Dear BoD,
The purpose of this email is to provide you with an update on implementation of the various (not all) 2014 Capital Repair & Replacement Projects:
1. Storm Water Drainage Maintenance: 2014 Budget = $5,000. YTD Expenditures = $3,296. Clean-out of the settlement pond that services Sandcastle Drive was challenging and has been completed. Saplings and small trees from the circumference of the pond were cut with a chain saw and transported to the fitness center parking lot where the volume of materials was sufficient enough to fill an entire construction bin. Well points and a gasoline-powered pump were used to remove water from the pond – and excess sand deposited in the pond was removed with picks & shovels. I decided against the use of a backhoe to remove sapling roots due to the expense and probable need for permits. The saplings were, instead, cut close to the ground – and the root systems that remain will prove beneficial in filtering the storm water before it exits into the estuary. There may be a need to have the underground drain lines from Sandcastle Drive flushed with fire hoses (with cooperation of the fire department), but suspect it won’t be necessary due to flush-through provided by heavy spring rains (I’ll keep an eye on it and make decision later in the spring). All drainage swales and ditches have been weed-whacked the vegetation removed was disposed of in a construction bin. Yet to be completed: Line portions of some trenches and swales that are prone to cave-ins with rock purchased from materials yard in Kitty Hawk. See first 2 attachments above for examples of recently cleaned ditches.
2. Replace Deck Boards on Portions of Main Oceanfront Dune Walk-Over: 2014 Budget = $2,500. YTD Expenditure = $6312. Severely worn and warped deck boards on the main oceanfront dune walk-over (adjacent to the oceanfront pool) that were not replaced last year during construction of the new dual staircase have been replaced. This necessitated removal of the railings on both sides of the walk-over as well as the pressure-treated plywood barriers that I installed years ago to prevent the dune from encroaching on the walk-over (note: the barriers were necessarily build on top of the deck boards – thus the need for their removal). At the same time, the dune along the railings and the barriers had to be excavated in order to access the deck boards. As you may recall from my presentation at the October 2013 meeting, I also planned (but did not budget) the installation of benches on both sides of the walk-over which made sense given that the railings had to be removed as part of the deck replacement effort. The result is that we now have 2 beautiful benches that provide easy views of the ocean. Some additional expense was also incurred due to the need to replace a number of rotten joists that were discovered when the old deck boards were removed. Also not anticipated was the need to replace the staircase that leads up to the walk-over on the poolside of the structure. The stair stringers were in worse shape than I thought – and I decided to have Larry not only replace the old staircase, but to increase the length and depth of the stairs in order to make them much more pedestrian-friendly (especially for the senior crowd). See 3rd & 4th attachments above for photos of new benches and new staircase (note: side safety rails were added to the staircase after the photos were taken).
3. Repair Oceanfront Pool Building Floor (2014 Budget = $5,000) AND Waterproof Oceanfront Pool Building with Addition of Rain Gutters and New Doors (2014 Budget = $5,000) – Combined Total Budget = $10,000: YTD Expenditure = $6,036. Temporary repairs were made to the floor of the women’s bathroom at the oceanfront pool building this summer after a portion of the floor caved in. Subsequent investigation of the floor revealed that the problem extended to the men’s bathroom & the pump room as well, and to portions of the building’s floor within Sharkey’s Snack Shop (i.e., parts of the floors in those areas were “spongy”). As is always the case, the extent of the problem was not totally revealed until flooring was removed and the structure supporting the floor was open for view. What we discovered was that the Quest (gray pipe) water lines to the sinks and toilets developed leaks and had saturated/compromised the joists. Adding to the problem were worn gaskets on the toilets. The result was a structural nightmare that impacted both bathrooms, portions of Sharkey’s floor – and to a lesser extent the pump room floor. An additional problem was caused by water that was cascading from the roof and splashing onto the rear side of the building where the wooden pool deck abuts the rear of the pool building. The casements of all 4 doors on the rear of the building were rotted as was much of the sheathing that covered the floors in the bathrooms. Finally, it was discovered that the original construction of the partitions between the bathrooms, between the women’s room and Sharkey’s, and between the men’s room and the pump room were insufficiently supported (joists supporting the partitions were non-existent or too far from the partitions). The combination of the above required that both bathrooms be completely gutted and much of the support structure removed/replaced. Both bathrooms have been re-plumbed and extra precautions were taken to prevent future water infiltration. 5 new replacement casements & doors were installed (including the front door to Sharkey’s), and a rain gutter was added to the rear of the building. Work is currently focused on replacing the bathroom floors (including pressure-treated plywood, cement board and new floor tiles) as well as on the installation of new toilets. See 5th, 6th & 7th attachments above for photos of water damage, deconstructed bathroom and reconstructed bathroom with new floors ready-for-tiling. The next step in the process is opening sections of the floor within Sharkey’s Snack Shop to assess water damage and to make repairs. We’re fairly certain that the primary culprits are water infiltration from the women’s bathroom, from the bottom of the external rear wall and from the rotted door casings and doors that enter directly into Sharkey’s. Insofar as water damage to the pump room, I recommend that we wait to tackle that project in 2015 and that new, more state-of-the-art pool filtering equipment be installed at that time along with replacement of the floor and joists.
