Aloha
Welcome to the April 2022 edition of the Makaha Valley Plantation newsletter! The aim of this newsletter is to bring you the latest MVP news, and project updates, and help build community here on the westside.
General Meeting – Part 2
We held our annual meeting on March 19th but were unable to complete board elections due to no candidates reaching the minimum voting threshold. We will be continuing the meeting on April 16th and holding a new round of voting, now armed with greater clarity and understanding of the process.
9am – April 16, 2022
Makaha Valley Country Club
84-627 Makaha Valley Rd.
Waianae, HI 96792
In the future, we will likely put forward an owners vote to change the Bylaws and simply elect those owners who receive the most votes, but this requires 67% of owners to vote in favor so will take a bit more time to organize.
Owners will be receiving a new proxy packet shortly. If you have already submitted your proxy form and do not wish to make changes then you do not need to do anything. If you wish to make a change to your proxy, or you will be unable to attend the continued meeting and wish to assign your proxy to someone else, then please make that change and send it to Touchstone or contact the front office. As always contact info is at https://makahavalleyplantation.org/contact/
Guest Parking Extended to 14 Days
At the general meeting on 30th March, a motion was passed that extends guest parking in Guest stalls to 14 days per calendar month. As a reminder, owners can assign their own parking stall to anyone for as long as they want – it’s your stall. The term “guest” is a little confusing here so if you’re confused or think you have been improperly cited please contact the front office.
Rules & The Board Of Directors
You can always access the House Rules on our website https://makahavalleyplantation.org/forms/. If you wish to access the Bylaws you need to get in touch with our property management company, Touchstone, and request a (free) copy of them. If you have a question or concern that is not addressed in the rules, or you have an idea for a change to a rule, we encourage you to reach out to Touchstone (who will then track and forward your question to the board).
We feel it’s important for the board of directors to be transparent and available to talk to owners, which is why all board members list their email addresses on our website at https://makahavalleyplantation.org/association/. If you would like to meet with our president, Tommy Sowell, and discuss matters in person he is happy to do so – you just need to ask and the board will try their best to accommodate!
Solar PV Update & FAQ
As a reminder, you can learn all about the background, progress, and benefits of the Solar PV installation by reading our FAQ here: https://makahavalleyplantation.org/solar_faq/.
Hawaii Unified, who will be doing the solar installation, is highly experienced and has worked with various large companies around the island. You can read about their contribution to H-Power (The Honolulu Program of Waste Energy Recovery) in Kapolei at https://www.s-5.com/case-studies/hawaiian-electric-company/ where they did an installation for the City & County of Honolulu. We have also organized a Zoom call with Ryno Irwin from Hawaii Unified on April 14th for owners, so keep an eye out for an email about that!
If you have any questions or concerns please reach out and we will try our best to provide an answer – we can also update the FAQ for the benefit of other owners!
Books in the Cabanas
Over the years the board has maintained a small book library in the pool cabanas. They have been recently restocked so why not go to the library and take a look! Feel free to borrow a book or contribute your own! What’s better than reading a book by the pool in paradise?
A Word on Security and Safety
Periodically there are rumors that certain people are targeted by our security personnel. As head of the Security Committee, I would like to assure you that is NOT true. Management keeps very good records of incidents and citations, and this record keeping has helped us a number of times in the past to ward off accusations. On occasion, residents have gone to the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission but all of these cases have been dismissed because, although a person may strongly feel they are being targeted, we have never found any truth to these cases.
Let me give an example related to noise complaints. The protocol that has been in place since 2009 is that when there is a noise complaint security goes to investigate where the complaint originates, they watch and listen to determine where the noise is coming from. Sometimes there is a small dispute that is over before security gets there but if there is excessive noise then they will go to the unit and advise them to let them know they are disturbing their neighbors and to, respectfully, keep it down. We log that as a verbal warning. If they have to go back again they will get another warning but if they keep it up, then they will get a citation. The first citation is normally not accompanied by a fine but additional ones may well include a fine for habitual violators. The purpose of this process is not to fine people but to correct the behavior that is disturbing the peace and comfort of the community. We try to get residents to understand that they are part of a neighborhood and that their actions impact others, and that everyone is entitled to live here without undue disruption.
For those who think that our security or management team is not doing enough about these problems please understand that we are not always able to tell you directly what fines or other actions are being taken due to privacy concerns. We often need to involve our attorney and seek legal advice, particularly for ongoing issues, and these things take time. One way or another we do resolve problems, up to and including evictions and legal action.
So, if you do feel you are being targeted in any way please let our Chief of Security Chris Hodges or our General Manager Joe Nunuha know your concerns so they can look into it. If you are still not satisfied then please let the Board of Directors know. The targeting and harassment of anyone by staff or other residents is not tolerated. We all deserve to live in safety and comfort and it is our duty to ensure this remains the case.
Mahalo