CCHA Newsletter January 2009
Understanding your Colonia PLAN PARCIAL As of January 9, 2009, two of the three neighborhood meetings were well attended. Our Architect/professor, Alfonso Banos presented the plan for density development. His 12 students, at no cost to us, surveyed and categorized the current usage of land and properties within the boundaries of Conchas Chinas. Each and every lot was checked to its survey and the current usage noted. To date, the Colonia has spent about $3,000 US to get this project, which often costs much more, completed. This was a tremendous project and a valuable tool in preserving our colonia. All types of usage are currently represented: hotel, condominium, single family homes, and even green space. The Plan Parcial designates areas for different density usage AND green space. This plan will be presented to City Hall for their approval. Sensible development will be encouraged. We can possibly have restrictions in place to preserve the colonia. Thank you to the neighbors who chose to participate. This involvement and interest is so important. The final round of owner review and input is scheduled for THIS FRIDAY, 4pm, at the home of Ann and Jerry Lafferty, Casa Perlita, 176 Rincon Madre Perla. (Just follow the road up from the South entrance, turning right each time you can. You will end on Rincon Madre Perla, with Costo de Oro at the end of the street and Casa Perlita about have way down the block on the left.) Alfonso and board members will be on hand to answer questions. The map of the colonia with the proposed zoning for each lot will be on display. Please come by to check you property. If there are problems, now is the time to find them! City News CFE Wiring Project When the Federal Electrical Company, CFE, decided to replace 60 % of the eroding underground electric cable in Conchas Chinas, who knew that we would be held hostage? The project began in Sept 2008. The registers are being replaced and better insulated wires and tubing are being installed. The time line is: CUT OPEN ALL TRENCHS INSTALL NEW AND IMPROVED TUBING MAKE CONNECTIONS RETURN ALL STREETS AND SIDEWALKS TO ORIGINAL DESIGN The horror of the streets with the huge ditches, blind corners filled with debris, and lack of night lighting has been beyond disruptive. The three weeks of Christmas and the wrong order of tubing have delayed the progress. But on the brighter side, there is no monetary cost to Conchas Chinas and in the end, the wiring should last another 20 years. Please be patient and report any good or bad observations. Sighting of cement trucks and new tubing are signs that this nightmare may have an end. The alternative of this current project would have been to dig huge holes, plant concrete poles and string more lines above the ground. Let's be thankful for small favors. As of December 16, Casa DoReMi has granted permission for the CFE workers to construct a temporary storage area behind the Bombero Bodega at the S. entrance. Thank you. This may help speed things up. What´s ahead? General assembly meeting, February 27, 2009. Please watch for further information in a second newsletter Help Wanted! The board is seeking new members to assume the roles of Webmaster Director of Maintenance Treasurer Vocal These positions have been filled by the same people since 2002. If you are interested in any of these positions, please email our board secretary so your name may be placed on the ballot for the February General Assembly. We Got Mail! Hi Ann, 2009 assessments have been emailed to owners. If you did not receive yours, Please let us know Assessment rates, which have not changed in the last 5 years, are: 1 Bedroom/1 Bath $100; 2 Bedrooms/2 Bathes $200; Vacant lots $200; Three Bedrooms and up $300 Hi Ann: If my dues are going to make Conchas Chinas better why has there been a ditch in my street since I returned Nov. 5th.? I can't even back out of my parking spot without hitting large rocks from where the street has been torn up. One letter I received said we don't have enough money to fix the streets. If that is the case then why are we spending this money to bury power lines. … Dennis G The street rip up is NOT our project. The Electric Company hired an outside contractor to redo certain power lines and they have sure made a mess. We are screaming at them all the time. The Association sent notices out to owners when we first became aware of the proposed project. We have done several night time tours of the Colonia to report street light outages due to the construction and have had some luck getting the most dangerous situations repaired. When all lines are installed, CFE has promised to return streets and sidewalks to their original state. We will continue to do our best to see that they meet that promise. I was wondering how I can help you collect dues. One thing is to make sure you have all the correct owners also I thought sending out an invoice. What do you think? Gayle R Maintaining accurate information about the owners within each condo building is a difficult for the Association. We would LOVE to have one contact person in each condo building to facilitate good communication. If any member out there is willing to fill this roll, please email Lynda Petty, who is heading this effort for the Board. . Can I give any help to the DUES problem while I am here...I 'll be happy to walk the mountain or do whatever needs to be done...flyers perhaps ? Barbarita And she did! Many thanks, Barbarita I think you need a "Marketing" person on your board, whose job it would be to go door-to-door with written materials which could be left when people are not in residence, and to update your email communications base, etc. Maybe there are residents who do not contribute because they are unaware of the 'ask.' Suzy & Kent S. The Association would love that! Communication and database management are huge jobs and any and all volunteers would be most welcome! IF you are interested in helping out, please drop us an email. It is our hope to bring you information on the Colonia multiple times each year. Please let us know if there are topics you would like to see covered. We welcome your feedback and comments. Lynda Petty Vocal/newsletter
