Did you know that each time a work order is completed, the resident who initiated it receives a customer satisfaction survey?

The program, launched in February, seeks feedback on service orders and staff assignments (program maintenance requests, such as those for water heaters, electrical panels, fumigations, etc., are not included in this survey).

In March, VMS modified the survey to reflect board member input, which was to add a maintenance-specific question and a free-form comment section that asked what VMS could to do improve service levels.

Through April, 7,346 surveys were sent and VMS received 1,770 responses for a 24% response rate.

Five stars is the highest rating possible on the rating scale and one star is the lowest. All negative comments receive regular follow-up. Below are the questions featured in the survey, along with responses received, the average response and the assignment of stars received per the rating scale.

How was your Resident Services experience?

1,623 responses; average response: 4.53 stars

• Five stars: 1,243
• Four stars: 181
• Three stars: 87
• Two stars: 43
• One star: 69

How was your maintenance experience?

1,121 responses; average response: 4.52 stars

• Five stars: 875
• Four stars: 109
• Three stars: 50
• Two stars: 18
• One star: 69

Please rate time to respond.

1,640 responses; average response: 4.48 stars

• Five stars: 1,239
• Four stars: 176
• Three stars: 87
• Two stars: 50
• One star: 88

Please rate employee courtesy.

1,611 responses; average response: 4.76 stars

• Five stars: 1,419
• Four stars: 95
• Three stars: 42
• Two stars: 13
• One star: 42

Please rate whether expectations were met.

1,621 responses; average response: 4.47

• Five stars: 1,263
• Four stars: 133
• Three stars: 71
• Two stars: 33
• One star: 121

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

In fall 2020, the United board and the United Landscape Committee directed staff to investigate the possibility and cost of removing mature pine trees that exhibit at least one of the following characteristics: groves of trees, health decline, building conflict with roofs and gutters, dense canopies causing poor turf growth, dense canopies causing an abundance of leaf pickup tickets, and infrastructure damage. In March 2021, staff brought preliminary findings to the Landscape Committee, which subsequently directed staff to develop a project and seek proposals for the work. Staff arborists subsequently visited every Canary Island pine in the community, evaluated them and determined that 393 of the trees fell into at least one of the categories, and many fell into more than one.  

The density of the canopies caused such concerns as the quantity of tree debris falling onto nearby building and carport roofs, blocking gutters, roof drains, courtyard drains and down spouts, and costing the mutual vast sums in structure repairs. Many of these trees have caused damage to sidewalks, foundations, pipes and walls. 

Project Canceled, Ad Hoc Continues

On May 10, United Mutual approved the formation of the Canary Island Pine Tree Reduction Project Ad Hoc Committee to address this specific issue, about which members and residents expressed concern during the March 10 United Landscape committee meeting.  

However, on Thursday, May 12, the Landscape Committee canceled the pine tree removal project. Going forward, trees will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The ad hoc committee will continue as an educational and resident involvement vehicle, and a proposed environmental report will proceed. 

Report a Problematic Tree

Residents who are having issues with individual trees can contact Resident Services at 949-597-4600 or residentservices@vmsinc.org to initiate a Landscape Request Form or download the form from lagunawoodsvillage.com (Residents > Services > Maintenance & Landscaping > scroll down to Landscape Forms) and email it to residentservices@vmsinc.org.  

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.

A new horse has joined the GRF herd! Giuseppe, “Gus,” is a 15.3-hand, 14-year-old Clydesdale cross whose background is in trail and western riding. He’s a big, strong guy who can carry larger adult riders and sports a beautiful bay color with a big white blaze and four tall white socks—making him a horse with lots of “chrome,” as they say in the horse world.

He is friendly and engaging and often nickers softly to Equestrian Center staff when they approach or walk by, like he’s saying “Hi, friend! Are you here for me?” He is a walk/trot/canter lesson horse with beautiful movement and loads of potential. He’s fun to ride, responsive and careful with unbalanced riders, slowing down if someone feels unsteady on his back. 

Take a tour of the Equestrian Center and meet Gus, who enjoys and is kind to horse and human friends alike. Simply arrive at a scheduled tour time, sign in, and Equestrian Center staff will greet and prepare you for a fun and informative tour. No reservations are necessary, but close-toed shoes are required to interact with any horse. Every tour features a photo opportunity with a GRF-owned horse at the conclusion of the event.

Tour schedule:

• Wednesday and Thursday: 2 p.m.
• Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 12:30 and 2 p.m.

The Equestrian Center is located at 24312 El Toro Road.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.

Summary audited financial statements were mailed to members on April 28; full financial statements are available on the Village website for GRF, Third and United. 

To find the documents for each corporation, visit lagunawoodsvillage.com > Residents > select your mutual > Documents > Financial Services > 2021 Audited Financial Statements.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

Be sure to visit the Community Center, where a very special piece of art created by members of the Laguna Woods Art Association is currently on display.

“Water Is Life – Let’s Protect It” is a mixed-media artwork inspired by an original Wyland drawing and is the association’s contribution to Streams of Hope, a community public arts project in support of our oceans and waterways. 

