Announcements

Date:   September 20, 2019

From:  Director Dennis Thompson

Antigua News

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer this year. It has, and continues to be just great weather. First an apology, as I have not written a newsletter for months. I know numerous owners depend on getting information from these newsletters about what’s going on. Second, we had a fantastic Village party over the Labor Day weekend. We had a great turnout and a lot of fun and good conversations. Many thanks to Robin and Bruce in Unit 2 for all their efforts in getting the party organized. We have agreed to doing it again very soon. OK, on to the business of Antigua.

1. Our new manager. Since my last newsletter, the CCHOA has hired Henry Angelino to be the general manager for the Cays. Henry has vast leadership, management and business experience. He is also a 20 year plus resident of the Cays and familiar with our unique issues. In a very short time, he has come up to speed with a host of issues throughout the Cays. Our pipe project, Kingston is starting an approx. 2-million-dollar remodel, a dock replacement project in Kingston, Port issues, firelines, etc. Even with that, he has reduce my work load considerably. I have tremendous confidence in his ability and judgement.  

2. Drainpipe relining. We have now completed some 16 units, and with our previous completions we are now at 22. I’m sure you have seen the trucks from SPT. They started with one crew and have now gone to two. They expect to have three crews on our site by the first of the year. The process takes about three weeks to complete two units, or as they term it a “stack”. Stack means both the upstairs and downstairs. They have to start with any asbestos abatement and small plastic tents at the locations where drywall will be cut to gain access to the pipes. Typically, we are cutting two holes in the upstairs and 4 to 6 in the downstairs. These are small holes 1 to 2-foot squares. After they have gained access to the pipes the actual lining takes about a week. Then the drywall is repaired and painted. The time frames are dependent on how much lining is required and how difficult it is. We have had one “stack” take 210 linear feet and others that needed relining of only 80 ft. The variance comes because many pipes have been replaced with PVC over the years and we are not lining those. 

A number of owners have commented about the guys standing around and not doing anything. That’s true, however it's just a consequence of this procedure. Once they get the new lining in  place, they then must inflate an inner bladder to force the new PVC resins against the old pipe. It takes several hours, depending on weather for the resin to set-up. So, once they have set a number of the linings, all they can do is wait. As we are only paying by the foot, it doesn’t affect our pricing which some owners have also asked about.

The schedule for linings is full until after the first of the year. If you have a preference for a time slot next year, please contact CCHOA maintenance at 858-384-5843. You can also contact them by email at: maintenance@cchoa.org. You will need to contact your neighbor, either upstairs or downstairs to coordinate a mutual time. Some people want to be here when the work is done and others want to have it done when they are gone. Further, if you and your neighbor don’t care when its done, let Sergio know that as well. We currently have two “stacks” in that position. This helps Sergio in case a scheduled unit falls out for some reason and we can keep the crews onsite.

Like our remodel, this pipe relining continues to produce surprises. Luckily, we have found three sewer pipes that were completely cracked, however, because they had not been used, we were able to fix them and not have a costly flood. We have had drains leave one unit and jump to the neighbor’s units wall and drain system. We have had some seriously corroded pipes; however, SPT has been able to install a liner and solve the problem.

We have not resolved the cost number at this time. The printed number of $9000.00 per unit, may be close given the cost of asbestos abatement. Henry, our new manager, and myself have agreed to wait until we have completed 25 or 30 units, or one quarter of the job, to then estimate the cost to complete the project. Taking that number, allocating our existing reserve funds towards this work, we can determine what the remaining unfunded amount will be. I think, based on the current schedule, we should be close to this determination by the end of October, first of November. I will of course provide every owner the exact numbers and cost used in determining this amount as well as the alternate proposed annual assessment plan as part of the special assessment voting process. If a special assessment is approved, that amount will probably be payable in the first part of 2020.

Garage power. We are continuing to work on this matter. We now have several spots which routinely trip the electrical breakers because of over usage. This is from refrigerators, freezers, but most commonly from charging cars. As you can imagine, it’s quite an inconvenience to others when the garage doors won’t open. We have met with SDG&E “field” operations as well as SDG&E “planning” to try and resolve this matter. We currently have 100 amps coming to the meter, that serves approximately 28 garages. They believe they could take that to 200 amps with the existing wiring. Anything above that would require new wiring be run across the street and between garage buildings. It would also require new transformers be installed. As our electrical breakers are some 50 years old, they are no longer manufactured. Simply buying a breaker is $70 as opposed to 8 or 9 dollars at Home depot. We are currently getting pricing to replace these breaker panels as well as wiring the garages. I’ll keep you advised as to our progress.

Painting. I have noticed several paint bubbles that developed mostly on staircases and fences. The contractor is going to go through the Village and repair them later this fall. 

Landscape. All continues well at this point with a few exceptions. We have noticed a black mold or scale on some of the new plantings. We have dealt with this before. Those plants affected have been sprayed. They will need to be hosed off and treated several more times. This winter we are looking to rake and “clean” the bark material in the gardens of old leaves and clippings. The palms are scheduled to be trimmed again in January. I’m trying to get the palms trimmed in early November, which I believe is the best time, prior to the holidays and before the major storms of the winter. If not this year then next. 

Front Landings. Sergio from CCHOA has come up with an epoxy product to re-coat the front landings as well as the stairs. We have installed this material at units 28/30 and 20/22. This product is capable of covering the old carpet glues and rough steps. Our crew has now been trained on its application, which is extensive, involving some four coats. However, we are able to compete a landing and staircase for around $1000. That is 75% less than we were previously reserving for this item. As time permits, they will be doing stairs and landings in our Village.

City Street. The City of Coronado is planning to slurry coat Antigua this fall. Blair King, the City Manager, indicates it should happen sometime in October/November. We will of course get plenty of notice prior to the work being done. 

Cays Park Renovation Planning. The City of Coronado has hired a designer to assist with the renovation of the Cays Park and will be initially holding two community workshops. The workshops are scheduled for October 16, 2019 at 6:00pm at the Coronado Community Center adjacent to City Hall and for October 19, 2019 at 10:00am in the CCHOA Grand Caribe Room.   

Cays Celebration. The City of Coronado and the CCHOA have made arrangements to Celebrate the Cays 50^th birthday. The party will be Saturday, September 28. It will take place in the city park, next to the fire station. It’s scheduled to start at 2:00pm with the official ceremony at 3:00pm. There will be games for the kids, food and drink stands, local vendors, two bands, a beer/wine/spirits garden, and roaming entertainers. Plus, they will be showing “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” at approximately 7:00pm. Should be a great time! 

Dennis Thompson