Written By Nick Nickerson

Hello Neighbors. I hope this Newsletter finds each of you in good health.

One of the most important things we do as residents living within a Homeowners Association is express our opinion on changes or updates to our Governing Documents and our Rules and Regulations. Combined these documents set the stage for how we agree to conduct ourselves within the community.

By now each of you have received the Ballot Package to register your vote on our proposed Bylaws and Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). The Ballot Package includes: the Notice of Special Meeting; the Voting Instructions; the Secret Ballot; and the Amended and Restated CC&Rs and Bylaws.

As a reminder, a Special Meeting of our Members will be held on Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral City Library, located at 33520 Date Palm Drive, Cathedral City, CA 92234.

The poles will be open from 10:15AM and closed at approximately 10:40AM. Doors will open at 10:00AM. If a quorum has been established, the ballots will be opened and counted. If a quorum is not established, the meeting will be adjourned to a later date not more than 30 days from the original date. Subsequently, it is imperative that you vote and return your Ballot to our Property Manager as instructed.

To change or amend our Governing Documents requires the approval of 67% (essentially 2/3rds) of our homeowners. Considering, there are 128 homes in our association, we need a minimum of 86 votes in favor of the changes in order for the measure to pass.

The Board urges all homeowners to vote and return their ballots. Ballots can be returned by mail to our Property Manager Company, or can be brought to the Special Meeting on September 16, 2017 to be counted.

Remember that the outside return envelope MUST BE SIGNED to be opened and counted. Unsigned envelops will only be counted toward establishing a quorum. If you did not sign your it is recommended you come to the ballot opening meeting to sign your envelop

Personalized Property Manager

68950 Adelina Road

Cathedral City, CA 92234

(760) 325-9500

Please review the Summary of Changes to the CC&Rs and Bylaws posted on the website

By Michelle Madison, President & Newsletter Editor- michelleYmadison@gmail.com

Spring is just around the corner!

We have had a very busy last couple of months as the board prepares to share with you the details of key items coming up at our Homeowners meeting. This year our meeting is taking place at Cathedral City Library. Jo Ann our welcome committee chair shares more details in the news article.

All homeowners should have received your ballots in the mail for the nomination of new board members. If not please contact PPM for more information. There are more details in this newsletter.

In the last several newsletters we have mentioned the series of updates regarding the Proposed Governing Documents. Nick Nickerson will be presenting details at the Annual Homeowners meeting. This is a great opportunity for any questions you may have to be answered. Please see the article in this newsletter that Nick and Tom have prepared on this topic and other key topics we will be discussing at the meeting.

In keeping with our “Question from a Homeowner” -There are multiple dogs near and these dogs are barking constantly, for hours on end, sometimes all day. I believe that the owners may not be aware of how loud and how long the barking goes on. I would be happy to give them a call. Other than that, what is the procedure to get this dealt with? Dogs barking constantly can be a nuisance. Ideally you should address the issue with our neighbor directly and hopefully resolve the issue. But if it continues, please seek assistance! Contact a board member and or PPM to help facilitate and address the issue. This also applies to pet owners not picking up after your pet. We still have pet owners allowing their pets to relieve themselves on other neighbor’s yards and not picking it up. Please be considerate of your neighbors and pick up after your pet.

I have enjoyed “Questions from the Homeowners” as this will be my last newsletter and board term. I will be handing off my duties to the next President and board members. Please continue to voice your concerns and questions to the board in the future. I have enjoyed working with everyone. It has been a pleasure serving as a board member for our Montage community. Thank you for the opportunity!

By Michelle Madison, President & Newsletter Editor- michelleYmadison@gmail.com

Happy New Year! Hope that everyone had a wonderful Holiday! Speaking of the Holiday; our 1st Holiday Dinner that was held at Mission Hills CC was a success. Thanks to all that attended. We want to thank JoAnn and Alan Horwitz for their work and time they put in to making this event the success that it was.

As mentioned in the last newsletter we continue with our series of updates regarding the Proposed Governing Documents. Nick Nickerson gives you an overview with update No. 3. All homeowners should have received notification of the adopted 2017 Budget and approved 2017 Reserve Study provided in the required mailing of the “Annual Budget Report” and “Annual Policy Statement”. Please contact PPM if you did not receive them.

You should have also received a notice for board nominations. We will have 3 positions available for homeowners who would like serve. We encourage you to submit your nomination as soon as possible. Every homeowner should have the experience of serving on the community’s board!

In keeping with our “Question from a Homeowner” – We just received a letter stating that we have dead plants and a dead palm tree in our front yard that have to be dealt with. We replaced one a few weeks ago. And another is (growing) back from a summer burn. Who should I call? Recently, the A&L Committee conducted a walk through and you may have been notified of some items that required attention. Our apologies, apparently you received your letter after you replaced the plants. The goal is to get the letters to you as soon as possible but sometimes they may arrive later than anticipated. Please contact the board, the A&L Committee or PPM if you have any questions or concerns regarding notification letters.

Pride of ownership is what makes our community so great. That is one of many reasons why we love Montage! If you have a “Question from a Homeowner” please feel free to submit it via email to the Board or PPM. Homeowners are always welcome and encouraged to attend our HOA board meetings. The next one will be Thursday January 12th, 9:30am at the PPM offices.

Labor Day the “unofficial end of summer”, a time when most school districts resume classes or celebrate the first three-day weekend of the school calendar. Labor day always made me feel that this was the last weekend to officially wear white clothes. And let’s not forget the labor day weekend summer sales! Labor Day for some of us here in Montage it is a reminder for us to start preparing for the season. Cleaning patio furniture for the soon to be cooler days and evenings. Having the solar panels cleaned after the recent summer dust storms. Babying our plants with the extra hand watering and shade cloth’s in hopes that they may survive the summer heat into the fall.

Actually, homeowners have been quite busy this summer with landscaping projects, solar installations and exterior home painting projects. Because of these activities our streets may have more dirt and debris than normal. We ask that you are mindful of the Friday street sweeping day and ask your guest and service workers to limit parking on the street that day.

In light of the most asked question this month here is our “Question from a Homeowner”- I have a leak in my pool, requiring it to be drained, to be fixed.  I don’t know whom to contact to get approval.  Could you let me know?

Technically, a permit at a cost of $2.50 is required.  However, the purpose of the permit is to simply have the appropriate contact information in the event that an issue arises.  If the HOA is managing the process, like PPM does, and no water is leaving the community onto public streets, the City of Cathedral City does not require a permit.  Water discharged from Montage Pools goes into the street and finds it way to Montage detention basin. The Association does have the right to issue a permit if the HOA deems it really necessary. You don’t need a variance request. We simply ask that you notify Shelly and Jasmine at Personalized Property Management via email or by a phone call to let them know the date that you plan to drain your pool. At least a week notice is suggested so that we don’t have a conflict with other pools draining all at once into the basin.

You can go to www.montagemissiohill.org if you have other questions or need forms for your various needs.

We thank you in advance for considering your neighbors for another holiday weekend and wish you a happy and safe labor day! If you have a “Question from a Homeowner” please feel free to submit it via email to the Board or PPM.

Homeowners are always welcome and encouraged to attend our HOA board meetings. The next one will be Thursday September 9th, 9:30am at the PPM offices.

By Michelle Madison, President & Newsletter Editor- michelleYmadison@gmail.com