Repairs underway

Homeowners should walk to Unit R-1 or drive by it and view the extensive dry rot repairs which are being done on the building.

Attorney for the Association

In August, the Attorney for the Association was asked numerous questions regarding the authority of the Board with respect to addressing the safety issues of both the dryer vent cleaning project and the chimney cleaning project under the Kenthill Townhomes new revised Declarations and Bylaws, which were recently passed by the homeowners at the Annual Meeting in March 2006. The following are excerpts from the reply given by the Attorney:

"This is in response to your question regarding the cleaning of chimneys and dryer vents. Yes, the Association may enter units to perform any maintenance work to the chimneys and/or dryer vents. It can also assess the costs of such maintenance back to owners.
"Section 13.8 provides that the Association may designate certain objects or appliances in owners' apartments that pose a particular risk of damage to other apartments and/or common area as "High Risk Components."

"Section 13.8.2(a) states that the Board can require inspection of High Risk Components at a specified time.

"In the event the owner does not cooperate, section 13.8.4(a) states that the Association may enter an apartment and inspect, repair, maintain, or replace the High Risk Component and charge the cost back to the owner as a special assessment, fine the owner and/or sue the owner for injunctive relief.

"As for the portions of the dryer vents and chimneys that lie outside the apartments, owners are still responsible for their maintenance. Section 11.3.1 provides that "owners are responsible for maintenance, repair or replacement of any plumbing fixtures water heaters, fan, air conditioning, heating or other equipment, electrical fixtures or appliances which are located in his or her apartment, or which are for the sole and exclusive use of his or her apartment, whether located in the Apartment or in the Common or Limited Common Areas."

"Since the dryer vents and chimneys are not shared, owners are responsible for their maintenance and any work performed by the Association can be charged back to the owners.

"Please ensure that owners are given advance notice of the entry into their units to conduct the maintenance. The notice should include the date and approximate time of the entry. Let me know if you have any other questions."

Fall newsletter (revisited)

Hello everyone:
This Fall Newsletter is intended to give some information about current events and to offer some reminders.

Kenthill Townhomes and Easthill Apartments share the electrical wiring and transformers that provide electricity to both of our properties. The deteriorated underground cables that feed power to our shared transformers have caused power failures during the past several years. These cables are the property of Puget Sound Energy and are the original cables and transformers with an estimated age of 35 to 40 years old.
Upgrades to of our electrical supply and equipment, cables and transformers have been scheduled to begin in late 2006 by Puget Sound Energy. These upgrades are the responsibility of Puget Sound Energy to provide. The equipment and materials are the property of Puget Sound Energy, and they have full easement and access to all our property plat in order to do the work. Power outages will occur while the work is being performed.

As everyone may remember, the Board stated several times to homeowners at many times during the past twelve months that the Board would be giving the homeowners an opportunity to review the first draft of the new Kenthill Townhomes Rules and Regulations. In October, we will give the homeowners an opportunity to look at this new draft. At the October homeowners meeting, homeowners who are in attendance (no copies of the draft will be mailed out) may review copies of the document and propose suggestions and make comments.

[Editor's note: The October 23 meeting has been rescheduled to October 30th due to illness.]

Responsibility (After)

The City of Kent was persuaded that it was their responsibility to maintain the area in question.

Responsibility (Before)

The following excerpt from a letter was part of a series of correspondence which included e-mails and several telephone calls between a member of the Board and various departments within the City of Kent. It was a part of an effort to determine responsibility with respect to certain trees, vegitation, and other growth at the southern most part of the Kenthill Townhomes property plat.

"I have a question regarding the responsibility for the maintenance of trees. Kenthill Townhomes Condominium complex is located on the east hill of Kent. It is roughly located on the corner of SE 256th Street, 106 Ave SE, and 109Ave SE. Please view the attached photos. The photos are taken facing eastward, with the street (SE 256th Street) on the right. The question I have is about the responsibility for keeping the branches of the trees shown in the photographs trimmed back. We have received complaints from people who are concerned about the overhanging branches, some of which reach far out into what may be considered the sidewalk (although there is not really a sidewalk there, as you can see). The light gray fence in the photos is the property of Kenthill Townhomes. It is located on the east-west property line of Kenthill Townhomes. The trees in question whose branches are intruding onto what is being referred to as a sidewalk are clearly located on the south side of the fence. They are therefore not on Kenthill Townhomes property. It is my understanding, that in the past, the trimming of these trees has always been done by the City of Kent. Is this understanding correct?"

Preparing for the work

Puget Sound Energy is preparing to replace some underground wiring as well. Some of the work may be outsourced. [Remember: there will be power outages during this long project].