A 'chilly' Thanksgiving week at Palermo

There's snow on top of Mount San Jacinto and the residents of Palermo Palm Springs are swapping shorts for long pants. The forecast for Thanksgiving is a high of 64 F with an overnight low of 40 F. But there should be plenty of sunshine. A Canadian owner puts it all in perspective for us. He writes: "While I appreciate snow on the San Jacinto Mountains certainly bodes cooler temps for Palm Springs, today's forecast in Calgary, Alberta- even friggin colder. minus 38 (that's celsius!!!) with the windchill. According to the news, we are the 2nd coldest place in the world right now. Antartica is 1st ~ BURR, BURR and more BURR. How I long for Palermo!!!!" Only the South Pole was colder? Here's a picture from downtown Calgary. Here's also a Web link to the Calgary Herald's Global News video. The forecast for today in Calgary is 14 F. Vancouver is 23 F. Toronto is the hot spot at 36 F. Many of you know that one of the big stories for Palermo in 2010 has been the number of people from the Far North who have bought condos here. At least six units this year have gone into Canadian hands, on top of those already owned by Canadians. Miss Penny Lane says: She has a lovely autumn-inspired sweater she's broken out and has a cup of hot chocolate for any of the Canucks down this way for the holiday week.

The festive adornments of Palermo Palm Springs

Palermo Palm Springs residents at Halloween saw how our neighborly spirit is flourishing. Just a couple of years ago you never would have seen a single Halloween decoration. Now Thanksgiving and even Christmas (already!) holiday decorations are popping up. Miss Penny Lane has the week off and says: She loves seeing the festive adornments on the doors as she goes to and fro doing errands preparing for her Thanksgiving feast.

Model C: The seven floor plans of Palermo Palm Springs

Our review of the seven floor plans of Palermo Palm Springs continues with the C model. The C model's 1,275 square feet makes it the fourth largest of the plans, after the A, B and D models. Seventeen of 117 units at Palermo Palm Springs are C models. The C unit is two stories, with two bedrooms upstairs, 2.5 baths, upstairs balcony, one-car garage and private backyard. The walls in the living room are about 19 feet tall, with large glass windows. Please note that the C models come in two versions, the one depicted in the floor plans here and a second version that is the mirror image. (The floors plans for models A, B, C, D and G are now on this site. The plans for the one-bedroom models E and F are still to come.) The C models are at: 262 Breeze Loop, 3551 Melody Lane, 3561 Melody Lane, 3572 Melody Lane, 3582 Melody Lane, 3661 Melody Lane, 3563 Penny Lane, 3564 Penny Lane, 3574 Penny Lane, 3584 Penny Lane, 3545 Sunburst, 3555 Sunburst, 3565 Sunburst, 235 Sandy Point Trail, 245 Sandy Point Trail, 265 Sandy Point Trail, and 278 Sandy Point Trail. Miss Penny Lane says: She loves to sit in C model's living room, with its tall walls and big glass windows, and look up at the stars.

First Floor

Second Floor

Mountain tops get their first light dusting of snow

Just in time for Thanksgiving, the San Jacinto Mountains received their first dusting of light snow this weekend. Here's a picture from a Palermo resident. Miss Penny Lane says: Thanks for another visual treat.

Sun showers bring a Palermo rainbow

Palermo Palm Springs has benefited from a bit of rinsing from a sun shower or two this Sunday. The air is clean and refreshing. And here's another benefit: A Positively Palermo reader wants to share with you these beautiful pictures of the rainbow that graced Palermo today. Miss Penny Lane says: What a treat!

At last, the obsolete Colt Security signs are gone

Palermo Palm Springs switched security companies about two months. The new company is Coachella Valley Security. Their main telephone number is 760-200-8999. But as Positively Palermo noted in early October, some residents have been confused about who the security company for our community really is. One reason is that at least five Colt Security signs, which list their number to call, have been up around the complex despite Colt's firing months ago. At last, we can report that these misleading signs are gone. As some residents may remember, when Colt still was our security company, Positively Palermo distributed refrigerator magnets with Colt's contact information. If you still have one, please remember to now discard or recycle it. Miss Penny Lane says: With that eyesore of a sign gone from the front gate, it's like we have a fresh face on our grand entrance, and we didn't even have to use any wrinkle cream for the make-over.

