Aloha
Welcome to the February 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.
Association of Owners Annual Meeting
As a reminder for owners, we have our upcoming annual association meeting.
Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
Time: 9:00 a.m. Registration; 9:30 a.m. Call to Order
Place: Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, Dining Pavilion, 86-260 Farrington Hwy, Waianae, HI 96792
We look forward to seeing you all, discussing updates to Makaha Valley Plantation, and we have five board positions up for election!
Hot tub repairs and replacement
If you weren’t at the last Board meeting one of the hot tubs is down and will need to be replaced. We have gotten many, many years of service and it just needs to be replaced. For now, we will make some temporary repairs to keep it going while we source a contractor to build us new ones. These contractors will also need to obtain permits for the extensive work that needs to be done. I’m sure most of you have heard how difficult it is to get a building permit in a timely matter. We hope to have a contractor identified soon and have them start drawing and applying for building permits for the new hot tubs. We appreciate your patience.
Tree Trimming
Over the next month MVP will have the trees trimmed around the property (it’s amazing how fast they grow). The large trees provide many benefits, not the least of which is lowering the temperature around the property. Unfortunately, some have grown so much they are uprooting driveways, undermining building foundations and the mailbox areas. According to our arborist, if we were to cut back the roots as much as they need to be cut back there is a very good chance they would die. We can’t have them undermining our building foundations nor destroying our driveways and mailbox areas. We have some other trees that were planted only a few feet from our building and in fifty years they have been reduced to just a large trunk. We have consulted various professionals and, due to the issues these trees are causing, we reluctantly need to take them down.
Once the old trees are removed, we are going to replant new trees that are better situated for the area, provide plenty of shade, and don’t have the aggressive root system the current trees have. We located some lumber mills and had them come out and they will be working with the arborist to cut them down in such a way that they can be reused. The lumber mills will in turn cut them up for wood craft artisan to make table tops, chairs, bowls, plaques, and other artful wood pieces to grace the homes around the islands and the world. We ask for your understanding in this matter and we look forward to planting a new group of trees that will give us shade and greenery for decades.
Update on the HOA Voting By Laws
We have received 15% correspondence for changing our HOA Voting By Laws, well short of the majority needed to enact this resolution. As a reminder the change we are looking to make is to allow enable community members to be elected to the Board of Directors by receiving the greatest number of votes, rather than requiring they meet approval of the majority of the community, which as we found last year makes it hard to elect new members, or even re-elect prior members.
In our upcoming annual meeting, there are FIVE seats open, so if we are not able to make this change ahead of time it is likely to be difficult to elect any new, or re-elect existing, board members. You should have received an explainer letter and voting form but if you have not please reach out to Chester at Touchstone so they can provide you with one!
HO6 Insurance Resolution Reminder
This is what could happen if a leak took place above your unit. (The above picture is of a unit not in MVP). Nobody should have to deal with this, but it can happen. If you’re not properly insured, the HOA insurance will only repair your unit to its original condition. That means replacing the drywall and painting the walls and a credit toward flooring and other basic items. You could also be faced with paying the $25,000 deductible, all because of a careless mistake. Are you prepared to do that?
The board of Directors has recently put forward a motion to make HO6 insurance mandatory for all owners – this will ensure that whatever happens to you, or your neighbor’s unit, everyone will be properly covered. Most owners already have H06 insurance which is great, but we need to pass this motion in order to take action, such as obtaining more competitively priced insurance which will help in keeping HOA fees down!
We have received 31% approval from the community and need 50% approval to proceed with this motion. You should have received an explanation letter titled “Resolution to Require Owners Insurance”. If you haven’t received or misplaced the voting form, please reach out to Chester at Touchstone. We encourage you to be involved in your home, investment, and community by protecting it with the proper insurance.
Mahalo,
MVP Board of Directors