From the President…

A very wet December has arrived and the days are reaching the least amount of daylight we see during the year. The holiday shoppers are out in force making traveling on the highways a slow process. I went to Factoria the other day and found it difficult to find a parking space and when I did find one I got very wet trying to get back to my car because of the rain and the distance I had to park from the buildings. Maybe I should start ordering more online?
You’ve received the 2013 budget information from EMB (our Property Management Company) and we hope to see you at the December meeting on the 19th to ask questions and then ratify the budget. You will see we raised the dues by 2%; this is the first increase since May of 2007; we’ve done our best not to do this, but we’ve squeezed the items in the budget as tight as we should. We do have a few things to do next year that we will have to dip into the Reserve Account, but the Operating Budget is for our monthly bills, service contracts and unexpected repairs.
And please put on your calendars January 23, 2013 for our Annual Meeting for the election of Board Members and very important information will be shared!! One of those things that we will be sharing is we should be up and running with “new” satellite dishes for those of you that may what that as an option to cable.
Hopefully you’ve gotten the chance to say hello to David Metz our new Facility Coordinator if not stop by and introduce yourself. I personally believe he’s off to very good start providing us with a constant watch over the property, meeting with the vendors when they are here, cleaning garages, hallways, elevators, sidewalks, fitness center and so on. He is still very much in learning mode, but he certainly is eager and willing to take on any and all tasks.
We still have not received all the information on the Special Assessment; we have the information on the amount for each unit, but what we are missing is the breakdown of payments for each unit. EMB Finance has put a lot of work into this to be able to provide us with the three payment options.
I recently received a complaint from one of our owners regarding a dog they encountered in the hallway without a leash; this was quite disturbing to this owner. So please be reminded of the rule that dogs must be on a leash at all times while on ParTerra property (yes this is coming from the person who violated this rule back when Chloe was part of my family). One other rule that needs attention from many of us is the patio and decks of our units. The rule states patio furniture, flower pots and up to two bicycles may be stored, but many of us have many other items that do not fall within the rules. So when you’re cleaning up after the holidays please add this to your list to avoid a “nasty note” and especially potential fines for non-compliance.
The golf report is a short one this month only three muddy rounds played since the last report, but believe me on a day it isn’t reported to rain I will be out there enjoying every minute.
In closing I will wish each and everyone of you a happy holiday season and that you will be safe and enjoy your families and have some fun along the way too. So our best from Pauly and I to you and yours!!
Thanks for listening!
Ken Schoolcraft