Update Number 93 - Kamaole Sands Guest Network

KAMAOLE SANDS
SANDPIPER NEWS
Update 93
Board of Directors
2012-2013
Lois Koenig, President
Loikalane@aol.com
916-652-5017
Paul Stassinos, Vice-President
Pastassinos@yahoo.com
916-967-8000
Barbara Bowling Dalmatoff,
Treasurer
Cortez93455@yahoo.com
808-879-4114
Jim Van Blarigan, Secretary
Jvan50@juno.com
510-562-1251 808-270-4091
Ennio Avalon, Director
MAUI.PARADISE26@YAHOO.COM
208-634-1233
Ron Young, Director
RYOUNG@TELUS.NET
250-861-3881
Bob Burne, Director
Rjburne@telus.net
403-931-3334
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
It is that time of year for planning of all sorts
of events. Most of us are planning for the
Holiday season which is rapidly approaching
beginning with Thanksgiving. What a great
idea to have a day to recognize the wonderful
life that we each have and to appreciate how
lucky we are to live where we do. For many
of us, that planning includes a stay here on
our own piece of paradise where the weather
is warm, the sea and the sand are available and where the Aloha spirit is
alive.
Here at Kamaole Sands, management and staff are planning for the
influx of visitors who arrive to spend time with us each winter. Projects
and tasks meant to keep our property looking great are in the finishing
stages so our guests can enjoy themselves. Your Board is in the
planning stages of the annual budget which will keep the investment we
each have here in great shape, both physically and financially.
Planning for the budget means Directors must keep in mind a number
of issues. The first is the fact that each year our cost of operations here
on Maui rises just as it does wherever you live. The County of Maui is
enforcing two old regulations which require some major investment for
the Association – our DCDA regulators (check valves in our fire
system which serve as shut-off valves in an emergency) and additional
manhole covers. Our older Dry/Wet Standpipe system is in need of
major repairs to two of the fixtures. And, we need to complete the three
projects which were delayed from 2012 (Spalling repairs, Fascia board
repairs and pool deck repairs.)
As always, the Directors are looking at the balance which is necessary
to keep Maintenance fee rises in check while planning for the inevitable
expenses which are part of the ownership of an aging property. One
only has to walk the property to see that the planning from the last several years has been successful. Kamaole
Sands is beautiful.
On behalf of your Board and management, please have a wonderful Holiday season.
Looking for historical meeting minutes and newsletters,
Visit us at : http://guests.kamaolesands.net
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CHANGE – IT HAPPENS
By Lois Koenig
Two major changes to Board operations are coming up this month. The first is the loss of
our Board Treasurer, Floyd Van Auken, as he and wife Mary move to their new digs in
Wailuku. Floyd has been invaluable in not only serving as the Board Treasurer, but in
taking charge of a number of other major projects here at Kamaole Sands. Floyd has
served as our chair to the IT committee which has worked miracles with our information
systems. Under his knowledgeable and guiding hand, the automation systems in our
management offices and throughout the property have been upgraded and managed. We
have working computers in our units and in our Cyber Café; we have a camera system
which is invaluable for our security department; we have a method of video conferencing
for our monthly Board meeting; our property will soon have fiber optics which will vastly
improve our TV and Internet systems. In addition, Floyd has worked endlessly on identifying and helping to
lower our energy usage. Our MECO bills show the huge progress made in the area.
The loss of Floyd comes with the loss of Mary as well. Mary has almost single handedly written and initiated a
safety program here at Kamaole Sands which is working for the safety of the owners, our staff and our guests.
Our program is used as a model for other associations. These are but just a few of the things which Floyd and
Mary have accomplished during their ownership here at Kamaole Sands. They have been wonderful volunteers
and they are super people. We will miss them a lot!
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The board of directors has appointed Barbara Bowling to serve out the remaining term of resigning member
Floyd Van Auken. Barbara will assume the role of Treasurer while on the board. Here are her qualifications:
My name is Barbara Dalmatoff Bowling. I am a year round Kihei resident
and have both lived in my unit and rented it as a vacation rental. I manage,
maintain/renovate and clean my unit so I share and understand what all rental
owners as well as full time residents experience at Kamaole Sands. I
currently reside at Maui Kamaole Condominium just south of Kamaole
Sands and am on the lookout for positive attributes there which might be
incorporated at Kamaole Sands.
