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Spring Newsletter 2009.

TATA RIDGE PHASE II

SPRING NEWSLETTER

March 2009

Dear Tatanga II Residents,

this Winter has again put challenges on our Condo. Some of them have been met well (e.g. snow removal by B.O.B.), others came up again (see below: snow removal from decks) and eventually the Board has risen to the main challenge by going for a replacement of the faulty roof covering.

Roof Renovation

The roof covering of all buildings had to be replaced eventually after years of spending our money on repairs and upgrades that did not fix the underlying causes. More than half of the cost for a new roof have been spent between the years 2000 to 2008. After extensive new damages to our roofs by the recent Chinook the Board opted for a complete roof renovation instead of paying for patching the roofs again and again and hereby wasting money.

The removal of the old roof shingles brought several severe deficiencies to light:

the shingles themselves were not suited to withstand the wind velocities that we are often having at our location

the shingles had been nailed to the bare chipboard without underlayment (see Pict.3 on the last page of our Website) hereby permitting the water to soak right into the wooden roof construction. By the way, parts of the roof construction were found to be rotten and had to be replaced. 

the nailing of the shingles had not been done properly

the roof ventilation had been insufficient and was causing roof condensation.

The new roof will eliminate all of these shortcomings. The roofing crew is doing a very good job, they are out on the roofs at -22°C. This should give them some credit if some snow is dropping on a deck below. 

An underlayment is put over the entire surface of the roofs (see Pict.4 on the last page of our Website) and the roof ventilation will be improved significantly. 

The new roofs are carrying a warranty on workmanship of 15 years and on the shingles of 35 years.

The project will be financed out of our existing reserve fund. The Board sees no need to increase the Condo Fee for this year and the requirements of our Reserve Fund Study are met.

The re-roofing is expected to be finished around the second week  of March (if weather allows).

And now the Good News: The re-shingling of our roofs will qualify for a tax credit of your 2009 personal income tax return if you are owning the Condo Apartment and if it is your principal residence at any time between Jan.27, 2009 and Feb.1, 2010. Part of your share of the cost for re-roofing, defined by the Unit factor will be deductible. You will find more information at: 

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Painting

Due to the urgency of the roof renovation the painting program that had been planned for the summer has to be reduced to the absolutely necessary. In the next Newsletter you will find more details about this project.

Privacy Areas (i.e. Sundecks, Garage Driveway)

Please, be aware that your sundecks and the driveways in front of your garages are Privacy Areas, i.e. areas that have been dedicated to you for your exclusive private use (see our Bylaws Chapt.54.A). According to our Bylaws you are responsible for maintaining and keeping them in good order. This includes cleaning-up and removal of snow during the winter. If you are away you have to find a solution to get this done for you. You are accountable for all damages or any mischief coming from not fulfilling this obligation (i.e. leaking of snow water into the building or on the decks below etc.). You can learn more about your obligations in Chapter 54.B of our Bylaws.

Garbage Disposal outside the Garbage Bins

is not allowed according to our Bylaws (see Chapt. 58.A.m) and according to the Bylaws of the Town of Banff. The Town will charge a penalty between $100 and $250 for leaving garbage besides the bins. You can get more information at: <>.

Visitor Parking Lots

The visitor parking lots are to be used exclusively by the visitors of our Condo. When a visitor is staying longer than 1 week please notify the Board by e-mail ().

Bylaw Enforcement

Our managing company Asset-West is in charge of enforcing the Bylaws of our Condominium. Please, contact them if you have any questions or concerns (Phone (403)678-3000).

Crawl Spaces

Beginning in Spring 2009 an inspection of all crawl spaces will become necessary. All residents except those of you who live in Units A or B of each building have to make their Units available for a crawl space inspection at one of several appointments that will be given to you at that time (see our Bylaws Chapt.58.A.y). 

Our Condominium Website

Many of you have visited our Website at 

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Here you will find among other information this Newsletter. If you have any constructive suggestions or any contributions to make please do not hesitate to contact the Board via the Contact Page.

