If any of you have any interest in keeping the golf course, I strongly recommend YOU come to the next board meeting.  If you are reading this you must be concerned with home values. The homeowners that attended tonight seemed more interested in spending association money on a upgrade on the existing fountain.

The meeting tonight could have gone better. In my opinion 90 percent  or more of the attendees were from Toscanna. I don’t be leave it was a true reflection of all homeowners. One board member made a statement to the effect that “homeowners voted overwhelmingly to close the golf course.”  I recall the homeowners voted to not increase the monthly fee by $32.00. This was a vote not to finance the current golf course owner.

There was some good news from a couple home owners in attendance. The golf course is in arrears on the property taxes.  The course is broken in to six parcels. The county assessor  seems to have agreed that the individual sale of each parcel would be the demise of the course and the Sparks Master Plan.

The next meeting will be sometime in January. I will be posting the time and date as soon as I know. Please try to attend. It would be helpful to have opinions from a larger cross section of D’Andrea residents.

Why are the golf courses still lush and green?

Since golf courses use a lot of water, Scottsdale has developed strategies to minimize the impact they have on our water supplies. Scottsdale reclaims wastewater at the Water Campus, treating the water to irrigation standards. Golf courses pay all the costs to receive this reclaimed water for irrigation through the Reclaimed Water Delivery System (RWDS), which is the largest reclaimed water reuse system in the Valley.

The RWDS delivers reclaimed water, and some CAP water, to all golf courses along Pima Road north of the Loop 101. In addition, Council policy requires that any future golf courses must provide their own renewable surface water supply in order to locate in Scottsdale.

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Water/Water_Supply_Planning/DroughtFAQs

Wastewater Treatment

Scottsdale has one of the most sophisticated water reclamation systems in the country and we work around the clock so everything that goes down the drain – stays down the drain.  The highly treated effluent that leaves our reclamation plant is reused to irrigate more than 22 different golf courses in the central and northern part of the city.

Operators for both our Water and Reclamation Services are required to be certified by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and are required to obtain thirty hours of Professional Development training to renew their certifications, which is required every 3 years.

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Water/treatment

RECLAIMED WATER

A VALUABLE SUPPLY OF WATER
Scottsdale was one of the first cities in the Valley to use reclaimed water for irrigation purposes.  By using reclaimed water instead of drinking water, it preserves more drinking water for us now and in the future.

Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater that provides a quality source for irrigation of large turf areas, such as golf courses.  The city of Scottsdale owns and operates two reclaimed water treatment systems – The Water Campus and Gainey Ranch Water Reclamation Plants. These facilities have the ability to process over twenty million gallons of reclaimed water a day, 365 days a year.

A water reclamation facility is located at Scottsdale’s Water Campus.  It treats wastewater using a combination of standard wastewater treatment technologies, microfiltration, and reverse osmosis. The reclaimed water, or effluent, produced at the Water Campus then becomes available as a water supply for non-drinking purposes.

Most of this reclaimed water is distributed through the Reclaimed Water Distribution System (RWDS) to twenty-three golf courses north of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) Canal for turf irrigation. The remaining water is put through further treatment and is pumped back into the groundwater aquifer, or recharged, through specially designed ‘vadose zone’ recharge wells.  There are more than fifty of these wells on the Water Campus grounds.

RECLAIMED WATER AND GOLF COURSES
Since 1989, the majority of Scottsdale’s golf courses have been using non-potable water (water that has not been treated to drinking water standards) to meet their daily irrigation needs.  Approximately two dozen golf courses receive primarily reclaimed water from city facilities supplemented by raw water from the CAP canal to irrigate their courses.

As wastewater flows increase in the City due to additional growth and infill and CAP water supplies need to be used to meet increased demands for drinking water, these courses will exclusively utilize reclaimed water.

ADVANCED TREATMENT
In a true public-private partnership with these golf courses, the city of Scottsdale is embarking on a project that will deliver reclaimed water that has been processed beyond traditional methods by using advanced treatment technology such as ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis technology.

This advanced treatment technology will reduce the salt content of the reclaimed water which will assist the golf courses in efficiently managing their water use.  Scottsdale’s Advanced Water Treatment Plant is located at the Water Campus and the golf courses are funding the infrastructure improvements for the improved water they receive.

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Water/Water_Supply_Planning/Sustainable_Supply/Reclaimed_Water

SPARKS MUNICIPAL CODE

Chapter 20.32 Resource-Efficient Landscaping
Section 20.32.120 Maintenance.

