Category: Community News

Annual Report 2018: Lighting and Security

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We have changed companies and are now working with Grayco Electric to improve our lighting in the complex.
During the year, we added new high intensity lightbulbs in all of the cul de sacs. The board has also approved money for new lights on the olive trees which will be installed in the near future.

We always have your safety in mind. We recommend that you keep doors and gates locked and your front light on in the evenings. If you have any questions or you see any dark areas, please let me know. I can be reached at (203) 461-5617.

—Michael Pagliaro 

Annual Report 2018: Landscaping and Pools

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We’ve learned lessons from having lived with our desertscape for four years. We’ve learned that while saving water, the removal of lawns raises the ambient temperature around our homes and plants. In at least three cases, our landscape contractor Ismael has had to install multiple rings of soaker hoses around suffering citrus trees that had been in the lawn but now have surrounding desertscape. Pyracantha hedges also have suffered until additional water supplies were brought to them.

This past summer was so hot that more shade screens had to be built just to keep plants alive. We are used to shading such as the Sago Palms, but this past summer we had to drape burlap over the Mexican fencepost cacti to protect them on the south and west exposures. Next month, our landscapers will begin an aggressive treatment of all the agave in our complex. The stress of heat has made them more susceptible to boring-type worms and we have lost several this past year.  We will use both liquid and granular poisons to control these pests.

During the ungodly hot part of the summer, Ismael and an expanded crew spread ten tons of fresh decomposed granite on the thin spots over the entire desertscape area. If you’ve been near the east pool recently, you probably noticed that the landscaping has been updated. New bougainvillea and lantana were planted as well as a new pyracantha hedge around the pool to hide the pool equipment. Some cobblestone mulch was installed along with annual geraniums.

Pools and Spas:

We got a break this year from pool and spa tile and plaster renovation, but some of our supporting pool and spa equipment needed replacement. The east spa got a new filter, new pump and new heater this past summer. The center spa also got a new pump for a total cost of almost $7,000. The main entry handrails of all pools and spas have been covered with blue insulating sleeves. No longer do we have to drape a towel over the rail or risk burning our hands.

The center pool is, for February and March, being heated to the standard temperature of 84 degrees. All spas are always programmed at 101 degrees.

—Carl Toland

Landscaping plans set for fall 2017

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From the HOA board’s landscape subcommittee:

September and the end of summer is at hand, at least calendar-wise, and our snowbirds are setting their sights on getting back to the desert for “the season.” Our landscape maintenance personnel are also making plans that might interest our year-round residents as well as part-timers.

During September, each week will see a dialing back of irrigation to as little as two minutes per application (Monday thru Saturday). The decrease will help the Bermuda grass go dormant, so some increased browning-out will be apparent. In concert with water reduction will be a mowing schedule that removes an additional 1/2 inch or so of the lawn thickness each week. By the end of September, we will be ready for an easy scalping of the lawn areas in preparation for over-seeding in early October.

The water that we have saved in September will be used to germinate and nourish the annual ryegrass that will be sown during early October.

Our bottle brush trees have grown unfettered for two years now so the time has come to prune them to prevent storm damage this winter. These are weak and brittle trees full of sucker-growth resulting from having been “poodled” during their early years of growth. Our landscaper rescued them from the poodle shape but the damage had been done. The bottle brush pruning will start at the east pool and move west from there.

Our citrus trees will be pruned in November and the old fruit removed long before then.

— Carl Toland

Board meeting minutes are on this website

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The HOA board posts the minutes of the open sessions of its meetings, which any homeowner can attend. You can read the minutes on the homeowners-only HOA Information page from any internet-connected computer, tablet or mobile phone that can open PDF files. Because these documents are for homeowners only, you must type in a password, which you can look up in any meeting notification email and newsletter sent by the HOA Board to its mailing list. Click DOCUMENTS AND FORMS above to see other documents, such as Rules and Regulations, that can be shared with tenants and contractors.

Annual poolside bingo

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Saturday, April 8, 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Center Pool

Join us for the social highlight of the year! Meet your neighbors, including your HOA board of directors. Bring your favorite appetizer to share with one another. Each year brings out super-delicious new items and old favorites. And the bingo, a dollar a card, so bring lots of singles. Five games will be played.

BYOB, no glass allowed at pool. Bar area provided outside the pool area. Ice, soft drinks and water provided.

For more information or any questions, please call Brian.

November 2016 report on landscaping, pools and maintenance

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Report from Carl Toland:

Desertscape and Pyracantha Hedges

The good news is that our desertscape plants have survived another very hot summer and most seem to be thriving as they are being properly irrigated. The bad news is that some pyracantha hedges on Caliente have died due to inadequate irrigation. Our landscaper will be augmenting the irrigation systems that serve these hedges and will plant new plants in November to replace the dead ones that have been removed.

