Message from the President
1) At the AGM in January 2023, Council requested $9,000.00 to request another Deprecation Report (a government requirement approximately every 3-years from Strata’s). Our last one was done in 2019. Unfortunately, after the Council reviewed the report, we found that hardly NO work was done since the report was initiated. There is no need to have another report written when the work hasn’t been completed up to 2023. Our Strata would look ridiculous because the Government has requirements that have to be met every so many years. Insurance companies can also review Depreciation Reports and assess our rates on work we have or have not completed. So, we do not need the $9,000.00 for a new Depreciation Report this year but we need a 75% approval from owners to use the same monies for a Building Envelope Assessment in order to identify the more immediate repairs that need to be done.
2) Our insurance for the Strata this year is $657,000. They are not going to give us any relief this year due to the massive leak in B building that cost our insurance company $675,000. to date. However, if Council does not address the issues in the Depreciation Report, fix leaks in the Strata and come up a prevention program, we could lose insurance all together because no one will cover us. This issue has a huge impact on all insured owners as the deductible for water leaks rose from $100,000. to $250,000. which meant that all owners needed to update their insurance. In some cases, owners could not get the additional coverage without purchasing a separate rider at a substantial cost.
Council tried to get our insurance broker to address this issue with no success.
Some owners have purchased their home owners insurance policy through TD Insurance with very good success. They will cover off the $250,000. deductible.
3) Council has been interviewing Envelope Remediation specialists to determine the best way to spend our limited budget on the repairs. We are working on eliminating any water intrusion in both buildings; however we have found that the south wall in building B needs our immediate attention. The work will be done in the warmer months ahead.
4) The Crane Easement will require a vote and a 75% approval rate to pass. The development going in on the north-side of Tower-C requires a crane to be erected. At some point during their construction, their crane will occupy some of ‘our’ airspace and that process has afforded us the opportunity to get $32,000.00 from the Developer if we get the 75% approval rate from owners. All legal fees to represent our position are being paid by their Developer. All liability is held by the Developer.
Sue Carey, Council Treasurer has developed our Strata budget with the hope of getting a positive voting outcome for the Crane Easement and as a result, there was no increase in the strata fees this year.
5) Council would like the 75% voting approval from owners to have a plumber coming in once per year to inspect every unit for water and piping issues. This is a preventative strategy for two reasons: It will be identified on our Depreciation Report so it could help decrease our overall annual insurance costs and secondly; this would hopefully prevent any catastrophic leaks which would impact the Insurance and the rates we much pay as well as informing owners on what their responsibilities are versus the strata’s and sometimes small repairs done immediately can prevent larger issues later on.
1) I want to talk about the special AGM that is being scheduled for June 8, 2023 in the party room of 6611 Minoru Blvd. Weather permitting, the special AGM will be located on the second floor outside next to the swimming pool.
There will be two very important issues to discuss and that will require your vote on June 8.
The first issue to obtain your vote on is the “Crane Easement”. With the construction going on north of tower ‘C’ a crane will be erected on the private property next door to proceed further with their construction. At sometime during their construction phase, the crane will operate and occupy airspace above tower ‘C’. The crane will not be over the tower, but only occupying some air space over our driveway. For our “inconvenience”, we are being offered $32,000.00. If 75% of owners agree with us receiving the $32,000.00 in compensation, the monies will be used for our betterment, such as having no strata fee increase this past budget. The second part of all this helps to maintain a positive relationship with the development, because they are offering to make some improvements for us at no cost to the strata.
The second voting issue is to change our bylaws in our charter. As we all know, the BC government changed how Strata’s can no longer restrict rentals. In the past year and a half, Regency Park Towers has had a number of in-suite floods due to the failure to monitor piping in their suite. As a result of these floods, the strata has paid out enormous amounts of monies to have these rectified. In one particular case, an owner had no insurance. Lacking the insurance as a responsible owner has resulted in the remaining owners being responsible for the expenses. So Council is proposing that if anyone chooses to rent their apartment, the person renting the suite is required to have full content and liability insurance. So in the event of a water leak, the individual owners insurance would cover the expense and it wouldn’t befall on everyone else. So for this vote on June 8, we are asking owners for 75% approval vote that all renters maintain full insurance at all times.
There is going to be a package of materials to read about the two voting items. Please read them! If you are going to be away on JUNE 8, please COMPLETE YOUR PROXY, place it in an envelope and put it in the door of the Caretakers office addressed to Angela. This is for ease of collection and counting to make sure we have a quorum for the meeting.
2) Envelope Remediation: This is an incredibly important issue for a number of reasons. As I mentioned before, Council is working very hard to limit water intrusion into our building. As a result, we had contractors bid on work to deal with remediation of both buildings. We elected to have JD Maintenance begin work a few weeks ago on Building B - Southside because they had the worst leaks. We well then begin the North-side of tower B. This will start after May 31, 2023.
These issues are incredibly important to resolve for 3 reasons: Obviously we do not want water coming in where it shouldn’t due to the damage it causes; secondly, any penetration can have a negative impact on our ability to get insurance and thirdly, this impacts our ‘depreciation report’. This is a BC Government requirement every 3-years. When insurance companies are looking to cover strata’s, one of the things they review is the depreciation report and historical insurance claims.
3). Plumbing: Last month I shared with you that Council has approved a plan that will give a Plumber access to everyone’s unit to inspect all water pipes (heating, toilet, under sinks and anything that involves pipes and water).