A.    Each owner, operator or other person in control of a development project, shall be required at all times to keep all landscaping materials in good health, repair and maintenance.  The City may require the immediate replacement of any and all dead or damaged plant materials.

B.    If any portion of the landscaping material or irrigation equipment is damaged, destroyed or otherwise injured, the owner, operator or other person in control of the development project shall replace or repair the damage or injury within thirty days following notification from the administrator of the damage.  If the season of the year makes this repair or replacement infeasible within the thirty-day period, the person responsible for the landscaping shall schedule an appropriate time for the accomplishment of this work with the administrator.

C.    If the repair or replacement is not accomplished in a timely fashion as described in
subsection B, the administrator may initiate proceedings to revoke the special use permit or business license for the subject use.

(Ord. 1730, 1992: Ord. 1447 § 8, 1984: Ord. 1288 § 1 (part), 1980.)

- See more at: http://www.cityofsparks.us/municipal-code/city-sparks-municipal-code/title-20-zoning-and-land-use-controls/chapter-2032-1#sthash.e8ydEZtt.dpuf

Code enforcement is a tool to help the city control blight, help maintain private property, and abate public nuisances and dangerous conditions. The recession and bursting of the region’s real estate bubble has resulted in an unprecedented number of homebuyer loan defaults and foreclosures and in a growing number of vacant, neglected properties that pose a nuisance or danger to the community.

Despite having only a single code enforcement officer, the city has continued to respond to complaints and achieved many successes in abating problems in our community. In addition, Planning staff led the City Manager’s new Vacant Building Task Force. This effort resulted in City Council adoption of an ordinance amending the “Nuisances” section of the municipal code to enhance the city’s ability to abate nuisances. The city’s Planning Division has since worked closely with staff in other city departments, including Fire and the City Attorney’s office, and with the Building Official, to develop policies and procedures to utilize these enhanced powers.

http://www.cityofsparks.us/sites/default/files/assets/documents/mgmt-services/Annual%20Report%20FY11-12_0.pdf

Scottsdale’s Water Conservation staff work to help residents use water wisely. Last year alone, they responded to over 18,000 phone calls for assistance, and held 20 landscape workshops for 1,000 customers. The workshops teach people about best water management practices for their landscaping. Water management on landscaping is important since landscape watering accounts for 60 to 80 percent of all municipal water use here in the Valley. Conservation staff also performresidential and commercial site visits.

Scottsdale offers rebate programs to encourage citizens to install water efficient plumbing fixtures and/or convert their existing grass to a low water using Xeriscapelandscape. The plumbing rebate for installing a low-flow toilet in a structure built before 1992 is up to $75. A single-family homeowner may also receive up to $1,500 for removing existing grass. Additionally, we offer a water audit program that gives customers a chance to get individual recommendations about how to reduce their outdoor water consumption. For more information on any of these programs please click here Conservation or call the Water Conservation Office at 480-312-5659.

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Water/Water_Supply_Planning/DroughtFAQs

GENERAL FUND REVENUE ANALYSIS

I. OBJECTIVES

Build a database of fees collected by the City (excluding property tax, sales tax and Utility revenue, primary emphasis on General Fund)

To create a tool to evaluate various fees charged by the City, as suggested by the employee focus groups, that can be communicated to interested parties and decision makers

Ultimately, be able to identify opportunities for adjusting (increasing or decreasing) rates where possible and applicable

II. SCOPE OF WORK

Gather information on fees collected by the City, excluding sales tax, property tax and utility fees, with primary emphasis on general fund revenue

Understand what the fees are for, how they were calculated

Research basis for charging such fees (i.e. Ordinance, NRS, etc.)

Answer the following questions:

• Is the fee designed to be a cost recovery tool?
• When was the last time the fee was adjusted?
• Can this fee be adjusted?
• Are fees consistently applied within departments and across departments?
• Should the fees be adjusted or even be removed based on service needs?

III. METHODOLOGY

Review of actual revenue posted in the General Ledger in FY10

Interviews with department staff responsible for administering fees

Research NRS, Sparks Municipal Code, Ordinances and Resolutions that provision authority to charge and adjust fees

Research what City of Reno and/or Washoe County charges for similar fees, where information is available

IV. SYNOPSIS

Based on this research, 96% ($11M) of non-sales/property tax General Fund revenues in FY10 cannot be increased due to restrictions imposed by either NRS or agreements with respective parties.

http://cityofsparks.us/sites/default/files/assets/documents/mgmt-service/Revenue%20Analysis_December%202010.pdf