October 2021 Toscana Living by Toscana of Desert Ridge

LIVING

toscana

KEEPING YOU IN THE KNOW

CREEPING INTO FALL

OCTOBER 2021

Our Staff. Community Manager Nicole Careaga ncareaga@toscanaliving.net Assistant Community Manager John Raabe jraabe@toscanaliving.net Lifestyle Director Mark Gatchell mgatchell@toscanaliving.net Concierge Director Katie Lucas klucas@toscanaliving.net Administrative Assistant Wade Longworth wlongworth@toscanaliving.net Maintenance Supervisor Daniel Renteria drenteria@toscanaliving.net Maintenance Staff Chris Ehrlich, Juan Magana Night Managers Jackie Hernandez, Saffron Caudle 480.861.0875 Gate House Staff Chet Sanders, Joshua Oakley, Laura Taylor 480.513.0602

ASSOCIATION OFFICE 5450 E Deer Valley Drive Building 2 Phoenix, AZ 85054 480.585.0808

AFTER HOURS EMERGENCY 602.234.9288

toscanaliving.net

Exciting new features!

RESIDENT WEBSITE UPGRADE Expected First Week of November

SAME TOSCANALIVING.NET ADDRESS *Please note: website may be taken down for up to one week for the implementation of these upgrades. Any interruptions in website services will be communicated via email*

Nicole's Noteables by Nicole Careaga

Each of our Fireside Chats have had a great turnout, and the same goes for our most recent one, held on September 20. With over 30 residents in attendance, we had some great conversations about construction, transition, crime, and future planning. Below are some of the topics from that night, along with a few questions we received this month. What is Statesman's responsibility for addressing items such as a leak in the parkade, or low patch within the cobblestone walkway?

Toscana is unique in that Statesman did not just build 677 units. They knew they wanted to finish the property. However, they had to wait for the market to be right to do so. Over the past 10 plus years, Statesman has been the Declarant, overseeing the Board and paying assessments on units that were still just ideas in the dirt. Now that we are approaching transition, we have a different set of circumstances than most communities at this time. We are no longer a brand new community. The buildings' warranties are no more, and the Arizona time of repose of eight (8) years has come and gone. Because of this, Toscana is now responsible for all of the necessary repairs that we may need. This is why we have worked to have a good reserve standing over the past few years. What is the association doing to protect residents from crime and vandalism?

The management team has met with a Neighborhood Action Officer and are working to bring an education meeting to all residents via zoom. The Police want to provide you all with the necessary tools to keep Toscana safe, and provide you with the resources to do that. PAGE 3

Keep an eye on your email for the zoom link for this event. We also have alerted them to the concerns that you all have, so that they can increase patrols around our community in hopes of deterring any bad guys. They asked that I remind you, that while we are a gated community, it is still imperative that you do not leave valuables in your cars, or visible in your cages. Also, lock your car doors, and cages and check them often. Being alert is one of the easiest deterrents we have as a community. What are some updates to the painting and landscape projects?

The painting is continuing all over the community. As you can understand, a project of this size, with this many obstacles has proven to be a very labor-intensive job. Currently, we are working to paint the amenity spaces, as they are easily reachable by ladder. CertaPro, your paint vendor, is now working to grab a new type of lift, that can be driven through the grass retention areas. Because of this, we have delayed the install of the rye grass. We can not have the turf areas over saturated while driving the lift in them. Hopefully, we can move through this phase of the project quickly, however, depending on the timing, we may not be able to apply the rye seed this season. We will be sure to keep you updated as we know more. What plans are there to update the trash rooms?

As part of the transition new trash compactors and bins have been ordered to facilitate the increase to the amount of garbage within the community. Once the new compactors have been delivered, along with the new bins, the management team will present some ideas to the Board. Once decisions are made, we will be sure to communicate them to all of you via email. If you have any questions or concerns that you would like for me to include in an upcoming email or article, please do not hesitate to reach out. As always, my door is always open, and I am here to help in any way I can.