The Streams of Hope campaign seeks to increase public awareness and education about the preservation and health of local watersheds through art through 40 illustrated, 8-foot-long baby whale statuettes, all fondly referred to as “Stella,” on display throughout Orange County. 

The program is a community partnership in association with the Wyland Foundation, the OC Conservation Corps, OC Adopt a Channel and the Municipal Water District of Orange County, with special thanks to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, USA Surfing, CalTrans, Disneyland Resorts, the Toro Company and KCBS2/KCAL9.

Laguna Woods Art Association members who created “Water Is Life – Let’s Protect It” are Sherri Bashore, Kris De Young, Marlene Johnson, Yong Kapoor, Sue S. Mills and Mary Sinclair. 

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

Clubhouse 4’s new Tuesday hours starting May 17 will be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Clubhouse 4, located at 23501 Via Mariposa, a hub of creativity, serves as the arts and crafts center of the Village community and provides facilities for hobbyists, craftspeople and artisans of all levels so they hone their talents seven days a week. 

Call 949-597-4344 or email recreation@vmsinc.org for more information. 

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.

VMS staff works year-round with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) to create and maintain “defensible space”—a practice to combat wildfires, especially in the wildland-urban interface. Defensible space reduces the risk of fire spread and provides firefighters a safer space from which to defend a threatened area.

In the Village, defensible space is divided into two landscaping areas: wildland and interior. The goal in wildland areas, adjacent to gates 9, 10 and 11, is to remove vegetation adjacent to Village boundary walls. The protected land adjacent to the Village is managed by the Nature Conservancy. Staff works with OC Parks and the conservancy to access the land and perform mandatory wildlife studies, enabling VMS to remove a 30-foot band of vegetation directly adjacent to the walls to create defensible space. This work is scheduled for June.

Over the past two years, staff has been working with OC Parks and the conservancy to increase this defensible space to 100 feet. The conservancy agreed, with some environmental and wildlife mitigation requirements in place. OC Parks is working on the mitigation plan and will submit it to staff once it is complete.

The second concept of defensible space is fuel reduction, or selectively thinning and pruning plants to reduce the combustible fuel mass of the remaining plants. This practice, which breaks up continuous, dense and uninterrupted vegetation, is being used on interior slopes. Ground cover is cut to 12 inches, shrubs are reduced to 2 feet and tree skirts are raised to 7 feet. This work, under contract with Mission Landscape, is completed twice a year.

Staff recently met with OCFA, which annually inspects all landscaping within high fire-risk areas, or fire hazard severity zones (FHSZ), which are determined by Cal Fire and changeable over time. View Village zones here.  

This year, OCFA is requesting Village landscaping to begin fire hardening within red FHSZ, which are mostly in gates 10 and 11. As crews work their way through these parts of the Village, they will perform the following new tasks mandated by Cal Fire to reduce the fire threat: reducing shrub height under windows to 2 feet below the sill, removing leaf growth from the lower 1 foot of shrubs, and reducing tall shrub height to maintain a 4-foot clearance below roof eaves.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.

A statewide direct primary election is scheduled for June 7; a ballot drop box and vote center will be available in Laguna Woods.

Ballot Drop Box 

From May 9 through June 7 at 8 p.m., voters will be able to place their completed ballots in a drop box located outside South County Adult Day Services (24260 El Toro Road, Laguna Woods). The drop box will be open 24 hours a day until the conclusion of in-person voting. Ballots will be regularly collected by the Orange County Registrar of Voters and can be tracked at ocvote.gov/vlt. The drop box weighs 1,000 pounds and is anchored to the ground.

Vote Center 

From May 28 through June 7, voters will be able to vote in person at the Laguna Woods City Hall vote center (24264 El Toro Road, Laguna Woods). Orange County Registrar of Voters staff will be able to solve voter registration issues, register new voters, provide replacement ballots and assist with other voting-related matters. Bilingual assistance will also be available. In light of COVID-19, high-touch surfaces and voting booths will be sanitized between use.

The Laguna Woods City Hall Vote Center hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 28 – June 3, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 4 – June 6 and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 7. 

Other ballot drop boxes and vote centers will be located throughout Orange County. Lists of all locations are available at ocvote.gov/voting.

For more information, visit the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ website at ocvote.gov or call 714- 567-7600.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

The Orange County Riptide Collegiate Baseball Summer Team cordially invites all comers to an upcoming benefit dinner featuring Mike Scioscia. The sports legend—a three-time World Series Championship winner, a two-time All-Star catcher and Manager of the Year recipient, and manager of the 2021 USA Olympic team—will share insights and stories of his 31-year Major League Baseball career.

The benefit dinner, scheduled for May 12 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Sanford Power & Rep 1 Sports (15350 Barranca Pkwy., Irvine), benefits OC Riptide and the Ryan Lemmon Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing organizational and financial support to high school baseball programs in Southern California. The event also will feature a reception and live and silent auctions.

Click here for more event information or to register. 

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.