 |
 |
Hot Water Heaters
The original hot water heaters in the homes and condos have reached the end of their useful life. age and salt air has made it necessary to address this issue. Leaking and bursting tanks have caused extensive water damage in not only the condo in which they are located, but in the condos on the floors below.
Last week, on June 15th, another tank gave way in the Grande building, causing thousands of dollars in damage to 3 condos. Lost rental income, damage to furniture and fixtures resulted in costly repairs from an event that could have been avoided.
We are urging all owners to replace their water heaters if they have not already done so. In the next few days we will post the names of contractors who will be providing the water heater replaciment service aside from HOA Control, Responsibility or Guarantee. Estimate cost for installation of a replacement tank is around $325-$350 US dollars.
It will be up to each owner to make their own arrangements for installation and payment. Interested Owners would have to contact the Contractor of their choice directly and make arrangements of estimate, availability, payment and installation.
In addition to replacing the tank, the HOA is considering additional safeguards for the tanks. A water sensor that will automatically shut off the water and sound an alarm in the event of a leak. Also installation of a pan that will capture and drain any leaking water to the outside walkway. The sensor alarm and valve costs about $115.00 and heavy duty plastic or aluminum pan about $15. - $25. plus the cost of installation.(The tanks have to be drained, and the drain hole drilled thru the outside wall).
We are aware this financial issue could not come at worse time considering current economic conditions, but since the consequences of a tank failure are heartbreaking and so costly, we are still highly recommending the tanks be replaced ASAP.
Satellite CATV
We are currently overhauling our CATV / Satellite system. We have hired an outside contractor to do the following work:
Phase ONE
Replace missing and defective amplifiers in each building to improve signal quality. The amplifiers in GRANDE and BONITA buildings have already been replaced, and the channel pictures already show marked improvement. The BAJA and DELPHIN buildings should be installed next week. The amps and wiring to the homes will also be addressed at this time.
Phase TWO
Remove SKY networks receivers and replace with at least six popular DISH / DIRECTV channels.
Phase THREE
Replace corroded and inferior cables and connectors at distribution points and in all the units with those of commercial grade quality. This may or may not require access to your condo or home with cooperation of the owners and or rental company. The details of this phase have yet to be worked out.
Upon completion of the upgrade, if you still experience picture quality issues, please contact Ross at mugslv@gmail.com to arrange for inspection of your unit.
DRYER VENTS
The dryer vents for the condos are located in the hallway behind your laundry room. Many of them are severely clogged or even closed. This impacts the dryer performance and poses a fire hazard.
Francisco and his crew will be vacuuming and clearing all the vens his week.
Please insure that your dryer vents are free and clear of lint and debris to keep your dryer times to a minimum. Judging by the severity of the clogs, we would guess that many dryers have damaged or missing air filters. Please inspect your dryer and exhaust for maximum efficiency.
4/19/2010
The Board is currently working with two solar heating companies regarding Las Palmas pool heating solution. The next step is to get on-site specifics to complete the proposals for the HOA board and hopefully proceed with the install by the summer.
We will also focus on moving forward with our other 2010 initiatives and finalizing any changes to our HOA bylaws as it pertains to HOA fee and voting structure consistent with Sonoran State laws. We will also confirm these changes with Francisco to be included in our completed Spanish translation .
As discussed in the last owners meeting, for budget purposes any 2010 initiatives not specifically stated in our 2010 budget will not be financed from our operational accounts but will come from the 2009 budget surplusand reserves. We are in good shape with our reserves for the time being and this will continue to keep HOA fees down. Since we are watching the our expenses, each of these initiative has or shall be approved by the Board. The following are some of these expenses that will not directly hit our 2010 budget numbers.
1) Install of Palapas on our beach.
2) Expansion of the walkway with stone benches leading to the beach.
3) Rope lighting on our palm trees
4) Board approved solar pool heating installations. (Board will review cost-benefit for each pool )
5) Satellite TV improvements
6) Landscaping and beatification initiatives not included in the 2010 budget. Any painting of the villas and condo buildings not included in the 2010 budget.
Note: Board has spoken with Francisco regarding placing earthquake insurnace on our current policy. Will discuss further as we move forward.
Will keep everyone posted.
Las Palmas HOA Board Members
NO EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE
4/6/10
From Francisco:
Even though the Earthquake was felt by everybody in Puerto Peñasco, NO damage of anykind was reported or noticed to the City, neither to the Resorts located on Sandy Beach Area.
In Las Palmas, most of people, felt it as it was "holly week" and we were enjoying 100% occupancy. It lasted about 40 seconds and people felt and saw the movement of buildings, cars, chandeliers, pool water, tables, chairs, etc. but not strong enough to cause serious or major damage.
There is no evident or noticeable damage in any of our buildings, club house, pools, walls or common areas here in Las Palmas.
Other resorts have not reported any damage either so far.
The city remains undamaged as well.
Major earthquake damage is reported in city of MEXICALI, 3 and a half hours drive away from here.
After having gone through a full occupancy last week, the occupancy dropped to about 40 - 45 % this second week of spring vacation for Mexicans.
So in summary, there's nothing to worry about, ALL buildings in Las Palmas are still standing and operating.
Take Care!
Francisco L. Montano
HOA Operation.
Note from Dan Dimovski
The board is working on cleaning up any outstanding issues from an internal audit on our US books and moving forward. The main pool is being heated effective today for this weekend as usual.
The heating of the pools always start for March break and goes until mid April as the temps get higher.
Rope lighting is being installed as we speak on selected palm trees at our entrance and in the area leading to the beach.
We have taken a beating from the last two big storms and are doing repairs to take care of any immediate issues.
We are also starting to collect more funds from past due accounts.There are many other items that we need to get confirmed between the board and will soon communicate them to you and the rest of the reps.
