Anthem Parkside residents raise issues at forum
Builder repairs, graffiti major concerns
by Kathleen Stinson

ANTHEM – Parkside residents raised several issues last week at the community forum held by their homeowners association’s new board of directors.

The forum gave community members a chance to air ideas for improvements, areas of concern and comments about the future.

On the front burner for many residents was the issue of, to what extent will Pulte Homes, and other builders, honor their obligations to complete repairs to common areas before Pulte leaves  Anthem early next year?

Country Club Homeowners Association board president Stuart Banks, who attended the Parkside meeting as a liaison from his association, related the Country Club HOA is currently in the process of working with Pulte over the same issue. He said residents walked the subdivision and made a list of some 7,000 items in need of repair.

According to Banks, the size of that list got Pulte’s attention and the developer came back with some 1,800 items it acknowledges are its responsibility.

He said they were told the community is 10 years old and some items could not be considered “structural defects.” The developer will not accept responsibility for normal wear and tear.

Jeff Cody, a Parkside HOA board member, pointed out later in an interview that there was “bad concrete” in some of the sidewalks and builders are in the process of tearing up that concrete to make repairs.

Associated Asset Management, of Phoenix, handles this type of maintenance. Calls placed by The Desert Advocate to the company and Pulte spokeswoman Jacque Petroulakis seeking comment were not  returned.

Parkside residents also asked about proposed revised design guidelines.

Board members said the revisions involve mostly housekeeping matters, such as taking the developer’s name out of the text of design guidelines.

The revisions, if anything, loosen  restrictions somewhat, they stated.

Ron French, board member and chairman of the Parkside architectural review committee, said in a later interview the board will put the revisions on Anthem’s Web site portal in a couple of weeks. The board of directors will then take residents’ comments on the revisions before voting.

Parkside’s HOA has the power to approve revisions and recommend them to the Anthem Community Council for the final vote.   

The next Parkside meeting will be at 7 p.m. July 10 at the Anthem Community Center.

One resident raised a concern that vegetation planted in the public access way, when grown, would eventually block the entrance to the Daisy Mountain trail system. The trail head is located in the Country Club area. Another resident said people who live nearby are not happy to sometimes see as many as 50 people on the trail walking behind their homes while they’re eating breakfast.

Board members raised the issue of unpaid assessments or homeowners dues.

Banks stated 24 homes are now in foreclosure in the Country Club and about 80 yards are not being kept up to standards, noting it is less expensive in some cases for the HOA to do needed maintenance than to spend money on legal fees. Some of these homeowners, however, have lost spouses or jobs, he pointed out.

In one case, it cost the community $24,000 in legal fees to remove a barking dog from a residence, Banks added.

Another issue raised was the amount of graffiti and vandalism in the community. A board member said the management company spends about $1,000 a week to cover up graffiti.