BOARD IN SPLIT VOTE ADOPTS PERMANENT SOLUTION TO IRRIGATION WOES

Tackling a problem prior association boards lacked the courage to resolve, board members Valerie Halaby and Linda Ward, after considering factors such as the age of the irrigation system, the absence of any warranty on the existing system, the refusal of Sullivan Electric to warranty the repairs they proposed, and the revelation that the association had spent $100,000 over the last 10 years on temporary fixes to the system, voted to replace the aging system's pump station. Board member Brenda Mueller abstained.

The investment in a new pump station, custom tailed to the community's requirements, and warrantied for 5 years for parts and labor, is long overdue according to many community residents, who understand that mechanical equipment does not have an indefinite lifespan and that certain original equipment, like the QM pump station, is over thirty years old. Board member Brenda Mueller did not vote in favor of the investment in new equipment. She appeared to question the wisdom of the $26,000 investment, to be paid for by assessing each homeowner a total of $311.00, that can be split into two equal payments at the homeowner's discretion. Mueller had questions about whether the option of a temporary fix had been fully explored and whether the 5-year parts and labor warranty was adequately documented. Existing documentation of the transaction had been provided to all board members including as a line item the 5-year parts and labor warranty. (The Underground can confirm that at the time of this post, the 5-year parts and labor warranty has been incorporated into the purchase and sale agreement, expressly covers the purchaser and ultimate owner, and excludes only"acts of God" such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.) The new system is expected to be installed by mid-February while a temporary work around was installed to provide irrigation until the replacement pump station arrives.

The revelation that the association had been spending on average $10,000 annually on irrigation system repairs, totaling a $100,000 expenditure over the last ten years, came as Realtime Management was assisting association president Halaby gather information about the irrigation system in pursuit of the best solution for the community.

That $100,000 expenditure by prior QM boards remains unexplained.