Kamaole Sands functions as a large and complex business. My business
experience as a licensed stock broker and licensed insurance & annuities
investment advisor fully equip me to make wise decisions as a Board member. My experience also includes
serving on the Board of the Santa Maria Business College, the Women’s Health Board of Santa Maria and the
Santa Maria Women’s Network, where I also served as Board President. I co-chaired a major fundraiser for
the American Diabetes Association for several years. At Kamaole Sands I have volunteered on many projects
including: the key inventory project, reviewing and processing guest
comment card responses, installed no smoking signs on lanais and
helped paint the Ohana Room by the pool. Kamaole Sands has a
reputation for being a beautiful, well operated resort complex with
gorgeous landscaping. I live from the income of my rental unit at
Kamaole Sands and will work hard as a member of the Board to see
that owner’s concerns are heard, our property remains beautifully
maintained and maintenance fees are kept as low as possible. I look
forward to serving the owners of Kamaole Sands as a member of the
Board of Directors.
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A warm aloha to Ed Heller, who is a member
of the Information Technology Committee and will
be assisting the AOAO when working on Information Technology
projects.
WATER FEATURES and ENERGY UPDATE
Ron Young/Chairman
POOL DECK REPAIR
This project has been deferred until the fall of 2013. We are planning to lift and repair
approximately 600 square feet of the pool deck during the construction period.
ENERGY
Our costs remain under budget for Q 3 and we will continue to monitor consumption as
MECO received approval from the PUC to increase rates by 3.16% in June. As
mentioned in previous updates, we have achieved significant savings with the installation
of astronomical timers along with LED fixtures. The new energy efficient AC system
that was installed in the office and administration building has reduced costs by 50 %. We do expect to see
some increase in consumption with the new dryer vent project now completed in all buildings.
We encourage homeowners to consider Energy Star Products with increased efficiency. These products often
offer the opportunity to receive rebates. Just watch your MECO bill go down!
PERSONAL
As the leaves begin to fall here in Kelowna, B. C., we now anticipate our return to Kamaole Sands to join all
the other Canadian Snowbirds. We look forward to saying Aloha to our Maui friends, neighbors and all the
AOAO staff. Get the BBQ’s ready.
This will be a bitter sweet arrival for Joanne and I as our dear friends Floyd and Mary Van Auken will have
moved into their new home. It has been more than a pleasure for me to work with Floyd on the Board and
have the Van Aukens as members of the Energy and Water Committees. They have truly been our Kamaole
Sands super volunteers. On behalf of all our committee members, we wish them a fond Aloha and many
years of pleasure and joy cutting the lawn.
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Bob Burne/Pipe Committee
Here at Kamaole Sands we experience travelers from around the world, people bring
with them a different way of doing things, such as disposal of food.
Many people think that any and all food that is discarded is done so by placing in the
garburator or garbage disposal, this could not be further from the truth, in fact the best
way to dispose of left-over food or food that is to be discarded is in the trash.
The cast iron drain pipes in our buildings are 30 plus years old, the more
care we take the less chance we have for failure. Kamaole sands has put
together a committee to look at the overall health of the cast iron drain
pipes within the walls of each unit, during the following months the committee will meet to
discuss, plan and implement a strategy concerning our cast iron pipes, with the help of
professional engineers and plumbers we will be able to keep the property as pristine as it was
when it was first built.
‘YOU’ ARE THE ASSOCIATION
By Lois Koenig
Here at Kamaole Sands as with all other resorts and housing organizations, the
management of the common area of the resort is handled by an Association of
Apartment Owners (AOAO). Every Kamaole Sands homeowner is a member of the
Association. It is impractical, however, to think that 440 owners can collectively run the
management of the property. So, the membership, you and I, elect a small panel of
owners, i.e., the Board, to run the Association on our behalf. Since, the Board is made
up of owners, who all have jobs and lives to run, the Board, on behalf of all of the
owners, hires staff to handle all of the day-to-day needs of the property. This staff makes
sure the bills are paid, the lawns are cut, the walkways are clean and that our guests do
not damage the pool… along with dozens of other duties.
Always, we must remember that the Association is ‘us’. It is not some large organization with bottomless
pockets. It is not some nebulous entity we can blame for things. Each expense of the Association comes out of
our pockets as members of the Association. Everything we do as individual owners impacts our neighbors. If I
rent my unit to 10 people instead of the 4-6 I am allowed, the noise they make and the facilities they use,
impacts all of my neighbors. If I don’t like a decision made by the management and I call in an inspector and
fees are paid, it impacts all of my neighbors. If I cause damage and do not feel I should pay for it, I impact my
neighbors. Every expense paid by the Association comes out of our individual pockets as members of the
Association.