Contribute to our timeline project

Positively Palermo has been asked to compile a timeline of key dates in the Enterprise developer default saga, the HOA board's actions and other points of interest, to create an one-stop archive of our shared history during this eventful time. Please e-mail or post any dates you think are of importance. Miss Penny Lane says: With the year nearing its end, this is a time to reflect and recall Twenty Ten.

3.8-magnitude earthquake felt across Palm Springs

We've have a break from the recent round of quakes. But the news is reporting this evening that: "A magnitude 3.8 earthquake hit the Borrego Springs area on Thursday afternoon. There were no reports of damage from the small quake, which struck 22 miles southeast of La Quinta and 31 miles south of Palm Springs. It occurred at 4:56 p.m. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was felt across the Palm Springs area and part of San Diego County." The left-hand column of this Web page has the link to the USGS site. Miss Penny Lane says: A resident recently placed earthquake preparedness material in the Palermo clubhouse. Prepare yourself.

Everyone wants to know: What's next?

Now that the Palermo Palm Springs developer is in default on its bank loan, one question on the minds of people hoping to become homeowners is: When will the unsold condos once controlled by the developer individually go on the market? And the next question is: What will that do to home prices if a whole bunch come on the market at once? Of the 117 condos in Phase 1 of Palermo, 34 units are unsold and were once controlled by the developer. An bank auction is set for Nov. 30 to sell all the units as a group. These units now are being rented out. There are government protections in place for renters living in foreclosed properties so they can't immediately be evicted. Many Palermo renters have leases that don't expire for up to a year. Another consideration is the type of units that are left. For example, about a third of the unsold 34 condos are single-level one-bedroom units, known as Models E and F. (This site published a list of the 34 condos and their model types earlier this week.) Miss Penny Lane says: She'd like answers too, but the most recent buyers of Palermo residences have been such a jolly crew that she's confident that the future is bright indeed.

HOA board to Palermo homeowners: Pay us $324 more per year in fees. When was this decided? UPDATE: Details about the little-known board meeting

Positively Palermo received word this weekend that the HOA board has increased the annual HOA dues by $324 per year. This means that the monthly HOA fees per unit will increase to $268 per month from $241 per month. That is an 11.2 percent hike. The "2011 Budget Notes" letter from the HOA Board of Directors dated November 15, 2010 (tomorrow) began arriving in mailboxes this weekend. Alarmingly, there was no indication as to when the the board made this decision. Everyone looks forward to HOA board explaining the process and reasons for the $324 per year increase to homeowners in these tough economic times. Miss Penny Lane says: She will need to do even more belt-tightening and wants to know how and why this came about.

11/17 UPDATE: Thanks for your postings, Positively Palermo can report that indeed the HOA board held a meeting on increasing our HOA dues at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4. The afternoon meeting time and the day of the week deviated from what usually is done. The apparently short meeting also wasn't in the clubhouse as is usual. The meeting was conducted by telephone. No phone was set up in the clubhouse. The agenda did provide a call-in number but didn't mention this was a telephone meeting only nor that there would be nobody at the clubhouse. The lack of notice for this unusual — and apparently quickly scheduled — meeting also is a concern of homeowners. There was no e-mail or Facebook notification, and agendas weren't taped to the mailboxes — all past practices that homeowners have come to rely on and expect. Apparently, someone had time to come to Palermo to put up an agenda in the clubhouse display case but then did not tape the agendas on the mailboxes, as they've done before. Miss Penny Lane says: Seriously?

Nice break: Pool tourney set for Saturday

Positively Palermo has been asked to post this announcement about a pool tourney at 6 p.m. Saturday in the clubhouse. Here it is:

"All are welcome to attend and participate in our 1st. Palermo Pool Tourney.  1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes will be awarded. The entry fee for the tournament is an appetizer of your choice. Please bring your favorite libation/drinks as they will not be provided at the event. All are welcome to attend and encouraged to sign up for the fun. Please RSVP to: 760-641-0306 to be placed in the tournament. You can leave a message with your name and phone number and we will do the rest! See you on Saturday!"

Miss Penny Lane says: This good-natured tourney might just be the right tonic to help ease the concerns over this week's foreclosure news.

Where are the unsold Enterprise condos?

