Christmas in the heart of Draper

Monday, November 29th
6:30-8:30pm
Draper City Hall

Bring your families for a fun Christmas celebration at Draper City Hall. Visit with Santa Claus and take your own photos. Bring a canned food item to donate to the Utah Food Bank. Everything is free!

• Balloon artists
• Face Painters
• Entertainment
• Free cookies and drink
• Lighting of the Christmas tree.
• Making Christmas ornaments
• Write letters to Santa

SunCrest Events

Community Lifestyle



Creative Candle Making

Information Center

Friday, November 5th

6:30pm

$5.00 per candle

Are you looking for a great inexpensive gift idea for someone on your gift list this holiday season? Creative Candle Making could be your answer! All of the candle making supplies you need to make a unique candle for your unique friend or for your home will be available. Registration for this event is required and ends on Friday, October 29. This activity is open to all ages. Children 10 & under must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited. Be sure to reserve your spot today by registering in person at the SunCrest Information Center (2021 E Village Green Circle).



Annual Food Bank and Humane Society Drive

Information Center

November 15 th – 19th

8:00am-5:00pm daily

The Annual Utah Food Bank and Humane Society Drive is back! There has been such a great response to this program in years past that we are again accepting donations for the Utah Food Bank and the Humane Society. Below are items the Utah Food Bank and Humane Society need.



Hygiene Products

Toothpaste, Bar Soap, Baby Diapers

Canned Products

Peanut Butter, Tuna, Chili, Soup/Stew, Vegetables, Fruit, Beans, Tomato Products, Spaghetti Sauce

Boxed Products

Macaroni & Cheese, Boxed Dinners, Cake Mix

Dry Products

Beans, Pasta, Soup Mix, Rice



Additional needed items: Non-clumping cat litter, paper towels, newspapers, cat and dog food. For a full list of items the Humane Society needs please visit their website at www.utahhumane.org.



Please bring any items you would like to donate to the SunCrest Information Center Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. Take this opportunity to give something back this Holiday season!



Drive-Through for Food

Information Center

Monday, November 15th

8-10am

The SunCrest Management Team invites you to help kick off the community food drive by participating in the community Drive-Trough for Food! Start your day by stopping by the Information Center and donate two or more items listed below to support the Utah Food Bank and Humane Society. In return you will receive breakfast to go. There is no limit to how much you can donate.



Gingerbread Man Decorating Contest!

Information Center

Friday, December 17th

7:00pm

**This is now a FREE Event**
How are your gingerbread man decorating skills? If you think you have what it takes to decorate the best gingerbread man then come show off your skills! We’ll have all that you need to create a masterpiece. Contestants can also bring their homemade creations for judging. Prizes will be awarded at 8:15pm. You also get to keep your creation! Don’t miss this event and sign up early. Register at the SunCrest Information Center no later than December 10th to participate. See you there!



Community Holiday Social

Saturday, December 4

6:00-8:00pm

Free to Attend

‘Tis the season to gather with your neighbors and friends and celebrate the Holiday season. Come out to the SunCrest Information Center and enjoy good food, a live performance from the Young Draper Fiddlers and visit with Santa and his elves. This event is free for all SunCrest residents to attend.

SunCrest Clubhouse update

SunCrest Owners Association has received many inquires concerning the opening of the Community Center. At this time, we feel it important to respond to some commonly asked questions and address a few misconceptions.



Is/was there an agreement between SunCrest Owners Association and the past Developer (SunCrest, LLC) as it pertains to the Community Center?
No. There was never a “contract” or “agreement” between SunCrest, LLC, and the Owners Association that involved the Community Center. There was a proposal that detailed items that needed to be purchased and amenities that required support before the Community Center could open. However, nothing came of this proposal due to the bankruptcy of SunCrest LLC.



I understand Salt Lake County or Draper City would like to take over the Community Center. Is this true?
Salt Lake County has never offered or shown interest in taking over the facility. Moreover, Draper City has withdrawn its interest to run or operate the facility. Therefore, Zions Bank, who assumed the assets (and responsibilities) at SunCrest following SunCrest, LLC’s bankruptcy, decided the Community Center will be conveyed to the Owners Association.



How much would fees increase if the Community Center was operated by the Owners Association?
At the September 21, 2010 Board of Trustees’ meeting, the Board approved the 2011 Master Association Budget, wherein the 2011 Assessments remain at the current rate of $98.00 per month. This budget did not, however, include any costs associated with operations of the Community Center. As it currently stands, the monthly assessment is estimated to increase $37.00 per month.

In light of the recent announcement by the Zions Bank to turnover of the Community Center to the Owners Association, CCMC and the Association’s Budget & Finance Committee are working diligently on an amended 2011 budget that includes all anticipated costs for the Community Center. The Budget & Finance Committee is comprised of SunCrest residents (Gary Bromley, Amy Baird and Doyle Judd). As soon as this process is complete and reviewed by the Budget & Finance Committee, it will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval. All Association Members will be notified in writing of the amended budget and the revised monthly Assessment prior to any chance taking effect. There will also be a Towne Hall Meeting in January 2011 to discuss the budget and answer questions.



Why we have the SunCrest Owners Association?
Owners Associations are formal legal entities created by Developers to uphold high standards for the community and have the ability to care and maintain the following:

· Establish and collect maintenance fees needed to run neighborhood operations

· Maintain community landscaping

· Maintain recreational facilities

· Provide space for events or neighborhood functions.

· Arrange for street maintenance

· Enforce deed restrictions including, but not limited to, exterior home maintenance, commercial use of properties, control of trash and blight.

Owners Association also protect the value of their homes and neighborhoods. We do this by keeping the area looking attractive and maintained. The OA also insures builders/owners do not do anything wild, like painting their house pink, parking a truck on their front lawn, leaving dismantled vehicles in the street, or using their driveway as a garbage dump. OA’s are established to ensure that Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&R’s) are adhered to in order to maintain the quality and value of the properties involved.

There is the misconception that the Owners Association is “no longer valid” when SunCrest LLC, filed and its debts were discharged by the bankruptcy court. SunCrest LLC’s bankruptcy complicated the business of the Owners Association, but it did not affect or invalidate its purpose. SunCrest LLC, and the SunCrest Owners Association are/were separate and distinct companies. SunCrest LLC, was a for-profit development company, that recorded the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Easements and Restrictions for SunCrest, A Planned Community (the “CC&Rs”), against the title of each Lot and Parcel in the SunCrest Community.

The SunCrest Owners Association, Inc., on the other hand, is a non-profit company, formed for the purpose of enforcing the CC&Rs and the obligations and restrictions contained in the Association’s other governing documents, i.e. the Bylaws, Design Guidelines, Rules and Regulations, etc. These governing documents, by their own terms, “run with the land”. Therefore, in order to terminate the Owners Association before the term of the CC&Rs expire (earliest date December 2049), a vote of the Members must take place. Please see below the verbiage from the SunCrest OA CC&R’s:

Article XVIII of the CC&RS, Section 18.1 Term: Method of Termination: “The Declaration may be terminated at any time if eighty percent (80%) of the votes of the Members shall be cast in favor of termination at an election held for such purpose. Anything in the foregoing to the contrary notwithstanding, no vote to terminate (or amend as provided in Section 18.2) this Declaration shall be effective unless and until written consent to such termination or amendment has been obtained, with a period from six (6) months prior to such vote to six (6) months after such vote, from Eligible Mortgagees on fifty-one percent (51%) of the Lots and Parcels upon which there are such Eligible Mortgages.”



Is this true that our property taxes are paying for services we receive at SunCrest and the property management company is only providing limited cable and internet?


