Hacienda del Joven Newsletter

Winter 2023

Big Turnout for the Annual HOA Meeting

Thirty-four people -- representing more than three-quarters of the neighborhood's 40 homes -- took part in the HOA's Annual Meeting on Monday night, January 23. Among other things, homeowners learned the HOA is forecasting a healthy budget reserve for 2023.

Last year, homeowners approved doubling the annual HOA dues from $50 to $100 -- the first increase in the HOA's 25-year history. As a result, said Lauren Mathon, the HOA's treasurer, the neighborhood is projecting a cash reserve of about $3,000 for 2023, after expenses.

The annual meeting was convened in the Parish Hall of nearby St. Alban's Episcopal Church off N. Sabino Canyon Rd.

The turnout was one of the largest in recent memory. The audience on hand included homeowners from 19 properties. Another 14 properties were represented by proxy. Here are the minutes of the meeting, if you missed it.

In addition to reviewing the HOA's financials -- and electing new board members -- there was a brief discussion about when Pima County plans to resurface the local streets in Hacienda del Joven.

In recent weeks, road crews have been busy laying down fresh asphalt on some nearby streets but not in our neighborhood.

According to the Pima County Department of Transportation website, current resurfacing work involves roads the country argues are the most in need of repair. In other words, said Bill Schmidt, the HOA secretary, our streets are not in bad enough shape to attract the county's attention.

Still, the HOA board did agree at its meeting on Feb 6 to ask county officials to send out crews to patch several potholes that have appeared this winter on our streets. We will keep you posted.

The board will also explore alternatives to the solar lights that illuminate the entrance to the neighborhood, after questions were raised at the Annual Meeting about the adequacy of the current lighting, which is often dim and sometimes not working at all.

New HOA Board and Officers for 2023

The 2023 HOA Board of Directors met on February 6 to choose new officers for the coming year, and re-elected Melissa Murphy to a fifth consecutive term as the President of the HOA board.

In addition to choosing Melissa -- who said her fifth term would be her last term as president -- the board elected Lauren Mathon as Vice President; Louann Jones as Treasurer and Fara Vijeh as Secretary.

Bill Schmidt will work with Fara as Assistant Secretary and continue as editor of the HOA Newsletter.

And new Board member Bill Hayes will chair the Landscape & Architectural Committee, taking over the role from longtime board member Norma Pancoast.

Contact information for all the board members is listed at the bottom of this newsletter.

The 2023 board was elected at the Annual Meeting, where homeowners unanimously choose a slate made up of six incumbents from the 2022 board plus Bill Hayes, as the board's seventh and newest member. Bill and his wife Julie Barrett live at 8045 E Corte del Joven.

In Memoriam...

Neighbors came together on Saturday, February 4, to celebrate the life and memory of Steve Pancoast, who with his wife Norma was among the first families to move into the new Hacienda del Joven neighborhood some 30 years ago.

Steve passed away on the weekend of January 8. The Pancoast family moved into their house on N Camino de la Familia in 1993, when much of the neighborhood was still in construction.

Friends who gathered at a "Celebration of Life" recalled Steve as a generous and caring father, husband and neighbor.

Steve was a constant and always helpful presence in the neighborhood, where he was sometimes seen cruising by in his beloved Corvette or Jaguar XKE.

He served many years as an member of the HOA board, stepping down in 2021, when Norma took over the role as chair of the Architecture & Landscape Committee.

He will be missed. Here is a link to an obituary from the newspaper in Steve's hometown of Everett, WA.

Our neighbor Jenny Hartung also noted the passing of Jim Stevenson -- a longtime neighbor who lived at the corner of N Camino de la Familia and E Alteza Vista. He moved from the neighborhood in 2016. Here is a link to his obituary from 2022.

In Case of Fire...a report on Rural Metro

Imagine that your beef flambe just set the kitchen afire. Or maybe Uncle Alf fell off the roof. Or you discovered a rattlesnake hiding inside the laundry hamper.

You need help fast!! Who ya gonna call?

The answer is ... Rural Metro. Their dispatchers are the ones who will answer your 911 call and get the fire trucks or the ambulance on its way to your house pronto.

Unlike the city of Tucson, where the fire department is a public service available to all, residents in unincorporated Pima County – and many other parts of the state -- must buy firefighting protection from Rural Metro, a privately-owned fire and emergency medical response provider.

Homeowners in unincorporated areas who do not buy such coverage run the risk of getting a whopping big bill, if fire trucks arrive at your house to battle a fire. They will put it out, but charge the homeowner many thousands of dollars for their services, each time they have to roll to your address.

