May 1999
The 1999 Annual Meeting of the Villa Monterey HOA was held in the clubhouse on the evening of April 14, 1999. In all, 107 voting units were present - either in person or by proxy. President Skip Kruszona briefed fellow homeowners on current projects to include painting, landscaping, and gas line replacement. The briefing explained why these projects maintained and improved the value of the homes in our Association.
In the question and answer session that followed, homeowners were interested in the earthquake insurance that is currently in effect, in the reasons behind our having A Reserve Fund-especially one that is fully funded - and in the status of gas line replacement. Thereafter, the results of the election for Directors were announced: specifically, Steve Huddleston, Frank Toto, and P** W**, currently serving, were returned to office for three-year terms. When the reconstituted Board met, the Directors re-elected Skip Kruszona to serve as our president for the coming year.
To this point, the eight buildings whose garages face Quemado and Guinda have been painted. Matthew Vidosh Painters is taking a month off to handle other projects, but they will return at the end of May to paint the eight buildings that face Antigua Blvd. Then, after another break, they'll be back to paint nine buildings that face the Canyon. Their completion date for the entire project is November. Incidentally, they have put together prices to paint the interiors of our units should any homeowners be interested.
During the next few weeks, there will continue to be extensive landscape activity throughout the HOA. The primary focus is on the upgrading and replacing existing shrubbery and plantings with items requiring less water and labor intensive care. Although many of the replacements will be small, they will be healthy and should grow quickly into mature plants. We appreciate your tolerance of any inconvenience caused by the project.
Recently one of our neighbors had flickering lights in her unit. She called an electrician to check out the problem. Apparently, her unit's wiring was aluminum. The aluminum had oxidized where it was connected to the breaker box. This caused an electrical arching. The breaker was actually melting. This could have resulted in a house fire.
Like old wives, water heaters are easily taken for granted. That is unless they fail. And since many water heaters here in Villa Monterey are not close to drains, when a water heater springs a leak, the consequences could be disastrous.
Stained carpets, waterlogged walls (yours and your neighbors'), soaked furniture, and frenzied midnight clean up work are all too commonplace.
Routine inspection is key; water heaters have lifespan warranties, like five to eight years. Check your installation date regularly, and don't push your luck. Unfortunately, when a tank ruptures, it gives no warning and water gushes out. Keep a garden hose accessible and ready for emergency tank draining. Cold water shut-off valves at the water heater site may not stop the leaking entirely because water may “cross over" from the cold to the hot water lines and continually refill the tank.
Make sure all faucets are open to allow air to enter and maximize the rate of drainage. Otherwise draining the tank may take hours-- versus minutes. Replacing an aging water heater before leakage symptoms appear is probably the best policy.
Most homeowners know that when they "hurt", a call to Curtis can clarify the lines of responsibility. As well, the management company can be very helpful in recommending service-type individuals when the problem appears to be a homeowner responsibility. But homeowners need to keep in mind that Curtis Management acts in response to the direction of your elected Board of Directors. Thus, when frustration mounts, your most effective course of action will be to approach the Board directly, during the homeowner input time. The latter is a feature of every scheduled monthly meeting.
© Copyright 1999 Villa Monterey HOA
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