The property taxes that Members pay finance certain services that Draper City provides. This includes, but no limited to: police, fire, streets and code enforcement. However, these property taxes do not pay for many of the services that Members enjoy at SunCrest, i.e. maintenance of the Common Areas and Open Space, Swale Inspections, Christmas Lighting, Billing, Accounting, Collections, CC&R Enforcement and Special Events (Movies, Easter Egg Hunt, Trunk-or-Treat, etc.)



Furthermore, there are times that the SunCrest Owners Association enlists the help of Draper City in terms of Code Enforcement of City ordinances and animal control. When the Association suspects there is a violation of a Draper City Ordinance, the Association notifies the City of these concerns and requests code enforcement officers to investigate. However, SunCrest Owners Association cannot depend on the City to enforce its CC&Rs, Design Guidelines and Rules and Regulations, as Draper City has no authority to enforce these documents. The SunCrest Owners Association has more stringent rules on a wide variety of categories than those included in the city ordinances, e.g. incomplete landscaping, garbage cans, fences, chain link, debris, improvements, machinery, signage, trailers, campers, boats, parking, window coverings, drainage swales, lighting, poles, businesses, etc. Accordingly, the Association relies upon CCMC to notify Members of alleged violations, provide incentives to comply and exercise all available enforcement powers if Members fail to cure violations.



If you have any further questions, please contact Tod Bean at tbean@ccmcnet.com.

Halloween

Many of you are trying to figure out which day to send the kids Trick or Treating. Usually in Utah when Halloween falls on a Sunday the kids go out on Saturday night.

Need your sprinklers blown out

For about $50 a home Gary at Water Works Sprinkling will blow out your sprinklers for the winter. Phone# 801-520-2090

Upcoming Events in SunCrest

SunCrest Night Out Against Crime

Information Center (2021 E Village Green Circle)
Tuesday, October 12
7:00pm
Free to attend
Would you like to learn more about how to prevent crime in the SunCrest community? Join your neighbors at the Night Out Against Crime. SunCrest resident and Corporate Security Consultant, George Dew (see his bio below), will be giving a 30 minute presentation on ways to secure your home with inexpensive and effective techniques. Draper City Crime Prevention Specialist Gary Howell will also be in attendance offering information and tips on how to organize neighborhood watch programs. Mark your calendars and be sure to attend this educational evening. Refreshments will be served.
About George Dew

George Dew graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder with a BA in biochemistry. Following graduation, he served six years as a Navy SEAL at SDV Team ONE in Coronado, California, and SEAL Team FOUR in Little Creek, Virginia. After his Navy service, he received an MBA from Georgetown University, and then went to work in corporate finance on Wall Street. Shortly thereafter, he left Wall Street to serve as an operations officer in the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1998, he joined the Ackerman Group, a corporate security company specializing in negotiating kidnap & ransom cases, resolving extortions, death threats, providing executive protection, and assisting in physical security issues. He speaks Spanish, some French and Cantonese.



SunCrest Spooktacular!

Information Center
Saturday, October 23
2:00pm
Free to attend
Dress in your costume and come out and celebrate Halloween the SunCrest way! This event will kick off with Trunk-or-Treating in the Community Center parking lot at 2:00pm. If you would like to decorate your trunk and hand out candy for the Trunk-or-Treat, please be set up in the Community Center parking lot by 1:50pm. Following the Trunk-or-Treat at 2:30pm in the Information Center tasty cookies and punch will be served and magician Paul Brewer will perform a fantastic magic show with a live rabbit! Paul has been performing magic and entertaining audiences for 30 years. To learn more about Paul and his magic show please visit his website at www.utahmagic.com. Don’t miss this spooktacular event!



SunCrest Writers Club

Do you enjoy writing and have an interest in learning more about it? Join resident Jason Koop and others in the community and learn the benefits of writing and develop a great talent! For information and to join this club, please contact Jason Koop at jwkoop@gmail.com.

Draper PD Remind us to Secure Valuables and Lock Garages

Hello DeLaina,

I hope this e-mail finds you well. Since you are still involved with the HOA up there could you share this information with residents? We have had several incidents in Suncrest recently where suspects have stolen valuables left in front yards or in unsecured garages. We have increased our patrols of Suncrest, but would like to remind people to secure their homes, cars, and items. I would like to also like them to remember to remove valuables from vehicles parked outside.
This would help us a ton.

Thanks and take care,
Pat


Sgt. J. Patrick Evans
Draper City Police Department
pat.evans@draper.ut.us
(801)576-6576 Office

SunCrest OA board meeting

Here are some unofficial meeting minutes:

-We are getting the clubhouse. Zions is working on getting the occupancy permit with the city. We should have the club house within the next couple of months.
-We are getting the club house unfurnished. There is a kitchen with refrigerators, counters, and sinks. But that is it. It isn't approved for a grill. There is a workout room that has almost all the equipment except for items likes treadmill, StairMaster, bike, etc. Also a few tables and chairs.
-The OA has money set aside that can be used to furnish the club house so we can at least use it and move the management company in there.
-There will be an HOA increase in dues to cover the club house. It may be around $35 extra a month. This will still need to be discussed.

-We also get the Pool! It was cleaned and filled so it could pass inspection, which it did. By the time we get the club house we won't be able to use it until next summer.

-The roads in Eagle Crest should be finished in about a week. They will finish it with a final coat of slurry seal. Zions is working to finish all roads but SunCrest drive to try and get them turned over to the city.

-Developer? Nope lots of interest but no offers in the works. Zions said because of the economy it may be awhile. Now the city says a developer is interested that they are working with but Zions said no has made any offers to them?

-There is no one interested in the SunCrest market at this time.

-Does anyone have information about a helicopter that landed on property on Falcon Ridge last night and took off at 7am this morning. Let the SunCrest office know.

Amy Baird

SunCrest OA Board meeting

SunCrest OA board meeting on September 21st at 6pm. Located at the SunCrest Information center. Public comments can be made at beginning of meeting.

Don't worry if you can't attend I will update the blog. I can't wait to hear if we get a clubhouse!

Draper City Youth Council Open Enrollment

Deadline to apply: September 29th
Qualifications:
Must be a Draper City resident.
Must be a sophomore or Junior in High School (doesn't matter what school)
Must hold a 2.5 GPA or better
Must be able to meet from 5:30-7:00pm on first and third Tuesdays of the month.

The Draper Youth Council provides an opportunity for the youth of Draper to be involved in their community through service, events, and political experiences.

For more information email Amy Baird at amyemail@aol.com or check the Draper City website.

We are also looking for Youth Council Advisors.

TRSSD tax rate approval

Draper City is holding a meeting on September 21st at 8:30pm at city hall chambers to adopt a revised property tax rate for Traverse Ridge Special Services District.

The City will be holding a TRSSD meeting to adopt a revised property tax rate. This is the rate the Utah State Tax Commission has certified as the equalized tax rate for the District which means it is a weighted average of the two counties certified tax rates. The word ‘certified’ means there was no tax dollar increase, but due to some change in legislation the formula cities have used for years to calculate the tax rate was changed and became much more complicated.

The original tax rate adopted by the City and originally certified by the State was .003263.

The revised tax rate is .003171 and is the rate property owners have received on their tax notices already.

SunCrest Clubhouse?

Have you noticed some road construction in Eagle Crest? Well Zion's Bank hired Utah Homes to do the needed repairs so the city will take over the roads in Eagle Crest. Now its been noticed that they are working on the clubhouse now. The pool is all cleaned out, landscaping going in, and working in the inside. In order for the clubhouse to get its occupancy permit it needed to finish those same things. I haven't heard nor has SunCrest management if Zion's plans to open the Clubhouse. It sure would be nice, but nicer if they did it when we could actually USE the pool. Oh, and Utah homes plans on taking that ugly trailer above the market when they are finished.

