FROM THE BOARD Dear DAOA homeowners, We, your Board, continue to work to convey the issues facing our community and how we are addressing them. The two legal actions brought against DAOA have both been resolved positively, with no loss of DAOA land. The two parties with legal threats towards DAOA Board and Management are being dealt with currently to protect our community's best interests. Security is an ongoing and evolving concern for our community. We are working closely with Port of Quincy Security, Mattawa police and Grant County Sheriffs office through our DAOA Management and our Safety and Security committee to minimize vandalism, attempted car break ins, gang activity in DA, home and building security . We continue to encourage neighbors watching out for each other, reporting suspicious activity to MACC! As reported by the SSC and the Port of Quincy Security, our crime rates are lower than in our surrounding region. We will be voting on continuing our partnership with Port of Quincy Security on our upcoming Annual Ballot, clarifying our governing documents, and our next proposed fiscal year's Budget. This proposed budget reflects maintenance priorities which are ongoing and ideally proactive. Many thanks to our Treasurer, Keith Savisky, our General Manager, James Curdy and Vice-President, Matt Yanak for their many hours spent to create this proposed Budget! We always looking forward to hearing from you via emails to the Board, attending our DAOA Board meetings and in our interactions in DA! We use social media to communicate events and announcements but not as a communication platform. Please continue to share your feedback, get involved and VOTE on our Annual Meeting ballot! Your DAOA Board, Darci Ulin, Matt Yanak, Mark Pierce, Keith Savisky, and Steve Nuce
From the GENERAL MANAGER’s Desk - James Curdy PLEASE BAG YOUR GARBAGE before putting it in your cans. When the wind blows it ends up all over the street and in your neighbors’ yards. Member cards – we now have a number of cards that are very old and need updated. If your kids have grown this is a necessity for pool access this season. Also, we will resume the original policy of 3 days’ notice to update your Registered Guest lists. This means Wednesday 3pm for the upcoming weekend. FAQ/DYK-I’m a new owner…with a VRBO/short-term rental house and I want my guests to have access to the pool, what are my options? I can use my personal member card but the guest list can only be updated 1x/week with 3 days’ notice. Or I can buy a rental house card for $200 that has a $50/year fee and no Registered Guest Lists are required. Annual SPRING CLEANUP Friday, April 25th went well with 30 Members and 10 students coming out to help clean up our community. Afterwards, 10 volunteers used their early dump pass to dump personal garbage (Friday) instead of waiting in line Saturday or Sunday. This year we added appliances back in and the steel bins were completely full. Saturday morning the SHRED EVENT in the Lobby was well utilized from (9-12) with 26 members filling all 5 containers. Code Compliance and the Architectural committee continue to work on Common area encroachments to protect Association property. These are members using this community asset as their personal property (without a license agreement). MEMBER CHARGING is an option for those on AUTOPAY! If your account has been current AND you sign up for auto pay …you can charge at both the Pool and Golf Shop by showing your Member Card. Garbage Service is available through Waste Management of Ellensburg at (800) 572-4559. Roll out service is a good option for non-full-time residents. *Please remember to store your can securely out of sight on non-dump days. The Riverview Café formerly the Snack Shack will “not be open” early on this year because we have not been successful finding a manager with catering experience for larger events! We are currently using food trucks and it is working well for now. REMINDER Dog complaints have been around since the mid 70’s and while the county has done away with Dog Licenses, the animal control ordinance still applies and FINES are part of the enforcement in Desert Aire. We do not have the qualified staff or facilities to handle this issue and since we are under Grant County jurisdiction, we must include the sheriff to handle them. Reporting should be done at: 800-431-9911 or 911 if an emergency.
