The Morning After

Our Annual General Meeting was held last night overseen by an outside Chairperson.  We zipped though the Agenda very quickly as members were unusually conciliatory approving everything in sight. The auditor presented the Financial Statements ended March 31, 2012.  Our vacancy loss was $42,584. down from $62,515.  Bad debts increased from $26,014. to $32,607.  Windows were replaced in 2 units in Phase I in the amount of $6,576.  These were Directors units and remained unidentified in the Auditor's report.  Our Replacement Reserves are $161,137, which the Auditor stated is raising concerns with CMHC as this amount is completely inadequate for the age, size and upkeep of our co-op.  

The Property Manager presented her report, indicating that there are no vacant units and that the Board of Directors did a splendid job of managing the co-op.  I cringe at the thought of the drug dealers alongside my unit being viewed with rose-coloured glasses, as I continue to pick up their discarded beer bottles, drug paraphernalia and garbage,  cars being dropped off with licence plates removed, tires being tossed into our gravel pit (a.k.a. our previously landscaped berm), the signing of a 3-year snow removal contract, most likely with the same company, which has had no regard for our landscaping in the past.

Six Directors were elected, two of them will now have been on the Board for four years.  I was elected to be a CHASEO/CHF delegate as I was deemed capable for my reporting abilities.

There's one more thing which I would like comment on.  I raised an issue after the Property Manager gave her report and that was the state of the common areas.  I described how shocking it is to see grass and weeds four feet high with our architect's beautiful landscaping buried deeply underneath.  The Chairperson quickly told me that this was not the place to talk about it - that it could wait for another time.  It can't wait, so I'm going to talk about it now.

There is a level one drought in the City of Ottawa.  If someone were to toss a cigarette into the parched grass, the flames would spread to the nearby co-op wooden fences, then on to the sheds and then quite possibly up to the roofs.  The units are in rows in a courtyard formation.  The results of a fire could be catastrophic.  Our insurance company would deem this to be co-op negligence, CMHC guarantees the mortgage on our co-op, they too would be alarmed, as well as fire prevention officers.  In addition to un-mowed common areas, members have similar hay fields in their back yards.  The co-op owns one gas mower.  A mower could not cut this height of grass, a weed eater must first be employed.  If members do not cut the common areas, or their back yards, the co-op must pay to have this work done.  There is no choice.

Visually, we could be a pretend condo development if there was some pride as to the co-op's upkeep.