1/11/2024
A lot is going on over the past few months, so I
thought it was time for a little update.
LANDSCAPE-
We’ve completed our winter reseeding of the turf areas and they look good.
Additionally, we have fertilized the Village as well and treated the broadleaf
weeds in the turf areas. This is an on-going problem that we just try to stay
on top of. With the rain and lower temperatures, we have suspended most
watering and only are turning it on when needed.
All of the Mexican fan palms finally got trimmed. Certainly, nice to have them
done before the real windy and rainy weather.
Hoping to refresh things during these winter months before we get into the
growing season.
DOCK REPLACEMENT:
After quite a journey, we in fact have secured a permit to replace several
docks on the eastside. Albeit with several conditions. Thanks to Henry
and Sergio for staying on this. Far too much complexity in this process to try
and explain in a newsletter. Not to mention the interruption of the Caulerpa
issue.
As I stated in my last newsletter, one of the big problems is any “attached”
items to the dock that are not within the dedicated “wharfage” area. Each owner
gets a deeded “wharfage” area adjacent to their dock. The area between the
seawall and the dock has never been listed as a “wharfage” area.
When we, The HOA apply for a permit, we only provide a drawing of the original
dock system and say we are replacing like for like. We don’t include any
bolted-on additions. If we did, we would never receive a permit, as we would be
increasing the total square footage. Any additional square footage, and
additional shading of the bay would require some sort of mitigation somewhere
else in the Bay. That is not cheap.
I am happy to see other Villages also removing these “bolted on”
structures.
It also doesn’t help that many of these platforms are poorly constructed, in
disrepair as well as storing old items which clearly haven’t been used for
years, if at all. Many have nothing on them and were simply left by a previous
owner. We have an opportunity to get rid of unwanted/unused platforms during
the eastern dock renovation for a minimal charge. If you are interested in
disposing of a platform, please contact Renee Stavros at codeenforcement@cchoa.org as
soon as possible.
CAULERPA.(the algae) The latest is we believe they have funding from the State Water
board for $500K and an additional $350K from Fish and Wildlife. The latest
proposal from the dive service was for $1.9 million, however that includes
ongoing monitoring for 24 months. The $850K is sufficient to cover all the
material in the north channel and then at some point remove the covers. It’s
the current belief that the eradication should start sometime in January. Once
that is done, things should return to normal for Antigua.
POWERWASHING.We were able to complete this project. Well, we did what we needed to do. We
did not do the garages because in trying to clean the green areas off, we just
removed the paint. Really don’t want to repaint the garages at this point. We
do have a plan once we get to summer.
WOOD REPAIR AND PAINT.
As of this writing, we are down to about Unit 77. We still have several rear
trellis to do as well as painting rear trellis on a number of units. Like most
things when you start, you keep finding more issues. We certainly have found
additional rotten wood. I refuse to paint rotten wood, so we’ll just press
on.
ROOFS.
We did complete our inspection and patching of any suspected areas. That
contract cost us 16K but it’s well worth it to keep this surface maintained.
Certainly, far less calls so far this year about any roof leaks.
DECK MAINTENANCE.
Still working on this matter. Really going to come down to determining how many
waterside decks need to be corrected and the cost. That will be incorporated
into future budgets.
We will be dealing with the front staircase landings very soon. Several front
landings have been tiled over. Unfortunately, these were done in many cases, in
a very amateurish fashion. We have already removed and then had to repair
several landings with massive wood rot caused by this tile installation. If one
of the owners wants to take responsibility for this installation and
maintenance, that’s great. If not, we will be returning them to the standard
material during the next fiscal year.
GARAGE ELECTRICAL
UPGRADE. Working to get bids for this work. Not sure when we
can do this work given the current financial condition. Still a big problem
given all the electric vehicles, multiple freezers, chargers, etc.
Big issue is still fire. Make sure you monitor whatever is plugged in your
garage.
TERMITES.
We’ve seen evidence of termites within the Village. Not unexpected living in
SoCal. If you see any signs, let us know and we will get them treated. We are
scheduled to tent the Village in 2029.
GENERAL.
I’ve had several owners ask about dues and assessments. I don’t know of any
planned special assessments at this point. That’s not to say something may not
come up that no one foresaw and needs to be addressed. While things look good
at this point, I must remind everyone we still have a number of challenges
ahead. Don’t forget these are 55-year-old structures. Not unlike a number of
other Villages within the Cays, things wear out. A simple list of our concerns
would be:
Roofs.We coated the old roofs and bought ourselves a few more years (maybe 14) but at
some point, we will need to replace the old structure and surface.
Plumbing.
