Final Phase Fence Construction

The contract for the final phase of the fence replacement project has been awarded to Advantage Fences (the same company that did the other fences). Construction is expected to begin within two weeks.

Special Assessment Passes

At the HOA meeting in the park this morning, the special assessment of $300 was approved by a majority of the homeowners who submitted ballots. The color change to the earthtone scheme was also approved.

Special Assessment Reminder

Beyond Repair - MDS community fencing looks as bad as it does for two reasons. Before their replacement,the oldest sections at the rear of the community were over 15 years old and had simply worn out. The newer sections - the ones closest to the entrance - were so badly and cheaply constructed, they are unrepairable. The special assessment is about replacing the newer, unrepairable sections.

Cost & Benefit - A Home Owners Association (HOA) funded replacement project, which ultimately will cost $140,000, started two years ago and to date the older sections have been replaced - the most recent being the fence beyond the park, which has also been painted in earth tone colors. If you have not already seen it, do take a look. If you look closely you'll see that the new fencing is of significantly better construction and materials, so it's expected life should be in excess of 15 years.

Addition Funding - The HOA have proposed a special assessment of $300 per homeowner to complete the fence replacement in 2013, which includes repainting. The special assessment, requires homeowners to vote their support. The special assessment covers the additional cost to complete the project. Replacement to date has mostly been funded from the HOA $80,000 reserve fund, which was in large part  contributed to the HOA by the early MDS developers. Reducing the reserve fund to an estimated $30,000 by the end of 2013 minimizes the special assessment charged to the homeowners.

Your vote is essential - the Special Assessment approval vote will take place at the Park Pavilion at 10:00am on September 29th 2012. 

If you can't make the meeting - you should already have received absentee and proxy vote forms with the letter mailed out to all homeowners - filling either of these in allows you to vote if you can't make the meeting. You can also download these forms from the web site. 

More information - additionally, you can view the fencing project Blog - just click the fence picture under Homeowners Information on the web site page. You can post comments on the Blog, which Philip Hall, the HOA Board Director responsible for the fencing project, will reply. 

Through a visitors eyes - If you'd like to see the fence through a visitor's eyes, view this YouTube video clip by clicking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX_Q5WQ4WO8&sns=em

Cormac & Maggie O'Reilly

Special Assessment for Fence Replacement

Community Fencing Replacement

Neighbors,

Marina Del Sol Residents Association (MDSRA) began a $140,000 fencing replacement program to replace the older common fencing on Twin Oaks Boulevard last year.  One of the original sections was replaced last year and another section of the older fencing has been replaced this year.  This original fencing has lasted almost 15 years and the funding for replacement of that fencing had been saved over the years for this purpose.

The fencing installed by Imperial Homes in the newer sections of our community has proven to be substandard and is now in terrible condition. Due to how our community By-Laws were written, our residential association had no say in the construction or maintenance of common fencing until after the adjoining lots were sold to residents.  This fencing has deteriorated to the point that it is now detracting from the quality of our community.  Many residents and some realtors are saying that the fencing is negatively affecting Marina Del Sol property values and the MDSRA Board of Directors is in full agreement.

Your Board of Directors has been studying several options for fence replacement over the last few years, and has decided that since the older fencing has now been replaced successfully, we now need to look to replacing the fencing installed by Imperial on both sides of Twin Oaks Boulevard much sooner than planned. Previously, the Board was going to replace half of the Imperial fencing in 2013 and the other half in 2014, but the Board has recently recommended that both Imperial sections be replaced next summer due to its condition.  There is a slight surplus of money from what had been saved for replacing the original fencing, however, to replace the fencing installed by Imperial 5 -7 years earlier than planned, the current funds will not be sufficient to cover the $85,000 needed to replace all Imperial fencing next year. After much study and discussion, for the fourth year in a row, the Board does not plan to raise the $550 annual homeowner fee for 2013, but instead recommends a one-time Special Assessment of $300 per lot to provide the additional funding required to complete the fencing replacement next year. The Board believes that a ‘pay as you go’ funding concept is the best way to provide funds for larger one-time expenditures like the fence replacement activity, and to continue to use the annual dues for routine operations, maintenance, and small refurbishment/replacement item costs. After the fencing replacement is complete next year, a small reserve will remain to cover unexpected operating and community upgrade expenses to the sprinkler system, park equipment, lighting, entry, etc. that will inevitably occur along the way.

So, as directed by our By-Laws, the Board has called for a Special MDSRA meeting to be held Saturday September 29, 2012 at 10:00 AM at the pavilion in the Park for property owners to vote for, or against, the one-time Special Assessment of $300.  Also on the Special MDSRA meeting ballot, you will have the opportunity to choose whether we stay with the current Gray and White fence painting color scheme, or to vote for a new ‘earth tones’ fence painting color scheme you can see on the new fencing installed this year.  With your help and a positive vote for the Special Assessment, we should have new fencing with your choice of either of the color schemes completed by next summer.

Sincerely,

Your Elected Board of Directors

The board decided tonight to accept the recommendation of our consultant regarding fence color. The new color of the main fence will be Sherman Williams #7513 Sanderling and the trim will be Sherman Williams #7511 Bungalow Beige.

The image below is an approximation of what the new fences will look like:

 

Protecting the new fences

As the fences that are currently being replaced were taken down, I noticed that many of the homeowners had flower beds that were adjacent to the fence. I would like to suggest to these homeowners that they take this opportunity to put some kind of protective barrier between the new fence and their flower beds. This should increase the lifetime of the fences by preventing the bottoms of the boards from deteriorating as quickly.

Marina Del Sol - Replacing Existing Fencing

Status & Update


Marina Del Sol's common fences are in terrible shape. The oldest sections are 17 years old, and the overal state of our common fencing is reportedly deterring home buyers from considering purchasing in our community.  in truth, the oldest sections of fencing are falling apart (see the video above) - the newest are broken, bowing and an eyesore. When discussed at the last AGM, homeowners at the meeting said that the original fence color (grey) conflicts with the overall community colors, which are beige and tan. And an unresolved action to reconsider raised. 


After several years of reviewing alternatives, the HOA Board developed a plan (not yet published) and have already started implementing it - see Current Progress below, which was kindly provided by Christina Gray.


The Fencing Replacement Project was robustly discussed at the 2012 AGM and at the May 10th Board meeting. Replacing the existing fencing is our communities single largest, and arguably most important project in its history. This blog is an attempt to engage homeowners in the options open to the community and the due diligence involved in the investment and decision processes. It's likely that the complete project will cost at least over $100,000 which essentially will have to be funded by homeowners. 


Board Meeting May 10th 2012


The Board confirmed full support for complete replacement, commitment to looking at acceleration of the project and formalizing a plan. In addition, it will the appoint a fencing expert to advise on technical decision and fully engagement the homeowners near the entrance on options under consideration. On the color issues, as so few homeowners showed interest, a practical solution was agreed - because its cheaper and less contentious, we'll stick with the existing color. (feel free to comment below.)


Philip Hall, who is responsible for the fencing project confirmed in an email:


"The numbers for the fence are in the budget that was presented at the annual meeting. Last year we spent $17000. This year we allocated $22000 but the actual cost will be $26000. The next two sections should be around $25000 each."

Philip will in future edit and publish this blog

Current Progress


The fencing is being done by sections, starting at the back. Sections 5 & 6 were started last week, sections 3 & 4 start today and sections 1 & 2 are next week. The blog will detail plans as they firm up.