Amy Baird

Tunnel under Traverse Ridge?

New information: The tunnel and land acquisition was voted and approved by not only Salt Lake County Council, who funded the money, but Draper Councilmen, Walker, Summerhayes, and Stenquist. Ms. Davis and Mr. Colbert voted against the deal. This was all approved in July 2009. The April 2010 meeting about the tunnel was to vote to ask for grants to cover the cities tunnel expense up to $190,000. No grants have been received as of yet. As for the winter ice build up over the tunnel. I was told that their should be enough utilities and material between the tunnel and road that it wouldn't freeze over like a highway overpass would.

You may have been wondering about all that construction going down the mountain on Traverse Ridge. They are actually building a tunnel for a trail system. Remember last year Salt Lake County helped Draper purchase 141 acres for $2.75 million from South Mountain Developer, Terry Diehl. A condition in the settlement was that Mr. Diehl provide access to link the newly acquired acres called Little Valley for a trail system. Below is the Draper City council minutes from April 20, 2010. There is also a resolution 10-21 talking about the little valley tunnel. It states Draper city will pay up to $190,000 for the tunnel. (If you click on the pictures they become larger) Well sorry I didn't catch this during discussions in April so you could be notified and make your comments to the city council. I guess its the LITTLE VALLEY TUNNEL part that didn't catch my attention. I sure hope they plan on putting some kind of heat tape on the road going over the tunnel, because the wind sure does whip snow through there in the winter. I would think black ice would develop causing major problems for US who have drive down the mountain. I sure hope the deer get some use out of the tunnel instead of crossing the street :-)
Amy Baird

TRSSD Town Hall meeting

There is a notice in one of the Draper Newspapers about a town hall meeting on August 31st for Traverse Ridge Special Services District. This meeting has been canceled and will be scheduled at another time. Hopefully in September. I will notify you as soon as I get a date. If you have any questions about the tax please email us at suncrestresidents@gmail.com. I can find out the answers before the town hall meeting. If your interested on being on a TRSSD advisory committee (if it gets created), please let me know.

Amy Baird
SunCrest Resident

Updates on SunCrest

I met with Draper City today about the TRSSD. Here is some of the information we discussed.

-Town Hall meeting in SunCrest about TRSSD. Waiting on confirmed date in August or September. Worked on an agenda so we could be able to answer all the residents concerns.
-TRSSD Committee. Checking to see if City Council is still interested in forming a committee of residents to do research on items related to TRSSD.
-Roads. I wanted to know status of city taking over Eagle Crest roads and re paving of Deer Ridge.
-Snow Plow services. Will research and discuss pros and cons of outsourcing the snow plowing this winter.

SunCrest Fire Station status: The city can't use the TRSSD funds to pay for any part of the fire station, because its not included in the orginal contract of the TRSSD. The SunCrest residents would have to put it to a vote to add the fire station to the TRSSD.

SunCrest Developers? There are currently two in state developers working with the city on purchasing SunCrest. They have presented development plans and the city is working with these developers to make it happen. So hopefully good news coming in the next few months.

Help needed from Residents: Tell me what questions you have about the TRSSD so I can have the city get answers ahead of time before the town hall meeting. I also want to know the good and bad about snow plowing this past winter. Please tell me if it was the city drivers or Zion's contracted guys. If your not sure, then tell me which road your talking about. This will help on the deciding if we should outsource snow plowing.

Please submit any questions or concerns to suncrestresidents@gmail.com

I will keep you updated as I find things out.....Amy Baird

Covenants Committee

"The Covenants Comittee needs two new members:
The recent departure of two members creates a need for two replacements. What is the Covenant's Comittee? We are the human "face" of the SunCrest Bylaws, Appeals and Adjudication process. We meet once a month, or every other month as required by workload, and listen to resident appeals regarding fines, assessments, or rules. We make recommendations concerning the same, and from time to time, address specific Rules in the SunCrest Rules that can be improved or updated. We are officially empowered by SunCrest Bylaws Section 4.12 as "The hearing Tribunal." We also provide feedback and support for CCMC, our Homeowners Association Administrators.
We generally meet the second Thursday of the month at 4PM.
If you are interested, contact Larry Nilssen at larrynilssen@comcast.net."

TRSSD Budget Approved

Here is my version of Budget Approval meeting at City Hall. I got a chance to speak at the public hearing comments and the city was very accommodating at answering all of my questions.

Amy: I brought up the admin. fee. The cost of $100,000 is excessive and that is about the salary of two full time employees. I understand its a fixed rate of 15% but why not charge it off the actual expenses we incur and not off the revenue. For example this ending fiscal year our expenses were down and we ended up with about an extra $246,000 put into reserves. Why should we have to pay an admin fee to handle the money going into reserves? That would save us about $36,000 if we paid admin fee off the expenses instead of revenue.
City Manager: The percentage is off revenue. Besides you will eventually spend all that money in reserves so it would work the same in the end.
Amy's Thoughts: So we just paid how much in admin fee for the snow blower and stop signs?

Amy: Is is legal that we should be paying benefits to employees that work seasonal for us? (This discussion was answered by several people and I kept saying I understand the salary part, but why should suncrest pay full benefits when those employees work for city too.)
City: Your getting a deal paying for only 3 lower paid salaries. With that comes paying the benefits. We can't just fire and hire people every year. Besides sometimes your getting more help and more experienced and its not always the same people. The salaries equal man hours they put in for SunCrest. So if your paying full time salaries its the law you must pay their benefits too.
Amy's thoughts: I guess what they mean to say is like a school teacher. Paid full time with benefits but gets summer off. Still stupid reasoning because its still only about 30 days out of 365!

Amy: I want verification that the city won't touch our reserve balance and use it toward the SunCrest Fire Station.
City: Right now we don't plan on using it but we haven't really finished discussing the Fire Station issue yet.
City Manager: The reserve funds are to be saved up and used for such things as a salt dome or maintenance facility. If the road issues aren't taken care of it may need to be used to repair some roads. Until we get a new developer up there we don't know how those funds will be spent.
Summerhays: We can use that money for the fire station. I read it in the contract. It states right in the contract we can make you pay for the fire station.
Amy Thoughts: Ah, when is Summerhayes up for re election?

Amy: What happened to the TRSSD committee idea I presented to the council. I have never heard anything else about it. Is that still up for discussion.
Mayor: That really isn't a budget item to talk about.
City Manager: Its still up for discussion as far as I know.

Amy: I want to know if that is a final decision made about the making TRSSD paying for the stop signs? Because those of us that live in SunCrest ALL know those stop signs are there, even in fog. We go through them everyday. Its the non-residents that run the stop signs because they don't see them. So why should SunCrest have to pay for signs that non-residents don't see.
City: Yes, that was decided by unanimous vote by the council to charge the full amount of the signs to the TRSSD. At the time the residents wanted the sign it was said because of fog and weather conditions the sign was needed.
Summerhays: Of course you should pay for the signs. I have lived in high altitudes and even higher than SunCrest. I know what kind of weather you get. Think about that little bit of cost you just paid saved a life.
Amy Thoughs: I think everyone feels the same way as me.

Amy: What happened to the open house you were going to hold for SunCrest residents. Do you still plan on doing this. I can offer my help on planning it.
City: Yes, we still want to do one, maybe in July or August. We just had to get through this budget month.

