PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
June 2021
Dear Fellow Homeowners,
When our last Annual Homeowner’s meeting was held January 25, 2020, we had no idea a pandemic would arrive in our world and disrupt our lives.
The state of Hawaii’s restrictions on gatherings and meetings forced the Board to cancel the Annual Homeowner’s Meeting for January 30, 2021. It was postponed to May 22, 2021, hoping restrictions would be lifted by then, but it didn’t happen, so it has had to be postponed again. The next Homeowner’s Meeting is now scheduled to be on January 29, 2022, when we hope all restrictions will be lifted, vaccinations completed and business returned to normal. (By law, a homeowner’s meeting cannot be held by proxies alone because homeowners have to make motions, approve minutes and vote for new Board members by secret ballot. Unfortunately, Hawaii law doesn’t allow Annual Meetings to be held remotely, and the condominium governing documents do not include provisions that would allow for virtual annual meetings or electronic voting over the internet.)
On March 13, 2020, the State of Hawaii went on lockdown; most of the tourists left the state by March 31. The roads emptied, the beaches closed, and all businesses came to a standstill except the grocery stores and pharmacies. Our complex was empty except for the permanent residents and employees. The Coronavirus pandemic changed our lives at Kihei Kai Nani, but it also gave us an opportunity to make huge improvements to our property. In spite of the pandemic, the Kihei Kai Nani Board accomplished a great deal.
Replacing the Office/Laundry Roof:
At the January 2020 Homeowner’s Meeting, Director Jeff Kern displayed plans for the replacement of the office/laundry room roof because of severe termite damage. The Board had been working on these plans since 2016, and with an architect’s advice, we had finally settled on a design. Our Bylaws state, that by Amendment, we need 67 % of the homeowners to approve any change to a building in our complex, so just before the pandemic lockdown, the Board of Directors voted to send owners two Amendments for their approval: The office/laundry room roof replacement change, which included the addition of solar, and a restated
Declaration. Response from owners was slow since DMI was closed, and owners thought they were not accepting mail. By our scheduled May Board meeting we had not reached 67% approval, so we postponed the May meeting until June. At the June 24th Board Meeting, we had 69.68% of the owners approving the change to the office/laundry room roof and 74.24% approving the change in the Declaration Amendment. Now the Board could proceed with construction.
While waiting for the homeowners’ approval, the contractor we had lined up, decided he could not work on the roof because of the pandemic. June was also the beginning of hurricane season and one was coming our way. We all hoped that no additional problems would interfere with the roof replacement!
Since construction workers were deemed essential workers, the Board began search for another contractor. By August we had found one; permits were obtained and construction finally was begun on August 15th. The laundry equipment was transferred to a storage container, a refuse box was delivered, and the office was moved to my condo to save money, since a portable office wouldn’t need to be rented. (Additional photos of the construction at our website: kknaoao.com.)
Construction work was finally completed on November 15th, 2020. In addition to a brand new roof, the interior of the building was completely renovated, with new floor coverings, new paint colors and new room conversions to make the inside more efficient. Since we were moving to solar energy, during the remodel the Board eliminated the gas dryers in the laundry room, and converted to all electric equipment. Two large electric dryers were purchased to replace the large gas dryers. This necessitated upgrading the transformer.
Due to the pandemic, Hawaiian Electric (HECO) has been VERY slow in scheduling the transformer conversion. We have been waiting since last November! As per their inspections and new rules, we were required to build a retaining block box for the new transformer and change the electrical boxes at buildings 5 and 6 because of rust problems. No other work can proceed since the area must be left open to accommodate the HECO equipment needed to bring in the transformer. As soon as it is converted, we will be able to finish the project,”turn on” the solar and replace the landscaping with a newly designed plan from Island Plant.
New Sidewalks and Driveway Renovations:
While the complex was empty, we took the opportunity to replace the sidewalk between buildings 3 and 4, which serves 26 units. The replacement of this walkway had been planned for many years. In the past, small cement pieces had been added on several sides to widen the walkway so the garbage container could be brought to the driveway to be emptied. Then about 5 years ago, new water lines were replaced at buildings 3 and 4, and the plumbing company cut through the walkway of each unit cluster. All these cuts and cement sections caused a tripping liability hazard that needed to be eliminated.
