14
| SUNRAYS
JANUARY 2013
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
CA NEWS
Coyotes in Sun City
Submitted by the Wildlife Committee
The Nominating Committee is responsible for recommending
to the Board of Directors those applicants best qualified to fill
vacancies on Community Association (CA) committees. The
Committee employs selection procedures that have evolved
over the past several years. This article describes the results
of the recently completed interview process, which resulted
in the Board appointing 23 residents to serve on various CA
committees.
This past fall, the Nominating Committee received a total of
39
applications for 25 open positions on 11 committees. The
Landscaped Maintained Homes Committee had no openings,
and the Board is responsible for appointments to the Nominat-
ing Committee. Four applicants did not meet the six-month
residency requirement, leaving 35 applicants for the 25 posi-
tions open. Of the 35 applicants who interviewed, four became
residents prior to 2000, 14 moved here between 2000 and 2006,
and the remaining 17 moved here from 2007 through 2012.
Eight of the applicants were incumbents, and all were given
another two-year term. Of the remaining 27, only two had
previous CA committee experience. There were 23 men and 12
women applicants for the open positions, and the Nominating
Committee recommended 14 men and 9 women, leaving two
committees short a member. Those committees are both very
strong at this time and will have no problem in conducting their
business. The Nominating Committee was fortunate enough
to have four strong candidates willing to serve on committees
that were not their first choices, and the Board concurred with
this decision. It continues to be the practice of the Committee
not to fill a vacancy if there is no qualified individual available.
As has been the trend, Finance, Golf, and Property & Grounds
were the most sought-after committees, with 64 percent of ap-
plicants applying for these positions. Elections and Emergency
Management were the two committees left short this cycle, and
the goal of the Nominating Committee is to get them back up
to their desired strength next spring.
In the past, the lack of female applicants was a concern; how-
ever, this cycle saw a nice increase in female participation. The
Nominating Committee will continue its efforts to attract more
women to the process. A
CA Committees 101
informational
forum was held, and even though the turnout was low, several
residents who attended applied for a committee position. The
New Resident Homeowner Orientation is an important part
of our recruiting efforts, and the CA committees themselves
continue to seek out their own members, which is vital to the
process.
In summary, the Nominating Committee feels the present
selection process is functioning well. It allows the Committee
to be independent and to put forth the best applicants to the
Board of Directors for their approval. The Nominating Com-
mittee would like to thank those residents who applied and
encourage those not selected this cycle to step forward and
volunteer again in the next or future cycles. Also, “Thank You!”
to those residents who finished their service on their respec-
tive committees. Your efforts on behalf of all of us are greatly
appreciated! Dan Mason, Vice-chairman of the Nominating
Committee, was responsible for creating the report to the
Board of Directors, and I appreciate his expertise. Commit-
tee vacancies occurring on July 1, 2013, are: Chartered Clubs
(
non-sports)-2; Communications-3; Covenants-3; Elections-2;
Emergency Management-1; Golf-1; Landscaped Maintained
Homes-1; Property & Grounds-2; Sports-2; and Wildlife-2.
Nominating Committee Report of 2012 Fall Interviews
By Bob Glandt, Chairman, Nominating Committee
Coyotes are a part of Sun City’s wildlife.
Urban and suburban coyotes, like urban
deer, are symptoms of a broader issue.
People continue to expand housing sub-
divisions and other human development
into what used to be an open wildlife hab-
itat, especially on the expanding fringes
of large metropolitan areas. This trend
is increasing the potential for encounters
and conflicts between people and wildlife.
The coyote is a native member of the dog
family, very similar in size to a small
German Shepherd, and weighs an aver-
age of 25-40 pounds. It has long, slender
legs, a bushy tail with a black tip, and
large ears that are held erect. There is
no mistaking the yellow eyes and black,
round pupils. Like any warm blooded
animal, a coyote’s bite carries the risk
of contracting rabies.
Coyotes are strong swimmers and their
sense of smell is highly developed. Coy-
otes have very acute hearing with trian-
gular pointed ears. They typically grow
up to 34 inches in length, not including
the tail, and stand about 26 inches at the
shoulder. On average, they weigh from
15-46
pounds. When moving through
their habitat, coyotes typically do the “dog
trot” or a gentle lope, but can gallop up
to 35 miles per hour if pursued or when
chasing prey.
The food habits of coyotes are varied.
They are omnivorous and make use of
anything that can be eaten including
garbage, carrion, fresh meat in the form
of both wild and domestic animals, in-
sects, frogs, snakes, fruits, and melons.
Fruits and vegetables are a significant
part of the coyote’s diet in the autumn
and winter months. Although coyotes
prey on poultry and smaller livestock,
their natural foods consist largely of rab-
bits, rodents and carrion. They have been
known to eat human rubbish and will
catch cats and dogs. Rodents make up the
bulk of the coyote diet in both urban and
rural areas. Experiments have shown
that the removal of coyotes results in a
dramatic increase in rodent abundance.
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