"Plan Parcial de Desarollo Urbano" for Conchas Chinas During the past year, the Board worked tirelessly to attempt to prevent the renegade construction that was going on in Conchas Chinas. We consulted with several lawyers, reported our concerns to the proper City authorities and, generally, tried to make "noise" wherever we thought it would help. In March 2008, we commissioned a project called the "Plan Parcial de Desarollo Urbano" for Conchas Chinas. We hope to avoid "the Amapas Syndrome" with our seashore and the top of our mountain. Newsletter December 2008 Understanding your Colonia: a note from your president Dear Fellow Homeowners in Conchas Chinas: I want to bring to your attention some difficult decisions we'll need to make in running our Homeowner's Association if maintenance fees continue to stagnate and we remain unsuccessful in holding City authorities to our agreement with them to cooperate in collecting construction fees from developers. This latter problem has been with us from Day One and will not likely improve in the foreseeable future. Construction Fees in 2008 are about 15% of what was collected in 2007. This despite a large number of construction projects initiated over the past 12-18 months in which the developers bypassed us. Prospects for 2009 assessments look equally dim. Maintenance fees during this period have remained fairly flat, with less than 40% participation among the total homeowners' base. Given this scenario, we simply cannot continue to maintain services as we have in over the past 2 years. Without higher fees participation among our neighbors, services will have to be reduced. The city will not maintain our streets, streetlights, common areas, clean up rainy season road debris, and regularly sweep our streets and clean the beach. Without our colonia maintenance, Conchas Chinas would slip into severe disrepair, and property values would plummet accordingly. It's clearly in all our best interests that this not be allowed to happen. We need your help. We encourage all who are now paying fees to sell your non-paying neighbors on the importance of a vital Homeowners' Association. Our annual fees are extremely modest by any standard, and payback many times over. As it stands now for the coming year, we will be forced to cease all maintenance of streets and areas where fees participation is below 75%. Please help us get the word out that Association services will need to be cut from streets that are not contributing their fair share. It's a shame that it's come to this, but we need to be realistic and prudent in how we spend our limited resources. Hopefully all homeowners will choose to step forward and participate in the funding of the Association, and continue the high standards set by our predecessors in making Conchas Chinas a desirable place to invest and to live. Warm regards, Condolences The Board would like to offer condolences to the family and friends of two of our past Presidents, Peter Gray and Tom LeBrun. They both contributed their time and talent for the good of all of us and they will be missed What a Mess!! CFE has hired an out-of town firm to replace some of the wiring in Conchas Chinas. They are proceeding one step at a time and the result is chaos on our streets. The situation is dangerous to both people on foot and driving. We are trying to intervene, but do not have much hope that we will make a difference in how they are proceeding. Until the situation gets resolved, please be vigilant. Safety issues The slow economy world wide seems to have sparked problems in Vallarta,too. There have been reports of robbery break-ins in houses and condos. On the beach side there have been some reports of unprovoked assaults. So it is time to heed all the normal deterrents...like keep your doors locked and lights on at night. Notify your staffs of problems. Don't put yourself in compromising situations. Adopt a Fountain in action The program started last year to care for and nurture your neighborhood fountains is alive and well! The fountain at Rinconada Madre Perla sits between the condominiums Costa de Oro , Los Caracoles, and Punta Esmeralda. This has been a pesky problem fountain due to the fact that it leaks and there is a faulty pump. The CCHA has tried three times to repair it and it continues to be a problem.<p> The current president of Costa de Oro, Jim Brophy and his cohorts, Greg LeBaron and Colin Jenkinson have been hard at work dismantling the fountain and are going to fix it once and for all. We thank them for their expertise, energy and tireless efforts to improve the neighborhood! Kudos also to World International Vacation Club and Villa Las Brisas for maintaining their fountains. If you are interested in adopting a fountain in your neighborhood, please let your CCHA Board know. It is our hope to bring you information on the Colonia multiple times each year. Please let us know if there are topics you would particularly like covered. We welcome your feedback and comments. Lynda Petty & Susan Kasperson Homeowners Association Notice – September 23, 2008 From: Ann Lafferty CFE, the electric company in Puerto Vallarta, has informed us via the email below, that it is rewiring some parts of Conchas Chinas. This may or may not affect your property. It will take a few months to finish. They have assured us they will leave our streets and sidewalks clean and repaired. The process will include excavation through sidewalks and streets to install new registers, tubing and wiring. If your house is included and your meter is accessible outside your property line, you should have no problem. If your meter is not accessible, there may be a fee per "linear meter" to get the connections made to your meter. As the work progresses, there may be power interruptions for 3-5 hours periods. The entire process could take 3 -4 months, We will be investigating whether the wiring for our street lamps can be improved as they add the new wiring. As we find out more details, we will certainly keep you informed. Here is the email we received: Asociacion de Colonos de Conchas Chinas: |