The pictures you see above are views from Wildflower units looking onto the Meadows Golf Course, now under nearly two feet of snow. These are graphic reminders that your board is facing several difficult decisions with the upcoming roof replacement project. We will use this month's newsletter to outline the situation for you.

Our association comprises 48 units (24 buildings). 34 of those units (17 buildings) comprise the Phase II design, the remaining 14 units (7 buildings) are of the modified Phase III design. The Phase II design was changed when it became evident that the sunken deck, along with an adjacent flat portion of roof, does not stand up well to the severity of Sunriver winter weather.

The flat roof allows rain water and snow melt to collect adjacent to the chimney where leaks develop in conjunction with the porous lava rock of the chimney. Leaks also develop around skylights. Inadequate drainage from the sunken deck allows ice dams to form, then melted water backs up resulting in leaks beneath the deck. Historically, a significant portion of your Association's maintenance funds have been used to address these problems. Read the Association Meeting minutes in the archives for further information.

The Phase III redesign eliminated these problematic elements, substituting a simple sloped roof. Thus, until now, Phase III owners have reported only occasional minor roof leaks. Recently some Phase III owners have reported leads through the upper sliding patio doors; however, this is a different problem.

The shake roofs of all 48 units are at the end of their life cycle, and now need replacement. The material of choice is to be a dark-brown metal, similar to that used in the Cluster Cabin reroof project. Two computer simulations of how this will look, one for Phase II and one for Phase III have been prepared for your information. Concurrent with the shake roof replacement, the "flat roof" portion of the Phase II units must be rebuilt with a slight slope, and a hot patch roof applied.

We are about to complete an indepth review of our Association accounts, with the professional assistance of Harringan, Patrick, Price and Co.  This is the accounting firm we are using for the audit of our accounts.  Furthermore, the Board is currently contracting with an inspector for a professional estimate of the remaining life of our shake roofs. Even before the reports of these professionals are complete, it is evident that we face a special assessment of the membership to fund our reroofing project. This is likely to occur within a year.

As the Board studies the timing and amount of a special assessment, they also are studying the possibility of an amendment to the by-laws which might allow us to redefine the Phase II sunken decks as "limited common elements" shared only among Phase II unit owners.

These are decisions which impact each of us; many of you have individual concerns, questions and preferences that you will want to communicate to the Board. The Board earnestly solicits your ideas and constructive comments and asks that you forward your comments either to our president, Ray Cook, or our association manager, Mel Nunn, either by phone, fax, mail or e-mail. In so far as is possible, the Board is committed to crafting a maintenance and capital replacement plan that accomodates owners' preferences. However, ultimately, it is the responsibility of the board to maintain the common elements to meet or exceed minimum industry standards, assessing each owner for his or her share of the associated costs.

In closing, I, Ruth Jenkins, your humble reporter and webmistress, would like to take this opportunity to thank each of our Board members and our Manager, Mel Nunn, for their hours of time, working to find solutions that are acceptable to us all. These are complicated problems. Among us 48 unit owners I believe there must be at least 75 distinct opinions. To chart a course though such a mine field is a act of courage and real leadership.