Sunriver Scene July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 5
President
continued from page 4
owners who rent their homes
(40%). Additionally, such initiatives and plans have been
available for owner review and
comment. They are available at
the SROA website.
It should also be noted that
further input from all owners
will be collected when the triennial Comprehensive Survey
is completed in early 2027.
This professional survey will
provide a wonderful opportunity for owners to voice their
opinion on possible amenities.
It will also inform the Board
and owners on community
priorities. In summary all pro-
Treasurer
continued from page 4
fund. Last year, those costs
exceeded $600,000.
Third, we have benefited
from higher-than-normal
short-term interest rates. Because Reserve fund investments
are limited to short-term government-secured investments,
those higher rates have helped
strengthen the fund. Although
rates began to decline earlier
this year, they have since increased again, and we continue
to benefit for now. That favor-
Highlights
continued from page 4
CTF is the most fair and equitable of all looked at.
• Gerhard Beenen spoke
in favor of the CTF and submitted written comments as
well. He noted many reasons
why the CTF is important
to Sunriver – maintaining
relevance, past improvements
that benefitted Sunriver – the
investment must continue to
maintain relevance.
• Kara Kerker supports the
CTF. She believes it is fair as it
is based on value which typically equates to size of home
and impact on amenities. Increasing the maintenance fee is
not fair as all pay the same even
with varying degrees of impact
to amenities. She stated that
the CTF is a proven model in
many other planned communities. The results will benefit all
Sunriver entities.
From June 20 regular
meeting
• Paul Conte commented
that he and an attached petition
of 113 Sunriver owners believe
SROA should pursue all legal
steps to restore Sunriver owner
access to the Resort owned
golf courses as was previously
allowed prior to privatization.
• Richard Jaccarino com-
cesses for owner input have
been and remain transparent.
Owner engagement is always
encouraged and considered.
Another claim by CTF critics is that upon sale the seller
would be responsible for the
payment of the fee, rather than
the buyer. Of course, that is
possible and would be dependent on the current market
conditions, the motivation
of the parties involved and
the negotiating skills of those
involved: seller, buyer, realtor.
It is claimed by some that a
better source of revenue would
be by Special Purpose Assessment (upon voter approval) with the past example of
SHARC offered. This requires
a trip down “memory lane.”
Longtime owners will recall
that with the SHARC Special
Assessment (2011) each home
had a payment of $4,258. To
make payments reasonable,
four payment options were
made available to owners:
one lump sum payment; five
annual payments; 15 annual
payments; and 180 monthly
payments (final payments are
due in 2026!). Importantly,
the last three options included
a 4.5% interest charge.
That may seem like too
much “inside baseball” until
one considers the following.
If an owner chose the lump
sum and later sold the home,
the owner would have paid
for an amenity that the buyer
essentially got for free! (It was
also considered a selling point
in the listings.)
Of the other three choices
with a sale and outstanding
Special Purpose Assessment
payments, there was still the
need for negotiation regarding
who would be responsible for
that outstanding bill. Typically, the outstanding assessment was paid through closing,
i.e., subject to negotiation
between parties.
In this respect, the SHARC
Special Purpose Assessment offers a useful precedent: when a
property was sold, any remaining payment obligation was
handled through the closing
process and negotiated between
buyer and seller – much like the
proposed CTF would be.
The Capital Transfer Fee ballot measure is an opportunity
to look forward and invest in
the future of Sunriver in an
equitable manner. It will help
to keep Sunriver relevant in
a competitive world of resort
and residential communities.
It will assist in maintaining the
value of your investment and
sustain Sunriver as a treasured
family tradition.
I, along with your Board and
Finance Committee, strongly
encourage you to VOTE YES
on the Capital Transfer Fee.
Thank you for your thoughtful
consideration.
able environment is unlikely to
continue.
Taken together, these factors
are likely to reduce our Reserve
funding level and limit how
much capacity we have for new
capital projects.
Reserve funds can be used
for new capital amenities, and
SROA budgets for new capital projects each year. This
year’s funded projects include
the recently completed shade
structure at the pickleball court
complex, $98,000; the Cardinal Landing Bridge riverfront
pathway relocation, $95,000;
and new shade structures at
SHARC, $60,000.
New capital projects scheduled to be funded by the
Reserve fund in 2026 total
$407,000. In addition, SROA
carried forward $876,000 from
2024-2025.
