Owners Info
Hi, fiverr. Welcome to the Sonoran Sea Resort Owner's Newsletter
Posted on February 7, 2020 at 9:15 AM
Welcome to the first edition of the Sonoran Sea Resort HOA newsletter for 2020!
Our Sonoran Sea Resort HOA newsletter will be issued on a quarterly basis. We encourage you to connect with other owners via the Facebook group – note this group is an owners group, not monitored or run by the HOA (https://www.facebook.com/groups/SonoranSeaHomeOwners) and sign up for the HOA updates via Vivook in order to get real time updates on our resort in the interim.
If you haven’t yet, please sign up for the owners section on the SonoranSeaResort.org website. Minutes, documents, newsletters and other information are available on the site. To get access, send an email to [email protected] with your Name, Condo #, and preferred User Name.
If you’d like to suggest content (or better yet volunteer) for the Newsletter, please send an email to [email protected].
Important Dates
HOA AC Meetings: 3rd Tues Each Month
Next GAM (General Assembly Meeting): Apr 25, 2020
AC News – President: Jerry McKinney
We are entering the high season and will soon see temperatures rise at the Sonoran Sea. The number of Owners and Guests visiting our resort will begin to increase. We have been hard at work at the resort to take advantage of the low season to prepare the resort for another busy season.
We continue to implement improvements at the Sonoran Sea and strive to achieve the four key principles for our resort – Safety, Professionally Serviced, Well-Maintained, & Financially Solvent.
I am very pleased to see the long list of projects completed at the Sonoran Sea over the last few months. We finally completed refurbishment and released the East elevator to operation. This was far too long and did not meet any of our expectations. A small team, led by Ray Bishop and Kristian Osuna, began meeting with elevator vendors in January to analyze and decide upon options for the remaining two legacy elevators. The HOA and Maintenance teams have completed many projects including installing new east palapas, upgraded beach showers, and security gates. We are working hard to complete critical projects including screen door refurbishing, elevator security cameras, lower pool resurfacing, and rock repainting before March spring break Owners and guests arrive. This is a priority for us.
The maintenance and cleaning staff continues to work very hard to keep the Sonoran Sea fresh and well serviced. If you have seen a difference in the resort over the last several months, please take a moment and extend your sincere thanks to your Sonoran Sea staff.
We continue to maintain our resort’s cash balance. As of early February, our cash balance was ~$500k and within our projections.
Our next Sonoran Sea HOA meeting is on Saturday, April 25 at 1pm – 3pm. Please mark your calendars and attend if you are available. We will continue to hold a two – three hour deep dive on Friday, April 24 to cover additional details for interested Owners.
Please read on for the latest updates at the Sonoran Sea. If you have any newsletter suggestions, please email Leslie Roman at [email protected]
SC News – Chairman: Ron Lilishkies
No update at this time – we will have a new update in the next quarterly newsletter.
Head of Maintenance: Rodrigo Ruiz
We’ve had lots of activity at our resort in the last couple of months!
The East Side refurbished elevator was completed and put into operation on Jan 30th. The new elevator (closest to the pool area) will serve floors 1 and 5-10. The old elevator (closest to parking lot) will serve floors 1-4.
Cameras and signs for the elevators have been ordered and will be installed as soon as they arrive.
Metal screen doors are being powder coated. This project is expected to be completed by the end of March.
Touch up of the building paint is in process. This project should be completed by Feb 10th.
Ventilation areas in the concrete in the elevator towers was completed.
New palapas with tables and lounge chairs were completed in January. We now have nice Palapas to enjoy the beach on both sides of the resort. The wall behind the Palapas (beach side) is being repaired and repainted.
The volleyball net was moved to be just west of the east side palapas.
The existing pool slide was cracking near the base, and has now been replaced. The pool tile is being replaced as well, and should be done by the end of February. The waterfall rocks are also being painted. The pool will be back in service before Spring Break.
Pool showers on the west side were redone and put into service in January. The east side showers are in process and should be complete by then end of February.
Security arms and a dedicated owners lane was completed in January. We were told we were the first owners to use the new gate – and it worked like a charm! RFID stickers are on order and will be available in the HOA office. We will notify owners via Facebook when they arrive.
New tide flags were placed at the entrances to the beach.
New hinge in lobby entrance (Main Door)
New pool signs were placed in the pool area.
Patio Railing Re-painting is in process and expected to be completed before Spring Break.
Handicapped signs in the parking lot were repainted.
The Lobby Dome was repaired and painted. It still needs detailing.
Upcoming Projects
Projects planned for 2020
- Evaluate / refurbish old elevators on east & west sides.
- Repaint Tennis Court Tubes
- Modify lamps by fountain area.
- Cameras for Elevators (on order)
HOA Manager: Kristian Osuna
HOA Office Manager: Fabian Urrea
HOA Assistant: Cristina Arvizu
Our November GAM was held on Nov 16, 2019 and we had 36.7% of homeowners in attendance. Minutes will be posted next week, and can be found on the website and on Vivook.
Volunteers Wanted!
Sub-committee Volunteer Opportunities
All of the board members volunteer their time to help make the Sonoran Sea a great place to be. If you have an interest and passion around helping in certain areas, please select the team below to send an email offering support:
- Administrative Committee: Lead – Jerry McKinney
- Maintenance, Security, and Projects: Lead – Jerry McKinney
- Marketing, Branding, Rentals: Lead – Jerry McKinney
- Communications: Lead – Leslie Roman
- Finance & Risk Mgmt: Lead – Ray Bishop
Administrative Reminders
Late Fee’s and Impact Fee’s for Rentals
Late Fee’s: It’s important to pay your HOA dues and other fee’s on time. You can check your account balance at any time via the Vivook application (available on your computer or smartphone). Login and click the drop down box in the upper right, to get to your Account Statement. To avoid late fees and comply with Article 74 of the CC&Rs, please make sure you keep your account current.