Make your

Mark by Mark Gatchell

Fall into Fun Events Doesn't it feel so good to put the summer heat behind us, leap into fall, and of course, our fall events? As you all know, the fall and winter months bring many of our Canadian family and friends back to Toscana. And with the return of so many of you, the Lifestyle calendar becomes very busy with many of the events you have come to love. This year, we are kicking off the signature events with our wildly popular Halloween Bash located around the Palazzo Grande pool. Be sure to save the date for October 22nd on your calendars now, and be sure to check out the upcoming Lifestyle eBlast for all the spooky details! This year we have themed the Halloween Bash "Dead Men Tell No Tales," so get your best pirate costume and dress to impress! As the fall season takes off and you begin to register for more events, please note that we are currently limiting the number of attendees depending on the event location and event type. Because of this, you will see that we will be hosting two Bagels & Brew or two brunches so that everyone that would like to attend will have an opportunity. Outdoor events such as the Halloween Bash will, of course, have a much larger number of guests able to participate. If you try to register for an event online and are having difficulties, please send me an email at mgatchell@toscanaliving.net, and I will register you for the event or put you on our waitlist. As a reminder, if you have completed the registration process properly, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive the email, please let me know so I can verify your registration went through. After being away for so long it is easy to get excited and register for every event. As we are all human, we can also forget we have registered for some events. We have encountered this issue where, say, for instance, 65 people register for Danish & Donuts, and only 55 attend. When catering is ordered, we order enough to serve 65 individuals, but when only 55 show up, we waste a lot of food. I have begun working with our Lifestyle Committee to develop a cancelation policy and send out event reminders to those registered to help avoid this issue. If you cannot attend an event and let me know early enough, it also provides an opportunity for those on my waitlist to attend the events as well. If you are finally able to return to Toscana, please be sure to stop by the office and say hello to everyone!

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10 O C T O B E R SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI 1

FINANCE COMMITTEE 9:30AM

Association Events

SAT

BOARD MEETING

10AM FOOD TRUCK PG 5-7:30M

B14 & 26 PARKADE CLEANING

*NHL OPENING NIGHT*

*AFTERNOON BINGO* 2-3PM

FOOD TRUCK PG 5-7:30M

* HALLOWEEN BASH* PG POOL 5:308PM

PG 5:30-7PM

*90-BALL BINGO* 2-3PM

LIFESTYLE COMMITTEE 2PM

*AFTERNOON BINGO* 2-3PM

FOOD TRUCK PG 5-7:30M

HALLOWEEN GATE GIVEAWAY GATEHOUSE 7AM-8PM

*REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED* RESIDENT- RUN CLUBS MAH JONG - MONDAYS 10AM - PG COFFEE CLUB - TUESDAYS/THURSDAYS 9AM - PG

HAND AND FOOT - TUESDAYS/THURSDAYS 6PM - PG POKER CLUB - WEDNESDAYS 6PM - PG

DIFFICULTY CONNECTING? As we continue to safely connect with our friends and neighbors via Zoom, we've had a few residents who have experienced "lost links." The Association typically sends meeting links both one week prior, and day-of, and event links often go out the day prior or day of, to help keep meeting/event access at your fingertips. However, some email servicers filter emails with links, and it can sometimes be difficult to find them. If you are ever headed into a meeting or event and realize you can't find the Zoom link, please be sure that you are not contacting the host in the hour prior to or during the event or meeting. They are unlikely to see your email, as they set up for and host these gatherings. Instead, please call the office at 480-585-0808 to receive more immediate service, so we can get you in quickly and without interuption!

CONNECTION

community

by Katie Lucas

Trick or treat! It's almost Halloween (my four-year-old's favorite holiday), which means it's time to dust of that cackling witch, spooky ghost, or lumbering zombie costume and celebrate. This year, many Halloween favorite events have returned to the valley. With everything from trick-or-treating for the kids to a scare-fest for the adults, Halloween is sure to be full of tricks and treats this year. Here are some events going on in the Phoenix area: Howl-O-Ween at the Great Wolf Lodge If just one night of Halloween isn’t enough for you and your little goblins, grab your costumes and join The Great Wolf Lodge for Howl-o-Ween at Great Wolf Lodge. During the month of October, they feature a variety of fa-BOOlous events and treats to celebrate the spooky season. Events include Boo Bingo, Howl-O-Ween Trivia, Grab-NGo Crafts, Monster Bash Dance Party, Critter Cartoons, and more!

