News Announcements

 

 

 

Greetings Seneca Homeowners – 

 

I hope this communication finds you well during these unprecedented times. The mountain experienced a great winter season that was unfortunately cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As I’m sure you are aware, the resort is currently shut down and is making every effort to flatten the curve on the spread of COVID-19. At this time, no rental reservations are being permitted and on-site staff has been reduced down to only essential workers with additional resort staff and management working remotely. Typically, the month of April is the kickoff for Association projects; this year that would have included the much-anticipated building exterior and deck drain project, however at this time we are significantly limiting contractor presence on the mountain at the request of the Resort Operators. As the situation improves and executive orders are lifted, we will resume project progress. 

 

The current state of affairs proves challenging for the planning of upcoming events. Recently, Expedition Station had no choice but to hold their annual meeting virtually; this is also a likely scenario for The Seneca as well. At this time, we are planning to have the Annual Meeting of the Members of The Seneca Association on Saturday, May 23rd at 3:00pm in The Seneca Conference Room, however if stay-at-home orders and Resort limitations remain in effect, we will not hold the meeting in person and will provide instructions on how to participate virtually. More information on this will be forthcoming. 

 

At the annual meeting, there will be an election for five (5) Directors of the Board as allowed by the Association bylaws. We encourage each owner to participate in the election for Directors and request that we receive your intent to run for the Board of Directors no later than Friday, May 1st at 5:00pm EST. We also encourage any owner who runs for the election to submit a one-page biography outlining your background and interest in serving on the Board.

 

Finally, your Board of Directors recently reviewed and adopted the 2020/2021 budget. This budget must now be ratified by the ownership and will be an agenda item at the annual meeting. A proxy form for your vote for ratification of the budget will be sent out with the annual meeting agenda and election ballot. The average residential increase in dues is 0.7% and average commercial increase is 4.5%. Some notable changes include adjustments in various line items to bring expenses closer to actual figures from the prior year, increases in contracted services based on contract negotiations, and an increased contribution to maintenance reserves. The Board and management team want to stress that increased reserve contributions will help strengthen the reserve fund balance in an effort to make up for underfunding in prior years while also preparing for upcoming larger building envelope expenditures as well as component replacements as outlined in the Association’s reserve study.

 

Additionally, on the proposed budget you may notice that “Parking Revenues” has been omitted and a new line for “Amenity Fee” income was added. These lines are essentially a wash. The Association is in receipt of a termination notice from Snowshoe Mountain, Inc. regarding the remittance of parking fee income to the Association effective June 1, 2020. Historically, this parking revenue has afforded homeowners the luxury of meeting annual budget requirements by offsetting an increase to monthly dues.  The reason behind this change is due to the inequity that exists across the ownership with only a portion of guests (units participating in Snowshoe’s rental program) contributing to this income that ultimately benefits all units in the building. Therefore, the Board has approved a policy that will replace the $27,000 parking fee income with income from an amenity fee. The purpose of this fee is to offset HOA expenses related to additional wear and tear on the common elements.  The Amenity Fee policy requires that the fee is paid by all homeowners (or though extension of their rental agents) based on the number of rented room nights. A copy of the new Amenity Fee policy can be found by clicking HERE. The other 4 Village condominium associations are also implementing similar policies. Please note that Snowshoe will collect the amenity fee in place of the parking fee so guests will not see an increase.

 

If you have any questions about the budget, annual meeting or election, please feel free to contact me at meredith@mountainlife.net or 850-797-9058. 

 

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

 

 

Meredith McNeely, Association Manager