The Board on Account of its Own

The composition of the New Board is as follows:

President: Dierk A. Redel, Unit 1D

Treasurer: Leo Berchtold, Unit 5A

Director: Yumiko Hiraki, Unit 6B

The Board is asking for your co-operation to volunteer as Board member and hereby making a difference for you and for the Condo Association. If you are ready for this, please send an e-mail to our condo e-mail address ().

Your Board of Directors

TATANGA RIDGE PHASE II

SPRING NEWSLETTER

April 2008

Dear Tatanga II Home Owners,

As winter slowly relaxes it's grip and spring tries to take hold, your Board of Directors would like to take this opportunity to update you on a few items regarding:

Reserve Fund Study/Cash Call

To be Completed

Summer Building Maintenance

A variety of building maintenances projects will be taking place for the coming summer. These are to include the completion of the painting project that will be carried forward from last year (buildings 2, 4, 5 and 7 are scheduled for painting), maintenance work on the pumphouse as recommended in the Reserve Funds Study, researching any problems areas in thecrawlspaces as and complete needed work as recommended by Trillium Home Services.

Spring Clean-Up and Refreshing

The Board has approved a Spring Clean-Up and Refreshing Campaign of the Condo

grounds. The goal is to have the grounds overall cleaned up, trees pruned, consideration of any dead trees, and preparing the grounds for summer. This will assist to have our grounds ready for the summer where we will ask homeowners to assist with summer maintenance. We are currently awaiting estimates from landscaping companies. We will confirm a company and ensure a time for this in their spring schedule.

Cleaning Up After Your Pet

As the snow has melted it has become very obvious that some owners are letting their dog's poo anywhere on the property and some dog owners are not picking up after their dogs. A considerable amount of dog droppings have accumulated all over the condo property and have left the grounds looking very messy. In addition dogs have been seen roaming off-leash in the condo property, and there have been issues of barking and howling of dogs thathave been an annoyance for some residents.

In addition to being inconsiderate towards your neighbours, these incidents are clear breaches of our Bylaws and of the Bylaws of the Town of Banff. Below we have included the relevant paragraphs of those bylaws and the penalties that may be imposed:

Bylaws of Tatanga II:

58.A An Owner shall (not):

(c) be restricted from keeping a maximum of two domestic pets in a Unit, provided however that if any such pet causes a disturbance or causes danger or interference with the safety, privacy or enjoyment of any other person in or upon the Parcel, the Board may order the Unit Owner responsible for such pet to remove it from the Parcel within (14) days notice.

No animal, livestock, fowl or pet not permitted under any Town of Banff Bylaws permitted.

All pets shall be hand leashed when on Managed Property or Common Property and all droppings shall be removed by the owner.

...........

Bylaws of the Town of Banff :

(to be found on the Internet under: <http://www.banff.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=142>).

BYLAW NO. 46-3

BEING A BYLAW OF THE TOWN OF BANFF IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA

TO PROVIDE FOR THE LICENSING, REGULATION AND CONTROL OF

ANIMALS IN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE TOWN OF BANFF

17. (a) No person who is the Owner of any Dog or Cat shall permit such Dog or Cat to Run at Large within the corporate limits of the Town.

(b) Any Owner who permits any Dog or Cat to Run at Large shall be guilty of an offence and liable under conviction to a fine as provided in Schedule "B" attached hereto.

20. (a) No Owner shall permit his Dog or Cat to damage public or private property.

(b) If a Dog or Cat defecates on any public or private property other than the property of its Owner, the Owner shall cause such defecation to be removed immediately.

(c) Where public or private property is damaged by a Dog or Cat, or if defecation by a Dog or Cat pursuant to subsection (b) is not removed, the Owner of said Dog or Cat shall be guilty of an offence, and liable upon conviction to a fine as provided in Schedule "B" attached hereto.

21. (a) No Owner shall permit his Dog to bark or howl excessively, or in any manner disturb the quiet of any person.

(b) No Owner shall permit his Cat to disturb the quiet of any person.

