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Newsletter |
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| Volume 2, Issue 1 -- Winter 2001 |
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FROM THE MANAGER’S DESK
Although almost 7000 miles from ground zero, Hawaii immediately felt the effects of September 11 .
In the two weeks following, Lahaina looked and felt like a ghost town. Reports of hotel occupancy dipping into the teens were everywhere. Retailers already struggling were announcing closings. Unemployment numbers became front-page news. Everyone seemed in a state of shock.
Slowly Hawaii is beginning to see some return in the visitor count. Mainland traffic is now about 80% of last year. Japanese visitors have been much slower to return. One thing seems certain…things will never be quite the same as they were on September 10.
I hope this finds all of you and your families safe and in good health.
Aloha from sunny Maui, Jim.
On with the news.
BOARD MEETING
At the recent Board of Directors Meeting held at The Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas a new operating budget was approved which included a 4% increase in your association fees beginning 12/1/01.
If you look closely at the $28 monthly increase you will see that only about $7 goes toward monthly operating costs. This due mostly to the increased cost of insurance, higher cable TV fees and the increasing cost for outside security. Cost control efforts during the year have gone a long way in holding back our monthly expenses.
The lion’s share, or about 75% of this years increase goes directly toward reserve funding. Mostly due to new funding to deal with the rubber tree issues and adjustments in previous funding to allow for the increasing costs of reserve components such as cooling towers, pool heaters, telephone equipment, etc. etc.
A copy of the new budget and the reserve projection was mailed to all owners in early November along with payment coupons.
The next Board Meeting will be held Friday, 1/11/02. The annual Owners Meeting will be held Saturday 1/12/02, followed by an Owners party that evening. I hope you can all attend.
DENGUE FEVER
Following a CNN announcement about a dengue fever outbreak on Maui I received a slew of calls from concerned owners.
One popular story talks of students from Hana that visited Tahiti, some returning with dengue symptoms. Indeed the outbreak on Maui seemed to have started on the Hana side, but I’m not certain anyone ever confirmed the rest of that story. To date there have been about 60 confirmed cases on Maui, mostly from the east side of the island.
Dengue is a disease transmitted to humans by a particular type of mosquito that feeds during daylight hours. At the onset it produces severe flu like symptoms. A slight remission and then a return of fever and rash often follow this. Recovery could take weeks, and death occurs in a very small percentage of cases.
Control of the disease includes reduction and control of the mosquito and the use of repellant.
Here at the Kaanapali Royal we cleaned and flushed all gutters and corrected those areas where mosquitoes breed. The recent irrigation retrofit had already significantly reduced our local mosquito population. All residents should inspect their immediate surroundings and report any possible breeding areas.
HOUSE RULES CHANGES
At the recent meeting your Board of Directors authorized some content and language modification to the House Rules.
One new rule requires car covers on stored vehicles to be marked with a parking code for identification. Unless we hear differently from a concerned owner, our maintenance staff will begin marking these covers in January.
A copy of the current House Rules is included with this mailing.
KEKAA DRIVE PROJECT UPDATE
By now most everyone is aware of the proposed construction project along Kekaa Drive between the KR and the ocean…no, this hasn’t gone away yet!
In spite of numerous complaints this project moved through the Planning Department and is now in front of the Land Use Committee.
Concerned citizens will have another opportunity to have their voices heard when the Council meets on site February 25, 2002 at 1:30pm… Please mark your calendars!
Many thanks to Larry Kerr (E101) for keeping the pressure on "city hall". Please contact Larry or myself with any questions about this project.
THE FAIRWAY SHOPS
I recently spoke to Eric Smith, the leasing agent for the new strip center just north of us. Eric states that the project is about three weeks from completion, and the first shop will probably open late January.
Smith stated that Whalers Realty, a gift shop called "Maui Treasures", and a dive shop are scheduled tenants. They are currently in negotiations with two restaurants for the location on the south end. Other lease discussions were complicated by the events of Sept 11.
OFF ISLAND BOARD MEETINGS
Recently I had a conversation with an owner who expressed a bit of a gripe about Board of Directors Meetings held off island. "Why should homeowners pay for trips to exotic places and provide expensive dinners and $100 bottles of wine for Board Members that have volunteered their services"?
It was clear from that question that some confusion exists about these meetings. Let’s examine this issue.
Our Board of Directors usually meets three times each year…January, April and October. Our by-laws allow reimbursement to board members "in order to encourage owners to participate on the Board of Directors…". This reimbursement includes economy air transportation to and from a director’s residence plus a per diem allowance of $200 for a maximum of two days. I can state for certain that after parking fees, taxis or rental cars, lodging, meals and tips, $200 is long gone…forget about that wine! Further, what many owners may not know is that some directors often do not submit for repayment!
Why are meetings held off island? Our by-laws allow the Board of Directors to select the time and location of meetings. Board members generally try to select a location of interest as central to the group as possible so as to encourage full attendance and not force the burden of distance to some over others. Now this may not seem convenient for homeowner’s attendance, but then our April meeting held on property was only attended by four homeowners.
Some of us will be OK with this, and some will not…and that’s OK too. Members of the Board of Directors are all homeowners that share the concerns we all do, but are willing to give extra time and constructive energy to those concerns. New thoughts, ideas, and attitudes are always welcome and encouraged. There are three seats up for re-election this year… maybe it’s time to get involved.
Aloha.
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