IPCCA Board of Directors – January 2022 Report
Lake Projects
The first lake rebuild, “Fields 3,” is finished. It was a complex project and required teamwork between many people – the Lake Committee, the engineer/project manager, lake builder, electrician, plumber, and landscaper, to name a few. Thank you, Shelly, for your work on coordinating this effort. With the installation of more energy efficient pumps and improved water flow, we have reduced utility and maintenance costs. Visibility, access, and general aesthetics have been improved. The changes will allow us to identify the source of any future leaks or other problems more quickly. I believe we should all be happy with the results. There is a drone video about the new Fields 3 lake on our website – I urge all of you to look at it.
The next projects are the Reflections Lake, off Sherman Drive, and the Royal Vista Lake, off Heifetz, both of which are in progress. The lake part of Reflections is finished and landscaping, irrigation & lighting is starting soon. We hope that it can be completed by the middle of March. There have been delays due to covid, workers and manufacturers. These two lakes have been more challenging on those fronts then Fields 3 was, unfortunately.
The Royal Vista Pond should be finished by the end February and will be followed by the landscaping, irrigation & lighting. The plan for both lakes is to reduce lawn surface area and replace that with desert scape or increased water feature area. We hope to start work on the Enchantment Lakes off Heston & Scenic in 2023.
The order of refurbishing our lakes was determined by the level of problems with each lake – leaky liners, inefficient pumps, electrical issues, poor water flow design, etc. This analysis was done by professional consultants as part of the construction defect lawsuit we brought against the developers in 2013. We prevailed in that litigation and received settlement funds netting the HOA about $600,000 after legal costs. Please see an excellent report on the Where and Why for the rebuilding of our lakes on our website, ipcca-hoa.com, written by Ms. Stern on March 16, 2021. You will find it under Documents.
Nightly Patrol
We increased our security patrol to enforce overnight street parking rules and monitor security within IPCCA, including added security for all our pools during summer weekends as well as during the music festivals. We extended the duties of the patrol officers to include noting other rules violations (noise, visible trash, etc.). Patrols are not scheduled 24/7 but are done during the times we feel are most effective. For obvious reasons, we change the patrol schedule from time to time and do not publish this schedule. Our security people may be able to assist with certain problems if they are on site, but please remember that they are not policemen and, if the situation requires it, you need to call the police or 911. Patrol Masters can be reached at 877-648-0602. We have also opened a dialog with IPCA about our mutual security and safety interests within Indian Palms and hope to work with them in the future.
Lifestyle Center (LSC)
Adding a bathroom in the LSC pool area had to be postponed because of difficulty in procuring building materials as well as drastic increases in the cost of these materials. We hope to resume this project in the fall of 2022. The upgrading and refreshing of the gym interior and replacing of equipment is finished. The interior of the gym has been painted and the flooring has been replaced.
The golf cart parking area around the pool area should be redone shortly. The DG was not satisfactory, and dirt and sand were tracked inside the pool area. The new parking area may be stamped concrete soon once the board negotiates a contract.
Ongoing COVID restrictions made it difficult to access all the LSC in the usual manner. We have tried to implement health protection wherever and whenever possible and want to thank all of you for your compliance and patience. Mark Gallegos is the new manager at the LSC. Shelly Ruegsegger (sruegsegger@ppminternet.com) and Nick Evans (nevans@ppminternet.com) are IPCCA’s Community Manager and Assistant Community Manager and are also active in LSC management. Shelly oversees the entire center and the gym staff. If you see an issues, feel free to contact either of them.
We have contacted HOA #1 to inquire about buying the southern half of their parking lot. We currently rent that from them to provide parking for LSC members and staff. The LSC is land locked, with no direct access to Indian Palms roads. We hope to permanently gain this access through this purchase. We will advise when we have more information on this.
Landscaping
The new desert scape at the interior 50th gate area is finished. We kept all the trees, filled the strip and both sides with different size boulders, rocks and DG, and added colorful plants. Water consumption for irrigation has been reduced and the City of Indio will give us a rebate for reduction in lawn area. We remain committed to being good environmental stewards for our community.
The Beatty Retention Basin has been improved. Pony walls and new plants have been added to the desert scape for more safety and appeal.
IPCA has purchased the gate house from the Resort and is now taking care of the entrance area, including the center strip on Country Club Drive and the perimeter between the entry and Ave 48. This was formerly the responsibility of the Resort, and many problems were experienced. It looks great so far, kudos to the IPCA Board.
Golf Course
There have been many complaints by our residents about the condition of certain areas of the golf course. Related correspondence has been forwarded to the resort owner and manager and to the City of Indio Manager. The main thing the city can do is to have Code Enforcement check out possible violations. Their number is 760-391-4123, and City residents can report possible violations directly if they wish. General issues not related to the Code are “neighbor to neighbor” problems and need to be handled privately by the people involved. The HOA tries to facilitate constructive resolution of problems between residents and the Resort, but we are limited in our standing to act on behalf of individual residents. Email for the golf course GM is charlie@indianpalms.com
Short Term Rentals (STR)
The City of Indio has published its new city ordinance on STRs. Additional help will be hired to assist with enforcement. The city will require that landlords have the proper licenses and respond to violations with strong fines and potential revocation of STR licenses. Our own guidelines and rules for the STRs are in the works and will be sent to you shortly for your comments. Ms. Stern expounded on the STRs on 10/6/2021 and Mr. Cutugno on 8/10/2021 in the monthly President’s Report section of the website. The emphasis will be on being a good neighbor and renters needing to realize they are living in a residential area and not in a commercial hotel complex. Please call the city hotline 760-541-4222 to report problems. The city’s ability to enforce the STR regulations is helped by any documentation you can provide about violations – much better to avoid “he said, she said” situations and provide objective evidence of what happened. You can also call Patrol Masters and 911, if necessary.
Financials
IPCCA is in a good financial position with almost 100 percent of required reserves. Our goal is to keep dues as low as possible while spending HOA funds wisely on needed maintenance and improvements for the benefit of all our home owners.
Annual Member Meeting and Delegate Meeting
Keep an eye out for the annual meeting packet and please vote in our election. The next meeting is on March 29, 2022. The ballot package will be sent out no later then February 28. The board may have a candidates’ forum before the next meeting on February 15, at 4:00pm via Zoom. Check the website for details.
Elke Botta, Vice President
For the IPCCA Board