My comments where finished and Bill Colbert had a comment. He was via phone.
Bill: I think the council should look into privately contracting out the work and see if its cost beneficial.
Summerhays: They already did that once and it didn't work out.
City: It has never been outsource in SunCrest.
Summerhays: Well I mean that Zions contracted it out and we got all kinds of complaints from residents about the crappy work they did and we had to send our guys up to fix it.
Amy Thoughts: Really, hmm, because the city won't set a foot on zions property. Besides it was more like western was plowing the city streets to get through to the ones they had to plow.

TRSSD Budget approval

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 6:50pm (starts Before normal city council meeting)
Draper City Council Chambers

Public Hearing: Consideratoin of Resolution TRSSD No. 10-02, Adopting the Traverse Ridget Special Service District Budget and Certified Tax Rate for Fiscal yar 2010-2011.


Now is the time to show up and voice any concerns you have about the budget. I found out that at the council meeting on June 15th, it was decided by Stenquist, Walker, and Summerhayes to apply all of the $24,000 costs of the Stop signs to TRSSD because of our climate conditions. If we as residents continue to just sit back and not voice our concerns about the TRSSD the council members will just continue to tax us more!

On June 1st, I approached the city council during the public comments and presented again the idea of having a TRSSD committee board. I gave each of the council members a copy of the letter posted below. I am trying my best to get us some representation but I need the help of you, the residents to show the council you want to be involved in this special tax SunCrest residents have to pay each year. Please take 15 minutes of your time Tuesday night to the council members to show you have a voice and care about SunCrest.

Amy Baird


Letter to Draper City Council:

TRSSD Advisory Committee

Purpose of Advisory Committee is to work with the TRSSD Board and the Draper City Finance Director to review the TRSSD budget and the financials. Upon request from the TRSSD Board the Committee will research issues as needed. Research could be done on major purchases of the TRSSD and finding cost effective ways to use the TRSSD funds, such as snow plowing. The Committee will send all their recommendations to the TRSSD Board.

The Committee will have 3 to 5 members. The committee members must reside in the TRSSD district. The Committee members shall be on a volunteer basis. The Committee chair, appointed by the TRSSD board, shall recommend Committee Members. Committee member terms will normally be for one year. Members may serve two or more years based on experience, requirements, as decided by the TRSSD board of Directors. The TRSSD Board of Directors shall approve the Committee annually. The Committee shall serve under the direction of the TRSSD Board of Directors.

The Committee will meet once a month or as often as necessary. A copy of all the Committee Minutes will be sent to the TRSSD Board in a timely manner.


Reasons the Committee would be beneficial to the TRSSD:
• Give SunCrest residents an opportunity to be involved with the TRSSD tax.
• Once the city takes over the rest of the roads in SunCrest the tax could increase.
• Lots of creative and educated residents that could help find a solution to simplifying Danyce’s complicated tracking system of the snow plow drivers. Therefore reducing the administrative costs associated with TRSSD.
• We could find ways to benefit the TRSSD and city. The portable LED light could be rented or the city buys a portion so it can be used in summer months. Rent snow blower in lower draper.
• The city council members would be the main contact to the residents. The committee would just research and advise on budget issues.
• Research what is most cost effective and reliable on snow removal.

Primary Election on Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

UTAH COUNTY:

Utah County SunCrest residents, be sure to vote this Tuesday at Ridgeline Elementary located at the bottom of the south side of the mountain.

Polls are open from 7am to 8pm and don't forget your photo ID or you will have to haul back up the mountain to get it.

6250 W 11800 N Highland, UT 84003

SALT LAKE COUNTY:

SL County SunCrest residents vote at the SunCrest Info Center.

Polls are open 7am and 8pm and don't forget the photo ID. You will be voting for various Primary race candidates and also on the Canyons District Bond.

If you don't know which county you're in, find your polling location here. More questions? Look here.

Most importantly, take the time to exercise your right to vote!

June Calendar for SunCrest

Movies in the Park

Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and join your neighbors and friends at the Village Green Park (2021 E Village Green Circle) for Movies in the Park! Concessions will be available for purchase at both movies. Free to attend!


Friday, June 11 Dusk (9:00-9:15pm)
Monsters Vs. Aliens
When a meteorite from outer space hits a young girl and douses her with the alien liquid Quantonium it turns her into a 48-foot monster. She is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years. This crew of reluctant heroes is asked to save the earth from the evil alien Gallaxhar in this animated comedy.

Friday, June 18 Dusk (9:00-9:15pm)
Back to the Future
1980s teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is transported back in time to 1955 where he accidentally changes the course of history through a series of comic misadventures and finds he must return things to the way they were, back to the future.

Community Garage Sale
Saturday, June 19 8:00am-1:00pm Free to participate
Location: SunCrest Community/Village Green Park 2021 E. Village Green Circle

Time to clean out the closets and get ready for the Community Garage Sale! This year residents can sell their items at the Village Green Park free of charge. This sale is open to the public and selling your items in the Village Green Park makes for convenient one-stop shopping… and may even increase the amount you sell. Each booth is 10’ x 10’ in size. Tables must be provided by the seller. If you are interested in selling at the park, please contact SunCrest Owners Association at cpappas@ccmcnet.com or call us at 801-572-1233. If you would like to sell at your home, directional signs are permitted to be set out the night before and must be cleaned up the following day. The Owners Association will be advertising the sale in the Deseret News, Draper Journal and online to help increase the volume of shoppers. The newspaper ads will run the week before the sale. Big Brothers and Big Sisters will be on site and accepting any items you would like to donate after the sale. Donations can be dropped off at the Community Center parking lot from 12:30-2:00pm. Only gently-used items please. Please be sure donation items are boxed or bagged.



Concert in the ParkFriday, June 25 7:00-9:00pm Free to attend
Location: Village Green Park 2021 E. Village Green Circle

Summer is here and it’s time to come out and enjoy a beautiful summer evening in the Village Green Park watching local SunCrest band Joe Friday perform. Bring a picnic and a neighbor and be sure not to miss out on the first concert of the summer! There will be concession available for purchase.



SunCrest Scene Email Updates

Looking for a way to keep informed on what is happening in SunCrest? Sign up to receive weekly emails from SuCrest Owners Association. This email contains updates on upcoming SunCrest events, Association news and community information. Stay connected and sign up to receive the SunCrest Scene today! Send your email address to Claudia at cpappas@ccmcnet.com.

SunCrest Annual Meeting

Wednesday, June 2
6:00pm
Draper City Council Chambers (1020 E. Pioneer Road, 12400 S.)


Celebrate all things “SunCrest” at this year’s Annual Meeting! Community Manager Tod Bean will review last year’s accomplishments and present this year’s goals. His presentation will include a pictorial history of our community events and gatherings. We will also be electing a new resident Board member to act as the voice of our community for the next two years. To help celebrate, we will be giving away several door prizes and gift certificates to a few lucky winners. Giveaways include donations from Smash Burger, Joy Luck Restaurant, Genie Green Lawn Care, golf passes and much more! We can’t celebrate SunCrest without its members, so mark your calendar and don’t miss this great event!

SunCrest Meet the Candidates Night

Meet the Candidates Night

Wednesday, May 19
6:00pm
SunCrest Information Center (2021 E. Village Green Circle)

Please attend Meet the Candidates Night on Wednesday, May 19th at 6:00 pm at the Information Center. This meeting will be conducted by the Board appointed Nominating Committee to “interview” homeowner board candidates for the open seat. We have four residents running for the one and only SunCrest resident open seat. They are as follows:

W. Robert Lewenkron-Eagle Crest
Amy Baird-The cove at Oak Vista
Gabriella McFarland-Oak Vista
Paul Tonks-Eagle Crest

As this may be the only chance to get to know those interested in running, it is vital that you attend! If you don't know who your voting member is then speak to Tod Bean. Because you will want to tell the voting member representing your vote, who you like or don't like.