Impact Fee’s for Rentals: We have three rental models at the Sonoran Sea (Casago Full-Service & Owner Provided Rental and Self-Renting Owners) which comply with the CC&Rs. Owners who are renting on their own through “non-paying guests’ authorization forms” are not in compliance with the CCR’s and are not paying required impact fees. As approved in the Sept’17 HOA meeting, a $200/night will be charged to Owners found to be in infringement of CC&R rental requirements.
Owner Files
Documents Required
The HOA requires you to provide the following documents which are kept on file in the HOA office:
- Information Update Form
- Drivers License / Passport Copy
- Homeowners Insurance Policy
- Sales Contract or 1st Page of Trust Document
- Pet Registration (pet owners only)
Current Board / HOA Contacts & Terms
| Name | Role | Term | |
| Ron Lilishkies | Chairman SC | 02/19 - 02/21 | [email protected] |
| Mike Sheffield | East Building Rep | 09/18 - 09/20 | [email protected] |
| Howard Tolshinsky | East Building Alternate | 02/19 - 02/21 | [email protected] |
| Steve Suhre | West Building Alternate | 09/18 - 09/20 | [email protected] |
| Karen Matson | West Building Rep | 11/18 - 11/21 | [email protected] |
| David Foley | General Rep. | 11/19 - 11/21 | [email protected] |
| Phil Wehrli | General Rep. | 09/18 - 09/20 | [email protected] |
| Tina Elliott | General Rep. | 02/19 - 02/21 | [email protected] |
| Steve Schwab | General Rep. | 09/18 - 09/20 | [email protected] |
| Jerry McKinney | President-AC | 09/18 - 09/20 | [email protected] |
| Ray Bishop | Treasurer-AC | 09/18 - 09/20 | [email protected] |
| Leslie Roman | Secretary-AC | 09/18 - 09/20 | [email protected] |
| Kristian Osuna | HOA Manager | Annual Renewal | [email protected] |
| Fabian Urrea | HOA Office Manager | N/A | [email protected] |
| Cristina Arvizu | HOA Assistant | N/A | [email protected] |
The Employee Christmas party was held at the Oktopus Bar on December 11th and was a great success! Below are some photos of the event.
Our security, maintenance, cleaning, and administrative staff at the Sonoran Sea are critical to our safe, professionally serviced, well maintained, and financially solvent operations. Our people make our resort a wonderful place to be! We will highlight a couple of employees in each newsletter.
Jose Alberto Marin Cota (Maintenance)
Marin is originally from Agua Prieta, Sonora. He moved to Puerto Penasco and starting working at the Sonoran Sea in 2005 as a Security Guard. He moved from Security to Maintenance after six months.
In his spare time he likes to play soccer with his co-workers and have a good time with his friends.
Nancy Patricia Garcia Avalos (Cleaning Crew)
Nancy was born and raised in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. She is 18 years old and started working for the Sonoran Sea in October 2019.
She is currently studying for a career in accounting. She will be in school for 3 more years. In her spare time she likes to play volleyball with her friends.
Head of Security: Arturo
November Incidents:
- 2 Nov 2019 – 1006W: Owners daughter stung by stingray.
- 28 Nov 2019 – 804W: Renters reported broken glass to owners. Security cleaned the area and installed a piece of wood to avoid further accidents.
December Incidents:
- Nothing to report.
January Incidents:
- Renter damaged one of the garbage bins from one of the buildings. It was charged to the guest and will be replaced soon.
- 26 Jan 2020 – 208E: Long term renter had guests with a dog. Security denied access of the pet. The guests returned later without the pet.
Maintenance Reminder
We strongly recommend that you turn off the water to your condo when you leave for extended periods. We have had a few incidents of water leaking into other condos. This creates problems for each homeowner involved, and may be avoided by simply turning off your water when you leave.
Spring Break is Around the Corner
You either hate it or you love it, but Spring Break and the busy tourist season in Rocky Point is right around the corner. Dates for the various Arizona college spring breaks are as follows:
- Arizona State University: 03/08/2020 – 03/15/2020
- University of Arizona: 03/09/2020 – 03/13/2020
- Northern Arizona University: 03/16/2020 – 03/20/2020
Leave your Drone at Home!
The Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) is the government body responsible for regulating the civil aviation industry in Mexico. The website UAVCoach.com lists the following requirements for drone operation in Mexico:
- All drones weight over 150 grams (.55 pounds) must be registered with the DGCA. Registration requires an official ID proving Mexican citizenship, therefore prohibiting registration by foreign persons.
- Fly only in daylight.
- Keep the drone within your visual line of sight and no farther than 1500 feet away from the operator.
- Do not fly higher than 400 feet above ground level.
- Do not fly over people or animals.
- Do not fly at historical sites or protected areas.
- Drones must stay 9.2 km (5 nautical miles) away from any airport.
- Do not exceed the maximum operating speed for the drone, based on its maximum takeoff weight.
- Drones must not drop objects that may cause damage to people or property.
- Be sure to follow the drone policies for the hotel or resort at which you are staying.
The most pertinent information here is the first one, which clearly states that only Mexican citizens may register a drone. This means that the average non-Mexican tourist has no right to have a drone in his possession in Mexico, and if caught with one may suffer the full extent of Mexican law.
Most likely, if the visitor’s vehicle is searched at the border when entering Mexico, and a drone is found, the drone may be confiscated. That would be unfortunate, but way better than an arrest on the beach while piloting the drone, followed by a trip to jail.