Greetings Waterville Estates Owners and Residents:
I want to take this opportunity to announce that the District (Waterville Estates Village District), your local municipality, and the Association (Waterville Estates Association), the HOA representing all owners in the Estates, have worked together and solved an important financial issue from last year.
Working together, the Association Board and the Village District Commissioners, have agreed to settle the disputed non-payment of 4th Quarter monies from the Association into the revolving Rec Fund.
The Association Board transferred $48, 986.94 of Capital Improvement Fund (CIF) monies to the District to help pay for the new boiler system. Both the Commissioners and the Association Board have agreed that this contribution settles and resolves any issue concerning the non-payment of monies due to the Rec Fund in the 4th quarter of 2020.
I thank the Association Board for contributing toward the new boilers. The new boiler system is more suited to our facility. They are both more efficient and have greater capacity than our old system.
I appreciate the Board working to resolve the non-payment issue and look forward to continuing to discuss issues of mutual concern. The recent meeting between myself, our Interim General Manager, our AGM, and select WEA Board members has strengthened our working relationship. Both the Commissioners and the WEA Board of Directors seek to work alongside each other in a collaborative and respectful fashion. Through this process, we will improve our community, keeping Waterville Estates the special place we enjoy and treasure.
PLEASE NOTE: The final cost to replace the boilers was $101,969. Our new system consists of four boilers (instead of three) with one unit acting as a back-up. The former system, over time, lost the necessary quantity of glycol. As a result, on at least one occasion, a system pipe froze and burst in the Community Center, costing thousands of dollars for repairs. Without the correct amount of glycol, the unit ventilators which supply fresh air to the Summit Lounge were damaged beyond repair several years ago.
Our new system has the correct amount of glycol. The Commission has taken steps to ensure annual maintenance is included in the District budget ($1,000). A representative of the firm which installed the system will check and, if needed, adjust both the chemical balance of the system water and the quantity of glycol. This maintenance is key to prolonging the lifespan of our newly replaced asset.
The failure to check and maintain the chemical (pH) balance of the water in the closed system has contributed to the corrosion of the boiler pipes throughout the Community Center. The Commissioners have adopted a policy to address replacement. The Commission voted to have the WEVD General Manager include in the proposed budget $10,000 a year to replace the corroded pipes section by section until the whole system is done as well as to put money into a Capital Reserve toward replacement of the boilers in the future.
After the new system went online, we did have a delay with heating the outdoor pools as we needed to install a relay to ensure the boiler system would work to heat the outdoor pools.
Please note, we need to correct two problems with the Boiler Room to protect our investment.
First, the Boiler Room has been plagued with water intrusion for years. Standing water and humidity in the Boiler Room will, over time, damage the electronics of our new boilers. We are working to determine the source to stop the intrusion, whether from the outdoor, freestanding hot tub, the outdoor family pool, or some other source. While we had planned to replace the small outdoor freestanding hot tub next year, we are being told there are 12 month delays on orders, so we will make minor repairs to that hot tub while we decide on how to proceed.
Second, there has been an issue with chlorine gas in the Boiler Room. The Commission authorized the purchase of a chlorine gas alarm to help ensure the gas emitted from the pool filters does not build up and damage the new boiler system. Our WEVD employee, Shawn Pelchat, and ever-helpful volunteer, Jaime Oldmixon, have proposed the addition of a variable speed fan to vent excess heat, humidity, and any chlorine gas from the Boiler Room through an existing chimney flue. The fan has been ordered and will be installed soon.
Once again, thank you to the Association Board. The WEVD Commission looks forward to working with WEA’s Board of Directors to address any issues of dispute and to collaborate regarding needed improvements & repairs to District facilities.
Thank you.
MAUREEN PATTI,
WEVD Commission Chair