Amenity Center Update
We have seen many of you ask. So, what is going on with the Amenity Center? Why has it been closed for most of the year? Why is there no office onsite right now?
First, the Amenity Center was significantly damaged during the winter storm this year. One of the cast iron fire suppression system pipes burst and flooded the facility with many inches of water. Damage control teams removed all the impacted sheet rock throughout the facility. The center is quite literally a shell of what it once was. The delays in repair dealt mainly with the insurance claim. The HOA suffered more than $400,000 in damaged facilities and irrigation pipes throughout the entire HOA. We have been in a back-and-forth dialog with the insurance company who would ask for additional backup and we would provide. We have finally received the first of the insurance payments. That will kick off the reconstruction of our Amenity Center. That begins now.
Our first priority is to repair the office. This will allow us to get FirstService Residential management back on site and resume normal operations. We are just beginning this reconstruction phase. This will take several weeks. We ask for patience as we get the reconstruction of the office underway. We are making every effort to get this completed quickly. We will announce the office reopening soon!
We are going to take the opportunity this reconstruction has given us to make some much needed improvements. We will spend $17,500 to update the air conditioning unit, the windows and additional improvements to make the offices more energy efficient. Those that follow the board meetings know that we focus heavily on our electrical expense month to month this time of year. The old air conditioner ran constantly and never adequately cooled the offices. It was over 15 years old. These improvements will pay the HOA back in energy savings.
To clarify further, the insurance claim brings the Amenity Center office up to pre-storm status. It repairs the sheet rock and contributes toward replacement of flooring and other damaged items. The additional $17,500 will be to improve the energy efficiency above pre-storm standards. It will also begin to update the appearance of the facility. The money will come from our adequate reserves.
In future updates in the coming weeks, we will focus on what is instore for the Great Room at the Amenity Center. There are some exciting things being discussed. We are looking to up the amenities to the level of our neighboring HOA’s and provide some additional benefits to you here in VOWS. The plans are still being discussed and finalized. We will update you once we have definitive plans.
Chad Pack
Treasurer, Board of Directors
