Candidates discuss wanting to serve on board

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Speak to the Candidates:

Monday, Apr. 9, 7 to 9 p.m. at the lodge. This event is sponsored by multiple community groups.

Meet the Candidates:

Saturday, Apr. 14, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the senior center. This event is sponsored by the Senior Work Group.

Meet the Candidates:

Tuesday, Apr. 24, 6 to 8 p.m. at the country club. This event is hosted by the Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Election Calendar

Tuesday, Apr. 5: Notice of Annual Meeting, Candidate Statements and Secret Ballot will be mailed to Prime Members. Civil code requires they be sent out at least 30 days prior to the Annual Meeting of the Members.

Monday, May 4: Last day it’s recommended a homeowner mail a ballot.

Thursday, May 10: Annual Meeting of the Members and Election of Directors at the lodge at 8 a.m. Ballots may be dropped off between 8 and 9 a.m.

Saturday, May 12: Alternate Adjourned Annual Meeting Date (time to be determined) if quorum is not met on May 10.

The 2018 Inspector of Elections will be Nicole Ganz Jamal with HOA Elections of California, Inc. Ballot questions should be directed to HOA Elections of California, Inc. at 888-589-8683 or infohoaelections.com.

[/pullquote]The five-member Canyon Lake Property Owners Association Board of Directors are collectively responsible for the management and operation of the CLPOA’s business affairs. The board members are elected for staggered two-year terms.

Two of the five seats are up for election on May 10 when the two-year terms of Paul Queen and Dale Welty expire. In the order they will be listed on the ballot, candidates are incumbent Dale Welty, Dudley Thompson and Jim Barringham.

In the weeks leading up to the election, The Friday Flyer will feature a series of questions to the candidates. During this period, residents will have a chance to hear directly from the candidates and learn what they hope to accomplish if elected to serve a two-year term on the CLPOA Board of Directors.

In this first installment of questions, The Friday Flyer invited the three candidates to answer the following question in 500 or fewer words:

Question: Why do you want to serve on the Canyon Lake Property Owners Association Board of Directors?

Dale Welty

The reason I would like to serve on the Canyon Lake Property Owners Association Board of Directors is so I can continue the work I started my prior two years on the board. The success of the community and the future of Canyon Lake are very important to me and my family.

I have lived in Canyon Lake for 29 years. My children, Tyler, Adam, Allison and Nic, were raised in Canyon Lake. Adam is a Canyon Lake homeowner and is currently overseas serving in the U.S. Navy.

I have served on numerous Canyon Lake POA committees over the past 8 years. These committees include Youth Action, Recreation, Lake Litigation, Lake Dredging, Activities and Finance. My wife Kellie currently serves on the Santa Rosa Academy Board of Directors and has served on the Community Patrol, Recreation and Parks and Beaches committees. My wife also contributes to our community as a columnist for The Friday Flyer’s pet column.

Professionally, I have been a real estate appraiser and a special adapted housing (SAH) agent for the Department of Veterans Affairs for over 25 years. As a SAH agent, I oversaw grants for veterans who needed wheelchair access to their home.

Canyon Lake now celebrates its 50th birthday; one of my primary concerns is the property values in Canyon Lake.

In the last two years, while I was on the POA Board, we have completed the following projects: at East Port we built the new dog park, new pickleball courts and added solar lighting for the dog park, launch ramp and the parking lot. Also, two additional shade structures were built at the pool and additional boat rental spaces were added.

We have started the campground upgrade and are moving ahead with the plans for a new amphitheater at Holiday Harbor and an enclosed motorcycle parking near the entrance of the community.

The fee portion of the lake lease lawsuit was settled, resulting in an annual decrease of the lease fee of $200,000 and a cost of living cap on future lease increases. This will save the community millions of dollars over the life of the lease.

The Facility Review Committee reached out to the community in a number of workshops to get input from the community on a long-range plan. A survey was completed by the community and the number one item was the fountains at the front gate.

Because of the survey recommendation, the new signage with the waterfalls were added at the front gate late last year.

The item that received the second largest number of votes was dredging the East Bay. Since the survey, a Lake Dredge Committee has been set up to research and develop a plan to dredge the soil sediment coming into Canyon Lake.