PARKS & GREENBELTS- Volunteers are being sought for 4th of July Park Events which includes a big professional fireworks display. The sign-up sheet will be in the office soon. EXERCISE FACILITY- We just replaced another treadmill and a few smaller items. As we plan for next year, if any users have a suggestion, please email the office. GOLF COURSE-The golf course looks good coming out of winter and it has been busier than ever. (See Kyle and Shawn’s articles for more info). REMEMBER, you can also follow us on Facebook for information and upcoming events at: Desert Aire Owners Association and/or Desert Aire Golf Course. As always please be sure your email and phone number are current with our office by calling or you can update them ONLINE through the website portal. Call or email the office if you need help. If you have any questions, thoughts or ideas, stop by, call or send me an email to [email protected] . Watermaster Report – Chris Guillen
We have been working to replace the water main on Vance Lane. This work is upgrading the now 2-inch main to a 4-inch main. The project will include digging in the new main and hooking up all the services form the old main. All the testing for pressure and bacteriological samples have been good. The next cul-de-sac on the schedule for 2026 is Fowler Lane. We have completed the annual Evergreen Rural Water conference. These conferences help keep us up to date on new information in water works as well as getting credits to keep up certifications. If you are gone for an extended period of time the Water Department can shut off you water at the meter for $5.00, this will not stop pipes from breaking but it will not flood your home. Just as a reminder, the water policy effective August 1st 2009, states members are not to access the meter boxes in any way or they will be subject to the enforcement mechanisms of the policy. All samples taken have been good. We are currently at 1,322 connections to the water system. The total year to date gallons produced for the overall domestic water system is 29,720,209.
POOL—With the pool season getting ready to start next month, here are a few reminders for the upcoming season.
PRO SHOP NEWS – Kyle Preston, PGA Professional The weather is turning around, and we have seen some busy weekends lately. We did just aerify our greens on April 7th-10th but we expect them to bounce back quickly. We had the Spring Best Ball which was full with 120 players. 77 outside players, and 43 members. We have the signups out for the Member/Guest, both Junior Camps, and The Jack Rabbit currently. The Member/Guest is a new event with a unique format, so if you have any questions about it please feel free to email me or stop by the shop to chat. I continue to receive new gear and rearrange the shop. Some new items include Desert Aire Logo towels and Head Covers. Most of the clubs are in, and we will get new apparel periodically throughout the year. We have clubs from PING, TAYLORMADE, CALLAWAY, SRIXON, and XXIO. Come by and try out some new gear! We look forward to seeing more and more members arrive back from their winter vacations, and we hope to see you all out there soon. Golf Course SUPERINTENDENT Report – Shawn Hocking The Spring work is upon us, but I sure wish the spring days would warm up a little more, although I may get that wish answered this week. Overall, the last month has been very busy. A couple of the days were dedicated to First Aid Training for DA employees. I think it is very beneficial to the crew, Desert Aire, and to people who visit. Last week we aerated both greens and tees on the golf course. Even though it was a lot to accomplish in three days, I know it will be valuable in reducing the healing time to those surfaces, and it will allow us to move onto other maintenance and projects. Besides our regular maintenance, we have been trying to finish a few lingering projects that include some landscaping at the Desert Aire Entrance and working on the rabbits. Projects to come will be at the park for lighting and another a shade cloth near the pool area. Other work that we have completed or working on involve painting markers, poles, table and chairs, etc…the list doesn’t seem to get any smaller! Parks and Recreation Committee—Darci Ulin We are happy to let everyone know we are planning fun events this summer and would like to expand the number of events we have each summer, but we need more volunteers to do so. An idea was brought up about putting in a small Amphitheatre in the park. This Amphitheatre could support all kinds of events including movie nights in the park as well as bands and other events. We have a full schedule of events this summer including the Memorial Day weekend Golf Cart Poker Run, 4th of July fireworks and other events on that weekend and events on Labor Day weekend. We would really like more people to participate in the planning of events. Anyone with input please come to our meetings on the first Wednesday of each month at 5pm. We are hard at work getting ready for our events season amongst other projects in the weight room, Parks & Rec building, fundraising for more music in the park, helping clean up the community during the Spring clean Up!! Memorial Day Golf Cart Poker Run-Saturday May 24th details SOON! July 4th & 5th—two days of super fun events! Friday are Kids Games in morning, *attending the Sagebrush Golf Cart Parade starts at 4pm but line up begins early & they have fun food too, food trucks in the park in the afternoon/evening, 3 on 3 tournament about 6pm, and the grassroots community fundraising of the COMMERCIAL FIREWORKS in the driving range! 50/50/ raffle both days too! July 5th—cornhole tournament, food trucks are back in the afternoon and then the Highway 18 band begins at 9pm in the park! Labor Day weekend- more 3 on 3 basketball, cornhole tournaments with some potential other games and live music to be determined! Come join our committee or offer to volunteer for our events!
