Marigold Drive will be closed between the Welcome Center and the Clubhouse for the removal of hazardous trees during the afternoon of Wednesday, November 30. Traffic will be limited to one lane and the road may be completely closed at some points in the process. Please avoid the area if possible.
Due to a power outage, the Welcome Center and Rec Center will not open until 10 am today, Wednesday, November 30th. If power is not restored, the delay may be extended.
SVCA’s Property Transfer Fee Refund Program Administrator (Epiq) has completed processing of all completed applications and will be mailing out refund checks on Wednesday (November 30, 2022). Additionally, for those who have chosen to receive their refund payments by means of direct deposit, you can expect to receive your refund by Friday (December 2, 2022).
Epiq received and processed for payment a total of 755 completed refund applications, and a total of $526,417 will be reimbursed tomorrow by means of 630 mailed checks and 125 initiated direct deposits. Moreover, last week Epiq also provided SVCA with an additional listing of 476 incomplete applications that could not be processed due to exceptions. However, SVCA’s Accounting Department has completed its review of these exceptions and 357 have been cleared for payment. As a result, Epiq will also be distributing an additional $320,984 of refund payments by the end of next week (December 9, 2022), so keep this fact in mind if you don’t receive your payment this week. The remaining 119 refund applications can’t be currently paid due to reasons that could not be promptly resolved, such as applications not including title closing statements, and SVCA will be begin reaching out to these individuals shortly.
For those who have not yet applied for their refunds, SVCA will soon be conducting a second round of property transfer fee refunds, which will be advertised to the community and posted on SVCA’s website.
In summary, the response rate to this first round of reimbursements was very good. During the duration of the time that SVCA charged ¼ of 1% for property transfer fees, SVCA collected these fees from a total of 1,767 separate property transactions. During this first round of the property transfer fee refund program, 1,231 applications were received (70% of total property transactions) and 1,112 of these applications have already been approved for payment (63% of total property transactions), which represents a current approved refund total of $847,401.
Ice melt can now be purchased at the SVCA Welcome Center. Each 40 lbs. bag costs $15.00 (including tax). The Welcome Center is open between 9am and 4pm, Monday through Friday. Ice melt will also be available at the Pro Shop starting this weekend, December 3rd.
On Sunday, December 11, SVCA will host Breakfast with Santa, a fun way to kick off the winter season! Please call the Admin Office at 360-734-6430 to reserve a time slot for your children to meet with Santa and Mrs. Claus in our beautiful Welcome Center. There will be lots of great opportunities for a family photo or a close up of your child with Santa. Then visit with your neighbors in our tent outside while enjoying a warm drink and a tasty breakfast!
It’s too late to return your ballot by mail, but you still have time to drop it in the box in the lobby at the Clubhouse, 4 Clubhouse Circle. Ballots can be dropped off until 4:30 pm on Friday, November 4.
Please Note: the ballot dropbox behind the security office in Gate 1 is NOT a Sudden Valley dropbox. It is used for County elections only!
Don’t have a ballot or just prefer to vote in person? That works too!
You can vote in person on Saturday, November 5. You must register between 9am and 12:30pm in the Community Center (lower level of the Dance Barn).
If you choose to vote in person, do not bring the ballot that you received by mail; you will be issued a new ballot at registration. You may cast your ballot during registration OR you can wait and cast your registered ballot at the AGM which starts at 1:00pm in the Dance Barn.
Click Here for complete instructions on in person voting (see page 19).
COVID restrictions changed October 31, so SVCA can now allow official election observers at the 2022 AGM on Nov 5. Members can apply to be election observers and view the processing of the returned ballots. Interested members can contact N&E Chair Nancy Alyanak at bodalyanak@suddenvalley.com for an application to become an official election observer.
SVCA’s ballot drop box can be found in the Clubhouse at 4 Clubhouse Circle. Located in the lobby directly across from the old Administrative Offices, the drop box is accessible between 7am and 10pm seven days a week and will be available until 4:30 pm on Friday, November 4.
The drop box is a locked metal box designed to keep ballots secure. In addition to being locked, it is also attached to the wall. The keys to the box are under the joint control of the Nominations and Elections Committee Chair, Nancy Alyanak; Committee Member Michael Wordsworth; and General Manager Jo Anne Jensen. The keys are kept in a signed and sealed envelope inside a safe. All three individuals must be present to open the envelope and use the keys.
The drop box is checked at regular intervals and emptied of ballots. All three individuals must be present during this work. When ballots are taken out of the drop box, they are examined for signature, date stamped, and counted. Once the count is confirmed, the ballots are locked in a gun case and stored in a locked closet. The keys to the gun case and storage closet are kept with the key to the drop box. When not in use, all the election keys are stored in a signed and sealed envelope inside a safe.
This information is being shared with the community because it is important that homeowners know how to cast their vote and have confidence in the process by which ballots are kept secure.
