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 Landing

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