Author: gmassarotti

Due to a scheduling conflict, the April 17th board meeting will be rescheduled to the following week. New meeting day and time will be posted as soon as available.

As a reminder, hot tubs are open from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. Hours are posted on signs at the tubs. As mentioned in a previous post, BVM is working with our vendors to improve the auto-closing capabilities of the gates. Until that work is completed, and in the interest of community harmony, please inform renters that hot tubs are not to be used after 10:00 pm and before 10:00 am as posted. We’ve had numerous complaints about late night and very early morning usage that has been disruptive to those trying to sleep. Violation of the rules may result in fines to the unit owners.

When using the hot tubs, please remember to close the hot tub covers when finished. Leaving the covers off, especially during the winter months, increases the costs to all owners. Also please ensure the gates are closed when leaving the hot tub area. BVM is working with our contractors to install spring closers on the gates, but in the meantime, please ensure the gates are closed.

For those who rent your units (STR, long term, etc.), please remind your tenants to please close the covers to help save precious HOA funds that can be used for other improvements, and also to keep the gates closed.

A reminder that pets are only allowed for owners or long term leases greater than six months. STR renters are not allowed to have pets at KHL. Owners who engage in short term rentals are responsible for the acts of their renters.

We received a question from an astute owner about the reason for boiler inspections. Boilers are gas-fired appliances, and malfunctions can cause issues ranging from annoying to disastrous. The association requires that boilers be inspected annually by a licensed professional to ensure they are working and that the glycol levels are adequate to prevent freezing of the lines. A malfunctioning boiler can cause damage to not only the unit in question, but to adjacent units, which could cause a loss of someone’s primary residence, loss of quite enjoyment, and loss of revenue to those who engage in rentals. As such, ensuring that units are properly working is in the common interest, which is why we require this to be performed by an actively-licensed professional who is current in the building codes. The association provides this service as part of the HOA dues, but also allows owners to obtain their own inspections by current licensed professionals if they so desire. In addition to checking glycol levels and general service, the inspection should also include checking for carbon monoxide and natural gas leaks.

In addition to the inspections, as the boilers age, some units require boiler replacement. Under the building code, and therefore under our HOA rules, boiler replacement must be performed by qualified persons after obtaining a building permit and be inspected by the building department. A faulty boiler installation can cause loss of property and even injury or death to those in the building. As such, the building code and the HOA require this work to be legally accomplished by qualified professionals. If you replace your boiler, or for that matter, perform any work that requires a building permit, please provide a copy of the building permit and all inspections to the management company as soon as practical after the work is complete.

This is for everyone’s safety!

A question was raised at the annual meeting about the stair painting that was done in the spring. This question has recently come up again, so for those who weren’t able to attend, we would like to clarify the intent of the spring stair painting.

For several years, we have had the stair treads of the 300 units painted each spring/summer. This painting is limited to the stair treads, and the intent is to repair the damage caused by ski boots each winter. The painting companies bid on treads only, not stringers or other parts of the stair system. Those components may require painting every several years, but not every year. With limited funds, we are simply trying to improve the most abused elements elements as economically as possible. In the past, some painting companies have also painted the hand rails, but they’ve typically done that at no cost. For those that are concerned about the areas that were not painted, rest assured, we were not charged to paint those areas. We have done this for the past several years and intend to continue in the future. Because we have finite funds, there has to be a limit to what gets painted each year and the board is simply trying to maximize the result for dollars spent.

To be clear, we could also have the stringers, risers, decks, and other components painted along with the stair treads, but that would cost more money – money that we need for higher priority projects, such as roof repairs.

After recording the responses to the question of keeping cable tv, owners voted over 60% in favor of keeping cable tv as an expense of the HOA.  Therefore, that’s what we will do. 

Your board will try to negotiate a better price with Comcast and we will let you know when have an answer. So far, they haven’t responded to numerous messages but we’re not giving up.

As was discussed at the annual meeting, the capital reserve portion of the dues has been broken out separately so that owners can see how much is being set aside for capital improvements. This has always been a part of the HOA dues, but just not previously broken out by line item.

The previous special assessment to pay for deck improvements was a 4-quarter assessment and is no longer being charged. Dues in your current statement were unanimously approved by the owners at the annual meeting.

The small amount of capital reserve saving underscores the financial challenges the HOA faces for future capital costs and is the reason we will be scheduling another homeowner’s meeting to discuss methods for increasing our reserves to pay for future big ticket items (roofs, parking lots, etc.) that will require major maintenance and/or replacement in the near future.

Painting has been completed at buildings 7 and 8.

The access control vendor has had some issues getting the new key card system fully operational. Hot tub 1 (buildings 1-4) is functional. Hot tub 2 (buildings 5-8) is requiring some additional parts. This system should be fully operational soon and key cards will be issued to owners. Fencing is substantially complete, however some minor adjustments still need to be made to complete the fences.