We lined the downline sewer pipes, however at some point they are going to have
to be replaced. That will be a massive undertaking involving removing walls,
dealing with asbestos, and trenching through slabs. Cast iron pipes buried in
dirt don’t last very long and at some point, need to be replaced. I’ve seen
videos of units in other Villages where the entire pipe has rotted away and all
that’s left is a hole in the sand that water drains through. We also have
encountered this in Antigua areas where the pipe was almost gone. The industry
gives cast iron pipe buried in dirt a 50-year life at most.
We are also seeing slab leaks coming from the copper pipes that supply water to
units. At some point we will have to replace those and re-route them within the
walls to comply with current building standards.
Rails.
We are going to need to replace the rear rails along the water as well as the
upstairs rails on the balconies. The new code calls for higher rails and a much
tighter spacings of the vertical spacers. This is going to be expensive as well
as very disruptive.
Docks.
There are a lot of maintenance issues with these docks. As I’ve stated before,
developing a very proactive maintenance program is vital to be sure we extract
the most life from these assets. Getting permits to replace docks and piling
will only get harder, if available at all, as we go forward. Don’t forget,
there are a number of governmental agencies that really don’t want any of these
docks in tidal waters.
Lease Renewal.
As you are aware, our lease for use of the waters (or the sea floor) our docks
exist in, expires in 2034. While that’s 10 years away it is already causing
problems getting some owners financed. Banks won’t finance something they can’t
have a guarantee for the entire term of the loan. On the East side of
Antigua those negotiations are with the Port of San Diego. On the north and
west side of Antigua those are with a “master lease holder”. I’m sure the Port
is not going to give us another 60-year free lease. Unclear what we will need
to do with the “master lease holder” on the north and westside. While we have
begun this process, I’m sure funds will be involved if we want to keep the
docks in place.
Garage Electric.
While I’m trying to get every garage separated with its own breaker and at some
point, its own meter, that’s just a start. If at some point we want to provide
sufficient power to charge all the new electric cars that will take millions.
Our last estimates from SDG&E, to replace existing and install additional
transformers, do the underground piping required, wire and meter each garage
would be around 1.7 million. That doesn’t include upgrading their local
substation to handle the additional voltage.
Lastly, we have seen a massive increases in costs from those seen only a few
years ago. Not only in contracted services but also power, water, insurance,
and every other category. Some of these numbers have almost tripled. I’m trying
my best to manage these numbers but it’s clear we will need to increase dues to
try and keep up and maintain this Village
Dennis
thought it was time for a little update.
LANDSCAPE-
We’ve completed our winter reseeding of the turf areas and they look good.
Additionally, we have fertilized the Village as well and treated the broadleaf
weeds in the turf areas. This is an on-going problem that we just try to stay
on top of. With the rain and lower temperatures, we have suspended most
watering and only are turning it on when needed.
All of the Mexican fan palms finally got trimmed. Certainly, nice to have them
done before the real windy and rainy weather.
Hoping to refresh things during these winter months before we get into the
growing season.
DOCK REPLACEMENT:
After quite a journey, we in fact have secured a permit to replace several
docks on the eastside. Albeit with several conditions. Thanks to Henry
and Sergio for staying on this. Far too much complexity in this process to try
and explain in a newsletter. Not to mention the interruption of the Caulerpa
issue.
As I stated in my last newsletter, one of the big problems is any “attached”
items to the dock that are not within the dedicated “wharfage” area. Each owner
gets a deeded “wharfage” area adjacent to their dock. The area between the
seawall and the dock has never been listed as a “wharfage” area.
When we, The HOA apply for a permit, we only provide a drawing of the original
dock system and say we are replacing like for like. We don’t include any
bolted-on additions. If we did, we would never receive a permit, as we would be
increasing the total square footage. Any additional square footage, and
additional shading of the bay would require some sort of mitigation somewhere
else in the Bay. That is not cheap.
I am happy to see other Villages also removing these “bolted on”
structures.
It also doesn’t help that many of these platforms are poorly constructed, in
disrepair as well as storing old items which clearly haven’t been used for
years, if at all. Many have nothing on them and were simply left by a previous
owner. We have an opportunity to get rid of unwanted/unused platforms during
the eastern dock renovation for a minimal charge. If you are interested in
disposing of a platform, please contact Renee Stavros at codeenforcement@cchoa.org as
soon as possible.
CAULERPA.(the algae) The latest is we believe they have funding from the State Water
board for $500K and an additional $350K from Fish and Wildlife. The latest
proposal from the dive service was for $1.9 million, however that includes
ongoing monitoring for 24 months. The $850K is sufficient to cover all the
material in the north channel and then at some point remove the covers. It’s
the current belief that the eradication should start sometime in January. Once
that is done, things should return to normal for Antigua.
