Welcome Sura Alshear to the Haven Board of Directors! We anticipate a fruitful year working hard to accomplish our goals.
Dogs
There have been several posts lately about dog owners. Let's be clear - at NO time are you allowed to let your dog out a side door to do its business. Side doors are not to be used except in emergencies and are never to be propped open so you can let your dog run loose and defecate on the property. In fact, no dog is ever allowed to do its business on corporation property. If the dog accidentally goes, you are to stoop and scoop and deposit it in the garbage, NOT leave it by the front door for someone else to clean up.
Stoop and scoop is not only the law, it is being mindful of your neighbours. If you feel it is too much of a hardship then perhaps you should not own a dog.
Hot Water
There appears to be an intermittent issue with hot water the past few weeks. We thought it fixed two weeks ago but this weekend units had lukewarm water for showers and baths. We will continue to follow up and try to resolve this.
Monday, 9 March 2015
Thursday, 29 January 2015
Annual General Meeting - Feb 3rd
Our first official annual general meeting is coming up next week on February 3rd at 7pm in the Amenity room. All owners received a notice and proxy in the mail. Be sure to vote either in person or fill out that proxy and vote for your candidate. One member of the Board will be elected that night.
Two people are running for the position:
Ryan
Sura
Ryan is a lawyer living in the building. He would like to help manage the Board duties and believes his legal experience will be of benefit.
Sura also lives in the building and believes a woman's voice on the board will be an asset. Working in the Information Technology field she manages projects and also service providers and believes these skills will help the Board. She wants to have more informal meetings and automate some of the current services and communications.
Please make sure you vote!
( Candidate text is my verbiage - candidates are free to offer changes as they would like.)
Two people are running for the position:
Ryan
Sura
Ryan is a lawyer living in the building. He would like to help manage the Board duties and believes his legal experience will be of benefit.
Sura also lives in the building and believes a woman's voice on the board will be an asset. Working in the Information Technology field she manages projects and also service providers and believes these skills will help the Board. She wants to have more informal meetings and automate some of the current services and communications.
Please make sure you vote!
( Candidate text is my verbiage - candidates are free to offer changes as they would like.)
Friday, 16 January 2015
Looking Good!
Our building continues to evolve. The Amenity room and Roof top glass has a very nice H logo on it. The glass is frosted on the roof top elevator room as you can see below.
It looks really nice.
It looks really nice.
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Welcome 2015!
Happy New Year!
The corporations second year is started and 2015 looks like it will be a good year.
Hopefully all the "getting started" issues will settle down and the building will become the home we all want.
The garage door continues to be somewhat of a problem but that should end this year as TAG and the Corporation work to finalize the issues.
The Lobby looks nice with its furniture and the Amenity room is equipped with tables and chairs, fridge, dishwasher and dishes for your use.
Hopefully the dog owners will start being more responsible and not leave their "doggie bags" by the Sutton entrance - I mean really, there are garbage containers on all floors and outside at the north end of the building. Who is too frickin lazy to use them? Disgusting.
Let's have a great 2015.
The corporations second year is started and 2015 looks like it will be a good year.
Hopefully all the "getting started" issues will settle down and the building will become the home we all want.
The garage door continues to be somewhat of a problem but that should end this year as TAG and the Corporation work to finalize the issues.
The Lobby looks nice with its furniture and the Amenity room is equipped with tables and chairs, fridge, dishwasher and dishes for your use.
Hopefully the dog owners will start being more responsible and not leave their "doggie bags" by the Sutton entrance - I mean really, there are garbage containers on all floors and outside at the north end of the building. Who is too frickin lazy to use them? Disgusting.
Let's have a great 2015.
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Oven Cleaning
Know how your oven can be really hard to keep clean sometimes? The stuff just doesn't come off even after using muscle and scrubbing. Well, the folks who cleaned our BBQs on the roof did a great job and also do home appliances. Give them a shout after your Christmas holidays.