It has come to councils attention that many owners are not aware that any pipes that come out of their wall is considered their responsibility and therefore any leak that originates in a unit is the sole responsibility of the owner, regardless of circumstance.
To help decrease our insurance over time, Council has to prove that we have a preventative maintenance plan to avoid any water ingress. This plan is part of that strategy but also to educate owners on their responsibility.
Council has requested quotes from three reputable plumbing contractors who are willing a capable of performing the inspection this Summer. Council will make a decision soon and according to Sue Carey, our Treasurer, the monies are in the budget for this endeavour.
4). Landscaping: Council had heard complaints about the lack of good landscaping in areas of our strata. So, we met with Parascape Landscaping to review the concerns. We would like to let owners know that we have two dead/dying trees in front of 6631. In order to have them safely removed, we must apply to the City of Richmond for a permit and then plant new trees. Council is also working on the entrance to our complex. Where the sign of ‘Regency Park Towers 6631 & 6611’ is located, the plant bed is root-bound. We need to dig down to check the electrical to make sure we can have the entrance and flood lights working. When the electrical is fixed, then we will pressure wash the sign and lights to help improve the overall appearance.
We have sought out additional contracts for landscaping given the scope of work that Parascape has been doing over the past decades for us. We will keep you informed.
5). Pool: Council’s intention, was to have the pool open for the warm days so people could enjoy a relaxing time next to the pool or in the pool for that matter. However, upon inspection, we have found a number of issues that are a direct result of previous shoddy workmanship. So what has resulted is that water has gotten underneath the decking. The deck needs to be removed, the expansion joints need to be repaired, and we have found that the lining inside the pool is loose in many areas. This means that the pool needs to be completely relined. This requires more work than what we anticipated and we are now required to get permits for the work, whereas before we were planning to do minor work in order to open the pool. As you all know, the pool was closed and drained due to Covid. Having the pool empty, all these years has contributed to further damage. We have a substantial budget that was set aside to do the work but it will require more than what was originally set aside. Council has elicited a specialist in decking to look at what we can do to keep our project moving forward.
For those owners living on the West Side of Tower B; you might notice that bushes and trees hanging over the pool deck are being substantially cut back; this is due to Vancouver Coastal Health regulations if we wish to open our pool sometime in the future.
6). Security: Council and the Caretakers have been concerned about the number of vagrants and non-owners found in our buildings. We looked at updating our cameras to obtain a better view of those persons who have no business being in our buildings. We had a vagrant attempting to open a door of an owner in 6611. The owner of the unit observed the door handle moving so he opened his door and confronted the person who had no reason to be in the building.
WARNING: a). Keep your apartment door locked at all times; b). Do not open your apartment door without looking through the peep hole first or call out from behind your door to ask who it is; c). When you use the glass front door - Do Not let anyone come in behind you. Make sure the person uses their own fob unless you know the person and d). Never leave the door to the parkade open or the side entrance doors ajar for any reason. It does not take long for those with unsavoury intentions to do harm.
IT IS EVERYONE’s RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN SAFETY FOR ALL!
7). Boilers: These units are an integral part of our day-to-day lives that not too many people think about unless they have no hot water for shower, baths, washing your dishes, cleaning or heating. Council has been working with our contracted partners to do the best possible to optimize the functioning of our boilers. It is a massive job that requires the skill and expertise of one of our Council members. Council are reviewing contracts to make sure we get the best of what our money pays for.
8). Painting Lines, Numbers et al.
Council has found that parking lines, numbers and floor signage is very hard to see, especially at night and during inclement weather. We have requested 3 bids and if the weather stays favourable and the Caretakers have time to do additional cleaning around the complex, the painting can begin before the fall.
RUMOURS: These are a part of everyone’s life but Council would like to clarify one of them.
There were two parking stalls at the North side of tower C. The rumour is that Council sold both care spaces. This is a lie.
Council has not sold any parking spaces. The two spaces in question have been “re-allocated” to maintain a driveway access, otherwise we would have had to close off access for all vehicles.
Message from the Treasurer
Strata Council Members are elected annually by NW2677 Owners and supported by a contracted Property Management Company, experienced in all aspects of Strata Management & Administration and mindful of Sources and Usage of Owner Funds. Strata Council includes 4 Executive Members: President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary, with 3 Members-at-Large managing specific issues/activities. Clearly defined policies, procedures, legal requirements, and progress reporting guiding a well-managed Strata are currently under review and will be fully documented.
Well-managed financial systems are essential to effective work planning, management, administration and reporting of results achieved and are guided by an Owner-approved Operations Annual Work Plan and Contingency Reserve Fund (CRF) Special Projects Plan.
Effective Strata Management requires realistic planning and knowledgeable oversight of all expenses incurred, including work undertaken by selected contractors. All operational activities, results achieved, and associated costs are monitored by Council Members.
Council Treasurer is responsible for the following: acquiring Council approval of all expenses prior to submission for payment; ensuring professional oversight/verification of financial reports, and accurate documentation of Results Achieved in Monthly Progress Reports.
It is critically important that Owners understand, agree, and approve all activities and budget allocations for cleaning, maintenance, services and progressive structural integrity improvements to buildings, common areas, and grounds, all of which are documented in NW2677 Annual Work Plan and Budget and reflected in Strategic Plans and Depreciation Reports.