Boo & Brew at the Scottsdale Quarter Treat your taste buds to local craft brews from Huss, Walter Station and Grand Canyon breweries on October 23 at the Scottsdale Quarter, while listening to live music and watching your favorite college teams in the football lounge.

Meanwhile, the younger crowd will be entertained with oversized games, crafts, character appearances, balloon twisting and face painting.

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Ghosts and Goodies at Westgate Entertainment District Get ready for a spooky day of fun at Westgate’s annual Halloween celebration, Ghosts & Goodies. Occurring Saturday, Oct. 16 from 3-6 p.m., the event features costume contests for all ages, music, games, crafts, prizes and much more. Guests can also checkout the all-new Jurassic Petting Zoo and snap free photos with a dinosaur and dig for fossils.

Scarizona Scaregrounds Inside the park you'll find five jaw-dropping mazes that even the bravest of souls can barely make it through. Featured on USA’s Greatest Haunts and earning itself a place on the list of Best Haunted Houses in Arizona on Yelp, this Arizona Haunted House will certainly be a roller coaster ride for you. It features amazing décor, frights, and monsters within, some of which might visit you in your dreams after you make it out the exit.

EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1

DEPOSIT REQUIRED FOR ALL MOVES, RENOVATIONS, AND LARGE-ITEM DELIVERIES

YOUR VENDOR WILL NOT BE PERMITTED ON PROPERTY WITHOUT A MOVE/REMODEL FORM FILLED OUT AND RETURNED AND DEPOSITS/FEES PAID TO THE PALAZZO CENTRO OFFICE As we begin our return to more normal operations, your Board of Directors has requested the reinstatement of elevator padding and deposit/fee taking for all moves, renovations and large-item deliveries.

Even if your remodel does not require architectural approval, a Commencement of Work form is required to be filled out and deposit paid prior to your vendor being permitted on property.

Large items that require deposit prior to delivery include, but are not limited to: beds, loveseats, sofas, appliances, pre-assembled dressers, etc.

Deposits are refundable, barring damage done to common areas. Deposits are $250 for moves and large-item deliveries and $500 for renovations. Admin fee of $25 is non-refundable.

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JOHN'S JOURNAL

by John Raabe

FIRE ALARM REMINDERS I know this is something we have talked about a few times recently, but we just had another fire alarm issue last month and had residents not exiting the building, and calling the office. I would like to just go over the proper response to a fire alarm to try and help everyone out and hopefully avoid a life-threating emergency. The first thing you should do when you hear the fire alarm go off is just assume there is a fire . Make sure you have all of your loved ones and exit the building in a quick and safe manner. Please do not sit around and wait to see if the alarm turns off within 5 minutes. If there is a fire, those could be crucial minutes between you getting out of the building safely or not. While many of our fire alarm trips here at Toscana have been "false alarms," it is not worth your health and safety to not get out of the building. We would rather you guys be upset that you had to stop what you were doing and walk out to the parking lot for a few minutes than have to hear that you did not get out of a dangerous situation.

So to reiterate, if the fire alarm is going off in your building please exit the building in a safe manner. Use the stairs, not the elevators. Make your way to closest exit and then, once you are outside, make your way to the main entrance of the building and wait for either direction from the staff, emergency personnel or the alarm to be shut off. Information on what caused the alarm will then be communicated via email If you do not currently receive our emails, please be sure to reach out to mgatchell@toscanaliving.net.

