Management August 15, 2023 minutes

Topics:  website & wiki, soffit under #25's deck, electric bill, furnace common house east wing, report from structural engineer, meeting with insurance agent, questions for attorney, online payment, reserve analysis, conservation easement, pay or play proposal

Present: Cheryl, Kay (notes), Scott, Ben, Kerry, Vinnie, Joe, Mary 8:00

Decisions: Move the website, abandon the current domain name, move the wiki to the cloud. 

Action Items

• Kay will de-commission the current website wasatchcommonscohousing.org and send the html files to Ben.
• Ben will move the wiki to a cloud provider.
• Ben will set up a Venmo account for the association.
• Vinnie will call Roof Doctor to look at #25's south soffit.
• Vinnie will research wall heaters.
• Vinnie will get some cockroach traps.
• Cheryl will call RMP to ask about the electric bill.
• Cheryl will schedule a proposal-writing meeting.

Website & Wiki

The web domain company wants $250 for the wasatchcommonscohousing.org, which is absurd. It is on BlueHost.  It is probably more cost effective to use the google docs site. 

Ben is currently self-hosting the wiki.  His computer doesn't do auto-backup.  If his internet goes out everyone loses access.  He has found a provider for cloud storage for ~$5/mo.

Deck #25

The soffit under the overhang of #25's (Lauren) deck has pulled loose from the fascia and is hanging down on one side.  If the problem is that the flashing isn't keeping water out, that may be related to the membrane replacement last fall. 

Furnace, east wing

The furnace that heats the handicap bathroom and downstairs bedroom had problems last winter.  The repairperson got it running but said it doesn't have a lot longer.   We talked about possibly replacing it with electric wall heaters. 

Won't know whether we need 120V or 220V run until we pick out the heaters.  Eventually we may want to run wire for electric dryers and tankless electric water heaters.  

The breaker panel has three spots. Modifications to the c.h. wiring would require bringing it up to code. Vinnie estimates $20K to rewire.

Electric Bill

May, June, July electrical bills were $21.60.  The new one is $120.

Report from Structural Engineer

Rebar is exposed on Carol's foundation. There are multiple possibilities for cause. The engineer recommends investigating the capacity of the anchor bolts of the wall to the foundation and whether they resist shear.  Also the concrete may have lost structural capacity.  The engineer is an inspector; we may need a foundation company to look at it for possible fixes.

Concrete repair should be done with an epoxy repair mix. 

Meeting with Insurance Agent

Meeting 8/25 at 2:00 p.m. Leave WC at 1:30.

Ben looked into the possibility of the unit owner getting earthquake insurance themselves; his insurer said no, because the unit owner doesn't own the outside of the unit.

Questions for Attorney

Ask what to do about shed built onto a unit.  Process? Require plans? Require removal? What time threshold gives it a right to stay? What recourse does the association have to require removal or increased fees or ...

We don't have architectural standards in the bylaws.  Can we get info on what is usual?  Need a starting point.

What processes do HOAs have for when to file a lien or get a collector?

Scott heard that condo law changed so that some decisions no longer require a supermajority of owners but only a supermajority of meeting attendees.  True? What types of decisions?

If the unit owner has made modifications (like Naomi's pergola) that interfere with maintenance, is there a middle ground between the association being totally responsible and washing its hands?

Should the association be requiring leases for room-mates if a unit is owner-occupied?

Online Payment

To set up a business account with Venmo, you just need an email and bank routing and account info. Venmo takes 1.9% of every transaction.

Kerry is willing to do signage once the account is set up. 

Reserve Analysis

Vinnie has been going through and noting issues: replacement costs that aren't realistic, items to be moved forward or back on the schedule, added or removed, etc.  He will go over it with Ben and send it to Dale (the reserve analyst).

Conservation Easement

Conservation easement requires a trust, which makes it a problem for the association.

Pay or Play Amendment

Primary goals - increased participation and raise funds for hiring labor for things that residents don't do.  These two things are inverse to each other.

Impression is that most other cohousing communities require a lot more than two hours.  Can we find information on a range or average, maybe cohousing-L? Big jump to go from two hours to say six.  Raise number of hours gradually to make it more palatable?  Three hours first year, four the next, etc.?

Increase in hourly rate and index it to go up more-or-less automatically.

Closed Portion of Meeting

Requested non-committee members leave so members could discuss a sensitive matter.  Decided it isn't something Management should do anything about.

Emailed 9/5/2023.