Park Place Door Replacement Procedures
The Park Place buildings are maturing and this maturation presents several new challenges. One of these challenges is the replacement of the rear patio doors. The original door units are made of wood and have proven to be difficult to maintain. Some door units have already needed to be replaced and the HOA has used Fiberglass or Vinyl replacements when possible. The Board of Directors is looking at long term solutions and has received some thoughtful suggestions from home owners. These suggestions have included requests for different styles and the possible use of true French doors rather than patio doors. The Board of Directors has worked with several active owners to develop a small variety of replacement options since these doors are located in the rear of the house and each owner may have a desire to have something slightly different than the existing standard. This variety will be limited to French doors and Patio doors (the existing standard) which will be constructed of 100% Fiberglass/ Vinyl. The owner will have the opportunity to choose from these options when the time comes to replace the existing doors. The other add-ons will include internal mini-blinds and a screen door kit.
The Board of Directors and many owners have recognized the diverse tastes of the residents as well as the variety of concerns for each owner. While it would not be beneficial to allow all variations desired by a home owner, it should be reasonable to allow for some minor variations. This issue has become more pronounced as more of these doors have exceeded the point of simple repair and must now be fully replaced. The BOD has listened to owners as they have offered some suggestions at the last owners meeting in May 2005 and would like for all owners to be involved in this process. At a minimum, the BOD hopes that all owners will be aware of the on-going process of maintaining the homes.
One remaining issue that needs to be discussed and determined by the community is how to finance these door replacements. The HOA budget plan has some money allocated for replacing trim work around the original patio doors but has not budgeted for the doors because these are an owner expense. There are considerable cost benefits to completing this as an HOA expense so several options were discussed at the last owners meeting. These included the acceleration of increasing the monthly fees over the next few years or assessing a one time special assessment payable over the next year or two. Both plans would offset the increased expense in the HOA budget plan so that other important required services are not neglected. The majority of the owners present at the last owners meeting preferred the idea of the one time special assessment in an effort to keep the monthly assessments low. This was a topic of discussion at the recent Board meeting on Sunday July 17th. The general consensus of the Board is that there should be a one time special assessment of $600 per home payable on January 1, 2006. This special assessment (if approved by the membership) can be paid in monthly installments over two years. The Board will have to raise the monthly dues if the special assessment is not passed by the membership.
Also, the Board has established that the existing patio door style will be the base model for price consideration. The home owner will pay the difference if the owner selects another style or add-ons that cost more than the base patio door. This would include a French door, internal mini-blinds, and/or an external screen kit. These additional costs will be discussed with the home owner prior to ordering the door from the supplier.