Winter is here and out comes SROA's fleet of snowplows! Read about plow procedures Page 6
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Learn about conifers and how to incorporate them into your Sunriver landscape Page 29
S U N R I V E R
S C E N E A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
DECEMBER 2024
VOLUME XLVII • NUMBER 12
By Susan Berger, Sunriver Scene SROA NEWS – During the Nov. 16 SROA Board of Directors meeting, the board approved increasing the monthly maintenance fee 3.75% to $165.49 per month to fund the 2025 budget. In September, the board had approved a 3% discount for owners who choose to prepay their annual maintenance fee amount – in full – by Jan. 25 (the discounted annual amount is $1,926.30). Owners will receive their maintenance fee invoice in the mail or by email in late December/early January. This discount does not apply to any remaining SHARC assessment. A 3.75% increase also was approved for the Skypark Fund assessment to $71.58 a month. The Skypark Fund is used for maintenance and repairs of the tarmac, which is designated “limited commons” and available for use by Skypark owners only. The board is allowed to implement up to a 6% increase annually without a vote of the owners and thanked staff for careful budgeting with what they need and the goal to keep maintenance fees below 4% – despite the continuing increases in utilities and other fixed costs – which SROA doesn’t have any control over. Here’s a list of what maintenance fees cover: • Accounting: Tracks and monitors the association’s annual budget including accounts payable, receivables, investments, replacement reserve, contingency and payroll. • Administration: General manager and staff work with the board and committees to provide services to owners, handle day-to-day operations and legal matters, insurance and human resources. • Communications: Sunriver Scene newspaper, websites and eblasts, social Turn to Fees, page 3
Mt. Bachelor is for sale. What does it mean for Bend? The fate of the resort that drove Bend's renaissance is uncertain. But are the two fates still entwined, or is Bend now bigger than the mountain?
Editor’s note: The following story is reprinted with permission by the Source Weekly. The story originally ran in the Source in mid-November, so some dates referenced in the story have already passed. With Sunriver’s proximity to Mt. Bachelor, and its importance to winter tourism, the Scene felt this story was worth sharing with readers.
By Jennifer Baires, Source Weekly n just a few short days, Mt. Bachelor will have its earliest opening since 1998. The ski resort’s public relations team announced the weeks-aheadof-schedule opening on Monday to much fanfare, inviting passholders to
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the mountain this weekend, Nov. 15 through the 17, for fresh lines. It’s the treat locals have been asking for since snow from early season storms started piling up, and a sure way for the Turn to Bachelor, page 8
Sunriver’s LT Rangers ‘Trash King’ officially retires By Kathie Thatcher Frank Brocker is the chief instigator and guiding light of the L.T. Rangers. He was responsible for organizing a somewhat motley group of volunteers who agreed with him that “Sunriver is too beautiful to litter.” He recently retired from the position of commander and chief of this unique Sunriver organization. Frank and his wife, Barbara, had been part-time Sunriver residents since 1975. Upon moving here full time in 1995, he felt something needed to be done about the trash in the common areas that was detracting from the beauty of the Sunriver community, and he decided to form a group of like-minded residents. The L.T. Rangers (L.T. stands for litter and trash) began as a dedicated group of 15 litter pickers who met in The Village at Sunriver parking lot every third Monday of the month and policed The Village and surrounding areas for
Frank Brocker, left, turns his reign of the LT Rangers over to Dan Hilburn, right.
refuse on a monthly basis from May through October. In the beginning, this was a pretty big job and required several thankless hours of picking up candy wrappers, cigarette butts, cardboard, ghost poo (aka foam packing peanuts) and much more. Gradually, thanks to the Rangers’ diligence, the job became more
manageable. Brocker felt such a dirty job needed to be rewarded with something fun. He and Barbara began to host lunches at their home following the morning pick up. Soon other members began to offer their homes for the lunches with help Turn to Trash King, page 3 SUNRIVER SCENE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSN. VOLUME XLVII • NUMBER 11 P.O. BOX 3278 SUNRIVER, OR 97707
2025 monthly maintenance fee approved
PRSRT STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BEND, OR PERMIT NO. 213