Proposed fee increase supports our common facilities

by Mark

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) the board will bring a motion before our membership to approve an increase of the dues to $585 per unit per year effective in 2014. The board would like to communicate the reasons behind this increase.

Labour costs in Edmonton are relatively high. Our costs to maintain our property, and administer the day-to-day operations of the association (legal, accounting, insurance fees), have increased beyond the what we can recover under our existing bylaws. The vast majority of our expenses are allocated to maintaining our common areas. Those costs have increased faster than the rate at which we are permitted to raise our fees without a motion before our membership at the AGM. We are also establishing a reserve fund to repair (or replace) the large structures (e.g., gazebo, fountains) as they age. We also are repaying a significant debt to Alldritt. Part of an agreement between our board and Alldritt provides forgiveness of a significant portion of that debt. That forgiveness would go away if we were to fall behind repaying that debt. Our members are invited to review our budget.

As a board, it is our opinion that maintaining our facilities is a vital investment to maintaining a great place to live. A 75 cent per day increase in fees is tiny when compared with the potential drop in property values that will result if we fail to maintain our facilities.

Here is the bridge we have today,
dd-bridge

but that bridge could look like this one tomorrow.
other-bridge

Here is the lake we have today,
dd-lake

and that lake could look like this one tomorrow:
other-lake

There is a Barbeque on the 15th when you are welcome to meet with the board and bring forward any questions or concerns. If you are unable to attend, we would like to hear your feedback at mark@donsdale.ca, or in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

We will need the support of our members at the Annual General Meeting on September 17th to make quorum and pass the motion to increase the fees. Should the motion fail, the board will need to make decisions as to which maintenance tasks would be considered a priority.

If you would like to support the motion and are unable to attend the AGM, there is a proxy document that was circulated to all our members by mail. If you provide that completed document to a proxy holder, they would represent you at the meeting. If you have any questions, (or would like find someone to appoint as a proxy holder) please contact me at mark@donsdale.ca

4 Comments
  • Cindy
    2013/09/13

    $585!!!!! Are you kidding. I know of a lot of different neighbourhoods that don’t pay anywhere close to what we are already paying let alone an increase. Perhaps you should look at your contracts and be looking to put things out to tender again and doing an audit of the books. If this goes through we will definitely be looking at other neighbourhoods to move to.

    Comments are closed.

    • Mark Ballermann
      2013/09/14

      Cindy,
      Thanks for your comment.

      There are also neighborhoods where the cost is significantly higher (above $585), and other neighborhoods where the services provided do not come anywhere near what is provided in Donsdale. We have annual audits, and (in my opinion) the costs of services are competitive.

      I do not disagree that bringing some of our services to tender may help strengthen our financial position, but that would be a decision for the board to make as a whole. As it stands, the board is recommending the increase for the reasons mentioned above. You can come to the BBQ on Sunday and we can chat about it further.

      Best wishes,

      Comments are closed.

  • anonymous
    2013/09/16

    I’ve lived here for 12 years now… And i’d like to ask… What maintenance do you mean? I have seen countless times where our fountains have either not been on or they are flooded with bubbles. There is absolutely no flow of water to our man made pond…. Closer to lessard road it seems as tho the water is at a standstill… It does not look appealing at all. I understand that yes the grass needs to be mowed and doggie bag containers refilled… But an increase?

    Comments are closed.

    • Mark Ballermann
      2013/09/16

      Thanks for your comment, anonymous.

      During the times when the fountains are “off”, they are actually broken. The pumps operating the fountains are quite old and approaching their end of life. Our maintenance contractor goes out when they are “off” to fix them. The result is more cost for us as a community.

      When the bubbles are overflowing, our maintenance contractor must go out to apply defoamer, or shut down the fountain and drain it entirely, depending on the type of soap that was used. That results in extra cost for us, which ends up in us running significant deficits.

      The water is not at a standstill, it does flow.

      You are welcome to come to the annual general meeting on Tuesday and voice your opinion.

      Comments are closed.