Blank document



Wheatherstone News

| |March 20, 2020 |

No Board Meeting in April

No Board meeting is scheduled in April. Meetings will be scheduled over the next few months depending on the status of the Covid-19 situation. No major projects are scheduled and no major contracts are expiring over the next few months. Other items which would normally be addressed in meetings will be addressed in electronically. Owners will be updated on any issues of interest in newsletters.

The Property Group’s Office Closed

Because of COVID-19 virus risks to customers and employees, the Property Group closed its office to the public this week. The Property Group will continue to provide normal support and assistance to the association. The only change will be that the office is closed and some employees will be working from home.

If you call the office and are sent to voice mail, someone will call you back in a short period of time. If you have been dropping off payments, please send your payment by mail. If you need a key or remote, arrangements will be made to get you whatever is needed. In today’s electronic environment, most business can be transacted by phone or email (see contact information below) and the office closing will not affect many owners.

Updates will be provided through newsletters. A sign will be posted on the front gate when The Property Group’s office reopens.

Pool Open on March 27

The pool will open for the summer on Friday March 27. The decision to open the pool was made with some reservations considering the COVID-19 risks. Residents are encouraged to practice “social distancing,” (maintaining a roughly 6-foot distance between other people). Residents should also remember that the virus can be transmitted on “high-touch” surfaces, like tables, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, phones and stair railings.

If recommendations are made by health experts to close public pools, we will close the pool and spa immediately.

. Association Insurance Update

The Board reviewed insurance bids provided by our insurance broker, Western Risk, in the March Board meeting. The cost for our 2020 insurance coverage is about $24,000 - which is a decrease of $6,000 below our 2019 cost. The new rates were a very pleasant surprise.

Banks request a copy of our property insurance when owners are purchasing or refinancing units. Some banks request annual proof of insurance. A copy of the new Evidence of Property Insurance Certificate will be posted on the Wheatherstone website (Forms & Standards tab) as soon as it is received.

. Reserve Study Approved

The state legislature requires all associations to conduct a reserve study every 5 years to assess the condition, the remaining life and the replacement cost of the association’s capital assets. The legislature also requires associations to maintain a reserve account. Associations make annual contributions to the reserve account. The amount of the annual contribution is approximately equal to the straight line depreciation. The % funding is an important number because: 1) reserve account funding is monitored by the Ombudsman office; 2) insurance companies consider the % funding when determining if they will offer insurance and the rates; 3) banks look at the % funding when financing properties; 4) informed property buyers look at the % funding and reserve balances to assess the financial health of an association.

The Board approved our 5-year Reserve Study in the March meeting. The results of the study were all good news and very positive:

• The reserve specialist overall assessment of our property was “The Association is well maintained and in overall very good condition.”

• Our 2020 % of reserve requirements funded is 89%. This is assessed as a “very strong” financial position.

• The report reflects a lower annual contribution to the reserve account. We will be dropping our annual contribution from about $80,000 to year for the next five years to $65,000 per year. We anticipated the need to increase dues in 2021. The change in the contribution level takes the pressure off to increase dues next year.

• We have been monitoring the condition of our streets for years (39 year old streets with estimated life of 30 years). The streets do not need to be replaced until we begin experiencing a lot of pot holes. The question is how bad we want our streets to look before we begin replacing asphalt. The reserve specialist reflected an assumption in the study that we replace one half of the asphalt that has not been replaced in 2021 and the remainder in 2025. The significance of this assumption is that we have collected enough money in the reserve to replace the asphalt; we can begin replacing the asphalt when we want and our % funded will remain high enough after replacing the streets to maintain our “very strong” position rating.

A copy of the new Reserve Study is posted on the website on the Budgets / Reserve Study tab

Last Gutter Cleaning This Saturday

The gutters were fuller than normal this spring. A third Saturday gutter cleaning is scheduled this Saturday to finish up the gutters. Courtyard gutters and 4 patio gutters on buildings adjacent to the park area will be cleaned on Saturday. Notices were placed on the doors of the 4 units with patios that should be unlocked Saturday morning.

Other Updates / Agenda Items

• Property Manager Contract Renewal – The Board voted to renew our annual contract with The Property Group (again no increase in fees). The Board and many owners continue to be very appreciative and feel fortunate to have The Property Group as our property manager.

• The spring bush and plant cleaning is complete. Grass fertilizing is complete. Grass reseeding will be done over the next few weeks.

• The trash company is charging us $116 each time a dumpster is overfilled. We also pay to take large items to the dump left outside of the dumpsters. This is an unnecessary waste of owners’ money. Please report anyone you see overfilling dumpsters and leaving items outside of the dumpster and they will be billed for the costs.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download