Vote for Dale Welty and I will continue to bring experience to the board that will allow the community to continue to improve and provide amenities and services to our community.

Dudley Thompson

I am running for the POA Board because of my love for all Canyon Lake has to offer and a desire to make it better.

I have spent many years serving Canyon Lake on the Finance Committee, Green Committee and the Tuesday Work Group. These have given me a unique insight into how the POA Board operates, so if elected I can hit the ground running. I won’t require a long learning curve to become a useful member of the POA Board.

I have worked closely with current POA Board members to develop realistic budgets for each operating division and understand where the challenges lie. I am ready to work with each board member to solve problems as they arise. Having lived here for 19 years, I know they will arise and I want the community to be as attractive as it was when I moved here. That brings me to why my wife Judy and I moved here.

Having just finished my second retirement, we wanted out of Orange County traffic. We had family in northeastern San Diego County and thought we would move closer. We searched communities along the I-15 for a new place to settle and came upon Canyon Lake. We were astounded by the value of the community. We were interested in living close to a golf course so we would have a short commute, but that was not the deal sealer for us.

Other communities offered that but none could match the array of amenities here. We were boaters and had just disbanded a partnership in a 50 ft. houseboat and ski boat docked at Lake Mojave. So this became a large factor in our decision even though we had not considered it before. After our move here, we bought a ski boat and enjoyed the lake. But there was more. The equestrian center was attractive because we have a daughter who loves horses. She moved here for that reason and introduced her daughter to riding. This highlights the magnetic value of all of our amenities. When our active skiers and wakeboarders moved on to college and married life, we sold our boat; however, that doesn’t diminish the value of those amenities to us.

To most homeowners, their property is probably the largest single investment they have. Because of this, I am acutely aware of real estate values. It is disheartening to me when I hear factions in Canyon Lake disparage one amenity or another because it could hurt those values. It would produce better results if they took their concerns to a sanctioned committee and then to the board for resolution as necessary. If elected, I would listen to these views fairly without any preconceived agenda and act, along with other board members, on the merit of the case. This emphasizes my view of the need for a POA Board member to have no agenda other than being an advocate of keeping Canyon Lake “A Bit of Paradise.”

Jim Barringham

Of all the places we looked at buying our retirement home, when we found Canyon Lake we knew this was where we wanted to live. On Dec. 1, 2011, we moved into our beautiful new home. Less than two months after moving, we dealt with the worst heartache any parent could ever imagine, we lost our beautiful 27-year-old daughter to cancer. The support we received from our new community during this difficult time was beyond comprehension. We developed love for the people of this community.

My information technology (IT) career began in 1968, with most of my work experience having been in healthcare. Some of the positions I have held are systems analyst, software developer, director of IT and IT consultant. What I consider to be my greatest accomplishment was developing a national healthcare data system for over 20 hospitals throughout the United States specializing in drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

I have been active in our community with tennis, Recreation Committee, Pickleball Club and Car Club. I am currently president of the Tennis Club. As the club president, and working with the POA, we brought in a full-time tennis pro to run junior and adult programs for our community.

My experience with the POA/HOA boards goes back to 1980 when I bought my first Condo. I currently have four condos (in three different states) that are managed by the POA/HOA board of directors. I understand the value of having a strong board of directors.

Canyon Lake is known for all the great amenities we have; the lake, golf course, tennis courts, pickleball courts, dog park, campground, equestrian center, etc. Our members have different interests and participate in different amenities and we need to preserve all our amenities for our members. I want to continue to enhance our amenities, which will not only increase our property values but will also bring unity within our community.

With my background in buying, selling and owning real estate for my own personal financial gains has given me insight in making the right decisions. I do not believe in waste and consider myself a fiscal conservative. I research everything and fact find solutions with low to fair costs in mind. I will always be looking for ways to economize without giving up quality or lowering home values. I am retired and have the time to commit to this position, and read, research and visit with members should they have any concerns or needs.

I understand how important the role of our POA Board is and it’s not easy, I want to do this because of the love I have for Canyon Lake and its members. So many problems arise from lack of communication; I believe communication is the essence of success. Members’ voices should be heard, let’s work together in keeping our “Little Bit of Paradise” beneficial for all to enjoy.