October 2025 Newsletter
October 1, 2025 HOA Newsletter
Hello Deer Park Golf & Country Club HOA Homeowners
We sincerely hope you will take the time to read this Newsletter in its entirety, as it contains important information about what is going on in our neighborhood, as well as discussion around the future of our HOA.
It has been a long, hot, and interesting summer. We hope you’ve had an enjoyable summer filled with adventures with your friends and families. Our community had a visitor of its own this summer just a few weeks ago. Midday, a large bull Moose wandered into the neighborhood searching for water and decided to get a drink from a neighbor’s pond. Thankfully, the Moose was able to find refreshment and move on its way without incident. We may live within the City limits and in a Planned Development, but the wild animals still find their way into our community from time to time, So please be sure to observe from a distance to keep you and your animals safe. These animals are impressive, beautiful, and majestic but they are wild.
Speaking of refreshments, the refresh at Oasis Park was completed in late June with an updated flower bed with curbing and a nice bench which has proven to be a perfect resting place for many of us walkers on a hot day. We hope you enjoy the aesthetic and functional upgrades to Oasis Park.
The new development to be known as “Country Club Estates” and located off 6th Street behind Country Club Drive and Oasis Avenue broke ground a few weeks ago. When completed, it will consist of 32 homes on an average lot size of 10,000 sq ft. The Board has been actively working with the Developer to ensure dust mitigation is in place as well as addressing our Homeowner’s drainage concerns next to the Oasis properties. The Board has been assured that these concerns will not be an issue. The Board will continue to monitor compliance with this agreement.
The agreement details also include the watering of the dirt before and during excavation as well as the construction of a six-foot retaining wall along the North end of the properties, adjacent to Oasis homes, and part way up behind two homes on Country Club Drive. This will allow leveling of the properties cutting diagonally behind Warren Park. A benefit our community will realize from this agreement is the expansion of Warren Park. The expansion will include additional grass, irrigation, and trees to enhance its aesthetic value. The Developer will pay for these expansion efforts at Warren Park. Further, the Developer has asked for our input on the Warren Park expansion. We have consulted with Cedar Ridge Landscaping, and the Homeowners who own the corner houses on Oasis and Country Club Drive, to gather their input as well.
If you have any ideas or input please visit our website, https://deerparkgolfhoa.org and click on “Contact Us”. We will be submitting ideas and input from Homeowners to the Developer when the time comes. The Board will communicate updates relating to the project via Facebook and Email blasts. In addition, now that Warren Park will be expanded, the Board is in initial discussions about a refresh of the entire park to take advantage of this unique opportunity in 2026. Like the Entryway and Oasis Park, this “common area” has not been upgraded or refreshed since the inception of our development. Again, please submit your ideas to us on this exciting news via our Website under “Contact Us”.
As we continue to upgrade our communication system, WE NEED ALL HOMEOWNERS to register their names, phone numbers, and addresses through the Website, https://deerparkgolfhoa.org/. If you have not yet done so, please enter your information under the “Contact Us” tab. This is integrally important as we transition to digital communication and for records keeping.
Last month, the Board sent two Email Blasts and two Facebook posts asking for the help of a Homeowner to volunteer to assist with the Secretary position of the Board for a short-term duration. The most troubling and concerning response happened… NOT ONE Homeowner offered to assist. If you missed seeing these announcements but are still interested in helping out, please contact the Board (via the Website). It’s never too late to lend a hand.
Another concerning example of lack of support from our Homeowners was the very poor attendance at the 2025 Annual Meeting held in April. Despite the hours of preparation and the costs associated with putting on the Meeting, which is required by the State of Washington, only 14 out of 250 members attended - 5 of which were Board Members. We depend on the Annual Meeting to foster engagement from members, elect Board Members and gather input on the efficiencies of the HOA operations and the path of our community for the next year. There was an issue regarding the “start-time” of the meeting for which we apologize and will not be repeated. The lack of in-person attendance sent an alarming message to the Board.
As we look forward to next year’s HOA elections, two Board positions will be open and must be filled. The following year (2027), three Board positions will be open which must be filled. Failure to fill all five (5) sitting positions of the Board will likely result in the HOA having to hire an outside HOA management company to run all the HOA operations. The costs involved in hiring an HOA management company are exorbitant and will undoubtedly cause our Homeowner dues to increase dramatically to cover said fees. Current HOA President, Tanj Gillard, has personally served on a previous Board in another community where this happened. The result was higher costs, decreased communication, delayed architectural improvement approvals, inconsistent rule enforcement, and a real disconnect for the entire community due to the near impossibility for the members to contact the management company for issues that needed attention or have questions answered. Simply summarized, costs went up, members lost a voice, and the community became a less desirable place to live and enjoy.
Is this our near-term future? It is truly up to YOU to support our community and participate in the operations of the HOA so this doesn’t become our reality. We share all of this, not to lecture, but rather to communicate openly and honestly regarding the current state of the HOA. Please help us help you by getting involved, attend the quarterly and Annual meetings, and consider running for the elected board vacancies opening next year and the year following.
The current board has been pleased to serve our HOA, but we cannot serve indefinitely. We all, just like you, have other priorities and obligations that need tending to. As such, the time has come for an infusion of new talent and energy. If we can get some fresh faces to step forward, the transition of knowledge now and “how to do stuff” will be much easier and allow a seamless handoff. We do not want to face a situation where current Board Members complete their terms and have no rational transition to their successors. That would most likely result in very negative consequences for the HOA.
The current board, with your financial support, over the last 3 and a half years has worked tirelessly to enhance and improve the community and the HOA operations to make Deer Park Golf and Country Club the preferred Deer Park neighborhood to live and invest in while growing our sense of pride and property values. Those improvements include: Refurbished Entryway, refreshed Oasis Park, improved communication through the new website, email blasts and Facebook page, new on-line bill pay, financial health, compliance with Washington State Law on Reserve Studies, updated “Rules and Regulations”, and the development and enhancement of working and financial partnerships with the City of Deer Park and our neighboring HOA Mountain View Meadows to name a few of the larger projects. The “heavy lifting” is almost done.
Have a healthy and happy Fall. We look forward to seeing you at the next quarterly Board Meeting.
The Governing Board-Tanj, Paul, Craig, Carla and Gayle