https://wsdot.wa.gov/about/news/2024/work-replace-i-90-vantage-bridge-deck-set-get-underway
Conservation Tip Check on your irrigation system to be sure of proper operation. This includes checking on heads, drip lines, and shut off valves
Golf Course SUPERINTENDENT Report – Shawn Hocking Another spring has come, and it has been a beautiful one so far. It certainly ramps up the work load and shows us our challenges for the year. One of our challenges is at the entrance, where we have been replacing the irrigation system. The south side of the DA Drive entrance has had the irrigation installed for a few weeks but has had no water until last week. On the north side, we changed the route of our mainline, which cost us a little extra time but will be better in the long haul. Currently, we are mostly cleaned up, have installed the irrigation controller, and have started assigning sprinkler stations. Our goal is to have the bulk of the work completed by the end of the month. We also intend to plant some trees and do some landscaping as time and money allows. On the golf course, we have been doing regular maintenance and have been preparing for the Spring Best Ball tournament. We have utilized some of the sod from the entrance and installed it on the golf course behind 8 green and on the left of 16 fairway. Our irrigation system has been up and running, and we are working through the start up issues and a few lingering ones from last year. Aeration on greens and tees should be finished by mid-April, weather permitting. Our crew is inexperienced but they are learning quickly and seem to be doing well. We have been doing a significant amount of training, which requires additional attention, but I believe it will prove to be beneficial through the year. We will also be looking to make additions to our crew as the season progresses. Golf Committee—Kyle Patrick The Golf Committee met on March 6th with zoom technology in the upstairs clubhouse. The Men’s Club reported that Sunday April 7th will be the first Sunday competition. The Country Club hosted a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on March 16th. Pro Kyle Preston reported that 10 round punch cards are now $450. The monument project is progressing with expectations that the first four will be ready for placement in May. The Golf Improvement Fund is assisting in the monument project. Discussion of the access to the bathrooms and the maintenance of the cart paths was also discussed. Superintendent, Shawn Hocking has the course and the entrance looking good this Spring. Parks & Recreation Committee—Brent Sprague Parks and Recreation committee needs your help! Events for this upcoming season are the Golf Cart Poker Run Saturday May 25th and a 3 on 3 Basketball tournament and cornhole on July 4th after the Golf Cart Parade. We are also trying to schedule a movie night in the park on the 4th. There would also be food trucks in the park that afternoon, into the evening. These events will require approximately 10 volunteers to pull it off, without that sadly they won’t happen. We need people to join this committee. One person cannot put these events together without a team. There is a sign-up sheet to volunteer in the office and they can send it to me. Our meetings are the first Wednesday each month at 5pm in the Clubhouse. I have overseen some repairs to equipment in the Gym and we are getting 3 new pieces of equipment in the next couple of months. They are Technogym and Stairmaster brands. They also finished repainting the gym in March. We will be updating and replacing a few pieces of equipment on a yearly basis. We will also continue to maintain what we have. Again, please volunteer as without volunteers no events can happen.
Tired of carrying cash when you go out? MEMBER CHARGING is an option for those on AUTOPAY! If your account has been current AND you sign up for auto pay …you can charge at the Pool, River View Café, and Golf Shop by showing your Member Card.
Security and Safety Committee – Pam Thorsen Security & Safety Committee (SSC) Mission: To work with available constituencies to improve the public security and safety presence to 24 hours/day, 365 days/year, including security services/community policing patrol, emergency management, fire safety, traffic/road safety, animal control, code enforcement, public health, owner education and any other related concerns affecting the security and safety of the Desert Aire Owners Association in the rural village known as Desert Aire, Washington. Misinformation about the status of area issues is detrimental to all, and seeking out the facts is what SSC does and encourages owners to do the same. SSC’s additional focus of transparency of our efforts and the information provided to owners can be found in committee minutes, Board updates and newsletters and we encourage owners to reach out directly to SSC at [email protected]. SSC works on behalf of the owners, to make recommendations to the Board of Directors for joint implementation with management. We can’t be effective on your behalf if you don’t communicate directly (not on social media) to help make our rural village a more secure and safe place to live. Case in point is the property south of Desert Aire on SR243, which was reported recently on social media as “cleaned up”. SSC and others have been notified that Grant County Superior Court has given the owners until 4/1/2024 (not an April fools joke) to remove all the items after many years of continuing to add to the mess. If they don’t, the GC Sheriff’s Office can finally take the legal action necessary. SSC continued to monitor with all Grant County entities on this issue since 2018, which took years to come together, even if it frustrates all of us. A current priority is and will continue to be SSC’s Safe Streets/Roads/Trails (SSRT) work with Grant County Public Works (GCPW) to collaborate on solutions regarding road maintenance/traffic/road safety within Desert Aire. SSC started working on this in March 2021, and in September 2023, held an open forum where owners were encouraged to attend under the Know Your Neighbor strategy. Since then, GCPW has submitted, on DA’s behalf, the first round of federal grant requests under the Surface Transportation Block Grants (STBG) program. Other federal grant requests are in process by the South Grant County Chamber of Commerce relating to SR243, solid waste/recycling/composting and expansion of healthcare services. As soon as SSC hears status, owners will be notified. Recently, the unanimous support of the Board of Directors was given to SSC for launching a long-term strategy for wildfire prevention (January 2024 newsletter). FIREWISE is a partnership with the WA State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Desert Aire’s Community Wildfire Risk Assessment (CWRA) has been prepared and will be signed/submitted, along with a micro grant request for some needed resources. The program launch will be at an event open to owners on Wed 5/8/24 from 1pm-4pm downstairs in the multi-purpose building. We encourage owners to be there to learn how to protect your property and help your neighbors do the same.
