Image Up Advertising & Design

Ocean Hills CC Living November 2021

Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/1420640

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 4 of 51

| OHCC LIVING | NOVEMBER 2021 | 3 President's Message By Greg Kusiak, President (2020-2021), Board of Directors We are now in the middle of autumn, my very favorite season. In the Midwest of my youth, I fondly remember walking to football games on crisp, sunny days with my feet shuffling through the brightly colored leaves. (Selective memory is a wonderful thing, isn't it? As a matter of fact, many of those days were wet and blustery, but it's the beautiful ones which I recall.) As a multi-decade resident of southern California, my appreciation for autumn has continued. The warm days, cool nights and near-flawless weather are a great combination which are the envy of most of the world. Of course they also signal the approach of my most favorite day of the year, the winter solstice, after which each succeeding day is longer than the previous one for a full six months. Our little community has shown the warmth of its character during this pandemic. While we had always been neighborly, our empathy grew, and our common plight knit us more closely together. Trips to the grocery store were shared or delegated, takeout orders were consolidated to support our local restaurants, conversations from driveway to driveway increased as we checked on each other and we even had organized dancing in the streets—properly physically separated, of course. Nature's sense of balance also brought us divisiveness as "social distancing" and mask-wearing led to conflicts, often (sadly) along political lines drawn during the recent highly contentious presidential election campaigns. I remain optimistic that, like selective memories, we will continue the good things and allow the unpleasantries to fade. San Diego County continues to fare much better than the rest of the state and nation in the pandemic according to official reports through Oct. 13. Over 90 percent of our residents 50 - 69 are now vaccinated, and over 96 percent of those 65 and over. The Delta surge has largely abated, although the Delta variant remains the dominant strain of the virus. Cases have been on the decline since before Labor Day and are approaching the lowest level since the first half of 2020. Fortunately, between treatment improvements and vaccines, deaths are at about their lowest level since the pandemic began. We dare to hope that lifting of the more severe remaining restrictions are just around the next corner. Even a casual observer can see that the golf course is far from finished. Before long, Mother Nature will be the most important factor in completion. In the meantime, there are still many puzzle pieces waiting to be put in place. This is a complex project under the best of circumstances, and beyond the usual capacity of HOA management and Board oversight. Accordingly, we contracted with professionals to manage the day-to-day aspects of the project. We launched it in the middle of the pandemic, recognizing that there would be problems, but also mindful that the costs of materials were forecast to rise significantly. We could not foresee, however, the scope and the scale of what was to come. The polar freeze in Texas in mid- February devastated facilities producing plastic pipe and fittings. The pandemic disrupted the supply chain both through manufacturing shutdowns and transportation challenges, and this was multiplied by the acute labor shortages which continue to the present. These three factors have driven up both supply and labor costs dramatically, and virtually no aspect of the project is unaffected. The Association wisely insulated itself from many of these problems by negotiating a fixed price, design-build contract. Theoretically, this makes it the contractor's problem if prices rise subsequent to signing. However, in the design-build process many items are tweaked along the way, and some of those find their way into change orders. And contractors, having been put in a terrible bind by cost increases, seek every opportunity to reduce their expenses and increase their payments. This has created a contentious dynamic that has slowed progress and increased the administrative and oversight resources required. Your Board continues to have frequent meetings, and the General Manager continues to expend considerable time, wrestling with these issues. We are working diligently to get the project completed and the golf course back in service as quickly and inexpensively as possible. You will recall that our Master Association annual assessments have been successfully held constant for four fiscal years through March of 2022, and that we remain in a strong financial position even taking into account our current use of reserves for the golf course and the well. It is also important to recall that the Budget and Financial Advisory Committee explained last January that this dues freeze could not continue. Since that time, of course, we have experienced the negative effects of the pandemic, regulatory changes and other factors that have driven costs up significantly. It is unclear precisely what impact that will have on our budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23, but it is clear that there will be significant upward financial pressure. That is Federal Reserve speak for "your dues are very likely to be going up next year." For those of you who read this report or listen to the Board meetings, you will not be surprised. Sadly, many will pay no attention until they receive the bill for April and then will be shocked! The Board met in executive session on October 7 to consider legal issues but took no formal action. Thank you for your interest in the affairs of your Association!

Articles in this issue

view archives of Image Up Advertising & Design - Ocean Hills CC Living November 2021