Monday, 1 December 2014
How a Condo Works - A general essay
This post is a bit of an update on how a condo corporation works. We all need to understand the management and the running of a building with multiple residents and owners.
First, there are two primary groups involved in running the building. A third group, the owners themselves, are also part of the team. (Please note this is an unofficial memo of general understanding, consult the Condo Act of 1998 and the Declaration for precise details.)
You can find information and forms on the condo website.
www.haven-condo.ca
Board of Directors
A condominium corporation is created to manage the property and assets on behalf of the owners. Under section 27 of the Condominium Act 1998, a Board of Directors is elected to manage the affairs of the corporation and carry out the objects of the corporation as set out in s.17; basically making all major decisions regarding the maintenance of buildings and grounds, condos’ finances, and upholding and enforcing the Condo Act, the declaration, by-laws, and rules.
It is a primary board duty to make sure that rules and the declaration are applied uniformly and not just from time to time as suits owners, directors or management. The Board hires the management company. In our building, as in most, Board Directors are an unpaid, volunteer position who work on your behalf. They attend a monthly meeting with the management company, investigate savings and improvements during other meetings, meet with owners and residents and generally try to make sure the corporation runs smoothly. They do not act alone but as one part of the team.
Management Company
The Management company, in our case is TAG. They are paid a fee and are responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the building, and making sure that all systems remain in working order. They supervise staff (cleaning, grounds maintenance etc), do paper work, have the bookkeeping done and see to it that owners pay their condo fees in a timely fashion, following up where needed.
They also serve notices to residents of any violations of Rules, Bylaws etc. They help ensure that residents do not leave excess garbage in the garbage rooms, or junk in the locker rooms, store items on balconies or leave a mess in the underground parking area. Essentially, they police the building for violations. They are not however, onsite every day and since we do not have a superintendent or security personnel either some things can occur temporarily unnoticed. That is where owners can come in.
Owners and Residents
Owners have a vested interest in the building and who uses it. We should watch out for each other, tell TAG when violations are noticed so perpetrators can be charged or billed and of course, obey all the Rules and Bylaws in place. Residents should realise they can be part of the solution and not the problem, by treating the place like they would their own home and not leaving it up to someone else.
We all have a duty to treat the building as our own, to keep it neat, leave the doors locked and not propped open, to keep our dogs on a leash and to clean up after them or after any mess we make.
Remember that everything you leave up to the cleaners or "someone else" to look after costs you money, it a reason condo fees keep rising in many buildings.
If you see a locker room or garbage room light on, turn it off! You end up paying for it so you might as well try and save money.
Items owners need to remain aware of: basically you own everything inside your unit so the heat pump and bathroom fans and dryer vents are your responsibility as they would be in any house. You need to remember to clean your dryer vents to prevent buildup and possible fires, it also helps immensely to service your heat pump regularly like any furnace. Replacing the filter is a part and critical to the functioning of your heat pump but it also needs the coils cleaned to function properly. This is best done in my opinion by professionals.
First, there are two primary groups involved in running the building. A third group, the owners themselves, are also part of the team. (Please note this is an unofficial memo of general understanding, consult the Condo Act of 1998 and the Declaration for precise details.)
You can find information and forms on the condo website.
www.haven-condo.ca
Board of Directors
A condominium corporation is created to manage the property and assets on behalf of the owners. Under section 27 of the Condominium Act 1998, a Board of Directors is elected to manage the affairs of the corporation and carry out the objects of the corporation as set out in s.17; basically making all major decisions regarding the maintenance of buildings and grounds, condos’ finances, and upholding and enforcing the Condo Act, the declaration, by-laws, and rules.
It is a primary board duty to make sure that rules and the declaration are applied uniformly and not just from time to time as suits owners, directors or management. The Board hires the management company. In our building, as in most, Board Directors are an unpaid, volunteer position who work on your behalf. They attend a monthly meeting with the management company, investigate savings and improvements during other meetings, meet with owners and residents and generally try to make sure the corporation runs smoothly. They do not act alone but as one part of the team.
