Dear Fellow Mesquite Owners,

About the only thing hotter than the weather in Palm Springs this summer has been the continued debate about whether or not to spend our money to paint the condo buildings at Mesquite CC.

We have purposely decided to stay out of this dispute until now. We have felt, rightly or not, that the newly elected Board of Directors -- all 3 of whom we endorsed and supported by the way -- should be given an opportunity to decide this issue prudently without any outside pressure.

However, the Board's recent decision to paint the stucco of the buildings rather than clean or use a long-lasting process like Texcoating will be this Board's legacy. And it is a legacy that we believe will require us as owners to set aside nearly $100,000 each year to repaint in what is normally a 5-10 year painting cycle. 

Before that process begins I believe everyone should know of and the majority agree upon the consequences of this decision to paint.

For those of you with faltering memories, such as myself, or for you new owners let me refresh you on the history of this project. Back in November of 2003 the old Board of Directors included in their 2004 Budget Packet a calculation of a $2,200,000.00 special assessment for Mesquite Owners to repair streets, paint the buildings and otherwise help build up the Reserve Fund that had dwindled down to nearly nothing (less than 90% of what even that Board said It should be) under their and other prior Board's watch. 

We opposed this assessment, which would have cost about $3,666.00 per owner, and we made other owner aware of their proposal (see article "$2 Million Assessment Coming to Mesquite" on our web site.... www.mesquiteowners.com  ).

That plan and a subsequent assessment proposal were defeated or derailed by owners until the old Board, as one of their final acts, gave us a choice to pay a modified special assessment this year by increased dues or a flat fee. Owner's chose the flat fee as the lesser of the 2 evils.

As things progressed under the old Board, a Painting Committee was set up, and a majority of the original members voted to clean not paint. Cleaning would be much cheaper they said, may work just as well, and would not require a continuous cycle of expense as would painting. Anyone who owns a house knows if you don't repaint it every 5-10 years it will start to look pretty bad, whereas stucco can last for 50-100 years if property cleaned and maintained. What you see now at Mesquite is a series of buildings that have literally been neglected for the past 20-25 years -- and they still look pretty good. Nevertheless, most of us would agree they will still need attention of some sort in the future to maintain quality standards.

However, several weeks ago the new Board, through the recommendation of President David Krubinski, voted to start painting the buildings at Mesquite.

Many of us would not have a condo at Mesquite if we continued to spend our money as fast as we made it, or worse yet, had to keep borrowing money to pay our everyday bills. But that is what we are doing when we continue to require special assessments to pay for the funding of projects like painting or building repair that should have been budgeted and funded many years ago.

We would like to see Mesquite finally on solid financial footing before we take on another continuing expense like painting that we believe will cost us @ $100,000 a year -- regardless of what the Board is going to tell you. You can do the math with the increased cost over time in labor and inflation. Also remember, as our complex continues to age we will have additional accelerated expenses over time.

We believe that the road and parking areas are a greater priority now than the painting, and that this assessment money should be shifted to repair these areas -- even if it requires a special vote to do so. If there is money left over let's put it in the bank and build up the Reserves. We would also like to see a fair test given to cleaning the units rather than painting. If successful, that may well alleviate the need for special assessments for many years to come.

Painting the buildings now however will only insure the need for higher dues or more assessments in the future. That is only common sense.

It is your money. Let the Board know how you feel one way or the other now. Once the painting starts we are locked in to those costs.

You can email your directive to the Board today at MCCHOA@gte.net  , copy it to us at mesquiteowners@aol.com  , and/ or post your thoughts on the web site at: http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/mesquite/vpost?id=561859  
on our website link www.mesquiteowners.com  

The Board will tell you that 2 separately elected Boards have voted to paint, and that this is what you have elected them to do -- make decisions.

However, it is your money that will pay for those decisions, and our Board's have an extensive history of making decisions that were not in our best interests. That is why it is not wise to give this Board or any Board a blank check with our money.

What do you think? What do you want them to do?

That is what you need to tell the Board today.

Cordially,

Tim Gaffney
www.mesquiteowners.com