WAILEA ELUA REPAIR ALERT #5
ANNUAL MEETING BEGINS WITH MEETING THE ARCHITECT
Elua’s Annual Homeowner’s Meeting was held on Friday, February 28, 2014. There was an excellent turn-out with 62 owners present for the morning presentation. Kevin Murphy, the Chairman of our Renovation Project, was joined by Mel Choy, our architect from Media5 for an excellent visual presentation of our project. Mel Choy discussed his familiarity with our original architect, Ossipoff, and how Elua was designed to fit the site and provide a connection to the environment that would endure through the years. As an architect for many years, Mel addressed the need for making some changes to update the property which he felt would be welcomed by Ossipoff who would agree with the need to enhance the visual enjoyment of the property.
DRY ROT PRESENTED LIVE
During the presentation Kevin showed the group a piece of wood recently removed from the trellis over his entry. It looked fine until he stuck a finger into the wood revealing extensive dry rot despite the aluminum flashing that had been attached over the top of the beam to prevent and reduce dry rot. The wood was rotted through the first quarter of the beam. Other examples of problems throughout the property were discussed, many of which were observed by a group of 35 homeowners who spent Thursday morning touring the property to see first hand the problems the renovation is expected to correct.
FUTURE LOOK OF ELUA EXCITING
The homeowners were positively impressed by the large photo-renderings showing the contrast between how our lanais and buildings appear now and how they are expected to look once the work has been completed. Kevin and Mel explained that three contractors had bid on the projected work for one Elua building. This was done to help the Board of Directors get a sense of the time and money needed to do the work. The architect showed a schedule of events that must occur before any construction can begin including preparation of detailed construction documents, SMA submittal, building permits, and hiring of contractors.
WE ESTIMATED THE TIMING.....
Based on the recommendation of the three contractors who viewed the property and bid on the work, it is expected that the project could be completed in about seven months -- beginning May 1,2015, and completed by mid-December 2015. The final timing and the method of proceeding through the property is subject to the hiring of a contractor to handle the entire project.
.....AND THE COST
As the Board has said in the past, most of this work must be done and, for this, there will be an assessment. Approximately 15% of the cost is to modernize our exteriors so they look fresher and newer. At this time it is roughly estimated that the total project cost (repairs plus modernization) will be about $8+ million which equates to about $42 per square foot for each unit. It could be higher or lower as more details on the work are developed in the next few months. These are older buildings and there is more inspection to be done. In addition, we have yet to submit our plan to the Maui County planning department for review of code requirements. While we don’t anticipate big changes, we want you to know that there is additional work to be done to get a firm price. The final cost will be clarified as more information becomes available.
THE RESPONSE WAS POSITIVE
At the end of the presentation questions were addressed by the Directors followed by many comments from the audience. The sentiment was very positive that Elua must move forward with this project. When the straw vote was called for it was a resounding YES with none of the owners present voting as opposed.
GOING FORWARD
The next step for the Board of Directors is to further refine our information so that a ballot can be prepared to send to all of the owners. According to our amended By-Laws, the ballot will be sent by mail and owners will have 30 days to respond. The additions to the repair project will proceed based on receiving a majority vote in favor of going forward.
If you are interested in viewing the presentation that was shown at the Annual Meeting, it is now available on the Wailea website: www.WaileaElua.info. As with the past four Alert messages, please send your comments to the Board of Directors by email to: waileaelua@gmail.com. Mahalo.