President/Chairman's Quarterly Message to Homeowners

The Board of Directors of Bixby Village would like to wish you all a very Happy Holidays.  As November begins the season of holidays that bring the calendar year to an end, it is also the final months of the current Board of Directors and their work.  Elections for the two open positions will be determined in December.   The new Board will face the continuing difficulties of aging infrastructure and finding adequate investment opportunities for our funding.  The strength of the community is shown by active volunteers who support the Board through their work in providing information and proposals.  This year has seen a very active and supportive collection of volunteers and we should all be grateful for the work they do.  Without the active participation of the entire community the quality of life in our village would begin to deteriorate.  If you have never been on one of the committees and have the time and energy we strongly urge you to participate.  If you don’t have the time to be on a committee, you can support your neighbors by attending the meeting occasionally to hear what they are doing for the community.

As for your Board of Directors and our PCM Management Agent, these people put in a tremendous number of hours and I am personally proud to have served with a dedicated group that have given of time and effort to make our village a better place to live.  You will hear people talk about what a ‘thankless job’ it is to serve on a Homeowner Association Board.  It can be difficult, trying, confusing and at times consuming, yes, but it is not thankless.  The learning curve is steep and guidelines, rules and laws seem to jump out at the members at every turn.  If you ‘sit on the sidelines’ it may seem difficult to understand why a simple task can take a long time to accomplish.  Unless you attend the Board Meetings or serve on a Board you can only imagine the volume of detail that these people must navigate through. 

Bixby Village has the continuing focus of our infrastructure and the continued work by active volunteers that will see us through.  I urge all of you to support those volunteers who watch out for all of our interests through their work.  Join a committee if you can or simply support them and their work and keep our system alive and vibrant.

With the focus on infrastructure let us not forget the investment we make every month either.  Although not as visible as trees, paint and plants it is of equal importance to us all.  These times are difficult for all of us economically as individuals and families.  Imagine the difficulties ahead for our community as if it were a small business (except it is not for profit).  We read about banks failing and being taken over, certain investments that have been a staple for income are no longer providing yields that we were used to receiving.   There are dedicated volunteers in this area, as well, working for you.  We know that there are many more community members with professional financial backgrounds who might help with creative ideas for new kinds of investments to help the community. Such help would be welcome by the volunteers.

As members of the BVCA we want to help our neighbors that participate and give their time to make Bixby Village a place we want to reside.  If you want to know what is happening in an area of interest please attend the various committee meetings to understand what items and issues are of concern to the community.  If you cannot attend please look at www.bixbyvillageHOA.com to see the latest minutes and what was discussed at the meetings or request a copy of the minutes from PCM and if you have a concern attend those meetings and express your feelings to your neighbors who work on the proposals.  

Respectfully, 
Steve Gratch
BVCA Board Chairman