However, the Reserve fund
has limited capacity for large
amenity projects costing $1
million or more. Taking on
projects of that scale could
undermine the financial security SROA has worked to
build, increasing the risk of
unplanned special assessments
or substantial maintenance fee
increases. New amenities also
become future Reserve obligations. Once built, they must be
added to the Reserve Study and
funded for repair and replacement over time.
Road and pathway needs
are another reason for caution.
Current funding for asphalt
repair and replacement may
not keep pace with long-term
needs, and additional investment will likely be required
in future years. Using Reserve funds for major new
projects today would make it
harder to meet those existing
obligations tomorrow.
A Capital Transfer Fee would
provide a separate funding
source for larger long-term
improvements, helping protect
the Reserve fund for its intended purpose. It may also reduce
pressure on future maintenance
fee increases by limiting the
need to draw down Reserves for
projects that go beyond routine
replacement.
– Clark Pederson is the treasurer of the SROA Board of
Directors and chair of the Finance Committee. pederson@
srowners.org
mented and submitted photos
and analysis regarding the
degradation of Pond #9 at the
Woodlands Golf Course and
wanted the SROA Board to
understand the issue.
• Theresa Youmans spoke on
multiple issues and submitted
written documentation to the
Board in conjunction with her
oral comments. A summary of
the topics addressed includes:
Maintenance Fee agreement
with Sunriver Resort as related
to Consolidated Plan language;
Consolidated Plan language
and direction on capital expenditures; why is a separate CTF
fund necessary and would it
circumvent owners votes on facilities with a useful life beyond
30-years?
• Scott Brucker disputed
social media comments citing
lack of SROA transparency;
he noted the availability of detailed information available on
the SROA webpage and efforts
to include owners in decision
making on the issues noted on
social media outlets.
• Brian McCarthy spoke in
support of the CTF – he stated
that he believes that it is fair in
comparison to other ideas; new
amenities are vital to the quality
of life and relevance of Sunriver.
• Kristen Lawson Opposes
the CTF as she believes that it
is inequitable among owners.
She believes other alternatives,
such as raising maintenance
fees, is better. She stated that
the loss of golf privileges is a
primary concern affecting the
attractiveness of Sunriver and
will not be made up by other
amenities. She believes other
alternatives should look at
capitalizing existing Sunriver
amenities.
• Josh Lawson is not in favor
of the CTF. He stated that he
believes the Board does not
listen to owners and that over
time SROA/Sunriver has lost
amenities. He spoke to the cost
of staffing the members pool
especially on a day where there
was very little attendance.
unaudited financials.
• Approved minutes from the
May 15, 2026, Work Session,
the May 16, 2026, Business
Meeting, and the June 6th and
11th Special Board Meetings.
• Accepted the annual report from SROA Magistrate,
Jo Zucker.
Board actions
• Approved the May 2026
Turn to Highlights, page 7
NOTICE OF SROA BOARD ELECTIONS
& BALLOT MEASURE
A vote of the membership of the Sunriver Owners Association is being conducted for the
election of up to three directors to the SROA Board of Directors and the following
ballot measure to change the Sunriver Consolidated Plan to implement a Capital Transfer Fee.
BALLOT MEASURE
The SROA Board of Directors approved the following ballot language for changes to the Sunriver Consolidate Plan:
Shall the Sunriver Consolidated Plan be amended by adding the following paragraph (n) to Section 9.01?
n. Responsibility for 昀椀xing of fees on the transfer of real property located in Sunriver (including transfers by operation of
law and other indirect transfers of ultimate bene昀椀cial ownership), to support new amenities, equipment, and infrastructure
that will provide a direct benefit to Owners, and for promulgating rules to govern the collection and administration of such
fees; provided, however, that such fees shall not exceed one-half of one percent of the purchase price and shall not apply
to the following transactions: transfers to the transferor’s family or Household; transfers that do not change the beneficial
ownership of real property; transfers between spouses; transfers arising out of a foreclosure or similar proceed-ing; or to
any other transfers identified by the Administrator by rule.
The board further moved to accept pro/con statements from owners limited to 100 words and
due by June 5, 2026 for inclusion in voter information materials. Email infosroa@srowners.org
Ballots will be sent by email in early July. The election closes and
ballots must be received no later than 12pm August 8
JULY 2026 SUNRIVER SCENE
Page 5
