Bill Barnard
Summer is truly here and Phoenix had the hottest single month of any U.S. city on record … ever! From June 30 to July 30, the high temperature every day was over 110 degrees. The average high for July was 114.7 degrees with an average low of 90.8 degrees. At press time, the August forecast was not looking much better and we were well on our way of setting another record for the most 110+ degrees days in one year. This has obviously taken a toll on many of our plants, trees, and grass areas. Temperatures where there is asphalt and desert rock areas that have no shade can reach up to 150 degrees. These temperatures also take a toll on us. Please be careful when out braving the heat and stay hydrated and protected from the sun.
As I have been reporting over the past few months, we have many projects on-going this summer. I would like to give an update on those projects. Please note that this message is created for submission to the editorial team on the 10th day of the preceding month. Sometimes information is evergreen and other information time-sensitive. Please look to the HOA website for the most current updates if there is a need.
Tuscany Falls West Golf Course Grass Replacement
Grassing was completed at the beginning of July and the greens are coming in nicely. The crew has been fertilizing and mowing greens already. The fairways were grassed a little later than the greens and we are disappointed with the establishment of some of the fairways. The extreme heat could be a factor and the grass vendor has been monitoring progress weekly as well. We have made the decision to add some more grass sprigs on some of the weaker areas throughout the fairways; this should take place this week. This will supplement the grass that has already started to establish and ensure fuller coverage. We are still in a good weather window to grow the grass, although we would like to see some cooler temps and some moisture. We will have to increase the irrigation again on these areas for a couple of weeks to help the new sprigs survive. We are still optimistic of an opening date this fall and will determine the date after we can evaluate the grass conditions. The other two golf courses, Eagle’s Nest and Tuscany Falls East, are now open after their summer aerifications. The courses are healing from the aerification process and should recover and improve steadily over the next few weeks.
Street Light Replacement
The street light project has been moving along, and they should be completed replacing most of the old heads by the end of the week. There will be 1,000 new streetlights in our community. The second part of the project is adding smart nodes to the existing LED heads, about 300 total units, that were already installed during new construction. Unfortunately, the nodes are backordered and will not be available until early September, so it will set us back about a month for completion. The good news is that the lights work but we will not have control of them, dimming them, for example, until the nodes are installed. The crew will be leaving the job site until the nodes arrive but they will return to complete the project. There are about 20 lights that have been replaced but are not functioning due to APS issues getting power to the light poles. We have notified APS of these problems, and they reported that they will be out to repair these by the end of the month. We will continue to update the community on this project via PebbleNews and the HOA website.
Palm Tree Trimming
Total Care Tree Service has completed trimming all the palm trees on the golf courses and Eagle’s Nest common areas. They are on the last two units in Tuscany Falls, and should be completed with all of the trees by the end of this week. If you see one that hasn’t been trimmed, please let us know and we’ll get them back out to that area. This is a big project that we are very happy to have completed.
Gate Software Upgrades
The upgrade to the Community Management System that runs our gate operations has been completed. New communication panels were put at the gates, and the software system has been upgraded to the most current version available. The Community Services team is happy with the new system, and they are learning how to use some of the new functions in the software upgrade. This is another project that we are pleased is completed.
Toscana’s Restaurant Renovation
We are continuing to finalize an agreement with the construction company selected to complete the Toscana’s Restaurant renovation. Our legal team works to protect the HOA, and they have a few major points of concern in the agreement that are holding up the process. We will communicate with the community as soon as we have a definitive answer.
In the meantime, Portofino’s has been a well-received alternative for lounge/lunch service for the past two months. As previously shared, Portofino’s was a temporary location for service. Due to prescheduled events as we move back into the busier season, this area will not be available to use as the lounge after Aug. 31. But, the good news is that we have planned another great alternative lounge solution for food and drink options in Tuscany Falls during the day … we have acquired a food trailer! The food trailer will offer food and drinks throughout the day. We will locate the food trailer in the cart parking area on the northwest corner of Toscana’s right after hole number 9 of the west golf course. You can stop at the turn, or visit following your round to get some lunch or drinks.
We are working toward having the food trailer operational at the beginning of September. More details, including menus and hours, will be shared soon. Look for details in the weekly Cheers! eNewsletter that comes out Friday mornings, in PebbleNews on Monday mornings, and on the HOA website. The Eagle’s Nest restaurant will be open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the season.
And finally, I did want to update you on a project being done by external sources that impacts our community:
CenturyLink/Quantum Fiber Upgrades
CenturyLink/Quantum Fiber are still on property working on upgrades to their underground fiber. They have added more crews in an effort to complete the project faster. They have completed the fiber upgrades on the Tuscany Falls side of the community and have made their way to the Eagle’s Nest side of the property. They are finalizing the permanent asphalt patches on the Tuscany side, and those should be complete soon. We will be monitoring the quality of their work to ensure they meet our standards. They have now estimated a completion date toward the end of September. CenturyLink has established a Construction Hotline at 602-357-5502 to field any questions or concerns that our residents may have.
We are excited about the completion of several projects and look forward to completing a few more shortly. We will continue to keep the community updated as new information is available.