Castlegate Community

vrflanders,  yes many people are having a hard time staying in there home, and paying their bills.  I am sure most of these people are not paying their HOA dues either.  What does that do for you and me, we pay our dues which helps pay some of the Community's bills. But can you imagine if 90% of the homeowners paid all of the time.  We would be able to come out of this situation we are in right now a bit quicker.  With our current situation I would consider "niceties" on HOLD.  But what would you consider a "nicetie" ? I would consider a nicety a new basketball court, painting lines down the street and putting up a dog park.  Sorry we just don't have the funds for these now.  What I would not consider a nicetie would be paying our landscapers, paying our garbage and water. 

I think a few things need to be looked into though. I asked at the last meeting held on the cost of the popup sprinklers.  $35.00 each is WAY too much.  Ewing sells professional popups (anytime I am in there I run into landscaping contractor after landscaping contractor, so I know this is where they go to buy their parts) for $5 to $6 each.  These are not the inexpensive ones from Home Depot or Lowes, these are professional grade brass sprinkler heads.  Unless our landscapers are charging us $5 for the replacement and $30 for the installation ? 

Keep your chin up, things will get better.  It will not be overnight, it is going to take some time.

I agree with that. I think the landscaper needs to be looked into. I am out and about every day and see a lot of unnecessary things going on. I don't agree with the attitude that everything else is going up so it's OK to raise the dues. Lets try to be different.

My point with everything else going up is that the BILLS go up so rates gotta go up sometime.  SRP is going to increase their rates the water company is talking about increasing their rates, when stores increase their rates on the products we purchase to fix things (such as sprinklers) or on pesticides for extermination then things like landscaping dues go up, when the landfills charge more to dump the trash then the trash companies increase their rates.

My point is that the cost of services (like electric and water) increase, the cost of fuel increases, the cost of products and parts increases, then that's more money out of pocket for the HOA...money has to come from somewhere.  And the more homes that foreclose that's less money coming in so it has to be balanced out somewhere.  You cannot have the cost of everything else go up and more homes foreclosed on or less folks paying their HOA dues and your rates go down, mathmatically it just isn't possible.

I'm not saying it as an excuse or saying it as let's be like everyone else, I'm saying the more money charged for utilities, products, services, etc the more the HOA has to pay out, the more money that is needed.

Actually SRP has decided not to raise rates at this time. But thanks you are helping me decide who not to vote for.