June Manager's Notes

These notes elaborate on the manager's report presented to the Board at their meeting May 29th. You also will find a summary in the minutes.

Although we had heavy snows in December and early January the balance of the snow season did not require excessive snow removal costs. Because of that we were able to report that our snow removal costs were under budget for the season.

The buckets of sand provided for owners and guests of the Phase III units for ice control on their steps worked well. We replaced sand on a regular basis. A few units (ones that received no usage at all during the winter) experienced ice build-up on the steps which became difficult for the snow removal crew to handle. We are considering what we can do in the future to prevent ice build-up at the entrance of vacant units.

The decorative fence bordering the Wildflower II parking areas was originally installed in the early 1980's when the average car size was somewhat smaller than current standards. As cars grew larger and the fence aged, the restrictive clearance has resulted in more frequent damage to the fences. This is an on-going maintenance expense to the Association, but it is more cost effective than replacing the fence entirely. In a comprehensive landscape redesign, the Association might consider removing some sections of fence and replacing them with visually attractive features such as decorative boulders, earthen mounds or plantings.

"Ladder-fuel reduction" is an SROA policy that requires owners to remove certain trees, especially diseased ones, to reduce fire danger. SROA inspects all trees and marks those that are to be removed. Our Association complies with SROA policies, and has removed several trees over time, leaving stumps protruding a foot or so above ground. Last fall we contracted to have these stumps reduced to wood chips (stump grinding). This spring we have replaced the mounds of chips from this operation with soil, smoothed the mounds and reseeded them.

Another SROA policy concerns the use of exterior lighting. An excerpt from the SROA design manual states "All exterior lighting above 3 feet in height shall be completely shielded and the light rays directed downward. ...The objective is to eliminate glare and annoyance to adjacent property owners and passersby. Caution should be exercised when enclosing exterior lights with wood to prevent a possible fire hazard."

The wooden fixtures at the entry and back decks of our units have reached the end of their lifetime. On occasion incandescent bulbs with wattages higher than those approved for use have been installed in these fixtures. The excess heat from the bulbs causes charring of the interior of the wooden box, which constitutes a fire hazard. Attempts to enforce the consistent use of low-wattage bulbs have been unsuccessful, so it becomes necessary to replace the boxes. This project is underway. The new light boxes, although of similar design, provide better clearance between wood and light bulb, reducing the fire hazard. The limitation on wattage remains. Please use bulbs with wattages no greater than 60 watts in the new exterior light boxes. The original light boxes are restricted to 25W bulbs.

The responsibility to clean chimneys is another required fire-prevention measure. Under Wildflower II's By-laws this is an owner's responsibility, not the Association's. However, because of the common fire hazard, the Association undertakes the responsibility to ensure that it is done. Rental property managers(such as Sunriver Resort) contract to have chimneys cleaned as part of their property management responsibility. I work with rental property managers to determine which chimneys are cleaned by rental property managers. For the remaining few Wildflower II units whose chimneys are not cleaned under such contracts, the Association will contract to have the cleaning performed and the cost billed back to the owner. If an owner prefers to arrange for this service himself, please contact me.