5/15/2024
ANTIGUA NEWSLETTER
Well summer is right around the corner, and it certainly looks to be another
great one. Cannot wait.
It has been a good winter so far, for our Village. Given we are currently more
than 3 inches over our average rain totals for the year, we have only had two
reported roof leaks. Both of those were related to roof drain
lines. Only one waterside patio leak was the HOA’s responsibility.
Several other waterside patios did have leaks; however, most were caused by
tiled decks or faulty sliding door pans which the owners are responsible
for. We are working to be sure things are corrected expeditiously for all
parties. That is not bad given our history and they are 55-year-old
buildings.
As I have stated many times before, tiled patios, lack of sliding door pans,
wet carpets and rugs, heavy objects that can cause a leak, get very expensive
for those owners who are responsible. Much less, inconvenience to the
neighbor. These last few repairs are running between 24 to 30 thousand
dollars to the owner. Most are not and have not been covered by their insurance
companies.
DUES: We have completed the budget process. Not easy to get these things
right. While we get actual bids, cost and projection numbers for most items,
sometimes you just must estimate what those will cost in the future. We
had a great working team, with Henry, Sergio and all the other employees, each
of which have a lot of experience and knowledge. Given that, our dues are
estimated to increase approximately $60.00 per unit per month next year. That
is around a 9% increase over last year. As you know we have several
different amounts based on square footage so you will get a notice from the HOA
as to the exact amount for your unit. Be sure to update your payment
providers.
I want everyone to understand this was the minimum I felt comfortable with
increasing our fees. Our cost for everything has increased significantly
over the past years. While those numbers seem to be stabilizing a little,
none is going down. For example, our insurance increased 20%. Our
earthquake insurance increased 35%. Water and power rates are up 9 to
12%. Bids for reserve items (painting, roofing, etc.) in some cases have
doubled in the last 5 years.
As a further example, we began our wood repair and painting at approximately
130K. To date we have spent 260K with more to go. Every additional
dollar has been approved by me or others, however, because of the amount of
damage that must be repaired it just keeps growing. We get into these
repair projects, and they seem to grow as we dig deeper. It makes no
sense not to do the repairs and just paint over rotten wood, broken posts, and
fences.
Unfortunately, I do not see costs going down and I think we can expect to see
additional increases over the next years. While we all do our best to
anticipate and budget for needed repairs, things have a way of popping up for
several reasons.
FRONT LANDINGS: This spring we will begin removing several (I think we
have four) of the tiled front landings and replacing them with standard
coatings. Any affected units will of course be notified, and access will
be made available.
DOCK REPLACEMENT: Well, we finally got our dock project on the eastern
docks done. We also had the contractor blend in the dock sections that were not
replaced to make the entire surface uniform. Please report any
problems you notice with any part of the docks or gangways, so that the HOA can
correct them. It’s really important that we stay on top of any issues as
early as possible.
CAULERPA ALGAE: At present, all of the known areas have been
covered. You will see divers still conducting surveys to look for
additional areas. As you would expect they have found additional areas
working out in the bay. Only a few spots so far on the other side of
Shoreline Park. They are covering those as part of their work.
Currently there are no limits on boat movements, however, please let your boat
divers know to minimize any bottom disturbance.
DINGY DOCKS: We have made good progress. At present we have removed 7 of these
unwanted docks. For the most part, all remaining docks have been unbolted
from the backside of the main dock. We still have a few which are being
notified.
WATER PRESURE VALVES: As you can imagine, after 50 years a number of these
devices are no longer functioning. We have been checking and replacing
them for the past year. To date we have done almost all the lower units and
several of the upper units. We will continue to test and replace the
remaining ones this year.
LANDSCAPE: The Village continues to look good. I believe we are
ready for the summer. Still will need to replace several plants that have
died, however, that is standard.
NEW DIRECTOR: Yes, it’s true, I am not running for director of Antigua in
August. It is simply time for some new people to get involved. It has
been an amazing and extremely rewarding experience. Meeting so many of
you has really been great. We truly are a fantastic and interesting group of
people.
Over the past 8 years, we have completed a lot of major projects. I am very
proud of a number of those accomplishments. A big thanks to everyone for
supporting those efforts as well as dealing with the inconvenience some of them
caused. I will be more than happy to assist and support our new director
with all the valuable information that I have learned over the past eight
years.