Business Office 509-932-4839 Mon – Fri 8:00 am – 5:00 pm James Curdy, General Manager ext. 100 Sarah Spurr, Accounts Payable ext. 101 Tracey Hockman, Payroll Clerk ext. 102 Reyna Perez, Receptionist ext. 103 Water Department ext. 104 Chris Guillen, Watermaster ext. 104 Water Emergency 509-830-4332 Swimming Pool ext. 108 Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend (10:00 am-8:00 pm 7 days a week) Golf Pro Shop 509-932-4439 Kyle Preston, PGA Professional ext. 106 Pro-Shop Staff: Cynthia St. Clair, Paul Meredith, Wendy Knopp, Nadia Delgado, Paul Meredith, and Dick Best River View Café 509-932-1988 Open late April through early October open additional hours on Holidays Thursday 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Friday/Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Village Extras!! Lots of activities are going on at Desert Aire. This new feature highlights these going-ons that are of interest to our owners. Country Club Happenings We had a beautiful day for the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. Lots of yummy Irish dishes and some amazing desserts. Ron Miller took home the prize for best dish- Shepard’s Pie. Irish Trivia and the “Guess How Many” game was a success. Ron St. Clair took home the Pot of Gold. Save the Date: 2-Day Jack Rabbit Co-Ed Tournament (2 Person) May 18th & May 19th, 2024, Shotgun start 9:00 A.M. This is always a fun event. This includes tee prizes, two days of golf, dinner at the Sagebrush Senior Center and much more! We will be hosting the Twilight Golf Scramble on Friday June 14th. This is a 9 hole 4-person scramble with teams picked by the computer. Appetizers following the event provided by the Country Club. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on our next events during the summer -Top Golf and the Horse Race. Country Club would like to give a big thanks to Kyle Preston and his team for supporting us on all the events. Also, a big shout out to Shawn and his crew for keeping our course in great shape. The course is beautiful. Join the Country Club for only $25 per year and you will receive a reduced rate at our events. Come on out and meet some new people and join the fun!! From the Airport Commissioners: SAVE THE DATE! Be sure to mark Sat. June 15 on your calendars, for the Desert Aire Airport’s annual Father’s Day weekend Fly-in Pancake Breakfast. Bring your family and friends and enjoy a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage, and win one of our great raffle baskets. NEW THIS YEAR! Breakfast will be served at the Sagebrush Senior Center from 7:00 – 11:00 a.m. After breakfast and a 3 minute walk, you can check out the airplanes and talk with pilots on the east parking ramp. Just follow the signs! Watch for more information in the weeks ahead! We hope to see you there! IMPORTANT DATES: All meetings (held via Zoom, login information is available on the website member page, unless stated otherwise) and owners are encouraged to attend. Desert Aire Board of Directors – Held the 3rd Thursday of each month (except December) at 6:00 PM. Architectural Committee - Meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at 3:00 PM. (Except in November and December, when they meet only on the 2nd Wednesday). Golf Committee – Meets the 1st Wednesday of each month at 3:00 PM. Parks and Recreation Committee – Meets the 1st Wednesday of each month at 5:00 PM. Communications Committee – Meets the 2nd Tuesday each month at 3:30 PM. Security & Safety Committee - Meets the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:00 PM Desert Aire Airport Commissioners - Meets the 3rd Thursday of each month at 4:00 PM.