Spring is the time we all think of as new beginnings. Our plants are sprouting new little buds, the air is lovely and the drab colors of winter morph into the lovely pastels of springtime.
And we, here at DRL, are also thinking of new beginnings. We have a new Board of Directors, a new Community General Manager of Rossmar & Graham, new staff members, new Cashman Park (see separate article), new community excellence award, new stores, and not to be outdone – a new garbage collection day!
So, One at a Time Here We go…
Our New Board Of Directors
Our new board was elected on April 19th and took office that day. They are:
Dan Francis who is new to the board, Kathy Crawford, Dan Oseran and Greg Abrams who were re-elected as incumbent board members. These board members will join Doug Dickson, Reggie Younger, Jr., and Kim Caron to make up the 2012 Board of Directors for the Desert Ridge Community Association.
The new board met on May 1 and voted for the following officers and committee chairperson positions:
Doug Dickson, President
Reggie Younger, Jr., Vice President
Dan Oseran, Secretary
Dan Francis, Treasurer
Kathy Crawford, Director
Greg Abrams, Director
Committee Chairpersons:
Kathy Crawford, Communications Committee
Reginald Younger, Jr., Design Review Committee
Dan Francis, Finance Committee
Greg Abrams, Cashman Park Committee
Dan Oseran, Nominating Committee
We all look forward to continued service to you, our community residents.
Our New Community General Manager
We want to welcome Terrance Smith as our new Community General Manager. We are all excited to have Terrance with us as he is a multi-credentialed Manager and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience managing master planned communities to our community. Terrance will report to Ken Olson who has served us so well and is now at the main Rossmar & Graham office overseeing not just Desert Ridge but other communities in his new position as Senior Vice President. We will all miss Ken and we wish him the very best in his new role.
Our New Staff Additions
In addition to Terrance, we have new members of the Rossmar & Graham staff at our Desert Ridge Community Association. They are Carmello Musarra joining Rossmar & Graham as our new Compliance Coordinator and Alyssia Saxton has moved up from her role as Compliance Coordinator into her new role of Lifestyles Coordinator, previously held by Mona Brown. Alyssia has already jumped into her new responsibilities assisting the Desert Ridge Management Team with coordinating our recent Annual Meeting– that went on flawlessly.
Our New Stores
The following new stores are opening in the Desert Ridge area: Pebbles Swimwear, Sports Authority, Smashburger, Crazy 8, Café Zupas, Charming Charlie, Mellow Mushroom, Skinny Italian, Sushi Station, and Subway.
New Garbage Collection
The City of Phoenix has wisely determined that we could have one day for garbage collection rather than two days. Effective July 9, residents will only need to remember to place their trash and recycling containers out for collection on the same day.
According to the City of Phoenix, benefits of same day service:
• Convenience: Customers only need to remember to wheel their trash and recycling containers to the curb on one day, instead of two.
• Cost savings: Phoenix will save $1.3 million annually or $6.5 million over five years.
• Efficiencies: Although there still will be separate trucks collecting trash and recycling, daily collection routes will be reduced from 166 to 154, resulting in the elimination of 12 trucks and 12 employees.
• Neighborhood aesthetics: By having containers out on only one day a week, neighborhoods will look cleaner and sidewalks and streets will be less cluttered.
• Benefit to customers/additional savings: Besides the added convenience, we have implemented efficiencies to keep your solid waste fee stabilized over the three past years with no solid waste fee increase. It is continued innovations that will minimize the need for future solid waste fee increases.
• Reinforce recycling to help our environment: With both green and blue containers being serviced on the same day, customers will be reminded to also recycle on a consistent basis.
Tuesday appears to be the day the collection will take place in Desert Ridge but please double check your address on the City of Phoenix site at http://phoenix.gov/publicworks/garbage/trashschedule/collectionschedule/index.html
New Community Excellence Award
At the Annual Meeting, we presented our first and new Community Excellence Award to two very deserving people.
Jim Davis aka “Mr. Desert Ridge” has lived here for 15 years. Jim started as a volunteer for the DRCA Design Review Committee and has served as the Community Manager for the Master Association for 10 years. During the formative years of the DRCA, Jim worked with the Master Developer, builders, the City of Phoenix, and the State Land Department. Jim is currently the Manager for the Desert Ridge Core Association and has been instrumental in building Desert Ridge into the community it is today. Jim has served the community countless hours over the years and continues to be an invaluable mentor and source of history and information for the DRCA.
Nick Meris has lived in Desert Ridge for 15 years and was instrumental in the development of the Desert Ridge Homeowner’s Network. He has also served as President of his sub-association, Glen Eagle, and a Director on the DRCA Board. Since 1999 Nick has volunteered at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in his continued service to his community.