Fire Ant Infestations

Fire ant infestations have been treated by the landscapers in between vector control applications, the last of which was virtually ineffective. Ant poisons in granular, powder and liquid form have been used but a new powerful insecticide is currently being sprayed and injected into the nests.  This treatment kills thousands of ants and appears to kill the winged ants … hopefully the queens also. The granular poison was a good control, but nests just moved a few feet away or came back in a week or so.

Pool Heating Schedule

2016-pool-heating-scheduleBeginning in October the Center Pool was heated for the first two months. December and January will see the East and West pool heated, then back to the Center pool for February and March, finishing with the East and West pool for April and May if needed.

Spas at all pools will continue to be heated year-round.

Scalping and Reseeding

Desert Water Agency reduced its water savings guidelines from 35% in 2015 to 10-to-13% in 2016. Canyon South 1 continued with the Monday-Wednesday-Friday nighttime watering schedule this year and thus the water savings continued from last year. However, when it became apparent that most complexes would over-seed this fall and that Desert Water Agency was going to permit daytime watering for this purpose, your Board voted to scalp and over-seed along with the rest. After the new lawn is established, normal nighttime irrigation on M-W-F will resume.

Annuals and Tree Pruning

nov2016-flowersLandscape staff is busy planting geraniums and lobelia in the beds near our pools and in one or two other areas.  Our valuable Bougainvillea shrubs blend with and form a backdrop for the annuals.  We have not “poodled” our Olive trees for two seasons so they could sprout some trunk-shading branches that will help prevent sunburn of the bark in the future.  This photo illustrates the kind of pruning that we will do with our Olive trees.  The citrus trees will be pruned in November and a contractor will prune the large pine trees and other trees that must be professionally climbed for that purpose.

Architectural Variance Reviews

Owners have been very good in submitting helpful, detailed architectural review requests for the Board’s consideration. These have covered landscape upgrades, patio surface work & installation of windows and air conditioners. Download these forms here.

Pool and Spa Re-plastering

East Spa ready for new plaster, drains and tile.
East Spa ready for new plaster, drains and tile.

Rammell Construction was again awarded the bid to re-plaster the East Pool and Spa. They drained the pool and spa on September 28th, began demolishing the plaster and tile the next day and finished the plaster and tile on October 13, 2016. There was no delay in construction this year while waiting for the Health Department inspection. New drains were installed to help us further comply with the Virginia Graeme Baker safety codes.  Auto-fill devices were installed

East Pool with plaster and tile removed, without handrail
East Pool with plaster and tile removed, without handrail

on pool and spa and a ‘to-code’ handrail was added at the pool.  Other handrails of this kind may need to be installed if code enforcement becomes very strict at our pools and spas.

East Spa ready to fill with water
East Spa ready to fill with water

 

 

 

 

 

East Pool with new plaster, tile and handrail
East Pool with new plaster, tile and handrail

November 2016 HOA news

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The November 2016 newsletter is in the mail to residents, but here is a news preview for our website visitors:

A sad note to report. Connie Buckley, our property manager at PPM passed away after a brief illness. We will miss her cheerful help and assistance. Our condolences go out to her family and friends.

PPM has assigned David Schuknecht as our new property manager, so the contact forms on this website now connect to him.

The communications committee has collected email addresses for almost all owners and will send a group email later this year to test the accuracy of the list so it can be used for notifications. Meanwhile you can update yours with us anytime by clicking here. Please direct any questions to Roseanne Kumins, the HOA treasurer.

Our long time postman, Jerry, will be retiring December 1st. If you wish to say thanks and wish him well, there are only a few days left to make contact.

Neighborhood security is again called to our attention. A bicycle was stolen, in the middle of the day, from a Canyon South 1 garage.

The central pool spa heater stopped working after many years of service, and is being replaced. The east and west spas are heated.

Building Improvements

The annual roof/gutter cleaning will be done in late November. When the exact dates are scheduled with our contractor, Castro Roofing, the dates will be posted here and at mailboxes. Also, ongoing work will be done on stucco, painting touch up, fascia and trim improvements, and failing window trims and sills. Work on these projects will be organized in quadrants and will progress over the winter months. When work is scheduled at, or near your address, notices will be posted. All of this work is to the exterior of the buildings, so no entry to the house is necessary.

What’s happening around Canyon South 1?

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Check this page for the latest news from the HOA board about maintenance, safety issues and other common concerns.

Want more Palm Springs community news? All homeowners and residents of Canyon South 1 are eligible to join the Canyon Palms Neighborhood Organization by simply filling out this web form. The organization, which you can follow on Facebook, is one of many that post community news on Nextdoor.com, which also carries recommendations, items for sale, crime reports, ideas about how to improve our neighborhood and more. You can subscribe by clicking this link. The site emails alerts about all new postings, but you can use the site’s Custom Settings to limit the emails to topics of interest to you, or just get a daily digest.

For more information about Nextdoor.com, or to find out out to get your information posted on Canyon South’s website, email webmaster@canyonsouth1.com.