(c) Where said Dog or Cat disturbs the quiet of any person, the Owner of such Dog or Cat shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine as provided in Schedule "B" attached hereto.

ANIMAL CONTROL BYLAW #46-3 SCHEDULE "B"

Penalties

17 Allowing a Dog or Cat to Run at Large 100.00 $

20 Permitting a Dog or Cat to damage public, or private property

or defecate on property other than the Owner's 100.00 $

21 Permitting a Dog or Cat to disturb the quiet of any person 100.00 $

From this it is clear that owners of dogs (and cats) in our Condo have a special responsibility towards their neighbours and towards the Town of Banff. Not keeping up with their responsibilities means infraction of the Bylaws and may lead to considerable fines.

We would ask that all pet owners to be considerate of your neighbours and clean up after your pets.

Crawl Spaces

The Board of Directors is attempting to become more diligent with having crawl spaces inspected, it has been determined that all crawl spaces of all buildings need to be inspected once a year. Many crawl spaces, however have not been inspected before due to the fact that it has been difficult to set up an appointment for inspection. In the crawl spaces that have been inspected so far some damage has been found that could become a problem if not taken care of correctly. Therefore it is important to get the inspections of all crawl spaces

done as soon as possible to avoid greater damage.The Board is planning to get this done by the end of May.

For this purpose we need the co-operation of all residents living at the lowest level of each building, i.e. Buildings #1 A + B, # 2 E + F, # 3 E + F, # 4 C + D, # 5 C + D, # 6 E + F and # 7 C + D. If we could ask those residents to contact Tony Gregory at Asset West to set up a date and time to allow your crawl space to be inspected.

QUOTATION of our Bylaws (pp.36 - 37):

OWNER'S OBLIGATION TO REPAIR and MAINTAIN

57.C. Not withstanding the duty of an Owner to repair and maintain every part of his Unit, the Corporation shall be responsible for the repair, maintenance or replacement of any components of the structure, mechanical, electrical or plumbing components between the drywall of the Unit and the exterior wall of the Apartment Unit. The Unit Owner shall take reasonable care to safeguard these components and shall notify the Corporation of any suspected need for repair or maintenance of the same, and cooperate with the Corporation

to allow access for repairs.

Winter Snow Removal

There have been numerous snowfalls this winter and our snow removal contract has been kept busy keeping our roads clean as well removing the snow piles more then once this winter. There have been a few snow removal issues during the winter that were addressed at the time and unfortunately some damage has been done during the removal as well. The Board is in discussion with the snow removal company to fix the damages or bear the costs for repairs.

Unit Key

In a recent letter from Asset West to all unit owners it has been requested to provide Asset West with a key to your unit. The main goal behind this is that the keys will be used to gain access to the premises in the event of an emergency or a maintenance issue. Please refer to your letter and please provide a key to Asset West ASAP.

Home Renovations

To ensure residents are aware, all residents are obligated as per the bylaws to obtain permission from the Board of Directors if you plan to renovate, add or change any part of the building, including the private areas, in advance before starting the project.

Visitors Parking

Please remember that the visitor's parking lots are reserved exclusively for the guests of condominium residents. Parking on Otter Lane (the main road way of the condominium including the roundabout) is prohibited. Any vehicle of the residents found on a visitor parking lot or Otter Lane will be towed away at the owner's risk and expense. Should a resident need a temporary parking space (up to 2 weeks) in the aforementioned areas due to a special circumstance, the resident must obtain a permission in advance from the Property

Manager at Asset West.

Garbage Bins

Please be aware that Town of Banff garbage bins located on the property are for the disposal of household wastes only. It is illegal to dispose any other items, such as; hazardous materials, furniture, machinery or computer parts, etc in these bins. Please do not dispose of these items in these bins or leave unwanted materials near the bins. Please contact the Town of Banff for detail information.

Property Management Company

The Tatanga II property management company is Asset West located in Canmore. The Property Manager is Mr. Tony Gregory and can be reached at Asset West 678-3000 and 24 hours emergency

493-4633.