Does that mean you have no say in how things are done or no recourse when you do not agree? No. The
Association, however, has the responsibility to protect the ownership ‘as a whole’ even if it means an
individual owner does not feel they are protected. Decisions must be made for the ownership, not for an
individual. If you do not like a particular decision, you have several options. You may drop a note to the
management office or to an individual Board member giving them your concerns. You may send a note to the
Board as a whole telling them of your concerns and that you would like them to re-consider. You may make an
appointment to meet with the entire Board to appeal their decision. In all instances, you will receive an answer.
The thing to always remember is that we each made a decision to buy in a multi-owner resort. We knew,
through the documents we received and general common sense, that we would not be able to treat our unit in
the same manner as an individually owned home. We made a decision to buy anyway. We each need to meet
our individual responsibilities to the Association and to our fellow homeowners by understanding the
relationship and by taking responsibility for doing our individual part. Hey, you knew this, didn’t you?
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Paul Twelker
Landscape Committee
Kamaole Sands is Hosting Many Lovebirds
Many owners and guests have commented on the "new" bird on the block at
Kamaole Sands. It seems that some beautiful lovebird mutations are roaming
around Maui. They are African natives, called Peach-faced Lovebirds (Agapomis
roseicollis) that have either escaped from a local aviary or have been released. As
these small parrots are prolific breeders, they are thriving in Kihei, which is similar
to the dry country of South-west Africa.
This species is probably the best-known and most popular of the nine lovebird
species here in the U.S. Sizable feral populations also occur in Phoenix, Arizona. They are known to nest in
palm trees and saguaro cacti.
Although most of the lovebirds seen at Kamaole Sands are green, expect to see many striking color mutations
such as lotions (yellow), piers, violets, white-faces, orange faces, dutch blues and mauves. No other parrot
other than the budgie comes in a wider array of colors.
Lovebirds have a fun personality and are easy to tame. They are intelligent although most never learn to talk.
But they are able to mimic and imitate other birds, so we should all pray that they do not begin to imitate the
raucous Francolin quail! They are known to be aggressive with other birds and animals (and even among
themselves). Peachfaces may live over 20 years, provided they are provided with the proper nutrition. As a rule
of thumb, owners should resist the temptation to feed these birds as there is sufficient food in Kihei. Often, the
handiest thing laying around a condo are grain products such as cereal and bread, most of which is fortified
with iron. Birds cannot tolerate iron-fortified human foods, and will develop iron overload disease which is
untreatable and deadly.
Lemon Grass
The lemon grass we planted several months ago is thriving near the north spa. Kathleen and I have made
several batches of tea, and it is wonderful hot or cold. Sugar or honey is optional, and for a change, you may
want to add a bit of ginger (three slices or less).
Central Courtyard Replanting
Plants have been purchased for the replanting of the first phase of the central courtyard from the reflection
pond to the small bridge. The existing plants, mostly asparagus fern and bougainvillea, will be replaced by
plants with flowers or colorful leaves. The Succulent Stump
The old stump that has been an eyesore for ages near the mango tree near Building Six has been embellished
with all sorts of succulents from the gardens of our AOAO manager, Jarret Delos Santos. In addition, we
planted two clump bamboo in the area that were being systematically poisoned by left-over alcolohic drinks
from the Mai-Tai Party. It is hoped that the bamboo will survive the transplanting and will thrive in time. 6
The floors to all of the BBQ grill pavilions are in the process of being resealed. The finish product looks
GREAT!
A big Mahalo to Ed and Loretta Klimzcak for caring for the orchid wall while on property. They provided
the new orchids a great start. Doug Hunt, recently installed a boarder at the base of the wall to keep grass
from climbing the wall. Many of the orchids have started to take hold in their new home.
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Kenny Ching of Castle Resorts transferred to the Waikiki Shores on Oct. 1st. The transfer gives he and his
wife the opportunity to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Something too important to pass up!
A warm aloha to Paul Gomez, who is the new General
Manager for Castle’s Kamaole Sands rental program. Paul
has extensive knowledge of Kamaole Sands. Paul has
been a resident of Maui for the past 30 years and has been
in resort management on Maui for many of those years.
Some of Paul’s past properties include:
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Kamaole Sands under Maui Condo and Home
Ma’alaea Surf Resort
Maui Kai Resort
Kapalua Villas
Employees who qualify for the Simple IRA retirement program attended a meeting with Robert Brantley.
We encourage employees to take advantage of this great benefit.
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2500 Miles Across the Sea.....
