As per one of the qualified UCA members, who served on a UCA Irrigation Committee to evaluate the Irrigation System the committee has submitted a detailed report to the current UCA Board on the status of the current irrigation system.
As per the report the current Irrigation System does not need to be replaced. It does need some additional maintenance on “as needed” bases, but to install the new controllers that would automatically determine whether the sprinklers need to be triggered via satellites ... would be very expensive. Since we have people on-site to re-set the controllers during rainy periods, the benefits of an automated system cannot be justified in terms of the additional cost.
General opinion of many home owners is, the current Board Members in favor of replacing the Irrigation System were using that as an excuse to fund the Landscaping Project that would involve replacing up to 40% of the greenbelt grass with low-water-use shrubs.
The scope of irrigation and replacement of Landscape project may cost over mare than a million of dollars, and even with the money currently set aside for the Irrigation Project, it would not be nearly enough. There is almost half a million dollars stashed for this discretionary project, a project of such a wide scope need to be phased in over a longer period of time, perhaps many years. We could expect costs to increase over that period of time which would drive the overall cost of the project even higher. If undertaken, it would require someone with more experience in managing a project of that scope to handle the finances and other aspects.
The home owners believe the Board should not be collecting the increased dues to finance this project and that the benefits of such a project cannot be cost justified.
We need some people on the Board who will act more rationally, and observe caution when spending home owner’s money. UCA is consuming only 3% of Potable water, 97% of water used for irrigation is recycled water.
I hope the home owners will find this information useful in making a decision regarding who to vote for in the UCA Board Election. More follows …
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