TRSSD Advisory Board discussion at Draper City Hall

TRSSD (Traverse Ridge Special Services District)
We need your voices heard at the City Council meeting.

Where: Draper City Hall
When: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Time: 7:45 Citizen Comments can be given. Three minutes per person allowed. (We can ask at this time if public comments can be given during the actual discussion or should we speak now)
Time: 8:45 Discussion: Creation of TRSSD Advisory Board

What we need: Take a few minutes of your time to voice your opinion on why we should have an advisory board made of SunCrest residents or/and a SunCrest resident as a voting member of the TRSSD.

I have included your reading pleasure, the approved and not yet approved city council meeting minutes concerning SunCrest or TRSSD funds. This is word for word out of the meeting minutes I got off the Draper City website. This will give you a general idea of how the city and council members feel about the TRSSD. This is also brings up discussions of the SunCrest fire station and SunCrest road repair.

Sincerely,
Amy Baird
SunCrest resident


April 13, 2010 City Council APPROVED minutes

Amy Baird requested the council consider options for the TRSSD, including an advisory board consisting of Suncrest residents. The council suggested scheduling a council meeting at a Suncrest station.

Layne Long said the proposed budget is the same document as has been considered adopted during the last two years because the budget has been cut to the bare bones. This document will paint the big picture as to the status of the revenue and expenditures. One component is the special services district. He reviewed the history of the Suncrest fire service and said it is the biggest part of the cost to support the development. He reviewed the master development agreement, noting that the additional cost of the services was anticipated from the beginning. According to the assumptions, the cost of the fire station should be supported when Suncrest is built out. Differential costs are to be covered by the special service district until build out. Mr. Long said the assumptions were wrong to begin with. He then reviewed the creation of the special services district. He noted the creation of fire and EMS district had been discussed but that the district was not created. The TRSSD district which was created does not cover costs for fire services.

Mr. Long said Danyce Steck had calculated figures , based on the development agreement, to show the percentage of tax dollars that goes to the fire protection. The calculation is about $.57 per dollar of property tax collected. If that amount were applied toward the special district, it would be $225,703. Subtracting that amount from the cost of operating the fire station at SunCrest, the city is subsidizing $625,00 every year for the operation of the station. Councilmember Colbert noted that property taxes are not the only revenue. Mr. Long said the ratios would be the same. He said that long term, the funds are not available to operate the city even considering the lean operations. He said the council options are to continue on status quo and fund the station with taxpayer dollars or to add fire service to the special service district. Councilmember Colbert said the risk of residential fire is slim during the winter time so there might not be a need for fire personnel, but EMS is necessary. Mr. Long said the council needs to find a way to reduce the costs or everyone else will continue to subsidize it. Mayor Smith disagreed with Councilmember Colbert about the fire risk. Discussion was held about the intent to pay for fire service and the costs and risks of having or not having fire service. Councilmember Summerhays suggested having another meeting with the Suncrest residents. Mr. Long said the city cannot pay for the key infrastructures if they are paying for the fire-fight services. Mr. Long said a short –term solution would be to leave the TRSSD alone, reduce the tax rate so the surplus goes back to the district residents, and explain to the residents to agree to apply the surplus toward cost of the fire station. This would allow time to work out a long-term solution. Discussion was held about the possible reaction of the citizens and the affect of the ISO and homeowner’s insurance ratings.

Mayor Smith asked the councilmember’s to think about other options. Councilmember Summerhays reiterated his desire to meet with Suncrest residents to discuss this. Councilmember Colbert said the residents will feel they are not responsible for this issue. Mr. Long agreed it makes sense to schedule a meeting at the SunCrest Fire station to talk about the problem, the history, and options. Amy Baird said this year was different because Zion’s Bank plowed some of the streets but those residents still paid the same amount. Danyce Steck explained how costs are allocated to TRSSD. She said this is a very burdensome process. Discussion was held about contracting for all the services, particularly snowplowing.

April 20, 2010 City Council UNAPPROVED minutes (draft)

Councilmember Colbert said there is a piece of curb missing on the Long Branch Drive adjacent to Deer Ridge. At the Suncrest meeting there was a lot of concern about safety issues with SunCrest Drive and other roads regarding striping, flags for snow, and basic maintenance. Another issue expressed is a strong support of the establishing a TRSSD advisory board. He said it has been voted down in the past but may need reconsideration. He said he thinks they need 5 members to work with Danyce Steck on the budget process and make recommendations as far as level of service. Councilmember Rappleye said they would become advisors but would not control the tax fund. Council member Colbert said he is supportive of creating such a board. They need information and understanding.

April 27, 2010 City Council APPROVED minutes

Councilmember Colbert asked if an overlay could be done on Deer Ridge Drive and some portions of Lone Peak Parkway. David Decker said we will try to crack seal it, put fabric down, and do an overlay. The possibility of using TRSSD funds for Deer Ridge Drive was presented.

Mayor Smith said there have been discussions in the past about creating this type of board but it has never gone forward. He said the purpose of the board, number of members, liaison from the council and other items need to be discussed. Councilmember Colbert said there are a number of issues that could benefit from citizen input. He felt there should be 5-7 members. The board would need to meet requirements of the Open Meetings Act and hold regular meetings. Councilmember Stenquist asked why this came up. Councilmember Colbert said questions came up during the budget discussion and there was a desire expressed by Suncrest residents expressed at their homeowner meeting to have their voice heard. Councilmember Stenquist said he understands SunCrest is one of the highest taxes areas in Utah. He said we already have a process for getting information and he is hesitant to add a middle layer between the council and the residents. Councilmember Colbert said there is a strong feeling from those residents to get more involved and to alleviate feelings of disconnect for those residents. Councilmember Stenquist expressed concern, noting that community councils were dissolved because those councils became politicized and started to working counter to the city. Councilmember Colbert said he feels this is different because it is a separate taxing entity. Councilmember Rappleye said he feels it would facilitate better decision making if the special needs of residents are discussed. Councilmember Stenquist said other areas may come forward and request a similar committee for their areas. He said the board members should be appointed and bylaws adopted if a board is created. Mayor Smith said the request keeps coming back. This area has additional needs and costs. Councilmember Colbert said the board needs to be TRSSD, not Suncrest. Councilmember Stenquist said he wants to make sure the SunCrest residents feel comfortable coming to the city council as their elected officials. Councilmember Colbert said this item was put on the study meeting agenda to see if there is enough support to move forward with establishing a board. Mayor Smith asked that this be put on the agenda as a discussion item so the full council can take part in the discussion. Doug Ahlstrom said the board would need to be created by ordinance as specified in the city code. Councilmember’s Colbert and Rappleye stated the board would need to be centered around the TRSSD fund balance.

Mr. Long pointed out the bond on the Suncrest fire station has been paid with the Fire Impact Fee fund. After another year, another source will be needed to pay that bond. Councilmember Colbert added that two additional stations will be needed by the time the city is built out.

The TRSSD fund was noted. No capital projects are proposed from this fund at this time. Funding for the salt dome and fire services need to be discussed. Councilmember Summer hays asked for a continuation of the dialogue about the history of the Suncrest development.