In December, 2020, while most of the units were still empty and prior to reopening for tourists, we replaced the badly damaged curb and blacktop in the portion of the circle drive that was located on Lot IA, which is now our property. At the same time, the Board contracted with the paving company to fill the cracks and repair the damaged spots on the driveway. After all the work was done a sealcoat was applied to the whole driveway to extend its life. Finally, the parking space stripes were repainted in time for the January rush of visitors.
Ongoing Projects at Kihei Kai Nani
Transformer Boxes:
The electrical wiring for our condos is underground; transformer boxes supply electricity to each condo from them. One night this past March, a transformer shorted out between buildings 11 and 12. Because it was an emergency, Hawaiian Electric came out right away and replaced it in about 6 hours. While they were on property we informed them that another transformer box between buildings 7 and 8 was leaking oil and needed replacement before another short occurred. On May 24, 2021, Hawaiian Electric returned and changed the transformer box. It was not an easy task!
Electrical capacity and equipment upgrade boxes: During our recent Board Meeting Walk Around, we checked the electrical capacity boxes to each building that Hawaiian Electric requested we change before the transformer can be installed for buildings 5 and 6 and the laundry room. On inspection we discovered many of the boxes need replacing because the containers are rusting out due to age and moisture. When Hawaiian Electric finally changed the boxes at buildings 5 and 6, they informed us that our block surrounds, that hide the boxes and the electric meters, were too narrow. The current code requires them to be 6″ wider. The Board added this item to the Reserves Budget, as other block surrounds are also deteriorating from irrigation exposure and need to be removed. Plants will be used to hide the meters and electrical equipment in the future, as removals take place.
Landscaping:
On the Monday prior to the Board meeting, we schedule a Landscaping Meeting so owners can discuss items needing attention. Our condo complex has over 5 acres of landscaping and large trees. One of our biggest ongoing landscaping projects is the pruning of the large trees. We have to make sure the branches do not extend onto the mansards, which could cause damage to them or to the walking decks. (Many years ago, pruning was not done properly, and we lost 5 large trees, which fell over during the night. We were lucky they did not damage any buildings, and no one was hurt. When this occurred, we did have to replace the badly dented sidewalk rails.)
Walking Deck Repairs:
The walking decks in our buildings are limited common elements; the units adjacent to the walking decks have use of them. The Association is responsible for repairing and replacing all walking deck surfaces, which also serve as the roofto the four condos below. To do this, the contractor has to remove the old deck covering, prep the newly exposed concrete, and fill the low areas for drainage. The large walking decks had been built with only two downspouts for drainage. When the walking decks are recoated with a new surface and repaired, two additional copper scuppers with downspouts are added to increase the drainage capacity. The walking deck adjacent to unit 321, in building 4, is being repaired now. Our next project will be to replace the walking deck surface adjacent to unit 372, in building 9, since it was discovered that when it rains, one of the two original scupper’s leaked and is causing damage to the wall in unit 271.
Future Projects
Building 1:
We will be replacing portions of the sidewalk in back of building 1 that have become very rough and pose a tripping hazard.
Parking Additions:
Kihei Kai Nani has very limited parking for guests. During high season it has been a major problem. We plan to reclaim parking spaces by relocating the bicycle storage and the charging station for the carts at building 10 to the car wash location. We will remove the block surround that was once a garbage storage area and fill in the area to grade. We will also move the green waste container from buildings 9 and 10 parking areas to the car wash location to add an additional two parking spaces. The car wash space may be moved slightly to accommodate the changes.
Annual Homeowners Meeting January 29, 2022:
The next Annual Homeowners Meeting is now scheduled to be on January 29, 2022. Because of the pandemic restrictions we missed the 2021 Annual Homeowners Meeting. At that meeting we were supposed to elect two Board members. In 2022, two more board members will cycle off, so we will have at least 4 Board members that will need to be elected for new terms. After the October 6 Board Meeting, DMI will be sending out the Proxies, as well as Resume applications for any owner interested in serving on the Board.
After this past horrendous year of lock downs and isolation, we hope to see all homeowners at the Annual Homeowners Meeting next January! Aloha,