional special assessment would follow as their estimates are not based on approved drawings.

The board has stated a new center would raise your property values. The only way to realize a property value increase, if there actually was one, would be to move out of your home.

YOUR RESPONSIBILTY TO PAY THE HOA IF YOU VOTE YES:

$3500 + ANNUAL HOA DUES + ? (COST OVERRUNS) DUES INCREASE OR FUTURE SPECIAL ASSESSMENT.

EVEN IF YOU CAN AFFORD THE SPECIAL ASSESSMENT, WHAT ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORS THAT CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY? THEY WILL EITHER HAVE TO BORROW, LOSE THEIR HOME OR BEG OTHERS TO PAY FOR THEM.

THE BOARD HAS NO PROOF THAT CONTINUING MAINTENANCE COSTS FOR A REPAIRED BUILDING WOULD BE ANY GREATER THAN MAINTAINING A NEW BUILDING OR THAT A NEW BUILDING WILL LAST ANY LONGER THAN OUR EXSISTING BUILDING WOULD IF WELL MAINTAINED.

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This option was presented to the community in the first Town Hall in January 2023. Please compare to what is currently being presented noting roof replacement has been found to be unnecessary.