Indian Wells Racquet Club

Quorum Article - July 1998

Indian Wells Racquet Club No. 1 is a 32 Unit Planned Unit Development tucked away in the cove in Indian Wells, behind the gates of Indian Wells Country Club. It was built in early 1980 on leased land, although about one third of the units have since acquired the freehold. It has two large pools situated in a generous expanse of green belt.

As a direct result of an ill wind definitely blowing somebody some good, the association has recently completed a "new look" makeover. Early this year the original wood shake roofs on the buildings were damaged by freak windstorms beyond any repair that the City of Indian Wells would permit. So, demonstrating the importance of having a "full replacement value" condo policy, State Farm agreed to pay for the roofs to be replaced.

Born of necessity, the association now had the opportunity to enhance its property values by creating a new, contemporary ambience, rather than maintain the existing "dated" look of the early 1980s. This was achieved through the installation of new concrete tile roofs and the complete repainting of the buildings. For this to have been done so quickly and so successfully, the association deserves a major Achievement Award for cooperation among homeowners and leadership on the part of its board of directors. Bear in mind that, being a PUD, the association is not responsible for and therefore does not directly control the exterior maintenance of the buildings.

The choice of roofing material and paint was made by the architectural committee, with the board of directors ensuring that there was feed-back from all homeowners by keeping them fully informed. The key to maximum acceptability on the part of homeowners was to keep the new look simple. This effort was so successful that approval by homeowners of the new look was almost 100 percent.

Because the roofs had been so badly damaged, there was no time to go through a lengthy bidding process. Accordingly, the contract for the new roofs was negotiated with Lehman Roofing. Similarly, the contract for painting was negotiated with Caliva Painting, who had previously worked with the roofer. The re-roofing was achieved with no out of pocket expense on the part of homeowners, although they did have to come up with approximately $1,500 each for the repainting of their units.

An important part of upgrading the look of the association has been the replacement of overgrown shrubs and the overhaul of the irrigation system, to include digital controls and individual bubblers to the many trees belonging to the association.

Board President John Whitten's philosophy is one of leadership by persuasion rather than by board dictat. "For a program to be successful, the whole group has to want it to happen. You can't jam it down their throats. The key is to keep people informed and make them feel part of the decision making process. When you ask for participation, you reduce the desire or opportunity for people to object to the decisions made."

At the same time, an association must be run like the business it is. If the board is fair and objective and does things that make sense, it will meet with very little opposition. As an example, this board insists that individual homeowners adhere to the chain of command and not interface directly with the gardeners. Homeowners accept this because the board has been able to show that it keeps costs down.

The board's close attention to cost control and funds management has enabled it to maintain a healthy reserve position and at the same time lower monthly dues to keep them below the psychologically sensitive $300 level. Homeowners appreciate this kind of success.

The success of the current board's management style is reflected in increasingly harmonious relationships among homeowners and board. It was not always like this. A reliable measure of the board's achievement is the length of board meetings. At one time, these were 2 plus hour displays of ego and resentment. They are now reduced to less than 1 hour of business and appreciation. This is a definite turnaround and a clear demonstration that the board is in firm control.

Out of 32 owners, only 6 are full time residents. "Welcome back" parties and parties after annual meetings help foster a sense of family and pride in community. This is shown by individual homeowners volunteering to do minor maintenance work. This saves money and keeps people involved. The board makes sure that people know that they are appreciated and always invites its vendors in its parties. These include: ColBren Incorporated, the management company, represented by Association Manager Brenton J. Watson; AC Custom Landscaping, the landscaping contractor; and C&M Pools, the pool maintenance contractor.