Sun Valley Mayor spoke to SVEA Board
Sun Valley Mayor Wayne Willich spoke at the SVEA Board Meeting, July 10th on a variety of topics. After describing a few of the projects now underway in the city, he related that the city’s focus is to maintain and improve the bike paths throughout the city. "We plan to phase the resurfacing of the paths in one-third increments; one-third this year and one-third each of the next two years at a total cost of $1,100,000," he said. Funds for road maintenance are included in next year’s budget with major attention to residential streets. A list of street priorities is being generated.

Mayor Willich mentioned that if citizens are interested in the City Council meetings and are unable to attend in person, it is now possible to "tune in" via your home computer. Go to the SVEA website (www.elkhorn-assoc.org), click on "Links", click on "The City of Sun Valley", select "Live Audio & Archives", select meeting type and date and click "Audio". "We feel this is an important communication effort," Willich continued, "because 70 percent of our citizens live out of town." The content of each meeting will be sorted so topics of interest can be accessed and retrieved at a later date.

Harker Center Upgrade News
Final plans and Request for Proposals were sent to 11 local contractors. "We received three responses; all of which had comparable estimates and contractor fees," reported SVEA Vice President Cris Thiessen, chairperson of the Harker Center Improvement Committee. "The committee interviewed all contractors and Larry Warner from Warner & Associates, was selected. Larry is now working with our architect, Mike Morgan, and engineering firm, EHM, to finalize the construction drawings," Thiessen said. "Once the drawings are complete, bids from sub-contractors will be obtained for the Committee’s review and acceptance. We start construction on September 3rd."

Financial Principles Adopted for Harker Construction
"We have a hard and fast commitment not to exceed an $850K expense for the Harker Center upgrade project," reported SVEA Treasurer, Patty Rosewater. "We will not begin construction until we have a believable project plan and budget that allows us to meet that commitment."

Board of Director Election Process Revised
A nominating committee headed by SVEA Director Meredith Carnahan, has been working with a team comprised of board members and non-board members since the first of the year reviewing the SVEA’s director nominating process. "The SVEA Director Application Form has been improved and is now posted on our web site," she said. "The questions on the application, plus the requested resume, will give the nominating committee a broader view of the applicants’ background and experience relative to the needs of the Board."

SVEA’s 36 Year Old Bylaws Need Amending
"The board is proposing modifications to our existing bylaws to conform them to current law and good governance practices," said SVEA President Jim Fletcher. "Our bylaws are 36 years old and are badly in need of updating."

The complete bylaw package will be mailed to property owners in early November. "This is an important issue, so if you have any questions please contact the office" Fletcher added. Make your vote count!

Meet SVEA’s Summer Pool Managers
Connor Wade – A 21-year-old Sun Valley native, Connor is happy to be back with SVEA for his third summer season. Son of Carol and Mike Wade of Elkhorn, Connor has grown up with the Elkhorn pools his entire life and now enjoys co-managing the pools with Jenna Rade.

Pool Report
The summer season will be over before we know it. We hope you take advantage of our two beautiful pools. The staff is ready and waiting to provide you with the best possible service to make your time at our amenities a pleasurable experience.

Golf Report
Don’t forget about golf! Plan to take advantage of the 10% discount and reserved tee times available for our Elkhorn owners. You will need to show your Amenity card when you check in at the clubhouse. The rates for Elkhorn Owners are as follows:

Tennis Report
The Elkhorn Tennis Amenities have often been referred to as the best in the Valley. Bill Van Deinse and staff are once again providing a high-quality tennis program for our Owners and their Guests. Tennis programs include:

Men’s and Women’s Play Days Potluck and Appetizer Socials Wednesday Evening Drop In Tennis Adult Tennis Aerobics Private and Semi-Private Lessons Junior Tennis Clinics and Camps

Park Report
Many of our Elkhorn Owners don’t know about SVEA’s Park which is located behind the Harker Center swimming pool. The Park was developed in phases over a four year period and has been in its current configuration since 1996. There is play equipment for the children, basketball, horseshoes, a volleyball court, and picnic benches for our residents and guests. If you have not had an opportunity to visit the Harker Park, we believe you will find this a very nice amenity for you and your family. For your convenience, a basketball and volleyball are available at the Harker center for your use and enjoyment.

Open Space
SVEA-owned Open Space covers over 1800 acres and includes hillsides, waterways, ponds and meadows. Some of the open space corridors that run through residential areas are fenced to protect private property and most include non-maintained trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. The Board and staff are investigating options for improving these trails over the next few months to make them more accessible and to provide mapping and trail head parking. "If any of you have suggestions for this process, or expertise you are willing to share, we would greatly appreciate hearing from you," related Marlene Lowry, SVEA general manager.

The Elkhorn Springs Market is Open – Hurray Hurray
The long awaited Elkhorn Springs Market is now open! It is a lovely space with an impressive selection of merchandise with excellent pricing. The market offers fresh and local meats, dairy, eggs, produce and an extensive selection of natural and organic products. Doug Logan and his staff are very friendly and are working hard to ensure the success of the store. Please stop in, introduce yourself, have a cup of "Seattle’s Best" coffee and shop! Their hours are daily from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and they are located on the corner of Village Way and Badeyana. You may contact them at (208) 622-5400. This wonderful new amenity for Elkhorn owners, guests, and the entire community provides a one-stop location that allows you to avoid the congestion of town, and the drive! Shop in Elkhorn! Try playing tennis at the Village courts and relaxing afterwards on the market patio by the ponds.

In the planned community of Elkhorn, owners are required by the SVEA Master Declaration to submit plans of any exterior property improvements or alterations to the ADC for review and approval. In order to streamline this review process for owners, most basic maintenance projects and many small home improvement projects can be reviewed and approved administratively by the ADC manager. The basic types of improvements are broken into three categories to help owners with planning.

Elkhorn Weeds
The Elkhorn "Weed-Out Day" that we tried to organize via the spring newsletter was unsuccessful. We received only one owner response, but have plans to try again next year to organize a fun event. Please let us hear from you if you have ideas! Your Board and staff will continue our efforts and expenditures to control weeds. We have coordinated our open-space work with the Sun Valley Roads and Grounds Department and are using the same spraying contractor, enabling us to be more efficient with less chance of missed areas and re-infestation. The 2007/08 budget for open-space weed control is $12k. In addition, staff member Jan Kaas is sending friendly reminder letters to individual owners whose properties host problem weeds asking that they take action.

July 11th Meeting and BBQ
The July 11th Summer Membership Meeting and Barbeque held in the Harker Center Park was attended by approximately 335 people. President Jim Fletcher welcomed all to the informational meeting and provided a general report on the Harker Center Upgrades, the election process, proposed changes to the Bylaws and the recently implemented Tennis Guest Fees. Guests relaxed at the barbeque into the late evening hours and enjoyed the delicious food by Full Moon catering and music by the Kim Stocking Trio band. Our appreciation to all who participated in making this year’s party a memorable one!

BBQ Safety
From Sun Valley Fire Chief, Jeff Carnes
All of us enjoy our BBQ’s in the summer months, but how many fires do you think these cause every year? Nationwide, it is in the millions. In Sun Valley, we have 10 to 20 fires a year and some of them are catastrophic. As with any appliance, barbeques need proper maintenance.

Jeffrey N. Carnes, Chief of Fire
And Emergency Medical Services
City of Sun Valley
(208) 622-8234