Second, please do not call the office. If the alarms are going off there a lot of different things going on in the office. We are getting calls from our fire monitoring service telling us where the alarm is signaling, allowing our team to inspect and direct emergency services straight to the problem area. Team members actively on the site where the alarm triggered may also be calling the office and the gatehouse to try and find out more information or relay information. While the alarms are going off, the office will probably not have information to give to residents, except to get out of the building. If residents are calling the office during all this, it makes it harder for all of us to communicate and try and get the issues resolved quicker and get the information out to the residents. Once everything has been determined to be all-clear, we will work with emergency services to silence alarms and an email will be sent to affected building(s) with an update on what caused the alarm. At this point, it would be safe to re-enter the building. PAGE 14

WADE'S WORLD by Wade Longworth

It’s the time of year where we can feel that slight chill in the air. So pull out those sweaters and get ready for some brisk mornings with perfect crisp autumn nights to enjoy. Fall is always my (like most people) favorite time of year because the weather is changing with the trees starting to adjust to these spectacular fall colors. It means that it will not be long before fabulous winter flowers and plants are visible throughout the community here at Toscana. However, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself because the end of this month is one of the most celebrated holidays that we have, Halloween! Every year more than half of the country celebrates Halloween. That’s more than 150 million of us that decorate our living spaces with things like skeletons, witches, and anything creepy that we can find. It’s always so much fun to pull out your favorite decoration or open up that delivery box to a brand new one that just arrived. After everything is out of the storage containers or empty boxes, the time comes to put on your favorite scary movie and get the space looking spooky. When the place looks as frightening as a graveyard at midnight, the time is right for another tradition for this holiday. Carving pumpkins is a tradition that goes back to the 8th century when the Irish started carving turnips to frighten away wandering souls. That tradition made it over to America by immigrants, and instead of the turnips, they used pumpkins because they were native to the region. With the weather so great towards the end of October, there is something special about throwing on your favorite long-sleeve and heading up to the pumpkin patch to pick the perfect one. When you get home with that prized possession, the real fun begins by cutting a circle in the top to make it easy to clean out the seeds. Make sure to set those aside for later so you can season and bake them for a delightful snack. Just never put them down the garbage disposal. After you’ve created a chilling design, put a LED light in there and watch it glow outside your unit. PAGE 15

It is essential to remember never to put your pumpkin out too early or leave it too long. Most pumpkin carving experts would agree that once it is carved, they typically only stay good about 5-10 days before the start to rot. It is imperative to take them down on time because we don’t want critters like rats or bugs to start munching on a favorite snack. Also, keep in mind that all decorations must be down one day after the holiday. Cheers to everyone having a happy Halloween!

MAINTENANCE

report by Daniel Renteria

With Halloween coming up at the end of this month we feel it is a great opportunity to provide the community with some maintenance related information to assist you with your “Halloween” decorations. Your CC&R’s state that all decorations can be put up 15 days prior to any such holiday and must be put away 1 day following such holiday, with the exception of Winter Holidays that run from the day after Thanksgiving to January 7th. Although it is restricted to permanently attach objects to the walls of your balcony, there are other ways you are able to temporarily hang things using command strips. The command strips can hold weight anywhere up to 22 pounds

balcony railing, an easy and safe option are zip ties. While visiting your local hardware store stock up on these in an array of colors to match your holiday décor. They are very affordable and removable with just a pair of scissors. Another fun and easy idea is to decorate the interior of your windows. This allows you easy access from the inside to install and remove lights, window clings, spider webs and other mystical items that can be seen from the outside. So whether your style is minimalistic, or full on haunted house, be sure to enjoy your outdoor spaces this fall, with these fun tips for and way damage free look.

Another option that is available for hanging décor safely is double-sided tape. Double-sided tape can be very useful when you are looking to temporarily hang an object or objects. Although certain command strips and double-sided tapes are safe to use, you always want to be mindful not to damage the stucco or balcony railings in any way. The addition of potted plants to your balcony can allow you a place to hang holiday lights, or even add a plant hook, that can act as a hangar for spooky ghosts and goblins. When hanging temporary holiday lights from the PAGE 16

WINNER

Bear Congratulations to our Pet Registration Event Winner: Bear! Bear is a one-yearold Australian Shepherd and was super excited to dig into her winnings, including toys, treats and extra Toscana swag! Thank you to all those pets and pet-parents who participated!