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OMG Anthem Community Council, What are you thinking?Over the last several years I have reported on the deplorable look of the landscaping on Anthem Parkway. For those new to our communities who may not be familiar with the entity established by the developer, Del Webb, Anthem Community Council is responsible for the management of the common areas of Anthem.The upkeep and maintenance responsibilities begin near the entry waterfalls and continue around the roadways of Anthem Parkway and Sun City Anthem Drive. The Council’s mission is to ensure that the look, feel and upkeep of the common areas of the greater Anthem Community is kept at the highest standards.
The Council is made up of a volunteer member from each of the six Anthem communities, plus one additional volunteer appointed by the six Council Directors.
The Council’s budget is funded by the levy of assessments on each HOA home in Coventry, Sun City Anthem, Solera, Anthem Country Club, Anthem Highlands, the Terra Bella Condominiums, as well as the commercial properties within the Anthem master plan.
The council has been collecting a staggering dollar amount close to $2 million dollars over the last few years to begin a 10-year landscape refurbishment plan, which was to include replacing the old and leaking irrigation systems throughout the common areas.
What is my gripe you may ask?
Several years ago, it was reported that there were issues with the watering system in one or two of the medians of Anthem Parkway. If you drive between the fire station and head towards Albertsons, you will see that those areas still, after three years, are totally void of any landscape.
Heading in the opposite direction, you will note large areas void of anything but rocks. Be sure to glance at the median as you go through the traffic light at Country Club. How do you like the sick looking “leaning tree” surrounded by nothing but rocks, it has been that way for several years.
On the 20th of October, 2024, I left my home on Foxtail Creek and turned left on Wild Iris heading out of the community. That section of the median had lush growing, full but close to the ground shrubs, so nothing was interfering with “line of sight” for those making turns. I saw workers raking and removing some of the shrubs and thought they were just cleaning weeds and such from the area.
Today I headed the same way out of the community and realized that, like the medians past the firehouse on Anthem Parkway, they were also now empty of anything green and feature nothing but rock-filled areas just waiting for the weeds to fill in the median.
I’m not assuming that, if you drive down the hill and continue on to Albertsons, glance to the left and you will see the “latest look” in landscaping–weeds, weeds and more weeds.
While I do appreciate the efforts of volunteers, taking into consideration the amount of money charged to the billable communities, I must say that in the 20 plus years I have lived in Sun City Anthem, our landscaping is abominable. Homes in Anthem are selling anywhere from $700,000 to over a million dollars, yet compared to Summerlin, where homes are priced about the same, our area looks pathetically sick.
I was told by several people who attend Anthem Council meetings and try to keep a close eye on what they do, that some of their board members want to remove all of the pine trees and shrubs with native,drought-tolerant trees and plants without any additional irrigation source (except for the trees) and add more rocks.
Believe it or not rocks are NOT cheaper than many plants. For example, Lantana is very inexpensive and only needs to be trimmed back in the late fall, and in exchange, provides months of bright colors of flowers in the spring and summer. Wouldn’t you rather see lush beds of color scattered along the roadways as you drive home instead of sparse vegetation like what is currently seen in the areas our community which already features baron “natural” areas?
Now that I have brought this recent observation to your attention, please look around on the main roadway by your neighborhood. If you are also seeing things happening to the landscaping that you don’t like, please consider attending the next Anthem Community Council open meeting and voice your opinion. Our community’s landscaping is being destroyed and our assessments being paid to the Council are wasted.The next Council Board meeting is in the Stardust room on November 13, 2024 at 3:00 PM at the clubhouse at Solera. Hope to see you there!
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