MesquiteOwners.com has endorsed Enrico Pietropaolo for the Board of Directors of the Mesquite Country Club.

The election is to be held Saturday February 28th at 9:00 AM at the clubhouse. You may vote by mail or in person.

We also suggest that owners vote BOTH of their votes for Mr. Pietropaolo to help insure that he is elected.

Mr. Pietropaolo, who likes to be called "Rico", has run on a platform of openness and accountability. He wants the Board to open up its books and meetings again, make better use of the internet, and opposes the proposed $2 million dollar special assessment that is reportedly going to be sent to owners for consideration shortly after the election.

Mr. Pietropaolo is the only NON-BOARD member running in this election. We believe Rico deserves an opportunity --and we also believe that the Board deserves a wake-up call.

If you are undecided or have already voted and would like to CHANGE your vote we strongly recommend that you read the next 2 stories that are posted on this web site-- the letter from owner Mel Covetta explaining why he is voting for Rico, and the letter from Rico detailing what he would like to do at Mesquite if he is elected.

Remember, you can change your vote now , or anytime up to the time of the election. MesquiteOwners recently sent out a pre-marked ballot for Rico which you can return today in the pre-addressed envelope. Or you can complete the ballot supplied by the HOA. We suggest that you follow the instructions below to make sure that your ballot is counted:

1. ON THE BALLOT PAGE... mark "2" in front of Rico's name-- for 2 votes per unit owned.

2. Mark an "X” below his name in front of "Vote as Proxyholder deems advisable."

3. ON THE PROXY PAGE... Mark "X" on the blank line and write in the name "Enrico Pietropaolo" above where it says "Another person or member of the association."

4. Mark "X" in the space before "This proxy is to be voted according to the attached proxy ballot."

5. Sign your name, date, and phase/unit number.

6. Send in the ballot today to: MesquiteOwners.com, 1775 East Palm Canyon, #H, PMV#226, Palm Springs,CA 92264

If you mark you ballot this way and send it to our address we will count it before it is forwarded to the HOA. This proxy will also give Rico the chance to represent you on issues that may also come up at the annual meeting, including the special assessment, which he opposes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Special Assessment

The current Board of Directors has approved putting a special assessment charge of over $2 million dollars this year before owners for repairs and maintenance at Mesquite. We understand that this measure will come to owners shortly after the Annual Meeting.

We do not know at this time if it will be presented as a straight vote of "yes" or "no". However, we strongly suggest that it be done this way, rather than as an option given to owners to either pay for this by increasing the monthly dues or paying this amount by separate payments. We suggest that you make this crystal clear to the HOA and Board NOW if you do not plan to attend the Annual Meeting, or to do in person during the meeting itself if you wish to have a “yes or no” vote on this issue.

We do not know if the buildings at Mesquite are in immediate need of painting. We also don't know if the road repairs and other work must be done this year.

However, we do know that the special maintenance fund set up to cover repairs such as this has now been drained by nearly 90% of the money that should be in it. We know this because that is the current Board's own estimate.

We believe that the current Board owes all owners a better explanation than to just blame previous Boards for this shortage -- especially since one member of the current Board has been a director here for more than a decade.

Rico as a candidate says we should determine what needs to be done and save up our money for that work in the future. Not all of the buildings at Mesquite were built at the same time and they may not all need to be painted at once. We should also be more diligent about how we spend our money. After all, $90,000 in legal fees and $10,000 for golf carts can buy a lot of paint!

What we do know is that it is much easier to just send out a bill to owners for $3700 than it is to make hard and prudent decisions on how best to spend our money.

One decision that is not hard, however, is our recommendation to you: Vote 2 votes for Rico, and vote "No" now on the special assessment.

###