May 11, 2010 City council UNAPPROVED minutes (draft)

Councilmember Summerhays reviewed the purpose of the TRSSD. Doug Ahlstrom explained that the council created the district and set themselves up as the administrative control board. The council can create a citizen’s advisory board that has all the power of the board except the power to tax. Mr. Long said the resolutions creating the board specifies the duties of the board and includes “and any other activities of the district.” Mr. Ahlstrom said the law is specific to require advertisement in the Notice of Intent what is being proposed. Only specified activities can be adopted. Councilmember Walker pointed out the TRSSD can pay for all the road problems because transportation includes snow removal, street lighting services , repairing and maintaining roads. Mr. Ahlstrom said everyone is taxed at a certain level, and TRSSD puts in the extra amount. Mr. Long said that is the understanding, but that is not what the resolution says. Councilmember Colbert urged equity. Mr. Ahlstrom agreed with Mr. Long, stating the resolution mimics the notice of intent, which is copied straight out of state law. Mr. Long said from legal point of view, what was adopted is not what had been discussed. Councilmember Colbert said one solution is to have one resident from the district appointed to the TRSSD board as a voting member. That would give representation and gives a voice of the district residents. Councilmember Walker said the council represents everyone in the city. He said the tax rate for the entire city is affected by the district. The district is a neighborhood with significant problems such as the fire station and the roads. Those problems will break the budget for the entire city. He said the budget meetings are open and the city is transparent with the money and its public clamor that some of the district residents don’t trust the council/board. Councilmember Colbert replied the TRSSD is the highest taxed entity in the state, and one vote won’t change anything. Discussion was held about the fire station history and fire protection. Councilmember Walker said the ultimate goal of some TRSSD residents is to eliminate the district. Councilmember Summerhays said he would like to have a meeting at Suncrest to discuss this. Mr. Long said the council needs to resolve in their minds how they want to address this before meeting with residents.

SunCrest Community Clean up day/ Blood Drive

Just a reminder that we need volunteers to help clean up the next Saturday, May 22nd.
8:00-10:00am at Village Green Park

This is a way for the residents to volunteer their time to help clean up after the winter and make SunCrest beautiful again. If we don't get enough volunteers to help then it may have to be contracted out and we can pay for it instead....hmmmm...I am thinking a hour of my time is better than paying for someone else to do it.

We need help painting and repairing bridges, picnic tables and the gazebo in the Village Park Green. The OA will provide all the supplies. It would also be great if you can't attend during that time to just pick up some trash around your neighborhood during the weekend and throw it in the dumpster. Every little bit helps.


Blood Drive
Saturday, May 22nd 9am-1pm. Suncrest Information Center Parking lot
ARUP Blood Services is coming to our community. Call 801-572-1233 or email cpappas@ccmcnet.com to schedule your appointment today. Walk ins are welcome too. This only takes 15 minutes of your time and you could save a life.

Thanks for your support

2011 TRSSD Budget

Here is the tentative budget approved by the Draper City Council last night. The final budget will be approved on June 22, 2010. It looks pretty much the same as last years budget. It states we still have 3 full time salaried snow plow drivers with paid benefits. The line items that say CLOSED mean they aren't be budgeted for anymore. You should be able to click on the picture to view it better. If you want a hard copy then email us or search for it on the Draper City website.

Open Letter to City Council Regarding TRSSD

Paul H. Tonks, Esq.

Eagle Crest Drive, Draper, Utah 84020

May 4, 2010

Re: Traverse Ridge Special Services District

Draper City Council:

Draper City Council has been discussing ideas on how the Council could receive feedback from Draper residents living within the Traverse Ridge Special Services District (“TRSSD”) boundaries, concerning decisions on how to spend TRSSD funds. As a Draper resident living in the TRSSD, I would like you to consider the following:

The Utah Legislature created the Utah Special Service District Act allowing local governmental entities the ability to create a “special service district” for limited purposes. Utah Code Ann. § 17D-1-101. The special service district is a “body corporate and politic with perpetual succession” that is “separate and distinct” from the municipality that creates it. Section 17D-1-103(1)(a). Generally, a special service district is allowed to provide services “that the governing body determines will more effectively carry out the purposes of the special services district.” Section 17D-1–103(2)(q).

Approximately 12 years ago, the Traverse Ridge Special Services District was created through a partnership between the City of Draper and the developer of SunCrest for the purpose of providing a mechanism whereby the property owners within the district could be provided additional city services as necessary to address the special needs of the subdivision because of its elevation in relation to the rest of the city. Since that time, the city has wholly administered the TRSSD. With approximately 1,000 households now living within the TRSSD, this may be a good time for the city to consider other options in how it administers the TRSSD.

When the Utah Legislature created the Utah Special Service District Act, it also provided a system whereby a political subdivision could oversee a special service district and also allow those who reside within the special service district the ability to be involved in the decisions that impact their special service district. TRSSD is governed by the City of Draper, but the Act allows the city to delegate certain rights, powers, or authority to an administrative control board (“Board”). Utah Code Ann. § 17D-1-301(1). The Board may “exercise any right, power, or authority that the legislative body possesses with respect to the governance of the special service district” except for certain delineated powers listed in the Act (annex an area, levy a tax, levy an assessment, etc.). Section 17D-1-302, -303.

The Act provides that the municipal legislative body that creates the Board “may provide for board members to be elected or appointed, or for some members to be elected and some appointed.” Utah Code Ann.. § 17D-1-303(1). The city has discretion on who to appoint to the Board, and for elected members of the Board, they must either be (1) a registered voter within the special service district; or (2) an officer or employee of the municipality that created the special service district. Section 17D-1-304(1)(a).

If one were to inquire of the Draper residents living within the SunCrest subdivision what their greatest concern is regarding the TRSSD, the answer would be that we are concerned about how TRSSD funds are spent. There is a perception by some that TRSSD funds are used for improper purposes. It is obvious that better communication needs to take place between the City of Draper and SunCrest residents, and with a town meeting held in SunCrest last year and another town meeting planned in SunCrest in 2010, the city is making great strides on this issue.

However, I believe the only real solution for the twin problems of mistrust of how TRSSD funds are spent and better communication with SunCrest residents, is to make use of the solution the Utah Legislature has provided in the Special Service District Act: Elect or appoint registered voters living in the TRSSD to serve on the Board.

Currently the TRSSD Board is composed of six individuals: the five members of Draper City Council and the Mayor of Draper. Changing the composition of the Board to include one, three, or even five appointed or elected individuals from the TRSSD would still allow the City of Draper to still have majority control of the Board. But more importantly, such a makeup would allow TRSSD residents to be actively involved in the discussions and actual votes of the Board, giving the SunCrest community a greater voice in how their tax funds are utilized. It is also in line with the basic conservative principle that the closer the government can come to those who are governed, the greater the opportunity for them to direct how they are governed.

As noted previously, it is important to recognize that the Act provides that all rights, powers, and authority for the TRSSD Board are delegated to it from Draper City Council, and Draper City Council must retain certain rights. Further, according to the Act, Draper City Council may “at any time modify, limit, or revoke any right, power, or authority delegated to the administrative control board.” Utah Code § 17D-1-301(4)(a).

Concerning the proposal for a TRSSD advisory board, I agree with several Draper City Councilmen who have opined that the advisory board would have the effect of adding an extra layer of government between SunCrest residents and the City of Draper. Additionally, while having an advisory board is certainly a step closer to having SunCrest residents more involved with the City of Draper, members of the advisory board would only have the ability to “advise” as opposed to actually being able to vote for action items brought before the TRSSD Board.

Accordingly, please consider this proposal to include TRSSD residents on the TRSSD Board as you discuss how best to involve SunCrest residents with decisions of the Board. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Paul Tonks

Draper and SunCrest Resident

City Council contact information

If you want to express you concerns about the TRSSD please email your city councilman.


