JUNE Newsletter Vol. 14 Issue 6

June Board of Directors Meeting

The June  Ocean Ranch Homeowners Association Board of Directors Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 19th at the at the Ocean Ranch Community Pool/Park Complex following the Annual Election.  The meeting will begin with the closed Executive Session at 6:30 PM followed by the regular Open Session of the Board Meeting which will begin approximately 7:45 PM. For your information, the proposed Meeting Agenda is posted on the Bulletin Board located at the Ocean Ranch Community Pool/Park Complex.

All Ocean Ranch residents are invited to participate in the Open Session to discuss any matters of business that would be proper to come before the Ocean Ranch Board of Directors.  While it is not necessary that the Board be notified before the actual Board Meeting, it may be more effective if Ocean Ranch’s Community Manager,  Mr. Miguel Torres, is apprised of the issue ahead of time.  You may contact Mr. Torres by telephone at: (949) 615-6624, or via email at Miguel.Torres@fsresidential.com.  You may also write directly to Mr. Torres at FirstServices Residential, 15241 Laguna Canyon Road, Irvine, CA 92618.

Ocean Ranch Homeowners Association

Annual Meeting and Election - June 19, 2025 

All Ocean Ranch residents should have received an Official Notice of the upcoming Ocean Ranch Annual Meeting and Election scheduled for Thursday, June 19th at 6:30 PM at the Ocean Ranch Community Pool Complex. This election is very important as it will choose three homeowner residents of Ocean Ranch  to serve as Directors of the Homeowners Association for the next two years.  One  incumbent candidate, Michael Leventhal, is running for re-election to the Board and one other homeowner, Debbie Wilemon, has  submitted a candidate statement and qualified as a candidate for election .  In addition, two other Ocean  Ranch residents, Donna Pikula and Lisa Emery, have indicated their intention to run as write-in candidates. 

The election laws of the State of California require 50% of the Homeowners' Association members to cast votes before a legal quorum of voters is achieved to enable a valid election to be held.  If a quorum is not met at the scheduled election, ballots cannot be counted, and the election will have to be re-scheduled until enough qualified ballots are received  to enable the election to be held.  PLEASE VOTE!!!

This year’s ballot consists of three parts: 

The yellow ballot includes instructions and candidate voting selections, approval or disapproval of the previous year’s annual meeting minutes, and approval or disapproval of the tax measure.  Approval is recommended for the minutes and tax measure because it benefits the Association.

    Fold the yellow ballot and insert it into the yellow envelope. DO NOT SIGN the yellow ballot.  That way your voting anonymity is preserved.

     Insert the yellow envelope with the  ballot into the blue mailing envelope.  For your ballot to be a legal ballot you MUST affix your return address to the blue envelope AND SIGN THE BLUE ENVELOPE before mailing. This is necessary to enable the Inspector of Elections to determine that your ballot is valid.

     When the ballots are received the blue envelopes will be qualified (signature and address) and then the yellow ballot envelope will be separated from the blue envelope and the yellow ballots will be counted.  All voting ballots will be anonymous.

    You may either mail your completed ballots to the pre-printed address on the front of the envelope, or return your completed ballot to the Upper or Lower Gates, or vote in person at the Ocean Ranch Community Pool/Park Complex on Thursday evening, June 19th.

PLEASE  VOTE!

The Continued Safety Vigilance Necessary

Information in this article was previously distributed to Ocean Ranch residents, but because of its continuing importance we would like to reemphasize the need for ongoing vigilance as we work to keep Ocean Ranch as safe as possible. 

Ocean Ranch experienced substantially less burglary activity  this last  year, but we have not completely avoided the problem. Laguna Niguel Police services informed us that burglaries are still occurring in the general area including in residential communities along Golden Lantern, and in Nellie Gail Ranch and Marbella Country Club.  While Police Services are  working assiduously to catch the perpetrators, criminal activity remains a problem in our area, and  we all need to be very cautious in protecting our homes and Community. PLEASE CONTINUE YOUR CLOSE ATTENTION TO ALL COMMUNITY VISITORS.

We believe that our efforts to protect Ocean Ranch through more effective Gate procedures and increased patrols along Ridgeway Avenue have been helpful, but diligent awareness by our Community members is likely the most important action we can take to reduce likelihood of further criminal activity.  We are continuing Community efforts to make Ocean Ranch a great Community, and as safe as possible.

Thank you for your efforts to help keep Ocean Ranch safe.  

IF You Missed It…

The Ocean Ranch “Meet the Candidates” wine & cheese event at the pool on May 28th was a tremendous success.  We enjoyed fine wine and cheeses while getting to know the candidates: Michael Leventhal, an incumbent candidate, Debbie Wilomen, a candidate for the Board and current member of the Landscape Committee, Donna Pikula, a late entry write-in candidate, and Lisa Emery, another late entry write-in candidate.  

Cabernet, Pino and Chardonay, along with a variety of cheeses, were a terrific bridge between a busy work day and dinner at home.  The added benefit of hearing the candidates verbalize their specific goals, meeting new neighbors, and seeing old friends, conveys an impressive level of community spirit.   

We had approximately 40 residents attend the event.  Residents were invited to turn-in their election ballots via the highly secure Ballot Box, thanks to the artistic skills of Board Vice President, Janice Wolf.   It is hoped that enough ballots were collected to help reach the number necessary to meet quorum on the first round of voting.  Since ballots are handled by an independent 3rd party election consultant, we will not know if the goal was reached until ballots are counted by the consultant on June 19th.  So, if you did not vote, please do so before the June 19th deadline.

The heavy lifting for this event was done by Board Treasurer, Tom Williams, who secured the refreshments, the cheese, and set up the service area.  Janice Wolf was on hand to help with the set-up and welcome the new candidates. Retiring board members, Rich Belliston and Daryl Jacob were also onsite to wish the candidates well.  

Everyone occasionally likes to entertain guests in their homes and during the warmer months, periodically evening parties are held which utilize back yard facilities.  Were you aware that party noise is supposed to be contained inside residences after 10:00 p.m.?  Many people say: "10:00 P.M., that is kind of early to conclude a party, isn't it?"  When your party creates noise in the neighborhood after 10:00 P. M.,  you will need to "take the party inside" so that neighbors will not be adversely impacted.  Remember some neighbors have small children sleeping or must rise early--even on the weekends.  Your compliance with  Ocean Ranch CC&Rs will be appreciated by everyone. 

If you have noise complaints, it is recommended that residents first notify Ocean Ranch's Upper Gate attendants who will ask the roving patrol officer on duty to investigate and ask the “offending” resident to please contain the noise to the interior of the residence involved.  Hopefully, that will be sufficient to remedy the problem.  However, if noise continues,  the complaining party and/or  Ocean Ranch's patrol may contact Laguna Niguel Police Services directly (949) 770-6011). Laguna Niguel City ordinances also contain noise control provisions so excess noise can become a legal matter. It is detrimental to Ocean Ranch's overall positive reputation to have Police Services  called to maintain appropriate decorum in Ocean Ranch so, if you are contacted by Ocean Ranch's patrol officers,  please cooperate so that the problem will not have to be elevated to Laguna Niguel Police Services. 

We all live "together" so it is important that we be good neighbors and consider the impact of our actions on our neighbors.  Thank you for your cooperation.

The Board of Directors:

Richard Belliston, President

Janice Wolf, Vice President

Daryl Jacob, Secretary

Tom Williams, Treasurer

Michael Leventhal, Member at Large