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Subject: Re: Information about Hamilton Cove Salt water pump.
Date: January 31, 2023 at 4:58 PM
To: georgesandpatricia@mac.com
Cc: bart@hamiltoncove.com, curtin467@gmail.com, hamiltoncoveassoc@sbcglobal.net, mike@pacificwestcontrols.com,
rkirschner@lacourt.org
Patricia,
HC was developed as a common interest development sometimes referred
to as a condominium project. Developers began the process in the 1970s.
They had to have approvals from the City and the Coastal Commission.
The City approved a Tract Map with many conditions—Tract No. 69836
(Copy Attached). The City and the Coastal Commission working together
issued a Coastal Development Permit. The City and the Coastal
Commission extracted a steep price. The developers had to do the
following:
· Build the 9,000,000 gallon Wrigley Reservoir
· Build and turn over a desalination plant to Edison
· Build affordable housing
· Provide a public pier and public rest rooms in the beach area
· Provide public access to the beach area
· Build all of the streets as private streets
· Build a private sewer system
· Build a private saltwater system for flushing toliets.
Because of the many developers and bankruptcies, the title to HC was a
mess. It took me six years to clean up the title so that the Association could
buy the project in 2010.
HC is one lot—Lot 1 of Tract No. 69836. Attached is a copy of the Title
Report. It reflects all of the agreements effecting HC including agreements
with the City and the Coastal Commission. .
The only public utilities serving HC are provided by Edison, electricity
and water. There is no single agreement between HC and Edison. The Title
Report reflects the agreements and easements with Edison.
The Title Report reflects the fact that the roads, the sewer system and the
saltwater system are private in Items 22-24.
The streets, the sewer system and the saltwater system are the
responsibility of the Association. The City has no obligation to maintain
responsibility of the Association. The City has no obligation to maintain
any of them. HC is a typical condominium development. The
infrastructure within the development is private.
One unusual aspect of HC is that the road from the Gate to the Casino is
private as is the sewer line from HC to the connection with the public
sewer near the California Yacht Club. The road and sewer are owned by
the Santa Catalina Island Company. We have an easement to use the road
and sewer and a responsibility to contribute to their maintenance.
Copies of the documents reflected in the Title Report can be obtained from
a title company.
Norris
—–Original Message—–
From: Patricia McCormick
To: Norris J Bishton Jr
Sent: Mon, Jan 30, 2023 12:39 pm
Subject: Information about Hamilton Cove Salt water pump.
Dear Norris,
Some of us homeowners have been discussing maintenance and repair issues.
We are wondering why our maintenance crew is responsible to what would
normally be a public utilities project. Could you please summarise the history
regarding this topic? Where might I find the agreement with the city or Edison?
This might help us better understand the problem. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Patricia McCormick
From: Norris Bishton sirron1801@aol.com
Subject: Meeting Request
Date: January 30, 2023 at 3:44 PM
To: georgesandpatricia@mac.com
Cc: bart@hamiltoncove.com, curtin467@gmail.com, hamiltoncoveassoc@sbcglobal.net, mike@pacificwestcontrols.com,
rkirschner@lacourt.org, m123n70@yahoo.com
Patricia,
You requested to meet with our Facilities Manager concerning “his list of
priorities.” First of all, the Facilities Manager does not meet with
individual Owners to discuss his responsibilities. That is the responsibility
of the Board and my responsibility as President. Secondly, the Facilities
Manager does not have a list of priorities. The Association maintains a list
of all repair requests and deals with them according to priorities
established by the Board and implemented by Martin Curtin and me. The
priorities are as follows:
a) Anything involving safety or an event causing immediate harm
affecting the functioning of the Association. In this category is included
the fire alarm system, the saltwater system and the sewer system. Of late
the Staff has been overwhelmed with problems in this category. Currently
we are fighting a freshwater leak somewhere in a lateral from a main line
to or under a building. Edison is responsible for the main lines in the street.
We are responsible for the laterals.
b) Damage in individual Units that is the responsibility of the
Association, principally leaks, generally in the order reported subject to the
availability of manpower and materials. Since the outset of the pandemic
hiring people who can do maintenance has been a real challenge. I have
serious leaks in two of my Units that date back to 2021. The Staff has been
unable to get to them. The recent rain caused extensive damage in one
Unit.
Leaks are an ongoing problem that is never going to be totally solved.
There are detailed provisions is the Rules regarding leaks and their repairs:
WATER LEAKS EMANATING FROM A SOURCE OUTSIDE A UNIT
1. As a result of the nature and construction of the buildings at
Hamilton Cove and their location, from time to time leaks
occur causing damage within a Unit. Rain, particularly heavy
rain and wind, and rain after a long period of draught, results
in water leaking into a Unit. In addition, from time to time a
pipe, valve or a part of the fire sprinkler system may fail,
pipe, valve or a part of the fire sprinkler system may fail,
leaking water into a Unit. All such leaks are the responsibility
of the Association. Water damage caused by rain due to the
fact a window or door was left open or because of an
unapproved alteration of a building are the responsibility of
the Owner.
2. Leaks that are the responsibility of the Association are
random. Often times it is not readily apparent where a leak
originated. All Owners are required to cooperate with
Association employees in their efforts to trace leaks and to
repair damage caused by leaks.
3. It is not unusual for rain to result in multiple leaks
throughout the project. Leaks are repaired in accordance with
the following guideline priorities:
a) Major damage such as roof damage, broken windows etc.
b) Leaks that will result in more major damage if
additional rain occurs;
c) Leaks and damage in Units occupied full time;
d) Leaks and major damage in Units used for Short
Term Renting;
e) Leaks and major damage in Units not occupied full
time or used for Short Term Renting;
f) Leaks that have caused minor damage.