Dennis Thompson
Well summer is right around the corner, and it certainly looks to be another
great one. Cannot wait.
It has been a good winter so far, for our Village. Given we are currently more
than 3 inches over our average rain totals for the year, we have only had two
reported roof leaks. Both of those were related to roof drain
lines. Only one waterside patio leak was the HOA’s responsibility.
Several other waterside patios did have leaks; however, most were caused by
tiled decks or faulty sliding door pans which the owners are responsible
for. We are working to be sure things are corrected expeditiously for all
parties. That is not bad given our history and they are 55-year-old
buildings.
As I have stated many times before, tiled patios, lack of sliding door pans,
wet carpets and rugs, heavy objects that can cause a leak, get very expensive
for those owners who are responsible. Much less, inconvenience to the
neighbor. These last few repairs are running between 24 to 30 thousand
dollars to the owner. Most are not and have not been covered by their insurance
companies.
DUES: We have completed the budget process. Not easy to get these things
right. While we get actual bids, cost and projection numbers for most items,
sometimes you just must estimate what those will cost in the future. We
had a great working team, with Henry, Sergio and all the other employees, each
of which have a lot of experience and knowledge. Given that, our dues are
estimated to increase approximately $60.00 per unit per month next year. That
is around a 9% increase over last year. As you know we have several
different amounts based on square footage so you will get a notice from the HOA
as to the exact amount for your unit. Be sure to update your payment
providers.
I want everyone to understand this was the minimum I felt comfortable with
increasing our fees. Our cost for everything has increased significantly
over the past years. While those numbers seem to be stabilizing a little,
none is going down. For example, our insurance increased 20%. Our
earthquake insurance increased 35%. Water and power rates are up 9 to
12%. Bids for reserve items (painting, roofing, etc.) in some cases have
doubled in the last 5 years.
As a further example, we began our wood repair and painting at approximately
130K. To date we have spent 260K with more to go. Every additional
dollar has been approved by me or others, however, because of the amount of
damage that must be repaired it just keeps growing. We get into these
repair projects, and they seem to grow as we dig deeper. It makes no
sense not to do the repairs and just paint over rotten wood, broken posts, and
fences.
Unfortunately, I do not see costs going down and I think we can expect to see
additional increases over the next years. While we all do our best to
anticipate and budget for needed repairs, things have a way of popping up for
several reasons.
FRONT LANDINGS: This spring we will begin removing several (I think we
have four) of the tiled front landings and replacing them with standard
coatings. Any affected units will of course be notified, and access will
be made available.
DOCK REPLACEMENT: Well, we finally got our dock project on the eastern
docks done. We also had the contractor blend in the dock sections that were not
replaced to make the entire surface uniform. Please report any
problems you notice with any part of the docks or gangways, so that the HOA can
correct them. It’s really important that we stay on top of any issues as
early as possible.
CAULERPA ALGAE: At present, all of the known areas have been
covered. You will see divers still conducting surveys to look for
additional areas. As you would expect they have found additional areas
working out in the bay. Only a few spots so far on the other side of
Shoreline Park. They are covering those as part of their work.
Currently there are no limits on boat movements, however, please let your boat
divers know to minimize any bottom disturbance.
DINGY DOCKS: We have made good progress. At present we have removed 7 of these
unwanted docks. For the most part, all remaining docks have been unbolted
from the backside of the main dock. We still have a few which are being
notified.
WATER PRESURE VALVES: As you can imagine, after 50 years a number of these
devices are no longer functioning. We have been checking and replacing
them for the past year. To date we have done almost all the lower units and
several of the upper units. We will continue to test and replace the
remaining ones this year.
LANDSCAPE: The Village continues to look good. I believe we are
ready for the summer. Still will need to replace several plants that have
died, however, that is standard.
NEW DIRECTOR: Yes, it’s true, I am not running for director of Antigua in
August. It is simply time for some new people to get involved. It has
been an amazing and extremely rewarding experience. Meeting so many of
you has really been great. We truly are a fantastic and interesting group of
people.
Over the past 8 years, we have completed a lot of major projects. I am very
proud of a number of those accomplishments. A big thanks to everyone for
supporting those efforts as well as dealing with the inconvenience some of them
caused. I will be more than happy to assist and support our new director
with all the valuable information that I have learned over the past eight
years.
Dennis Thompson