Bill Colbert: bill.colbert@draper.ut.us
Bill Rapeleye: bill.rappleye@draper.ut.us
Jeff Stenquist: jeff.stenquist@draper.ut.us
Alan Summerhays: alan.summerhays@draper.ut.us
Troy Walker: troy.walker@draper.ut.us

New Contact Information

If you would like to contact a SunCrest Resident Representative with your comments we set up a a new email. This is also posted up on top of the blog.

suncrestresidents@gmail.com

City Council Meeting on TRSSD advisory board

Paul Tonks and I attended the Draper City Council meeting last night. (April 27th) They had on the agenda as a study item to discuss having a SunCrest (TRSSD) Advisory Board. Since this was just a discussion between city council members no public comments can be given…isn’t that nice! So here is the outcome of the discussion: Colbert , Rappleye, and Mayor Smith wanted an advisory board for TRSSD. Stenquist was strongly against it. He commented that they had a Community advisory board before and it turned political and problems developed so it had to be dissolved. Cobert commented that the previous Community advisory board was different and that the council didn’t handle their funds. TRSSD is special because the SunCrest residents pay this special tax and feel they don’t have a say about it. Rappeleye, made some great comments saying the advisory board could do the research on stuff like stop signs and using a private vendor. Stenquist was still was against it saying we didn’t need another layer of government. We voted in the city council members so we should trust them to make the right decisions with our funds. Stenquist also said if we have concerns about our special tax then we should talk directly to city council. Summerhays seemed to be leaning more against it but was on the fence. He wanted more information and how Walker felt. Walker wasn’t at the city council meeting so we don’t know his feelings. But it has been heard he is against it and voted against it last time it was brought up. So the city council decided it needed further discussion and can be voted on at a later city council meeting.

It was brought up about holding a town hall meeting for the SunCrest Residents. It was said that there isn’t time in May and maybe they could fit it in June? (yeah…after our budget is already been approved!)

You don’t know how hard it was to have to sit there and not be able to say anything. The comments made by the city council people that I wrote weren’t word for word but the way I heard and remembered by my memory. I could tell that Colbert and Rappleye really heard our voices at the meeting and want to help us. They believe we have concerns that need to be addressed and have some great ideas. They tried hard to convince the other councilmen. I don’t know how talking directly to city council about our concerns work as Jeff Stenquist advised? I have been emailing and talking to them and I just seem ignored. We even held the SunCrest residents meeting the other week to express our concerns. I mean really what more else can we do to EXPRESS our concerns about TRSSD? Do we need to email and call them every day until they listen! Alright, I am not telling you to do that.

Mr. Tonks suggested that we have a right to have a SunCrest resident on the actual board. There are state statues to back this up. Of course he wasn’t allowed to speak last night to show the council of his findings and that we want an actual SunCrest resident on the VOTING TRSSD budget board. I would love to have that but I think an advisory board would be great too. A group of 5 residents volunteering their time to research items like, stop signs, do we need or want a salt dome, would it be worth switching to a private vendor verses the city workers. There are so many things we can do and reach out to residents to hear what they want. We are offering our FREE service to the city.

I wanted to know if anyone has some suggestions on how to fight the stop sign issue. We all love the new blinking stop signs but the $24,000 for those signs shouldn’t have been taken out of the TRSSD fund. HELLO..they are stop signs, which should be out of the general fund. We need a good argument to present to council to have them refund us back on those signs. They say it’s because of fog and snow we needed those lights to see the signs. Yes, that is nice and all but I thought most accidents and traffic tickets occurred when people (mostly non residents) come up to the crest of the hill and didn’t even see them and ran through them in the middle of a nice day. Do we have anyone interested in getting those public police records of accidents and tickets at that intersection over the past couple of years? Let me know if you can think of something special that was done for traffic or something else unusual that the city had to do for LOWER Draper. Anything we can do to prove the point we shouldn’t have to pay for them.

Please look for further updates. Once we see the Advisory Board come up on the agenda again we want to notify everyone so we can fill that city hall and express our concerns. We will also have more information about our rights when it comes to a Special District tax.

Amy Baird
suncrestresidents@gmail.com

SunCrest Residents Meeting

I wanted to thank everyone for the great turn out. I would say about 80-100 people? The meeting started at 7pm and ended at 10:30pm. I hope everyone got a good education on what is the Traverse Ridge Tax (TRSSD). I did hear a few people confused on my point of this meeting. So let me clarify again why I called the meeting.

1. I wanted to educate you on the tax you pay.
.
2. I had the City Finance Director, Danyce explain the budget and where your money goes.

3. I wanted it pointed out that we paid a fixed fee of three salaries and administrative expense which is close to half our budget. Like about $250,000 out of the $500,000 budget. Last winter we paid that same fixed price as this winter. But....last year the city plowed ALL of SunCrest and this year only half of SunCrest. So why should we pay the same price for half the service?

4. I wanted to introduce the company (Great Western) that plows Utah County for Zions bank. Because I think it would be more cost effective if we hire out private and pay for the services we receive and eliminate the fixed costs we currently pay.

5. I wanted to recommend a SunCrest resident advisory board to help the City Council with this budget. Be the voice for the residents. This was brought up before and the City Council voted it down. I think after tonight’s meeting it will happen.

6. I wanted some accountability of why should we pay for those $24,000 flashing stop light signs out of the TRSSD…..I was told because lower Draper doesn’t have fog so that isn’t something that would have been purchased for the city.

7. I saved this part for the end of the meeting because I didn’t want everyone angry and just talking about this issue. But when I met with the city council on Tuesday, they mentioned that they don’t have the funds in tune to around $850,000 a year to support our fire station. They had pulled up city minutes dating back to 1998 when the SunCrest developer talked with the City Council about including a fire station and the expenses in the TRSSD. Then in 1999 the city council approves the TRSSD tax without any mention of fire safety or station. So the City Manager was considering, now just thinking out loud, to see if the TRSSD fund could pay for it now. I got very angry and told them not to touch our money and shut it down before you make just the SunCrest residents pay for it. I did bring this up at the meeting tonight and the city council said they will find other ways to fund that fire station and not ask us for the funds. So hey if you have any suggestions of where that money can come from please let the city council know.

Several residents brought up some great issues. Like the safety of SunCrest drive. The lines need to be painted in the road because you can’t see them in a storm. The Council said that is private property of Zions and that is Zion’s responsibility. But they would take it to the council to talk to Zion’s to see if they can maybe get permission to do it. But then again, it’s a private road and why should the city pay for stripping. Well, my opinion is the city had no problem plowing the lines off on SunCrest drive the past few years, what is the big deal to replace it?

The city will hold a town hall meeting sometime in May for the residents of SunCrest.

Councilman Colbert and Rappleye did a great job at answering questions, as did Danyce. They even told us that the other councilman couldn’t attend tonight because they were in an executive meeting right now to work out some SunCrest issues. Hopefully, within in the next several months we will start to see improvements with the lawsuit. The biggest hurdle is to solve the SunCrest Drive issue. The city hopes to see a developer in here and finish building out SunCrest.

My last goal was to get the residents to come up with some suggestions on how to reduce this budget. So let me know ideas you have besides making it disappear because sorry but its here to stay. But at least we should get a voice on how it’s spent.

I apologize for my grammar; I am a number person not a letter writer.