Positively Palermo has been asked about the location of the unsold Enterprise units that are subject to the bank default notice issued against the developer. Based on property records and other resources, here's the list of the 34 units that this site has come up with:

1. 220 Enterprise – Unit 83 – D model
2. 270 Enterprise – Unit 110 – A model
3. 3621 Melody Lane – Unit 75 – A model
4. 3631 Melody Lane – Unit 76 – B model
5. 3572 Melody Lane – Unit 89 – C model
6. 3582 Melody Lane – Unit 90 – C model
7. 308 Sandy Point – Unit 146 – A model
8. 228 Sandy Point – Unit 139 - B model
9. 218 Sandy Point – Unit 138 – B model
10. 208 Sandy Point – Unit 137 – A model
11. 245 Sandy Point – Unit 130 – A model
12. 255 Sandy Point – Unit 126 – A model
13. 275 Sandy Point – Unit 122 – D model
14. 232 Breeze Loop – Unit 131 – B model
15. 212 Breeze Loop – Unit 135 – A model
16. 311 Breeze Loop – Unit 119 – D model
17. 231 Breeze Loop – Unit 100 – A model
18. 3596 Sunburst – Unit 189 – E model
19. 3616 Sunburst – Unit 193 – E model
20. 3626 Sunburst – Unit 196 – E model
21. 3676 Sunburst – Unit 205 – E model
22. 3575 Sunburst – Unit 117 – B model
23. 3585 Sunburst – Unit 118 – A model
24. 3558 Quiet Side – Unit 179 – G model
25. 3578 Quiet Side – Unit 183 – E model
26. 3588 Quiet Side – Unit 185 – F model
27. 3607 Quiet Side – Unit 194 – E model
28. 3647 Quiet Side – Unit 202 – F model
29. 3657 Quiet Side – Unit 203 – F model
30. 3667 Quiet Side – Unit 206 – F model
31. 3687 Quiet Side – Unit 210 – E model
32. 3554 Penny Lane – Unit 105 – B model
33. 3564 Penny Lane – Unit 104 – C model
34. 3574 Penny Lane – Unit 103 – C model

Please let this site know if you have corrections and other information. Click on the links on the left-hand column of this page to find out more details about the model types and for street maps of Palermo Palm Springs. Miss Penny Lane says: Our dear neighbors renting out these residences need assurances and certainty about the future.

Nov. 30 is set as auction date for Enterprise's 34 condos at Palermo Palm Springs. Will it happen?

Palermo Palm Springs this evening has been papered with "Notice of Unified Trustee's Sale" documents taped on the front doors or metal gates of 34 unsold residences. The notices are signed by attorney Robert "Rob" Seidenwurm, vice president of Fidelity National Default Services of San Diego. You can read earlier postings on this site for the history of MB Financial Bank in July issuing a "Notice of Default" against PS Venture Indian Canyon / San Rafael LLC (aka the Enterprise Cos. of Chicago), as well as the filing of a lawsuit against Enterprise owner Ron Shipka Sr. over personal guarantees of loans for Palermo and the nearby Murano development. Two Enterprise executives resigned from the Palermo HOA in July after the bank filed a "Notice of Default" back then. The executives, at that time, said their company expected to lose interest in the property within 30 days. The new "Notice of Unified Trustee's Sale" posted on the doors today mentions $13,548,272.40 in outstanding debt. It also states that on Nov. 30, 2010 at 1:30 p.m., Fidelity National Default Services, as duly appointed Successor Trustee, will sell the property at public auction to the highest bidder for cash. The auction will be at 849 W. Sixth St. in Corona. Now one question is whether the auction will happen. One school of thought is that this new notice, along with the filing of the personal lawsuit against the Enterprise executive, is meant to put pressure on Enterprise to work out a deal and cough up some money. Another school of thought is that the bank is ready to be done with all this and doesn't want to be in the property management business. Palermo owners and renters are in the dark and are guessing, and there's been no recent written communication from the full HOA board or the paid community manager to ease fears. Miss Penny Lane says: She's eager for the day when the Palm Springs sun shines its light on just who the owner will be.

Village Property addresses the auction notices placed on 34 developer-owned condos today

Michael Health of VPM has asked Positively Palermo to post this message from him regarding the auction notices taped on front doors this afternoon:

"Dear Palermo residents,

 If you haven’t already heard all 34 units owned by the Palermo developer received Trustees Sale/Auction notices this evening, posted to their front doors or gates. 

