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