External Staircases

As stated last year the board looked at the staircases at building entries. Instead of replacement, the board decided to fix what we have. Tayo Construction was hired to do this work. We hope these stairs will last for another 10 years, but to achieve this, we need to find a product that isn’t salt for removing ice from steps. The salt mixed with water deteriorates the cement that forms the treads of the stairs. We are aware of one such product and are seeking others as a comparison. We hope to have chosen product before snow flies.

Trees and Bushes

One of the great benefits of this property is having a wide variety of tree life. Unfortunately a lot of these trees are coming to a natural end of life. The board will be removing some trees this year as they are dyeing. No plans as of yet have been made on replacement as the trees. What trees will be removed are grouped with other trees, so the loss won’t be as significant as one would think. The removal will also aid in less competition for water as dry weather and years of salt use on sidewalks has been a detriment to the trees.

Lawns Etc has gone around and provided extra watering to some trees which have been impacted by salt. We will have to keep an eye on them to see if further watering is required.

Lawns Etc have also treated our Elm trees for bugs which cause the blackness to the trees. Time will tell if this was effective.

As for the bushes some residence asked why we cut down the bushes. They all were getting a scale that was killing them. They had to be cut down so they can grow back. In most cases they are coming back faster than expected.

Recycling

Our recycling company brought to our attention that the bins fill up extremely fast in some months and have mentioned that we should increase emptying the bins on a weekly basis. This will add 3% to the condo fees. On months of examination by the board we have determined that, as in previous years, there are still people who aren’t flattening their boxes.

In some cases people have put boxes in boxes in boxes. Doing this does not gain space. Flattening boxes is the only way of reducing space, and by doing so, we can gain back 30% more space. Please stop putting boxes in boxes and flatten all of them even the light cardboard pop boxes. Not doing so will increase your condo fees on top of any other increase.

Grass Seed and Watering

This year the board decided on seeding the property to help restore lost grass. We also have a watering test case at building 9 front where we installed an above ground watering system. So far grass is coming in nicely. To install a similar system at other parts of the property comes with challenges. The biggest is water pressure. To make the building 9 system work, required water from both ends of the buildings. One side won’t propel the water far enough to make it useful.

The second issue is that not all buildings on the property have watering spouts on both sides, or buildings such as 1, 6, 7, 5 are more than 2 pods. In the case of building 7, the owner walled over the water turn on valve so we can’t turn on the outside water.

The board will need to look at making insulated lockable cut outs on the outside of the building so we don’t need to rely on owners access.

We also have looked at underground sprinkler systems, but they come at a cost of $130,000 or more and can’t be paid from reserve. To make something like that happen would require moneys coming from owners. At this time the board would rather look at the above ground system that can be moved around the property or mother nature.

Security Cameras for Clubhouse

Because of damage and miss-use of this area, the board will be installing a camera system her for inside and out.

LED lighting

The board was receiving concerns of theft on the ground floor patios, and discussed putting in motion censored LED lighting systems. We did a test at building 4 installing the motioned sensor lights to see if people liked them. From the positive reviews from those residents, the board has now installed the same lighting throughout the property on the ground floor. Next year the board will look at the above ground floor units but this would be a standard light not motion sensored.

Residents that have these systems will be given instruction on how to use it.

We have also installed new LED lighting in the hallways, which are significantly brighter and we hope that we can reduce electrical costs in the coming months and years.

Tennis Courts / Playground

This year the board approved the upgrade to the playground. You may have noticed the parts were delivered and the setup will commence shortly. As to the tennis courts, this will probably be a 2020 project. Plans need to formalized and budgets made.

Other possible 2020 projects could include building painting. It has now been 9 years since so within the next two years we should be planning that.

Patio Policy

The corporation has created a patio policy and can be read on Condo Control. This has been created for consistency and making things look good. Also, speaking about Condo Control, we would appreciate it if everyone remained on that system. This allows us to reduce paper costs, keep track of projects on the go, and communicate to residents more effectively. If you have removed yourself from this system, we would encourage you to put yourself back on that system.