This I know has taken many by surprise as I have been fielding calls from many of our tenants this evening.  I will have a formal notice to all 34 units this evening letting them know that I am aware of the notices being posted.

  As you may or may not know I was assigned Receiver by the courts last month to manage the developer-owned portion of the Palermo Community.  The middle person, you can say, between the bank and the developer; to see that all bills are paid including HOA assessments and property taxes.  I have been working closely with the banks lawyers to keep things moving seamlessly.

  The notices posted at these units this evening are part of the process that must be conducted by the banks. 

  I want to assure our residents in these 34 units that what I have been told through my receivership contacts is that all will continue to be business as usual for the foreseeable future.

  As information develops I will be sharing with the blog as well as directly with the Board and our residents residing in these units.

 Thank you

 Michael E. Heath

 Chief Executive Office

 Village Property Management"

Miss Penny Lane says: Thanks for this message. Watch for an update later tonight for a posting regarding the actual wording of the bank notices.

Community Alert! Doors of Enterprise-owned units posted with "Notice of Trustee Sale"

Come back to this site for more news later tonight. Please e-mail any information you have to share.

A resident's plea — and plan — to help no-kill animal shelters in the valley

Here's a chance to help out the homeless dogs and cats in our valley, by supporting "no-kill" animal shelters. Many of these shelters are packed because of the economy, as people lose their homes or downsize to apartments that are too small for their pets or have rules against pet ownership. Cases of neglect also are up. With that in mind, please consider this message from a big-hearted Palermo resident. She writes:

 "Good Morning Miss Penny Lane, I am hoping you might post this to the Palermo blog; I am seeking donations of the following for the No Killer shelters close to our community. They are in desperate needs of items - 
  - Cat Liter
  - Canned Cat Food
  - Cat Toys
  - Cat Trees
  - Large Dog Beds
  - Puppy Pee Pads
  - Adult Canned Dog Food
  - Dog Toys
  - Fleece Blankets
  - Large Towels
  - Laundry Soap
  - Hand Sanitizer
  - Paper Towels
  - Lysol Spray
  - Windex
  - Pinesol
  - Bleach
Palermo is a very friendly animal community and I thought that there might be extras of these items and homeowenrs wouldn't mind donating. I am happy to pick up these items or they can drop them off at my place: 3545 Sunburst Blvd. email; bwtiffani@hotmail.com Of course they are looking for monetary donations, but anything would be a big help. I will deliver all this to the shelters. Just contact me and I'll get 'er done. Thank you, Tiffani."

What a wonderful task to undertake. That is the Palermo spirit. Miss Penny Lane says: She perks up when she sees Palermo's doggies walk by her place, but she knows that for everyone one of these pampered pooches there are hundreds more looking for homes. Please help if you can.

Sleep in, Palermo Palm Springs

Palermo Palm Springs is filled with Pride parties this evening. And everyone gets another hour of sleep because of the time change. Miss Penny Lane says: She's been waiting for the extra hour of beauty sleep, because even with her wonderful (and expensive) face cream, she welcomes the extra boost.

College of the Desert moving ahead: City transfers land for new 'green' 119-acre campus near Palermo

Good news this morning about the College of the Desert new campus planned for a couple of blocks from Palermo Palm Springs on Indian Canyon Drive. The 119-acre campus is "envisioned as a cutting-edge enclave of energy self-sufficient buildings, a green business incubator offering training and jobs for students and a small solar farm generating extra income as well as electricity." And the city sees "the campus as a boon for retail, with students coming from Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City, as well as Beaumont and Banning further down Interstate 10. COD first committed to developing the satellite campuses as part of a $346.5 million bond measure voters passed in 2004. The campus programs would focus on hospitality and tourism, media and the arts, health and green tech," according to reports. The college also is in negotiations with a private university to provide upper-division courses. Now the land is being transferred from the city to the college. Today's paper reports that:

"The City Council Wednesday approved transferring of 119 acres of city-owned land to become the College of the Desert's new West Valley Campus, said city spokeswoman Amy Blaisdell. Construction on the campus, at the northwest corner of Tramview Road and Indian Canyon Drive, is expected to begin in early 2011, Blaisdell said. Mayor Steve Pougnet said city officials are excited about the project. “The West Valley Campus will be one of the most green and clean in the country and will set the gold standard when it comes to educating thousands of students for the next generation of green jobs,” Pougnet said. The campus will feature a 70-acre 'green park,' that will include solar panels for renewable energy production. The city purchased the land in July 2010 for about $2 million from the Bureau of Land Management.”

