WASSUP!
Fall 2013
at
Board of Directors
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Jeanne Erdahl
President
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Steve Werth
Vice-President
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Dave Kochel
Secretary
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Mahalo to the 2013-2014 Kihei Akahi Board of Directors
I have been privileged to be part of the Board of Directors for six years, and I can
say in all honesty that this year’s Board has been among the most thoughtful,
questioning, individualistic, involved, and ultimately consensual group I’ve been a
part of. Please offer your good wishes to:
Steve Werth (2013-2016), Vice-President, for his unfailing
good humor, leadership, and willingness to chip in to any
discussion and undertake any task facing the Board.
Tyler Brill
Treasurer
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Bill Crawford
Director
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Margaret Marcoccia
Tyler Brill (2012-2015), Treasurer, for his clarity of
thought and brevity of expression, and his careful
husbanding of our resources.
Director
Welcome new Owners!
Since mid-summer, we wish to
welcome eight new owners to Kihei
Akahi.
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Unit DG-11. Krystal Smith of
Kihei
Unit B-203. Semler and Diane
Nudelbaum of Portland, Oregon
Unit D-301. Mark and Rebecca
Thorman of Kihei
Unit D-413. Stephen and Donna
Bell of Napoleon, Missouri
Unit D-309. John Barker and
Barbara Exton from Makawao
Unit C-513. Rajani Bartakke and
Manohar and Beryl Bartakke of
Reston Virginia
Unit D-508. DeEtte Niemier
from Olympia, Washington
Unit C-609. Betty Eldridge of La
Jolla, California
David Kochel (2013-2016), Secretary, for his analytical
mind and elegant expression. His attention to detail
has kept us always on track – from where we started to
where we are going.
Bill Crawford (2013-2015), Director, our maverick retired
attorney who leaves no thought unquestioned, no action
unexamined, but always has a soft spot in his heart for a
plant or a party.
Margaret Marcoccia (2013-2014), Director, elected to
fill an unexpired term, who has with quiet authority
and clear thinking used her architectural engineering
background to help steer the Board in big decisions
pertaining to our building systems.
Thank you all!
Jeanne Erdahl
(2011-2014), President
NEW HOT WATER SYSTEMS FOR C AND D BUILDINGS
As of the last newsletter, the
Board had identified several
different possible configurations
for the new hot water systems
needed at our highrise buildings.
The options considered included
heat pumps, more efficient
gas boilers, gas water heaters,
and solar panels, all in various
combinations. The two bids
that had been received were
submitted to an engineering firm that the Association has used
successfully in the past and shortly before the Board’s August
budget meeting, the report – consisting primarily of a 30-year
life cycle cost analysis of all options – was received.
The results were unequivocal. Although the initial cost was
higher, the estimated cost to acquire, operate and maintain the
system chosen by the Board came in at roughly half the cost
of the competing systems over the extended time period. The
chosen systems will consist of 60 solar panels mounted on each
rooftop, supplying pre-heated water to a new gas-fired water
heater which will be called on only when hot water produced
by the panels is not adequate to meet demand. The report
estimated that the gas necessary to fill the gap will be a fraction
of the gas currently used to produce our hot water.
It seemed clear from the report that even if the escalation in
costs for the next 30 years (inflation, energy costs, costs for
replacement equipment, etc.) was lower than projected, the
solar hot water systems were still the clear winners.
The Board, with input from DMI and our attorney, is currently
negotiating the contract for system installation with Haleakala
Solar, the winning bidder, and work should begin next spring
with the systems being operative by mid-summer of 2014.
And the best news of all? Due to the Association’s strong
reserves and careful budgeting, the cost of the system can be
covered within the 3% increase this year in our Homeowner’s
dues – no special assessment or bank loan necessary. Any
upcoming large projects are still a few years off so the funds
are available to upgrade to a much more economical method of
water heating just at the point that the old equipment was on
its last legs – a perfect storm of opportunity!
