Be sure to plan on attending the annual Cinco de Mayo fiesta at the Ramada on (of course!) May 5. Cocktails will begin at 4:30 and dinner around 5:30. This is a pot luck, so please prepare and bring your favorite Mexican dish. The Hospitality Committee will provide (gratis) margueritas, cervesa (beer, for you Gringos), hielo (ice) soft drinks, and water. There will be Mexican music, and a good time for all so put it on your calendar for sure.

The HOA Board voted at its April meeting to proceed with the acquisition of new lamp heads for the entire subdivision. This is a long awaited and much overdo project that was delayed by the difficulties in locating an acceptable replacement at a reasonable price. The price range on these items is unbelievable, but the Board believes it has found one meeting the criteria necessary to make it a practical choice. Cost on the replacement and a new bulb for the 328 posts in EE will be born by the HOA from reserve funds. Installation will be performed by volunteers from our subdivision, and a call will be going out for assistance. The skill level required to help is moderate, and anyone interested helping that isn’t familiar with changing over such a fixture will be taught how. Anyone willing to change their own fixture will be welcomed to do so. When the units arrive, we will let you know. The HOA wishes to thank Ben Sheffield for the tremendous effort he made to get this project going well, and for negotiating an excellent price on both the lamp heads and the bulbs. His efforts saved our HOA a considerable amount of money, for which we are most appreciative.

Work on the re-plastering of our pool and spa is going well. The Board has ordered some upgrades on the proposal to include replacing the assist bars with more modern and better looking equipment, and replacing the east side pool ladder with one that will not interfere with the pool cover any longer. The existing ladder was a “Rube Goldberg” affair that had caused a lot of problems with the pool cover in the past, and was difficult to use. The old assist bars were failing, and we had been advised by the County they needed work, so this was the logical time to replace them. The pool/spa will be closed for about another week. Notice will be posted when it is ready for use once again. Fortunately, this type of work is only necessary about every 15 years.

The Pima County Health Department found some areas requiring review with our pool chemistry during a recent inspection, and steps are being taken to assure compliance with all legal and health requirements.

The Board has given tentative approval to the committee working on the xeriscape garden for the use of common area property for this purpose, subject to approval of a final plan for the overall project. The Enhancement Team has agreed to provide the committee with planning funds to get the project moving forward. This committee hopes to be able to cover part of the costs of the garden with grant funds in the future. The garden will be located south of 989 Regalo, between the Vereda Calma retaining wall and Arroyo Number 9. A good sign for the possible availability of grant funding is that the Pro Neighborhood group, who reviewed the proposal and met with the committee earlier, has invited it to formally submit a grant application .The EE Arid Garden team is looking for someone in EE with surveying experience, to help in developing a detailed site plan for the garden.  If so, interested parties should contact co-project-leader Joe McCalpin.

The Board has also agreed to make the new Bienvenidos a Esperanza Committee a permanent standing committee, and has allowed it an operational budget for the remainder of the year. This is the Committee that put on the newcomer’s brunch earlier in the year to acquaint our new neighbors to all that our subdivision has to offer, and to invite them to become a volunteer in one of our activities. That function was considered a resounding success, and will be repeated from time to time in the future with new EE homeowners. Co-chairs of the committee will be Barb McCalpin and Cynthia Surprise.

The new chairperson of our Esperanza Enhancement Team will be Barb McCalpin, replacing long-time chair Tess Ewing.

Sandy Reed, who strongly promoted our book “Love Stories of Esperanza Estates”, has reported a small profit on the project, which will go to the Enhancement Team. Copies are still available, so call 399-0455 if interested. This book will become a classic, so move quickly. The cost is nominal.

The HOA Board asks that no one leave any patio furniture at the Ramada without express consent.

Have a good week.