4. Street Crack Filling & Sealing (2014 Budget = $35,000): YTD Expenditure = $0. As soon as the weather improves we’ll commence crack filling of all parking lots and streets. As far as sealing is concerned, I signaled at the last Board Meeting that I’d like to delay that until then fall of this year in order to make certain that such sealing should even be done prior to the more comprehensive effort to restore the streets & parking lots (e.g., overlay with 1.5 inches of compacted asphalt over a 2-4 year period). As mentioned at the last BoD Meeting, RPC’s estimate for a 1.5 inch asphalt overlay of all VOH streets & parking lots (including milling so that street overlay is level with driveways) is $400,000. Based on discussions at the January 25th Board Meeting, any and all street work should be accomplished without a special assessment to owners and without obtaining a loan. While I’m still in the investigative phase and will have more information at the next Board Meeting, my preliminary thinking is as follows: (a) Break the community into 4 phases or parcels (“West Side” to include Lakeside Drive and all cul-de-sacs off Lakeside, “East Side” to include Windance Lane and all cul-de-sacs off Lakeside, “Oceanfront” to include Sandcastle Drive, Stillwind Court and High Dune Loop, and “Newest Development” to include Lost Lake Drive, Bear Foot Path and SAGA’s Stillwater Court. (b) The $400,000 estimate from RPC includes all VOH streets including those that are relatively new (“Newest Development) that are not in need of an asphalt overlay at this point-in-time. (c) By eliminating the “Newest Development Streets from an immediate asphalt overlay we may be able to overlay all other streets and parking lots for a cost closer to $300,000 (assuming that Sandcastle Drive can be fixed with an overlay). (d) We could then implement a 3-year effort to overlay all non “Newest Development” streets without having to impose a special assessment or taking out a loan (i.e., could be financed using a portion of the Capital Repair & Replacement Reserve and the additions to the Reserve Account that are deposited at the end or beginning of each year. (e) In terms of the “Newest Development” streets we can preserve them for the next 5 years by annual crack filling and by sealing those streets. Please know that this is preliminary thinking only and I’ll have more information to discuss at the next Board Meeting.
5. Sandcastle Drive Drainage (2014 Budget = $0): YTD Expenditure = $0. I’ll be speaking with Bissell Engineering about whether or not it is possible to install a drop inlet on the east side of the street and connect it to the underground drainage pipe on the west side of the street. I’m fairly certain that won’t be possible due to the extensive waste water system that is buried under Sandcastle Drive. If that’s the case, the immediate solution would be installation of drainage swales (designed to contain not re-direct rain water) along the east shoulder. The ultimate solution will, however, be a re-grade of Sandcastle so that water is directed to the drain inlets on the western side of the street. As previously discussed, I need to map precisely where rain water gathers during the spring rain season before I can give you a full assessment of the problem and what the possible solutions are.
FYI,
Dick