“How much will we save?” is sure to be owners’ burning
question. Even with all the Board’s study, the number of
variables makes that question hard to answer before the
systems are in operation. Monitoring savings is a primary
objective once the systems are on-line. Whatever happens with
global energy costs, however, it is clear that using the sunshine
that hits our expanse of flat roofs will always be cheaper than
shipping oil and gas to Maui by tanker. And it preserves those
increasingly costly resources for things like…flying our guests
and owners to Maui from the Mainland to enjoy the beaches,
palm trees, and abundant hot water!
YOUR DUES INCREASE – WHERE DOES IT GO?
As detailed above, the solar hot water project included in the 3% HOD increase for 2014 is only a
part of what the budget includes in the way of increases. Some unavoidable increased expenses
include payroll taxes and health insurance for our staff, general insurance costs, including fire,
flood and liability (20% increase), legal fees and audit fees, and garbage collection.
Other budget items going up were landscaping supplies and general repair and maintenance
(about a 38% increase.) Considering, however, that a few years ago we saw increases of between
6.5 and 9.3% in dues, this year’s budget is highly cost-effective. Those previous increases, by the
way, were mostly driven by soaring utility costs – expenses which the Board is now focused on
controlling by increasing our own energy independence.
PROPERTY VALUES ON THE MOVE – FINALLY!
Kihei Akahi was in no way immune to the housing bubble and subsequent crash. Listed and sold prices have steadily declined
since 2007, but a turnaround is finally in sight. Average duration on the market has decreased by about 15% since 2011
and the average sold price is up by 10% so far just in 2013 from the previous year. And the average list price for units
currently on the market is even an optimistic 7% higher than the average list price for this year’s sold properties*
One factor that may be influencing this increase, in addition to the general housing value
turnaround, are the newly-available financing packages from a two local lenders requiring
only a 30% down payment. For the last few years it has been difficult to find any
reasonable financing options outside of in-house sources so this is great news. An
active high-season market is anticipated by the local real estate community, fueled
possibly by improving economies in the Canadian provinces.
*Figures above from the MLS statistics of the Real Estate Association of Maui.
KIHEI AKAHI EMPLOYEE PROFILES
left to right, are: Hanzel Marquez, Ray Milovale, John Sedillo
Hanzel Marquez has been working for
Ray Milovale has been working for
Kihei Akahi for 8 years. Hanzel is married Kihei Akahi for almost 3 years. After
and been living in Maui since 1998,
relocating to Maui from American Samoa,
he worked 5 years in the restaurant
when he relocated to paradise from the
management business in Kihei. Prior to
Philippines. You can find his smiling face
and pleasant personality working around
that, he served in the US Army, based out
the “D” building and upper pool. When
of Fort Lewis in Washington. During his
he is not at work, he enjoys playing a little time off, he enjoys his married life raising
their 4 children, participating in their
basketball and spending time with his
lovely wife.
sporting activities and being a good role
model and dad. Ray embraces a positive
energy and attitude which he shares with
his co-workers and guests alike.
John Sedillo has worked for Kihei Akahi
for 2 years, but prior to that he spent 20
years with the Air National Guard based
in Oahu. He has spent the last 8 years in
Maui, where on his days off he enjoys
developing and constructing Hawaiianthemed board games, as well as creative
writing and golf.
Save the Date: January 18th, 2014! (And PLEASE send us your Kihei Akahi Photos!)
The Kihei Akahi Annual Owners Meeting will be held at St. Theresa Roman Catholic Church, located at 25
West Lipoa Street, in Kihei. Please plan to attend this annual gathering of owners in order to participate in
the future planning of our beautiful complex. Registrations will begin at 8 a.m. with refreshments provided
by Destination Maui, Inc. The general meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and will include
general business as well as the election of new Board of Directors.
Also, we are developing a slideshow presentation for the meeting. We would like to
request owners who have nice digital pictures of the complex, especially “historic photos” and “photos
with friends”, to please send them to [email protected]. Steve and Jeanne will be producing a nice
video presentation that will surely bring back some memories, but we need your help!