Miss Penny Lane says: Palermo Palm Springs will be at the center of it all.

How many private spas and spools?

Investing in Palermo's future: A new spa is going in on Sunburst

Positively Palermo has been asked about the number and type of private pools, spools and spas in our community. The ongoing installation of a spa in the front yard of a two-bedroom G-unit on Sunburst Blvd. — see the above picture — has sparked interested because no private spa has been installed since 2008 or 2009. This new front-yard spa will be the first installed in any of the 34 single-level units. All the other private pools and spas are in the back yards of the 83 two-story townhomes. According to this site's information, there are about 21 private pools or spas at Palermo. The developer put most of them in before the concrete backyard walls went up. Many of these spas are in the back yards of condos on Melody Lane. There are numerous barriers to putting in more spas in the townhome back yards. One is that the vast majority of the units without a backyard spa can only be accessed through the garage door, making installation more difficult. In fact, only about 15 of the 83 two-story townhomes have outside gates that directly access their back yards. About half of these already have spas. As for the variety, Palermo units have spas and spools (a spa and small pool that share a common wall). At least one unit has a pool and spa that are completely separate and in different parts of the yard. Miss Penny Lane says: Congratulations to the new homeowner on Sunburst, and thank you for investing in Palermo's future by making such an improvement.

Comments and the spam filter

Positively Palermo has received an e-mail stating that certain comments have disappeared immediately after the reader refreshed the page to view the comments he just wrote. Blogspot sometimes directs comments to a spam filter. This particularly can happen if the same comment is posted again and again. We hope this is now fixed. Miss Penny Lane says: Please e-mail if you encounter such glitches of a technical nature.

Painting progress

Positively Palermo has been asked by an out-of-town owner about the progress of the repainting of the "Deep Russet" color and the "Copper" accent color on the outside of our buildings. As for the "Deep Russet" color, the crews have primed and repainted the front exteriors of the units on Melody Lane and Sandy Point Trail, and have been finishing up Breeze Loop. Next, the crews will move to Penny Lane, according to the schedule put out earlier.  (The crews have skipped the restroom/shower building at the back pool and, for some reason, say it will not be repainted despite the condition of the existing painting.) As for the "Copper" accent trim, the crews have returned to Melody Lane to start that work. See the bottom picture for an example of the "Copper" painting. Miss Penny Lane says: The freshly coated buildings look beautiful.

Election Day!

Don't forget to vote. Our polling place is at the James O. Jessis Desert Highland Unity Center, 480 W. Tramview Road. Miss Penny Lane says: Election Day provides her an excuse to spend the night with Anderson Cooper.

Services offered: Bikini Boot Camp!

A Palermo Palm Springs resident has requested this site share this information about a service she provides:

"Hello Palermo Residents! My name is Courtney and I am your resident Pilates instructor.  In an effort to keep our association fit and fabulous, I would like to offer special Palermo pricing on the classes I am teaching in town. 'Bikini Boot Camp' in Ruth Hardy Park, Monday - Friday at 6:00 AM. This is a very challenging Pilates-based workout that includes cardio and intense target toning for all of those little trouble spots. Guaranteed to drop a couple of pant sizes in a couple of months!
  - Single class $15 ...  Palermo Residents $12.
  - 3 days/week/month $149 ... Palermo Residents $129.
  - Monthly unlimited $199 ...  Palermo Residents $169.
I am also teaching Pilates at Body Kinetics, Palm Springs. www.bodykineticsps.com My focus is on building the group reformer classes which are nice as they only accommodate three people per class. I have 8 years of reformer experience and I will be teaching the following group classes. Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:15 AM-10:15 AM and 5:15 PM - 6:15 PM. I am available for individual sessions and private group sessions as well. I would like to extend a complimentary group class to Palermo residents or 50% off a one hour private session."

Miss Penny Lane says: Sad but true, but she'd need more than just a boot camp to reclaim her bikini's.