President’s Column: Did You Know?

by Janet Isom

GRF President

A one-time Trust Property User Fee (TPUF) is charged to every new GRF member at the close of escrow. This fee is for lifetime use of all amenities (clubhouses, pool, golf course, fitness center, library, etc.) and use of other trust property, such as streets and parking lots.

The TPUF used to be known as the Amenities Fee, until it was changed a few years ago to better define what was actually included for that fee.

Over the years, these fees have been used to fund only the Capital budget, which pays for new infrastructure. More recently, these funds have been used to build:

• Mission Park;

• Veteran’s Plaza;

• the Community Gardens; • to completely re-build the pool and spa;

• to purchase and install new vital IT equipment and software; and

• to purchase and install new security camera technology.

The Capital funds are used to pay for projects that are not listed in our annual Reserve Study.

Once a new project is funded by the Capital budget, it then becomes a component (asset) to be added in the next year’s Reserve Study. Thus, future repairs and maintenance will be paid from Reserve Funds, which are financed from our monthly assessments.

The current TPUF is $5,332, which is expected to generate $2,559,000 in income by the end of this fiscal year. Today, Oct. 24, the GRF Board will vote on approving the 2025 Budget, which includes increasing the TPUF (remember, the fee is only for NEW members) to $7,000 per occupant, beginning January 1, 2025.

You may think that $7,000 is a lot of money. You are correct. However, please remember that new GRF members are buying a lifetime “pass” for all amenities and trust property usage.

In comparison, our sister community, Laguna Woods charges new members $7,500. Their members still must pay an additional fee to use all their amenities (the pool, golf course, attend concerts, and clubhouse usage, etc.).

The TPUF income for fiscal year 2025 is estimated at $3,626,000 if the increase is approved. This anticipated surplus will allow the Board to strengthen the Contingency Operating Fund, providing a critical buffer that helps mitigate future increases in the GRF monthly assessment.