All-Community Meeting, Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Topics: capital reserve -- what is it?

Present: Ben, Jorge, Kay (notes), Scott, Linda, Kerry, Emily, Michael A, Vicky, Scott W, Lynda, Laura, Cyd

Announcements & Reports

Easter. Color eggs 2:00 p.m. Saturday in common house, Sunday 10 a.m. hunt egg. Encourage people to bring hard-boiled eggs Saturday. Remind children attending egg coloring

Maintenance. Roof Doctor doing warranty work on 26 & 20. Configuration of ball caps to drain away from buildings, shingle issue 19; (?) on 16.  Next, repairs units 1 & 2 next task, general contractor will give assessment, seeking 3rd bid. Coleman will do demo of drywall . Crack sealing in parking lots this year. Water leaks in c.h. clerestory windows. Gutter drainage issues. Work to level bricks along path. Posts with white light have newer type of bulbs; yellowish, fixture needs to be replaced to not need ballast. Two lights haven't been on at all, at north & behind chicken coop. Steve-the-electrician did some work. Ben installed smart switches on c.h. lights.

East garden. Starting planting.  Ask Kay to turn on water. Plant perennials or bulbs, or hand over to Linda or Renae to plant, in bed #18.

Common House. Thank you for cleaning up after meals and events. Ants in kitchen. Reminder, no animals in common house. 3 door sweeps were installed. Will be interested to see if steel wool in beam holes works to discourage wasps.

Welcoming. Unit 17 is for sale. Try to get contact info of people who come to see it. Tomorrow 10 a.m. monthly cohousing zoom call. Tomorrow 3 pm Cohousing USA zoom on sustainability, Jim from Vermont cohousing, climate issues. If enough people are interested in watching it together Vicky will put it on c.h. TV.

Fund Raising.  To date this year, $2800.  Plant sale first Saturday in May at Cohousing.  Frank coming Saturday for convention at Salt Palace, 3 nights.

April 25 movie, 7:30 to 10:00 2 hrs movie starts at 8:00. French environmental documentary (in English), 10 year old.

Bell.  We've been neglecting the practice of ringing the bell to announce start of ACM -- may want to resume it.

Care team or care circle. Talking about starting a group to be a resource when people have needs (neighbor care not health care).  Give rides for appointments, offer meals when people are sick.  Research what community help is available like pharmacies that will deliver.

Community day trip.  Picnic, barbecue.  Maybe Pine View Reservoir (although algae problem & not a lot of picnic areas). Schedule far enough out so people can get day off. Looking at Wednesday June 11. Suggestion of Jordanelle: clear water, sandy beach, facilities, shade.

Capital Reserve 

Presentation by Ben. 

What is the capital reserve for?

The capital reserve is money to restore or replace items with useful life of 3 to 30 years.  Renovations okay; not intended for annual maintenance or upgrades. Some leeway to decide what is included in reserve; for instance, discussed putting tree care in but decided against it.  Best estimate of when costs will occur, but allows for unexpected failures or equipment that holds up longer than usual.

Capital reserve is intended to cover

• Legal, administrative, insurance, maintenance, repair & replacement for
• things not included in a unit or LCA
• CH & workshop including furnishings
• structural components of buildings
• utility lines serving more than one unit (line serving a single unit is owner's responsibility)
• parking lots (striping, asphalt, carports, storage units, dumpster enclosures)
• sidewalks, common path, landscaping, trees
• any damage >$25K to any unint (master policy)

Why have a capital reserve? 

• Smooths out swings in operating budget when major maintenance is needed.
• Utah code requires reserve analysis every 6 & review 3 years. Most recent study 2022, reviewed 2024, next in 2028. 
• Cover anticipated costs as well as unforeseen emergencies.
• avoid unexpected HOA fee increases or special assessments,
• replace compoents im a timely manner,
• prevent deferred maintenance since maintenance is usually cheaper & usually more eco-friendly than replacement.
• Banks often want to see a copy of the reserve analysis on a unit for sale. 
• Having a reserve reduces chance of needing a special assessment when large expenses occur, and mortgage institutions don't like special assessments.

The community's reserve

Last couple of studies done by Dale Gifford, a Professional Reserve Analyst who has done >1400 reserve analysis in Utah, 16 years HOA experience.

Reserve balance is $178K as of April 2025. Ideal $339,643, percent funded 52%. Recommended contribution per month $4,715, current $4,500.  Working our way slowly toward full funding.

Stucco.  Stucco repair has always been in the capital reserve, but Management has increased the amount considerably based on number of cracks & spalling and high estimates.

Scott talked to a stucco specialist.  He said it's rare to redo an entire building.  Usually repair just what needs repairing, e.g., paint small cracks. Can usually match color pretty close. Only redo entire building for cosmetic reasons when too many colors. 

Maintenance & Management have been researching the stucco issue.  Every contractor they bring in tells them something different because they are selling something different.

Due to size of expense (possibly several $100K), Mike requests that stucco repair ultimately be a community decision.

What are the consequences of not repairing stucco cracks?  Over time, small cracks get bigger from building settling and freeze/thaw cycle.  Small cracks can be painted over to fix them. Larger cracks are much more expensive to fix. Once a crack is deep enough it can let water into the wall.  We have vapor barrier between the stucco and our structurally integrated panels (SIP), which buys us time.  Moisture destroys SIP.

Don't see how we can afford to patch  everything and then paint the same year, but some concern about aesthetics about unpainted patches for extended period.

The paint is a very specialized product, not something we can apply ourselves.

Emily & Kerry cataloged cracks last year. 

Balance of all accounts in 2000 was $106K. In 2024, $203K. Moving in right direction, but still a long way to go.