Painting and aesthetic repairs will commence soon. They will be completed on a need basis. Based on a walk through completed by the Board members the house nearest to the ocean need more immediate attention.
This years focus will be on "INFRASTRUCTURE AND BEATIFICATION" how to get the biggest bang for our buck.
TKS
Dan
3/11/2010
We have updated the HOA MANAGERS page to read 2010 BEAUTIFCATION
Also please note that the complete CCRs are now posted in both English & Spanish for your review. They can be found in the documents tab on the left.
Minutes of the
Las Palmas Community Association
General Assembly
February 13, 2010
I. Meeting called to order by Dan Dimovski, Board of Directors and Instructions.
a. Introduce Raul O’Farrill – Attorney for HOA and represents owners.
b. Dan Dimovski acting as President of this meeting.
c. Presentation of Bruce Turner, G-204 Owner as New appointed Board member replacing Jerry Petty as he officially resigned in January 2010.
d. Appointed Scrutinizers are Baja 501 Nancy April & Baja 603 Cindy Mabry
II. Final call for nominations for 3-year board position
a. Ken Mueller-G501; David Horton-Villa 20; Ren Sousa-D704 and Jana Ponzio-D602
b. Votes: Mueller =8 ; Horton =8 ; Sousa=1 ; Ponzio =56 Votes
c. Welcome Again on Board of Directors Jana Ponzio as new 3-year board member.
d. Finals Results on Spreadsheet attached.
III. Review and Progress of 2009 Board and Management Cost saving measures.
a. Adjusted to minimum operational amount of HOA employees. Positions as HOA Assistant Manager, Employee transportation Van driver, Landscaper auxiliary, Pool Operator and Maintenance auxiliaries have been cancelled. It was indeed a heart-breaking experience to have had to lay off 8 HOA employees in 2009, leaving their families without fixed income.
b. Did our best substantial efforts to keep Utilities the lowest as possible.
c. Kept adjusting narrow-hidden-small landscaped areas turning them into stoned/graveled low maintenance areas without irrigation which helped us save lots of water
d. Worked with other Resort’s managers to get to whole sellers prices, especially on Pool chemicals, accessories & cleaning supplies.
e. Kept turning on/off amenities as needed according to resort’s occupancy of renters and owners to justify such expenses.
IV. Status of Restaurant-Bar Operation
a. General Information: New Restaurant-Bar Operator “Reggie’s 8/12” on an Initial 13 and a half months Contract at $ 1,000 USD per month, starting September 14th 2009.
b. Plans of improving & extending service as financial situation improves.
V. Update on Las Palmas CCR’s, HOA Dues and voting structure as it pertains to Sonora State Condominium Regime Law.
a. Nominal Values and Unit’s general divisible portions were researched and located in our Condominium Regime recorded by developer in accordance with Sonora State Condominium Law.
b. Calculations were made by Builder’s engineering staff as they pertain to the complete resort development: common and private areas.
c. Such general divisible percentage per unit derived from unit’s nominal value is to be considered the percentage to calculate HOA Dues and Weight of Voting.
d. Correct Spanish version of our CCR’s was made to replace old wrong-nonsense Spanish version which is to be recorded along with Feb. 13th 2010 Assembly minutes and posted in our website.
e. Written statement was provided by Attorney Raul O’farrill where Las Palmas HOA Dues and Voting structure has at last been set in Accordance with State of Sonora Condominium Law.
VII. Presentation and Voting for 2010 HOA Operation Budget Approval by Assembly.
2010 Operation Budget Approved Unanimously by ownership in Attendance.
VIII. Meeting Adjourned
|
LAS PALMAS HOA OPERATING COSTS
|
|
2009 BUDGET and ACTUAL vs. 2010 BUDGET
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OPERATION
|
Budget
|
Percent
|
|
Actual
|
Percent
|
|
Budget
|
Percent
|
|
LINE ITEMS
|
2009
|
of Total
|
|
2009
|
of Total
|
|
2010
|
of Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wages and Payroll Taxes
|
269,602
|
36.5%
|
|
219,180
|
39.0%
|
|
203,348
|
32.5%
|
|
Administration & Insurance
|
64,191
|
8.7%
|
|
56,885
|
10.1%
|
|
64,025
|
10.2%
|
|
Mechanical Room & Pool Maintenance
|
29,720
|
4.0%
|
|
17,788
|
3.2%
|
|
28,208
|
4.5%
|
|
Landscaping Expenses
|
6,420
|
0.9%
|
|
3,900
|
0.7%
|
|
5,610
|
0.9%
|
|
Cleaning & General Maintenance
|
45,610
|
6.2%
|
|
33,717
|
6.0%
|
|
41,617
|
6.7%
|
|
Security Expenses
|
3,046
|
0.4%
|
|
996
|
0.2%
|
|
2,967
|
0.5%
|
|
Elevator/Other Equipment Maintenance
|
21,040
|
2.9%
|
|
18,607
|
3.3%
|
|
21,200
|
3.4%
|
|
SBR HOA Fees
|
42,771
|
5.8%
|
|
30,462
|
5.4%
|
|
42,083
|
6.7%
|
|
Electricity
|
75,279
|
10.2%
|
|
51,348
|
9.1%
|
|
67,916
|
10.9%
|
|
Propane
|
61,164
|
8.3%
|
|
34,247
|
6.1%
|
|
50,417
|
8.1%
|
|
Water & Sewer
|
118,904
|
16.1%
|
|
94,992
|
16.9%
|
|
97,917
|
15.7%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Budget
|
|
|
Actual
|
|
|
Budget
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
Total Operating Costs
|
737,747
|
100.0%
|
|
562,122
|
100.0%
|
|
625,308
|
100.0%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
VII.
|