These are guidelines and not strict rules because repairs
depend upon the availability of materials and personnel,
whether staff or outside contractors, to do the repairs. Storms
that cause damage at Hamilton Cove cause damage
throughout Avalon and Catalina Island. Outside contractors
are often not available. Generally, hiring contractors for the
mainland is cost prohibited.
4. When leaks cause damage to the contents of a Unit, the
following procedure will be followed:
a) The Facilities Manager will meet with the Owner or
the Owner’s Representative to survey the damage and develop
a repair or replacement plan. The plan will be submitted to the
President and to the Board of Directors depending upon the
cost of implementing the plan.
b) If there is disagreement as to the plan, the matter
will be submitted to the President and, if necessary, to the
Board of Directors to reach a resolution. If no resolution is
reached, the Owner may proceed in accordance with the
Internal Dispute Resolution and Alternative Dispute
Resolution provisions contained in these Rules.
5. Some Owners operate a business out of their Units or use
their Units for Short Term Renting. The Association is not
responsible for any loss of income as a result of a water leak
emanating outside of a Unit. An Owner operating a business
out of his or her Unit or using the Unit for Short Term Renting
can obtain a loss of income endorsement to his or her HO6
Policy which all Owners are required to maintain pursuant to
General Rule 22. It would be unequitable to charge Owners
who do not operate a business out of the unit or who do not
engage in Short Term Renting for the loss of income by those
who do so.
Norris
February 7 , Zoom meeting at 5pm
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79954649143?pwd=KVogAkHAk0BQ0PwvzVWIo2U8Mgl44E.1
Feb 7, Maintenance Zoom meeting summary:
Main topics:
Contact all owners and invite them to become available for voting on HOA matters and discussion of topics by signing up on COR.
Making a list of maintenance issues by taking pictures of problem areas at Hamilton Cove.
Have meetings every two weeks to encourage owners interaction and expand the group.
Divide zoom meetings into specific topics to avoid overcrowding.
We can create additional Blogs on COR to reflect the topics that are discussed on zoom meetings.
February 6 letter from Norris Bishton in response for a request for maintenance requests:
Patricia,
Maria maintains a list of all service requests. It reflects not only requests from Owners but also reports from employees. Recently we converted from a spreadsheet to software that allows us to maintain additional information regarding problems that need to be resolved. Martin Curtin and I work with Manny dealing with the items on the list, particularly with questions of solutions and priority. I previously explained to you the priorities we use.
We began the year with 68 items on the list. There are 50 items as of today. The recent rains were very destructive. Rain combined with high winds caused leaks in places that never leaked before. Of the 50 items on the list, 26 are leak related. I anticipate more rain damage being reported as Owners come to their Units for the first time since the rains. Leak repair is not simple. It includes trying to determine where the leak came from that caused the damage within the Unit.
The list is not available to Owners and Owners are not permitted to find some other remedy.
You seem oblivious to what is going on. Prior to the pandemic we had 24 employees, 21 full time and 3 part time. We had employees skilled in carpentry, plumbing, tiling and dry wall repair. Those days are gone.
Today we have 18 employees, 6 part time. We have lost the skilled employees we previously had who were hired away or left the Island because of housing issues. Moreover, we had to increase the compensation of the employees we retained as other employers on the Island hired away our employees. We have run ads in the Islander and continue to do so. They brought us a few applications and resulted in hiring one full time employee and one part time employee. Even if I was willing to blow up the budget which I am not, there is no one to hire nor any Island contractors with time and staff available to do repairs.
Another example of reality. There was one person on the Island who could repair washers and dryers. He left the Island. We are faced with replacing washers and dryers needing repair because it is cheaper than trying to bring someone from the mainland to repair them.
We have one person in the office, Maria. She can barely keep up with the essential part of her job dealing with financial and regulatory matters. The daily flow of calls and emails is overwhelming. She cannot provide status reports to individual Owners. It is hard to schedule repairs. We cannot just go into a Unit and replace drywall. It has to be scheduled to the Owner’s satisfaction. That is being accomplished.
We have had a series of meetings with the landscape company that does Descanso. One of the owners of the company came to HC to view the Project. We are awaiting a proposal. If we can afford it, this would free up some of our employees to do other things.
Every employer on the Island is looking for employees. We recommended to the Chamber of Commerce that it organize a job fair. We are exploring the possibility of bringing workmen from the mainland. Housing them is an issue.
We are open to suggestions. Involving a group of Owners in the day to day operation of the Association is not one of them.
Norris
This is the email string from a loan officer who I had asked to speak to the group:
I finally heard back from someone on our condo team. We don’t have anyone that can really speak to your group unfortunately. But they did give me some info regarding your project. It does look like the project is currently not Fannie Mae approved and considered a condotel. They don’t know the specific reason, but STR is a very good possibility because Fannie has really cracked down their stance on daily/transient rentals.
That doesn’t mean you can’t do a regular conventional loan, however. Conventional loans consist of both Fannie and Freddie. Freddie mac doesn’t have the same concern over STR as long as the HOA doesn’t have any other issues like deferred maintenance. Litigation, HOA budget, special assessment, etc. As of now, you should be fine unless Freddie Mac changes their stance also in the future on STR. That is probably why the HOA is sending out their warnings on the issue. If all else fails, there are also outside the box lending like portfolio type loans specifically for condotels with reasonable terms that are available.