Entertainment Updates: 

The Fall Fiesta was attended by approximately 2,500 people over the course of the afternoon. A variety of vendors provided information to the community about gardening, water conservation, Master Gardening, soil amendment, exotic fruit propagation, bees in our backyards, saving electricity, emergency preparedness and blacksmithing.  Children enjoyed the two bounce houses, hamster balls, and a various games.  Catering was provided by Tacos and Co. and Gina’s Pizza.  A coffee cart (Affair ala Carte) dispensed caffeine drinks for adults and the children had fresh fruit bars and fruit cups as treats.

About 300 children and parents attended the Halloween party at the community center.  The movie Frankenweenie was shown on a big screen.  Children enjoyed juice and cookies and candies.  Coffee was served for the adults.  Erin, the balloon lady made hats, swords, and a variety of other objects for the children.  Our special thanks to Tammy Smecker-Hane for providing the wonderful mummy dogs and to Deborah Shaka who organized the food drive and who served “severed finger cookies. ” Deborah’s efforts resulted in over 225 pounds of food collected for Second Harvest Food Bank.  Bales of hay, pumpkins, spider webs and spiders decorated the room. Additional thanks to Michele Mussachio for her assistance with face painting many many zombies.

The Holiday Bazaar will be held on Saturday, December 7 in the Community Center from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.  26 vendors have arranged to display their wares for sale.  A special thanks to Sandrine Scherson, Marta Crane, and Diane Fallon for taking this on.  Coffee will be available for those looking to do some holiday shopping.

A resident questioned the current rates for renting the community center.  The rates that ICHA charges are less than those charged by the City of Irvine for their facilities.  The HRB voted not to change the rate structure.

A resident requested that the HRB consider heating the Urey pool during November.  The heat was turned off at the Urey pool at the end of October consistent with the fiscal budget and standing pool use schedule, but the Jacuzzi is still heated.  The Los Trancos and Gabrielino pools are heated year round.

A resident came to the board meeting with complaints regarding plumbing problems in homes in Phase 8.  The listserv recently had many posts regarding leaking toilets and leaking dishwasher connections. Following discussion, the HRB requested that ICHA send a letter to all homeowners in Phase 8 suggesting that they have their toilet seals and dishwasher connections checked by a licensed plumber.  This may cost homeowners $75 to $125 or more, but could prevent thousands of dollars of water damages at a later date.

A request for teaching an art class in the community center was approved by the HRB, pending completion of a background check on the instructor.  This was requested because all the children in the class are minors.

A call for nominations for the HRB will go out in late December for seating new board members in February.  Four seats are up for election this year.  If you are interested in running, please contact Jeff Beckwith (beckwith@uci.edu) or Andrew Herndon (Andrew.herndon@icha.uci.edu) Candidates will be requested to submit a paragraph about why they are running and what they would like to do on the HRB.