West Highlands I

I wanted to have some dialog among neighbors about the minature bombshell dropped at the HOA meeting. In case you havent heard the pond fountain pump is out again. $1900 to fix (no warranty) $7600 to replace.

So what kind of price are we to put on beauty? Walking around the pond with fountain is certainly nice with the lights, but $7600 nice?

My main concern is that I dont want the reserves to be put at risk with so many big expenditures coming up (V2025 entrances). At the very least I think this should be delayed for the year.

I would like to hear what other neighbors think. I would also like to see the positions of the newly elected board members.

Pond Fountain

This is a good point and I agree with your concerns. As shown on the ''budget versus actual'' tabulation provided with the November RPHA newletter and the tabulation provided at the annual meeting, the electric bills for the fountain total about $2000 per year. As treasure of Ridge Pointe, I had suggested to the board that the fountain pump no longer be run 24/7, but instead at a lesser rate in order to reduce the dollar amount of electric bills and to reduce wear and tear on the pump to extend it's life. I suggested at least turning it off from midnight until daylight -- the pump has a timmer on it, so there is no cost to implement this cycling. I was told the pump needs to be run to provide oxygen for the fish and to help prevent stagnation -- I bet you get this same response. One thing is for sure -- the pump does not need to be run 24/7 for sufficient oxygen and destagnation.

I was laughed at, considered a Scrooge and totally ignored by board members for wanting to save a few hundred dollars on electricity and reduce wear and tear on the pump.

I also have a concern about reserve depletion. The $7,600 replacement cost for the pump will practically wipe out the $8,620 we have in reserve for maintenance. Thus, we will have to increase that reserve. Why this reserve replenishment has not already been made, I'm not sure -- could it be to justify the increased cost for the entryway project? Last year at this time, the Vision 2025 entryway project was expected to cost RPHA $7,300. Now it is expected to cost RPHA $12,300. How much will it eventually cost? In addition, we have an aging swimming pool. Granted, monies (without inflation reflected therein) have been set aside for resurfacing and cool deck replacement. But what other major pool-related costs may be looming as the concrete bathtub ages?

And finally, while I am discussing prudent expenditure of funds, the cost for water at the 101st St. entrance was $1945 in 2006, a 52% increase over the 2005 cost of $1279. The 10% increase in water rates by the City of Tulsa effective Nov. 2006 does not explain this.

There I go again being a Scrooge. What the heck -- it's only a few hundred bucks. Shame on me!

agreed

I figured there would be a oxygen and stagnation reason before I even posted this. However, there are cheaper, albeit less attractive, oxygenation solutions to solve that problem. Fish farms don't use fancy fountains with lights to keep the fish alive.

regarding the entrance water

The reason the water was so much higher is because the sprinklers were firing ALL THE TIME. When it was suggested that a water sensor be used, the response was the power outages messed them up. Rubbish. Then it was said that other maintenance on the sprinklers would break it. ???? If someone is working on the sprinklers or a nearby system and breaks a working function, they should fix it!

A trend seems to be emerging....it seems the HOA is getting a little loose with the money. Not everyone in the neighboorhood has a money tree in their back yard.