President’s Report
KKN Board Meeting
Bette Belanger
May 26, 2015
Plumbing
Over the past few months, our attention has been on the aging plumbing issues, and we have been learning a lot during that time. I appointed a committee consisting of Mark Wadlow (chair), Andy Tichner (board member), and Jeff Kern (owner), to investigate the situation at KKN. At first our focus was on replacing plumbing in the walls, but after hearing from experts on the topic, we started thinking about the plumbing below ground. Since we have not been experiencing as many breaks in pipes inside the walls as past years, we decided to investigate the underground plumbing.
We started with two buildings, #12 and #3, and had them cabled and scoped to determine their condition. We then reviewed the videos, and while the results show a lot of decalcification and some dips in the lines, they did not reveal any cracks, breaks or major problems. We then decided to use high pressure water jetting and scoping in building #8 and #13 to see which method was more effective. The cabling seems to have better results. We are also replacing, or adding new cleanouts at the ends of each building. We are nearly through the process and have learned a lot about the condition of our plumbing with each building.
The good news is that we now know that our underground plumbing is in much better condition than first thought and does not require immediate action. However, we do need to be planning ahead to either replace the plumbing or use a less invasive technique called “pipe lining.” Once we have completing the cabling and scoping all of the buildings the committee will have information necessary to decide how best to proceed.
I am very grateful to the committee, and particularly Jeff Kern, in coming up with a well thought out and systematic approach to examining our sewer lines. Had we gone with the recommendations of the contractor who gave us a very scary presentation at our annual meeting, we could be in the middle of a major project costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yes, it will still be costly, but I feel fairly confident that we can buy some time and begin putting money into our reserves for replacing the sewer lines over the next several years.
Pool Restoration
Our pool is looking beautiful after having it re-lined, and the caulking replaced. We will be replacing the fencing around the pool and putting in new gates with combination locks.
Lot 1-A Development
We have always known that there was a possibility that Lot 1-A, at the rear of our property, would be developed and now it looks that it might happen. As you may be aware, Lot 1-A has access as well as easement through Kihei Kai Nani. If their SMA (Special Management Area) permit is approved by the county they will be able to use our driveway to accesses their property.
While I want to thank those owners who wrote letters to the Maui planning department regarding the impact this development will have on our property, I was a little disappointed to learn at the planning commission hearing that only 25 letters were received from KKN owners. I would have expected a better response for such an important issue.
Landscaping
Landscape upgrades have been completed at the front of buildings 1 & 2 with a hedge of El Dorado and purple ground cover. Crotons have been planet at the ends where the sidewalks meet the driveway. The large monkey pod tree behind the pavilion had to be removed because the roots were growing into and breaking up the parking lot pavement next door. The fence has been repaired and Oleander has been planted.
Unfortunately, it was also necessary to remove the large Traveler Palm alongside building #8 during ground excavation to locate the underground plumbing. We had hoped to save the tree but found the root ball was huge and roots were tightly wrapped around the water and sewer pipes. There was no choice but to cut them out.
PV Panels
I am very pleased to report that our PV panels have been operating for over six months now, and we have a pretty good idea of our average cost per month which is about $187. Our high season coincides with low sunlight months and our kwh usage topped at 906, while usage for the month of April was just 7 kwh. The savings each month on our electric bill along with the rental income from our manager’s unit is almost exactly the amount of our loan payment.
Aloha,
Bette Belanger