Management Company
The Management company, in our case is TAG. They are paid a fee and are responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the building, and making sure that all systems remain in working order. They supervise staff (cleaning, grounds maintenance etc), do paper work, have the bookkeeping done and see to it that owners pay their condo fees in a timely fashion, following up where needed.
They also serve notices to residents of any violations of Rules, Bylaws etc. They help ensure that residents do not leave excess garbage in the garbage rooms, or junk in the locker rooms, store items on balconies or leave a mess in the underground parking area. Essentially, they police the building for violations. They are not however, onsite every day and since we do not have a superintendent or security personnel either some things can occur temporarily unnoticed. That is where owners can come in.
Owners and Residents
Owners have a vested interest in the building and who uses it. We should watch out for each other, tell TAG when violations are noticed so perpetrators can be charged or billed and of course, obey all the Rules and Bylaws in place. Residents should realise they can be part of the solution and not the problem, by treating the place like they would their own home and not leaving it up to someone else.
We all have a duty to treat the building as our own, to keep it neat, leave the doors locked and not propped open, to keep our dogs on a leash and to clean up after them or after any mess we make.
Remember that everything you leave up to the cleaners or "someone else" to look after costs you money, it a reason condo fees keep rising in many buildings.
If you see a locker room or garbage room light on, turn it off! You end up paying for it so you might as well try and save money.
Items owners need to remain aware of: basically you own everything inside your unit so the heat pump and bathroom fans and dryer vents are your responsibility as they would be in any house. You need to remember to clean your dryer vents to prevent buildup and possible fires, it also helps immensely to service your heat pump regularly like any furnace. Replacing the filter is a part and critical to the functioning of your heat pump but it also needs the coils cleaned to function properly. This is best done in my opinion by professionals.
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Roof top mess - UPDATE
UPDATE Oct 15th
I went on the roof top patio this afternoon and found dog poop all over the grass on the East side. It would be apparent it was a small dog.
Firstly, NO DOGS are allowed on the roof. This is in the Bylaws.
Secondly, who lets their dog crap on the roof without picking up after them? If we can find out who is doing it they will be charged with the cleanup. Possibly they are on camera so we might be able to, otherwise it is yet another cost all owners are paying. We need to work together to make sure responsible parties are held accountable for their actions. there are far too many dog owners leaving their deposits everywhere and also killing off the grass.
**************
I went onto the roof to BBQ with my wife on Saturday evening and this is what I found - food left lying on the bench.
and a broken beer bottle.
What is the matter with people? This is our roof top and BBQ area for everyone to enjoy. If you want to be a pig, do so in your own unit and not here. If you make a mess, clean it up!
Remember this when your condo fees go up because we have to pay someone to clean up these messes - it isn't a free cleaning service - we all pay for this. If you know who did it, report them to TAG so they can absorb the cleanup costs and not all of us.
I went on the roof top patio this afternoon and found dog poop all over the grass on the East side. It would be apparent it was a small dog.
Firstly, NO DOGS are allowed on the roof. This is in the Bylaws.
Secondly, who lets their dog crap on the roof without picking up after them? If we can find out who is doing it they will be charged with the cleanup. Possibly they are on camera so we might be able to, otherwise it is yet another cost all owners are paying. We need to work together to make sure responsible parties are held accountable for their actions. there are far too many dog owners leaving their deposits everywhere and also killing off the grass.
**************
I went onto the roof to BBQ with my wife on Saturday evening and this is what I found - food left lying on the bench.
and a broken beer bottle.
What is the matter with people? This is our roof top and BBQ area for everyone to enjoy. If you want to be a pig, do so in your own unit and not here. If you make a mess, clean it up!
Remember this when your condo fees go up because we have to pay someone to clean up these messes - it isn't a free cleaning service - we all pay for this. If you know who did it, report them to TAG so they can absorb the cleanup costs and not all of us.
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