Amy Baird

SunCrest Residents Meeting

When: THURSDAY, April 15th at 7pm
Where: SunCrest Information Center

This isn't your boring Owner Association Meeting. This is a meeting held just for the residents of SunCrest to discuss issues we have in SunCrest. We are all residents and not part of the SunCrest Management Company or Zion's Bank.

IMPORTANT Discussions concerning your TRSSD (Traverse Ridge Tax) that is in your property taxes. If you look at your property tax bill you will see this is the second highest tax you pay. The is a special tax ONLY SunCrest residents have to pay to keep our roads plowed in the winter. The new budget is being decided by the Draper City Council. We need your input as we think there needs to be changes and reductions done. This year Zion's bank has been footing the bill to plow most of Utah county while the city has been charging us for plowing ALL of SunCrest. I hope you all show up and express your concerns. Its going to take the help of the residents to get the city to listen to us and make changes in our budget and hopefully reduce our taxes. If you have any additional questions please contact Amy Baird amyemail@aol.com

Draper City Easter Egg Hunt

When: April 3rd, Saturday at 9:00 am sharp! Be there early

Where: Draper City Park

Who: kids 0-12 years

Over 4000 eggs and 200 prizes given away

Free pictures with Easter Bunny

Free face painting

Free balloons

Free cookies

Caucus Meeting locations for SunCrest Residents

Neighborhood Caucus Meetings Tonight @ 7 pm

Salt Lake County:
Democrats
SLCC Miller Campus -
Multipurpose Room -
MFEC Room #203
(9750 S 300 W)

Republicans
Crescent View Middle School -
11150 S 300 E Sandy

Utah County:
Republicans
Timberline Middle School
500 W Canyon Crest Rd Alpine

Democrats
Westfield Elementary School
380 Long Drive Alpine

SunCrest OA meeting

There is a SunCrest OA meeting tonight, March 16th, at 6:00Pm. The meeting will be located at the SunCrest information center. The meeting begins with a 15 minute open comment section for the residents to voice their comments.

SunCrest Voting Delegates

Here is the list of this years voting Delegates that will be voting for your SunCrest OA resident board member in June. The current resident board member is Barbara Blackmer. Applications for resident board member will be mailed out soon. Please attend or talk to your voting delegates about the running board members, because they will be the one voting for you.

Dates to remember:
May 12 Meet the Candidates Night
June 2 Annual Meeting

Canyon Heights
-David Taylor

Deer Ridge
-Aimee Hudak

Eagle Crest
-Shannon Fowler
-Reed Sherman
-Paul Tonks
-Tom Wagner
-Christine McClory

Eagle Ridge
-Kyhl Shumway

Mercer Reserve
-Charles White

Oak Vista
-Spencer Angerbauer
-Gary Bromley
-Simon Cantarero
-Ginger Klasnich
-Larry Nilssen
-Elizabeth Sweat
-Nicholas Willits

Southfield
-Heather Cornelius
-John Johnson

Stoneleigh Heights
-Ephraim Claudio
-George Simmons

Tallwoods
-Angie Overbaugh

The Cove at Oak Vista
-Jason Koop

The Cottage at Eagle Pointe
-Bob Lund

The Pointe at Oak Vista
-Scott Blackmer
-Steve Burt

Kindergarten Registration at Ridgeline Elementary

Kindergarten Registration will be held at Ridgeline Elementary on Monday February 22 and Tuesday February 23 from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Child must be 5 years old on or before September 1. Please go to the school office (6250 West 11800 North, Highland UT) either day at your convenience to register your student for Kindergarten for the 2010-11 school year. Please bring: Your child's immunization record and your child's birth certificate. Questions? Call 801-492-0401

SunCrest Knitting Group

If your interested in joining or even learning how to knit please see:

Delores Watson
1908 Heather Oaks Court
Draper, UT 84020
deloresfwatson@yahoo.com
801-619-4093 H

Suncrest OA budget meeting notes

Written by resident, Jay Garlick. This was from his SunCrest, Utah facebook page.

(I just made some corrections that came from the SunCrest management office)

Here are some of the notes that I took from the meeting last night. It included a line by line explanation of the budget and rather than posting that detail I thought I might pass along some what I found important.

1. Approximately 1100 homes built in Suncrest and 250 lots.

2. Of the $98.00 HOA fee approximately $33 passes through to comcast for internet and basic cable, leaving approximately $65 for operational expenses.

3. 65 homes went to distressed sale in 2009 *(Only 50 homes went to Trustee’s Sale, 10 Home Owners filed for bankruptcy) (just as an add on 117 total homes were sold in Suncrest in '09 compared to 50 in '08 and 160+ in '07 according to the MLS).*SunCrest has documented 105 Re-sales in 2008 & 157 in 2009. I don’t know how MLS compiles it’s #’s, but they are very different than the actual Deeds we recorded.

4. Dues that were not paid in '08 resulted in $84k written off and $150k in '09. *NO-Write-off’s in 2009 were budgeted at $86k in 2009, but $104K was actually approved by the Board for Write-Off’s. $150k is what is budgeted for write-off’s in 2010

5. Total proposed budget for 2010 is: $1,158,909.00

6. How much would it cost to get the clubhouse to a certificate of occupancy? *Estimates have come in around $500k and that would not include any furnishings, equipment, or supplies for operation according to a feasibility study done by Zions Bank.. * Extensive Landscape plan were previously approved for the Clubhouse by Draper City, and they have not agreed to modify the original plans for cost savings

7. What is the status of the lawsuit? Discovery phase with no disclosed talks of a settlement.

8. How is Suncrest doing compared to other HOA's locally and nationwide. There are many that are seeing budget short falls of up to 20-30% and assessments are having to make up the difference. In failed master planned communities where the developers have defaulted many banks have not taken the community back and are simply not picking up the tab to take care of the assets in some places.

9. There is some evidence that Zions has begun to take care of the punch list that they were given by the city to get the development up to their standards.

10. *This was not discussed at the Budget meeting, but good information:
For those that don't know, it was explained to me that the reason that Alpine School District is the only school district that will bus students is because the State has a law that states that school buses cannot drive up a road of 10% or more grade for safety reasons. Canyon and Jordan cannot therefore offer the service on the north side and on the south side the grades do not reach 10%. Therefore there was an agreement reached that a per student amount is paid by the northern districts to the Alpine district on the south in renumeration for their expenses.

11. LUDs are "limited use driveways" that have their own unique snow removal needs and therefore pay $75 per month for that because *they are private streets and not owned or maintained by the City the city will not use the special service district resources to pay for that.

If anyone would like a copy of the budget, email me at: jay@jaygarlick.com and I will send you a .pdf for it. You may also get your questions answered at the SunCrest Management office.

Happenings in SunCrest!

Suncrest Community Happenings Email Updates

The Suncrest Owners Association sends out an update on what the Owners Association is working, updates on what is happening around the community, updates about upcoming events and community meeting and much more. This update is sent out every Friday and all email address are kept confidential. If you do not currently receive this email and would like to start receiving it, please email your information to cpappas@ccmcnet.com.



Daddy Daughter Date Night

Dads and daughters come and enjoy a fun night out in SunCrest at the 2nd annual Daddy Daughter Date Night! On Friday, February 5 from 6:30-8:30pm Dads and Daughters are invited to the Information Center for a fun night of crafts, music, dancing and refreshments. A photo will be taken of each couple to be placed in a special Valentines frame. Each girl will receive a Corsage and a Valentine gift bag. Pre-registration is required for this event. There is a $8 fee per Dad/daughter, $2 for each additional sibling. Please pre-register at the Association Office. Registration deadline is Friday, January 29. Don’t miss this fun night out! Any questions about this event can be sent to cpappas@ccmcnet.com.