By Lois Koenig
Most of the owners at Kamaole Sands live a l-o-n-g way from the units they own. This
makes it very difficult to be available when something happens at your unit. I personally
have been awakened in the middle of the night when a guest arrived without a key to get
into my unit. I have had a message waiting for me as I got home from Maui that my
neighbor’s washer overflowed into my empty unit…and a guest was arriving in three
hours. I have gotten calls of garbage disposals leaking; burst pipe under the kitchen sink;
bathroom mirror fell of the wall and broke; unit was not clean when my new guest arrived;
and a number of other mishaps. This is why I have an on-island agent whose job it is to be
there handling things when I cannot be.
Many of you are unclear where the AOAO should get involved in situations which occur like these in your
unit. The answer is…almost never. The responsibility of the AOAO is too handle problems which impact
either the common areas or the property as a whole. It is not the job of the AOAO to find a key for my guest
who left the keys at the beach. That is the job of my agent. It is not the job of the AOAO to clean up the
broken mirror in my unit or to make arrangements to replace it. That is the job of my agent. It is not the job of
the AOAO to be concerned when my unit does not get cleaned timely or the washer is broken or the screen
needs replacement. Again… my agent.
The only time the AOAO gets involved in something in an individual unit is when the situation could impact
more than one unit. And even then, it is only to do emergency first contact stuff. Most often the first contact on
water leaks or overflows will be the AOAO. The reason for this is so that water can be turned off, the overflow
stopped and the water extracted. Once the source of water is stopped and any standing water extracted the
AOAO steps out of the picture. The AOAO is not your agent. It is now your problem. You have to pay the bills
for the emergency service the same way you would pay for an ambulance ride to the hospital if you had an
accident. You have to determine needs and arrange and pay for all repairs. You have to deal with your own
insurance company and, if the leak/overflow from your unit caused damage in other units, you and your
insurance company have to handle and pay for all of that as well.
This is no different if it would have happened in your home residence. If a tree on your property fell onto your
neighbors house, you would not expect your homeowner association (if you had one) to get involved. You and
your insurance company would handle all of the issues. This is no different for your home here on Maui. As
you realize, since most of us live at least 2500 miles away across an ocean, we each need an agent who
understands their responsibility. If your agent does not do their job well, get a new one.
So, if you get a call from the AOAO office that a leak occurred in your unit, your response should not be,
“What are you going to do?” Your response should be “Thank you for letting me know. I will contact my agent
and my insurance company.”
Please do not wait until you have a problem to understand the rules of the Association and your responsibility
to have an on-island agent; to properly insure your unit; and to handle your own unit problems. Do it now.
You can get information easily by reading your By-laws and House Rules and by keeping abreast of changes
via the monthly property updates and the quarterly newsletters.
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On September 25th, a bid conference was held to start the process to select a contractor to
install 10 Double Check Detector Assemblies to our fire hydrant system. Seven contractors
attended the conference including Doug Gomes, from Engineering Dynamics, who designed the plan
blueprints. Each contractor attending the meeting was given an RFP and a set of plans. A walk around to
inspect each installation site followed after the Q & A session. Proposals received will be sent to a review
committee for recommendations.
Allen’s Plumbing identified 4 deteriorated nipple connections at two dry stand stations that were causing the
leak. Investigating the leak took 1 ½ days. The AOAO will now seek proposals for the final repair.
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Internet Project: We have a new Internet Service signed agreement with Oceanic Time Warner. This 3-phase
contract includes installation of fiber optic lines replacing the old coax cables to each building on the property.
A fiber optic network provides higher data throughput and service reliability/quality to support multiple users
in a unit that may have simultaneous usage of iPads, smart phones, Netflix streaming video, digital TV, etc.
The second phase is that Oceanic will install their modem/Wi-Fi device, the Motorola SBG6580 SURFboard,
into all 440 units and configure each device per the wireless guidelines established a few years ago. The main
reason for this wireless configuration setup is that there are only 11 Wi-Fi frequency channels that have to be
reused in a 440 unit complex to minimize radio interference.
The final phase is to move from the current Hospitality account to a residential account for each unit which
will eliminate those pesky logons, splash screens, 24 hr inactivity, and provide up to 10 Mbps download
speeds. The project build plan, shown below, indicates 18 weeks from start-to-finish or an estimated
completion date sometime in January 2013.
Kamaole Sands Internet Project Schedule 1 Design Completed Materials ordered Contractor selection CO Permits submitted Build‐out schedule approved CO Permits approved Materials arrive Distribution Fiber installed Fiber splicing Fiber activation and test Modem/Wi‐Fi unit install 2 4 5 6 7 8
WEEKS 9 10 11 12
13
14 15 16
17
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We are very excited with the use of fiber optic technology to meet the growing demands on broadband services
for our property. We will update you as the installation schedule is confirmed. We will be one of the very few
resort properties on Maui with a fiber optic network!
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