Aloha
Welcome to the March 2023 edition of the Makaha Valley Plantation newsletter! The aim of this newsletter is to bring you the latest MVP news, project updates, and help build community here on the westside.
Annual Owners Association Meeting
It was wonderful getting to see so many of you in person the other weekend, and particularly meet the new members of our community! With all of the disruptions around COVID over these last few years it’s been good to see one another in person, and we look forward to our upcoming general meetings. In this meeting our board president of the last 13 years, Tommy Sowell, retired from the position of president. We are grateful to Tommy for leading the board and bringing all of his experience and savvy to the position – Mahalo Tommy! We held elections for 5 roles and, as you’ll see below, no-one was able to reach the majority of votes needed to gain a board position. With Tommy stepping down, the board elected Kathy Sowell to the position of President. Gregory Sokolowski will remain as treasurer, with Patrick Muldoney taking on the role of secretary. Larry Moore remains vice president. With these election results, we now find ourselves in the unusual position of having SEVEN positions up for election next year!
Election Bylaws and an Election Committee
It’s obviously not ideal to be unable to elect new, or even existing, board members. Ten members of the community ran for office, some new to Makaha and some long-time owners, demonstrating that people are eager to stand and serve – this is fantastic news and bodes well for the future of Makaha Valley Plantation!
As such it is more important than ever that we update and modernize our bylaws. This issue is causing our election troubles and until this is changed it will be hard to elect new members of to the board, which reduces trust and communication between the board and the community at large.
The board tried to get a mail-out vote to change this bylaw last year but this was unsuccessful. For this change to happen we will need the community itself to get involved, contribute to the bylaws updating process, and help foster the support of the community at large. If you are interested in helping form an Election Bylaws Committee then please reach out to the board! We can’t do this alone – we need you! If you are interested in getting involved, please get in touch.
Pickle Ball Update
We’re excited to share that the tennis courts have been updated with Pickle Ball lines! Pickle Ball is a fun and accessible sport for all ages, so we hope to see you out on the courts as the weather improves.
Kiana Jacuzzi Update
After 50 years our jacuzzi’s were finally starting to show their age so we’re excited to share an update on the progress of their renovations! The Kiana jacuzzi is replaced and looking sharp, and ready for everyone to enjoy again. The Ala Mahiku jacuzzi is still being worked on and we hope to have it sorted out soon. Please look out for notices and emails regarding these updates.
Washer Dryer Updates
WASH is the company that provides our laundry room services. We have been negotiating a new contract with them, as well as investigating other options. After investigating all available options, including managing our own laundry rooms, we have decided to go ahead with a renewal of the WASH contract.
A company that wants to provide laundry services to MVP must have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest in equipment, technicians, transportation, spare parts, software apps that can link to your phone, an accurate accounting system, internet capabilities and an administration staff to manage all of this. In addition, they pay most of the revenue generated from the washers and dryers to MVP. At this stage MVP does not have the capital, manpower, technicians, spare parts, and all the other aspects to conduct an inhouse program.
With regards to allowing owners to install their own washers and dryers we have determined that now is not an appropriate time to pursue this. We first need to finish the PV project and upgrade our electrical systems, such that many owners can have high-power appliances such as dryers without threatening the whole community’s grid. The other issue is that we really need everyone to have H06 insurance, such that everyone is covered in the event of leaks or damages. Our H06 bylaws amendment has only received 36% correspondence, which we hope to increase this year.
Another issue is that you also would have higher water charges in your maintenance. With the laundry rooms we get some remuneration for water usage out of the revenue from the washers. If the washer is in the unit, that water becomes a part of the maintenance, and we all share in the cost of that.
With the renewal of this contract with WASH they will be providing all new equipment and new features to make doing laundry a little easier. If you have lived at MVP for a while, you’ll know we haven’t raised the cost of doing laundry over the last 7 years. We all know that everything has gone up. There will be a small increase of $0.25 a load and we will continue to keep prices as low as possible. Please review the flier that gives more details on what new features you will be able to use. The HOA has worked with WASH over the years and has been very satisfied with their equipment and service. We look forward to working with them again.
WASH is introducing a new Mobile App + Card Bundle that will make life easier for everyone! New features of the service include:
- Receive real-time alerts and notifications when your laundry is done
- Room View allows you to remotely see if machines are available
- Recharge your WASH card via the mobile app
- Updated credit kiosks that support credit and debit cards
- Contactless card payment at the washers and dryers
You can read more here (https://makahavalleyplantation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Mobile-AppCard-Bundle.pdf) and if you have any queries please reach out!
HO6 Insurance Resolution Reminder
As mentioned in the Washer-Dryer update above it is very hard for us to get to a position of allowing owners to install washers and dryers without an assurance that, in the event of fire or flooding, everyone will be covered.
You should have received a letter about an amendment to the bylaws, making H06 insurance mandatory, but if you have not received this or know of an another owner who hasn’t we encourage you to contact Touchstone and get a new packet sent out!
If we are able to pass this motion we will be able to obtain more competitively priced insurance, which goes a long way to keeping all of our HOA fees down!
Communicating and Community
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our property manager, Chester Reeves, the front office, or the board directly. All of the phone numbers and emails for the front office and management are available at: https://makahavalleyplantation.org/contact/
You can also find the email addresses of the board of directors at https://makahavalleyplantation.org/association/. Most boards do not make themselves so accessible, but we believe that community and communication are important, so please contact us if you have any questions!
Mahalo,
MVP Board of Directors