Category: Uncategorized

Last year the board began pursuing a project to replace most of the grass areas in the community with low-water plants. Unfortunately, the vendor we were working with decided to abandon the project, and after getting new project bids we’ve determined that the cost to complete this project would be 5x the original cost. Based on this, the board has decided to cancel this project, and we will be keeping the current grassy areas.

(For those who might be worried, no costs were ever incurred for this project.)

To all residents, please remember that you can file work orders directly on portal.manorinc.com under “Requests”. Renters who do not have access to the portal can email work orders to help@caminodelprado.org (this forwards to management). A few notes:

• As much as possible, please include photos showing the issue.
• The HOA only covers certain kinds of work. You can see a “cheat sheet” of responsibilities at caminodelprado.org/maintenance.  (If the HOA sends out a contractor at a homeowner’s request, but the work was a homeowner responsibility, then the work may be back-billed to the homeowner.)
• The is an emergency phone number for HOA emergencies. You can read more at caminodelprado.org/contact, but please be sure to call 9-1-1 for fire/crime/health/gas emergencies. (If the HOA sends out an emergency contractor at a homeowner’s request, but the work was not an emergency then the work may be back-billed to the homeowner.

As warm weather comes upon us, we’d like to take a moment to remind everyone of some of our pool and clubhouse rules. The pool and clubhouse are generally available to all residents upon acquiring the requisite keys (and subject to their opening hours). Keys can be purchased via Manor, our property management company, and are not to be shared with non-residents. See the rules booklet for information about having guests at the clubhouse and pool.

Only the clubhouse can be rented for exclusive use; the pool cannot be rented for exclusive use.

Last year the clubhouse rules were updated to allow clubhouse renters (and their guests) to use the pool during their rental period. However, the pool is still open to all residents even during a clubhouse rental.

We’d like to take a moment to remind everyone that our community is strictly smoke-free. Smoking is not permitted anywhere within the community, including near residential buildings, common areas, walkways, parking areas, or other shared spaces. This is a City of Sunnyvale ordinance, which you can read about at https://www.sunnyvale.ca.gov/business-and-development/your-business-center/smokefree-sunnyvale

This applies to residents, guests, and visitors, and infractions can result in HOA enforcement action in line with our governing documents.

The playground now sports two new spring riders, replacing the previous two broken and aging spring riders – including a new tandem rider!

A big thinks to Barbara Smith for spearheading this effort.

I’m please to share that the Internet connection in the clubhouse has now been upgraded to be faster and more reliable! We’ve switched from wireless Verizon 5G to a newly installed Comcast cable line.

WiFi connection details are posted in the clubhouse, by the sink in the main room.

Please do note that the WiFi is offered on “best effort” basis. It may not always be available, and it is rate-limited in order to prioritize official HOA usage.

For those curious, before: https://www.speedtest.net/result/i/6822778478, and after: https://www.speedtest.net/result/i/6822815009.

Following up on our recent board election, the board has internally chosen the roles of the officers:

• Manish: President
• Bhargav: Vice president
• Mehmet: Treasurer
• Chris: Secretary
• Barbara: Member at large

Thank you all who attended this year’s annual meeting. It was great to see so many people in person.

Also a big thanks to all who mailed in your ballots – it’s great to see so many people engaged in local democracy! Congratulations to Barbara who won re-election, and Mehmet and Manish, who will be joining the Board. Our thanks go out to Satya and Margaret for their contributions, as they transition off the board – if you see them around please be sure to thank them for their service!

Please see linked document: Pre-Ballot Notice for Camino Del Prado Homeowners Association

 

Dear community,

I just wanted to take a moment to talk about our landscaping. We know that many of you feel the same way that we on the board do; there has been an explosion of weeds, ivy overgrowth, and other issues. Part of this is a result of entering Spring after a particularly wet Winter, and we are working with our landscaper to address the situation (but it may take a bit of time to catch up). We’re also looking at what we can do next year, so we can preemptively tackle the issue of weeds.

For the ivy, we are collecting and assessing bids to either do a deep trimming, or a complete removal. Removing the ivy entirely is very expensive, but even just trimming the ivy is fairly expensive (significantly more expensive than it used to be), so we’ll be assessing the break-even point on removal vs trimming. For those interested, please join the next board meeting.

We’re also looking at other measures to keep down landscaping costs. This past month, the board voted to authorize a major replacement of grass areas around the complex to easier-to-maintain, drought-tolerant plants (similar to the replacement that happened along the North side of Bryant Way several years ago). This can reduce ongoing maintenance costs, and make it easier to keep a high quality bar. Drought-tolerant plants also reduce water costs. We’re utilizing Santa Clara County rebate programs for this work, which will cover an estimated 75% of the costs. We estimate the break-even on savings will be around 5 years, likely less (and we have landscaping funds saved in our reserves that can be used for this project). This project will take a month or so to kick off in earnest, as we await approvals. Note that grass at the playground will remain.

~Chris