In addition, we will be holding a potluck dinner on the evening of January 18th at the Lower Pool for
owners and guests to mingle and get to know their neighbors. The current Board will be providing the
main dish and we encourage everyone attending to sign up in the office for either an appetizer, side
dish, or dessert to share. We are planning a fun evening of food, drinks, live entertainment, Kihei Akahi
trivia contest and more. Please RSVP to [email protected] if you are planning on attending so we can get a headcount of
people for food, tables, and chairs.
KIHEI AKAHI BOTANICAL WALK - IT’S BACK!!
Please take time to explore the “new” Botanical Walk. Its
a great tribute to our beautiful landscaping. All guests are
provided a map of the grounds upon their check-in at the front
desk.
Thanks to Dave Haynes and his staff for getting the new signs
produced and installed.
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
As mentioned in our Summer Newsletter, the HOA Board formed a new committee to look at improving communications
with our owners. We are always looking at ways to improve communications between owners to create a little more of a
“community”. We welcome your ideas and suggestions - please contribute by sending an email to Steve <[email protected]>
or posting to our FaceBook group. Not a part of the group yet? Simply type in “Kihei Akahi Owners” in
the FaceBook search window and click on the “Join Group” button.
Don’t forget we also have the Kihei Akahi Owners Website where we post items such as Board of
Directors Meeting Minutes, Financial Reports, and archived newsletters as they become available: www.
kiheiakahiowners.net If you have forgotten how to login to the private website using your username
and password, please send an email to < [email protected] > and Steve will provide you with the
necessary information.
INFO FOR SHORT-TERM RENTAL OWNERS
Over the past two years, there have been a number of
proposals brought forth to the Hawaii legislators from various
lobbyist groups in Hawaii which, if successful, would have
significant impacts on owners who rent out their properties as
vacation rentals. There have been proposals regarding GET and TAT tax reporting and collection, use of a licensed realtor as the onisland representative, restricting the responsibilities of current on-island representatives, zoning restrictions, amongst other topics.
To address concerns, in 2012 an association was formed, RBOAA - Rentals By Owner Awareness Association. For more information
on this group and how proposed changes could affect your investment, please visit their website: < www.rboaa.org >
The last rays of the setting sun are captured by the
photovoltaic panels on C-Building.
Quick Updates:
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The 8:00 a.m. early opening of the lower pool, approved by the Board last year on a trial basis, appears so far to be free of
problems and lightly used by early risers.
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The photovoltaic panels installed this summer and on-line as of late August have been producing electricity for the complex
for several months but tracking information is still incomplete. Stay tuned for more information at the Annual Meeting.
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A delay in pool cleaning and maintenance at both pools has been caused by the untimely death of the contractor/installer
with whom we had an on-going contract. Manager Dave Haynes is in the process of identifying a new service and hopes to
have both pools in good shape by the end of the year.
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A new account executive from DMI has joined our management team. She’s Kelly Young, who has
been with DMI since she moved to Maui from the Mainland three years ago. She was born and
raised in Arizona and graduated from NAU with degrees in Spanish and Business Marketing. She
loves international travel and returns to Arizona (only in the winter!) to visit with family. She will be
working with the Board and co-managers to enhance Kihei Akahi’s property values, and is looking
forward to meeting with owners at the upcoming General Meeting. Be sure to stop and introduce
yourselves to her.
That’s all folks! Be sure to try to schedule in your attendance at the Annual General Meeting and
make your voice heard. Many thanks for your encouragement and keep in touch by emailing current
President Jeanne Erdahl at [email protected], or Vice President Steve Werth at stevewerth@
cox.net. SPECIAL THANKS TO Della Halvorson for her superb formatting and production of these
newsletters!
A hui hou! Your newsletter monkey, Jeanne Erdahl
Contact info - Kihei Akahi Office Phone: 808-879-1881 Website: www.KiheiAkahiOwners.net