Homeowners in Hacienda del Joven have been relying on Rural Metro for fire coverage since 2003. That's when our HOA board recommended that we merge our neighborhood with what is called the Sabino Vista Fire District, a geographical entity that includes most of the Sabino Vista area east of Sabino Canyon Road and north of the Tanque Verde Wash. The annexation was put to a neighborhood ballot, and more than 85 percent voted to join.

Founded when the Sabino Vista neighborhoods were developed in the 1960s and 70s, the Sabino Vista Fire District contracts with Rural Metro to provide service to more than 800 homes in the area. In turn, homeowners pay for the coverage through a line item added to our annual Pima County property tax bill.

That assessment shows up on your biannual property tax statement as "SABINO VISTA FD SEC." For that payment, you are entitled to basic fire and emergency medical response, including snake removal.

Rural Metro will also offer you advice on fire prevention safety and, if you want, come to your house to help you change out your smoke alarm batteries (especially the batteries in those smoke alarms near the ceiling, about 12 feet up!).

In our part of town, Rural Metro maintains three fire stations – one to our northeast near Swan and Sunrise, another to our east on Tanque Verde not far from Catalina Highway and -- the closest -- on Kolb Road, just north of us (pictured below).

Fire Station No. 73 on N. Kolb Rd

According to officials at Rural Metro and the adjoining Sabino Vista Neighborhood organization, the fee each of us pays the fire district on our tax bill is less than what it would be if we were to subscribe for fire service individually. Many businesses and homes elsewhere in the county that are not within a designated fire district must pay individually.

Unfortunately, while we get a collective break in pricing for basic fire protection and emergency service, our coverage via the Sabino Vista does not entitle us to some of the benefits that go to subscribers who pay their own way.

For example, Rural Metro’s website pages are touting a new service available to Rural Metro subscribers: air medical evacuation to help transport you to a hospital if you are injured or ill while traveling within the domestic US. And for an extra sum payable to Rural Metro, you can extend the coverage to protect you on international trips as well.

But officials at Rural Metro say homeowners who pay through a fire district, as we do, are not eligible to make use of the air ambulance plan. That’s because the Sabino Vista Fire District’s contract with Rural Metro does not go beyond the basic fire and emergency service.

It can be a bit confusing for homeowners. And unfortunately, operators at Rural Metro do not always seem clear about the distinction. One assured me I was covered, when subsequent phone calls made it clear I was not. And there is no way to ask the Sabino Vista Fire District, which collects our money. Alas, the telephone number listed for them on the Pima County website has been disconnected.

But here’s the good news: if you call 911 to report a fire or an accident – or a rattlesnake – the Rural Metro emergency vehicles will show up.

Meanwhile, if you have questions about Rural Metro services, you can call their non-emergency number, (520) 297-3600.

Living with Coyotes....

Nancy Carey saw seven coyotes in her yard one day in January. One of them had a rabbit in its mouth. Joyce Nelson watched a coyote vault the wall behind her house, and take a drink from the swimming pool.

And Matt and Kimberly Prucinsky reported that three coyotes jumped the wall behind their house on E Paseo de Beatriz around 9 am one Saturday morning in December and attacked their two Wheatons, who were outside in the yard.

Fortunately, their dogs -- a 7-year-old and 3-month-old pup -- are fine, although they suffered some bites.

Coyotes are blamed for scores of pet attacks each year in Arizona, and February and March are a time to be especially cautious. According to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, winter is breeding season for coyotes, a time when male coyotes especially tend to be more aggressive and active.

Remember that coyotes are easily capable of jumping over the walls around our houses, if they sense there is prey -- like small dogs -- on the other side. Here is a link to a publication from the Arizona Department of Game and Fish, with some good advice -- and precautions -- on coping with coyotes: https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife/livingwith/coyotes/

Living alongside coyotes -- not to mention javelina, bobcats and rattlesnakes -- is part of life in the desert. And as we were all reminded during a discussion at the Annual Meeting, life in the Southwest can include mountain lions too.

Lauren Mathon reported spotting one near her house in January, and Melissa Murphy recalled the day four years ago when Harvey Mordka, a former neighbor on E Corte del Joven, spied a mountain lion in a tree behind his house. Harvey grabbed a camera and took the picture, below, though his kitchen window.

Real Estate Update

Linda Mount has put her house at 8041 E Alteza Vista on the market. Linda and her late husband Dave -- a longtime member of the HOA board -- moved to Hacienda del Joven in 2003. The house is under contract.