End of Year Letter from the MIA President -2023

Holiday season has arrived, along with lots of house decorations and lights. This year’s Halloween night seemed busier than ever, a good number of folks attended the Tent or Treat night, and the last monthly social
with support from “Rare Vintage” was well received too.

Lots has been going on at the Community shared space this year. The Poolhouse remodel, which admittedly got off to a slow start with SJ City asking us to revisit our permits, has now progressed well. You can see the photos in the regular Community board meeting notes. (Apologies for the “porta-potties” this year – we will be all finished and ready for when the 2024 swim season arrives). The new fencing and access gates are also finished and working. We’ve also purchased a large TV for the Clubhouse, as well as arranged to resurface one of the courts, with lines for Pickleball, Badminton and Volleyball.

On the Pool front, we’ve narrowed the field to two design architect firms, and are discussing with each of them how they might help us get a number of costed concepts drawn up in the next few weeks, with the ambition of starting work in the winter of 2024. Our current pool condition is such that we either need to start work on a new pool, or we will need to address the existing pool in time for the 2025 season. With both loan interest rates, and construction costs, rising, it’s looking tighter than it did a year back.

Talking money – we’ve set the annual dues for next year at $954, based on the CPI inflation rate of 3.2%. You’ll see this in your annual invoice coming soon. There are also still Semi-Annual, Quarterly, and Monthly schemes which I encourage people to use to help spread the cost through the year.

Regarding improvements of a different sort – there have been a number of residents making external modifications to their homes out of line with the guidance set out in our Community Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (which can always be found on our website). To maintain the character of the Community, we will be more actively regulating changes from here on, as per our legal duty – and will be posting an updated Architectural Approval form on the website in the new year. Please note that our CC&Rs require homeowners to submit changes for approval by the Architectural Committee prior to starting work.

We’ve had a few people living in their cars in the pool parking lot – which have caused many headaches to our Facilities team. Break-ins, property damage, theft, etc. We’ve had support from our local police to move them along – and we’ve put up signs warning that vehicles parked there can be towed. Please don’t feel that it means you can’t use your Community parking lot. However, please also don’t park your car there for longer than 24hours without informing Kerry, our Clubhouse manager.
Our first 2024 Community Board meeting will be on the 6th February. Come and give us your input, feedback, and support. If have some thoughts you want to share through the year, you can contact us at board@miahomeowners.com anytime. If you’d like to join the Board, please contact us before Jan 1st 2024.

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank Kerry, and the whole lifeguard/swim coach crew, for their support this summer. Their hard work was noticed and appreciated. Thank you all.

Happy Holidays and best wishes for next year,

Your board,

Tom Winton, President
Paul Sims, Vice President
Ron Blumstein, Treasurer
Leslie Norrie, Secretary
Ben Seiden, Member At Large

Car Break-Ins on Upper Puerto Vallarta

Screenshot of video of car break-ins on Upper Puerto Vallarta

In case you didn’t hear, there were multiple car smash-and-grab break-ins on September 10, 2023 at 4:13 AM on upper PV, in addition to many other neighborhoods around San Jose.

As a reminder, please lock your car, don’t leave valuables (or anything for that matter) in your vehicle overnight, and report suspicious activity to the police.

When the Captain of the SJPD Southern Division came out last year to speak at our community meeting, he said, if you think a crime might be in progress or just happened, property damage or theft included, call 9-1-1. This will give the police the best opportunity to respond, especially if they are getting multiple reports from around the city. If you discover your car had been broken into over night, then it would be more appropriate to call the non-emergency line.

On Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at 7PM we will be having a MIA meeting. We have invited District 10 Candidate for City Council and member of the District 10 Leadership Coalition, Lenka Wright, to join us at the beginning of the meeting. If you would like to hear her thoughts and what she sees as a priority for our community and for the City of San Jose, please join us.

National Night Out Ice Cream Social

Join us at the clubhouse on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM to celebrate National Night Out with an ice cream social.

Each year, the National Night Out event encourages residents to get out in the community, meet neighbors, and build relationships with police.

MIA invites up to three sponsors to provide ice cream and beverages for the event. Please email the board by July 28 if you are interested in being a sponsor.

REMINDER: Neighborhood Watch Meeting 3/14 at 7PM

The San Jose Police Department Crime Prevention Unit invites you to join your neighbors for this important meeting with police representatives and learn:

  About recent crimes in your area
  How to work together to prevent crime
  How to recognize and report suspicous activity
  And much more….

DATE: Tuesday March 14, 2023
TIME: 7:00 PM-8:30 PM
HOST: Montevideo Improvement Association
LOCATION: Club House/1585 Monteval Lane

Only persons in attendance for the entire meeting will receive a neighborhood watch sign and other materials.
Only adult members of your household should attend. This is an official police presentation and alcohol consumption is inappropriate.