POWERWASHING.We were able to complete this project. Well, we did what we needed to do. We
did not do the garages because in trying to clean the green areas off, we just
removed the paint. Really don’t want to repaint the garages at this point. We
do have a plan once we get to summer.
WOOD REPAIR AND PAINT.
As of this writing, we are down to about Unit 77. We still have several rear
trellis to do as well as painting rear trellis on a number of units. Like most
things when you start, you keep finding more issues. We certainly have found
additional rotten wood. I refuse to paint rotten wood, so we’ll just press
on.
ROOFS.
We did complete our inspection and patching of any suspected areas. That
contract cost us 16K but it’s well worth it to keep this surface maintained.
Certainly, far less calls so far this year about any roof leaks.
DECK MAINTENANCE.
Still working on this matter. Really going to come down to determining how many
waterside decks need to be corrected and the cost. That will be incorporated
into future budgets.
We will be dealing with the front staircase landings very soon. Several front
landings have been tiled over. Unfortunately, these were done in many cases, in
a very amateurish fashion. We have already removed and then had to repair
several landings with massive wood rot caused by this tile installation. If one
of the owners wants to take responsibility for this installation and
maintenance, that’s great. If not, we will be returning them to the standard
material during the next fiscal year.
GARAGE ELECTRICAL
UPGRADE. Working to get bids for this work. Not sure when we
can do this work given the current financial condition. Still a big problem
given all the electric vehicles, multiple freezers, chargers, etc.
Big issue is still fire. Make sure you monitor whatever is plugged in your
garage.
TERMITES.
We’ve seen evidence of termites within the Village. Not unexpected living in
SoCal. If you see any signs, let us know and we will get them treated. We are
scheduled to tent the Village in 2029.
GENERAL.
I’ve had several owners ask about dues and assessments. I don’t know of any
planned special assessments at this point. That’s not to say something may not
come up that no one foresaw and needs to be addressed. While things look good
at this point, I must remind everyone we still have a number of challenges
ahead. Don’t forget these are 55-year-old structures. Not unlike a number of
other Villages within the Cays, things wear out. A simple list of our concerns
would be:
Roofs.We coated the old roofs and bought ourselves a few more years (maybe 14) but at
some point, we will need to replace the old structure and surface.
Plumbing.
We lined the downline sewer pipes, however at some point they are going to have
to be replaced. That will be a massive undertaking involving removing walls,
dealing with asbestos, and trenching through slabs. Cast iron pipes buried in
dirt don’t last very long and at some point, need to be replaced. I’ve seen
videos of units in other Villages where the entire pipe has rotted away and all
that’s left is a hole in the sand that water drains through. We also have
encountered this in Antigua areas where the pipe was almost gone. The industry
gives cast iron pipe buried in dirt a 50-year life at most.
We are also seeing slab leaks coming from the copper pipes that supply water to
units. At some point we will have to replace those and re-route them within the
walls to comply with current building standards.
Rails.
We are going to need to replace the rear rails along the water as well as the
upstairs rails on the balconies. The new code calls for higher rails and a much
tighter spacings of the vertical spacers. This is going to be expensive as well
as very disruptive.
Docks.
There are a lot of maintenance issues with these docks. As I’ve stated before,
developing a very proactive maintenance program is vital to be sure we extract
the most life from these assets. Getting permits to replace docks and piling
will only get harder, if available at all, as we go forward. Don’t forget,
there are a number of governmental agencies that really don’t want any of these
docks in tidal waters.
Lease Renewal.
As you are aware, our lease for use of the waters (or the sea floor) our docks
exist in, expires in 2034. While that’s 10 years away it is already causing
problems getting some owners financed. Banks won’t finance something they can’t
have a guarantee for the entire term of the loan. On the East side of
Antigua those negotiations are with the Port of San Diego. On the north and
west side of Antigua those are with a “master lease holder”. I’m sure the Port
is not going to give us another 60-year free lease. Unclear what we will need
to do with the “master lease holder” on the north and westside. While we have
begun this process, I’m sure funds will be involved if we want to keep the
docks in place.
Garage Electric.
While I’m trying to get every garage separated with its own breaker and at some
point, its own meter, that’s just a start. If at some point we want to provide
sufficient power to charge all the new electric cars that will take millions.
Our last estimates from SDG&E, to replace existing and install additional
transformers, do the underground piping required, wire and meter each garage
would be around 1.7 million. That doesn’t include upgrading their local
substation to handle the additional voltage.
Lastly, we have seen a massive increases in costs from those seen only a few
years ago. Not only in contracted services but also power, water, insurance,
and every other category. Some of these numbers have almost tripled. I’m trying
my best to manage these numbers but it’s clear we will need to increase dues to
try and keep up and maintain this Village
Dennis