It’s been an exciting and hot summer here in SunBird with temperatures reaching around 115 degrees.
A meteor shot very low across the sky just over Arizona the early morning hours (4:00 a.m.) on Thursday, June 2 causing a flash of lights and a sonic boom that was heard and felt at SunBird. SunBird maintenance workers at the Clubhouse surprisingly saw the flashes of light and heard the boom. The meteor was reportedly traveling a speed of 45,000 mph and crashed somewhere north of the Phoenix area in the desert.
Home sales in SunBird have been even hotter than the weather. In the month of April alone SunBird had 24 home sales. As of the end of May SunBird has had 71 home sales with an annual amount originally projected for 110. Last year the total number of SunBird home sales was 135. At this rate we could surpass that number which is the highest home sales in over ten years. Not only are home sales up but many have reported the homes are continuing to appreciate in value.
Road Work of replacing the entire asphalt in SunBird Units Three and Five have been completed and on time with over 3,400 tons of new asphalt replaced on the roadways. This work was totally completed within three days. Large equipment, trucks and workers were working non-stop in the hot weather to complete the job. We appreciate your patience during these road closures and detours. Most major cracks on the 1700–1900 block of Palm Beach Drive were cut out and repaired. The roads in Units 11, 12 and 15 had crack sealing and seal coating work completed for routine maintenance. Routine road work and maintenance is important to maintaining and extending the life of roads in SunBird.
Clubhouse maintenance and improvement work has been ongoing with power washing patios and decks, painting railings and stairways, painting some of the Clubhouse rooms, additional chairs for the Ballroom received, a new SunBird sign on Hunt and Cooper is under construction, and a hand rail installed at front walk to the main entrance.
2017 budget process is underway. In May SunBird managers and department heads met with the Board of Directors to discuss current operations and any requests for changes for the upcoming fiscal year. A first draft budget will be developed and submitted to the SunBird Finance Committee for review and comment. After committee review the second draft budget will be submitted to the Board of Directors for their review and comment for the development of the final draft. At the October Board of Director business meeting, the final draft should be ready for approval.
The Reserve Study will also be updated this summer to reflect the projections and budget of major replacement items and repairs. This study lists SunBird’s large assets and projects the life of each and a savings amount that is appropriate for each year to be able to have funds available to replace/repair these items. The reserve study projection is for 20 years to the year 2037 and is an important tool for SunBird’s financial planning.
SunBird Patrol truck has been recently replaced with an electric/gas vehicle that runs first off strictly electricity for the first 35–40 miles. After the battery charge is ending a gas generator starts automatically in the vehicle to maintain a charge with the battery to keep the car in operation. The Patrol car battery will be charged each night with electric charging station that will provide power for the following day. This will help in saving gas expense monthly to operate the vehicle.
We appreciate all our SunBird employees and hired contractors who work outside this time of year and are exposed to these extreme hot temperatures. Even though it’s hot the work goes on to keep improving SunBird as a great place to be.