Fire extinguisher instructions

Fire extinguisher instructions are easy. Remember the anacronym, "PASS".

"P" stands for "pull" - hold upright, and pull the safety pin.
"A" stands for "aim" - start back 8 - 10 feet, and aim at the base of the fire.
"S" stands for "squeeze" - squeeze the lever on the fire extinguisher.
"S" stands for "sweep" - while aiming and squeezing, sweep side to side, to put out the fire.

Plant life

The summer of 2009 was especially hot and broke many records for length of days without rain. This took a heavy toll on the decorative plants, shrubs, and other folliage at Kenthill Townhomes.

Attention condo buyers

The following is directed towards potential condo buyers at Kenthill Townhomes:

Statements have been made and some statements have been written to the effect that only half of Kenthill Townhomes homeowners are paying their dues. These statements are not based on any facts. Please ask your real estate agent to investigate these statements. By contacting Suhrco Residential Properties, Inc. and requesting the appropriate official Lender Questionaires, Resale Certificates, etc., you will discover that these claims are unfounded.

Speculative statements such as these only make it more difficult for homeowners who are struggling and are trying to be responsible and who are attempting to sell their Units and move on to alternative living situations.

Situations in which homeowners who are delinquent in their homeowners dues are dealt with with privacy, confidentiality, and respect, in accordance with the Kenthill Townhomes Homeowners Declarations, and according to the laws of Washington State, which include liens, foreclosures, Sheriffs Sales, and Trustees Sales, and all of these official processes must work their way through the King County Court system (a very, very lengthly, and time consuming process).

Satellite installation rules

The Kenthill Townhomes Rules & Regulations with respect to satellite dishes are as follows:

9.9 The Rules and Regulations concerning no alterations to the Common Area or Limited Common Areas and/or exterior appearances without prior approval of the Board extends to and includes satellite dish placement. Satellite dish placement is not prohibited, but their placement is permitted to be regulated in accordance with Federal Law.

Satellite installations at Kenthill Townhomes are typically occurring on the privacy fences or on metal stands.

For more information on this subject, go to:

http://kenthillwebblog.blogspot.com/search?q=satellite

Northwest cotton wood tree

Our neighboring condominium complex, Highland Park, which is located at the northwest corner of our property plat, has recently cut down the large cotton wood tree that was in their backyard (the branches of this tree had been a safety issue, as many of them used to overhang onto the Kenthill Townhomes driveway, near Building P). The top photo was taken in 2009; the bottom photo was taken in 2008.

Mailing mistake

There was a mis-communication between our property manager and a new assistant at Suhrco Residential Properties, Inc. (Suhrco is the property management company for Kenthill Townhomes). The January, February, and March homeowners meeting minutes were mistakenly mailed out to all 82 Kenthill Townhomes homeowners (these were already mailed out in early April). There will be no charge to Kenthill's Operating Account for this error.

In a few days the April, May, and June homeowners meeting minutes will be mailed to all 82 Kenthill Townhomes homeowners. [Two other items will also be included in the mailing. Homeowners will wish to read them carefully].

Status of the SE 256th St. LID

Early this year, the City of Kent proposed the formation of a Local Improvement District (LID) for the purpose of funding the S.E 256th Street Widening Project. Letters were sent to affected homeowners at Kenthill Townhomes, homeowners of ordinary houses, and most apartment owners (Easthill Apartments was included) whose residences are on or near S.E. 256th Street. [According to mailed paperwork and maps, certain particular apartments were excluded, having signed a previous agreement when constructed]. Letters were later sent which stated the predicted amount that each affected homeowners or apartment owner would be expected to pay to the City of Kent.

As you may remember from the Annual Meeting, one of homeowners at Kenthill Townhomes volunteered to head up a committee to organize homeowners at Kenthill Townhomes as well as homeowners of houses and owners of apartments whose residences are on or near S.E. 256th Street in order to gather opposition to the City of Kent's Proposed Local Improvement District.

The City of Kent held informational meetings concerning the proposal. Statements in letters and at these meetings included the fact that unless a 60% opposition from affected homeowners was achieved, and this needed and was required to be in verifiable writings, from every homeowner and/or apartment owner, that the City of Kent was going to go ahead and proceed with the Proposed Local Improvement District and begin assessing these citizens for the monies to fund this project.

The committee has recently concluded their work concerning this issue. The Kenthill Townhomes Board has received written confirmation of the success of this effort. Last week, the committee that was formed to oppose this Proposed Local Improvement District presented the City of Kent with a cover letter and documentation, including signed letters and petitions, indicating to officials, clerks, attorneys, city council members, and the mayor, which demonstrated that a 67% opposition vote to the proposed LID had been achieved.

According to calculations which were studied, by defeating this proposed LID, the residents of Kenthill Townhomes (alone) have saved slightly less than $171,000.00. Members of the committee that was led by the above mentioned Kenthill Townhomes homeowner have spent considerable time and effort to reach this goal. To say that they deserve our appreciation would be an understatement. On behalf of every homeowner belonging to the Kenthill Townhomes Homeowners Association, both onsite and offsite, the members of the Kenthill Townhomes Board would like to thank the members of this committee for their diligence in seeing this endeavor through to its completion.

2009 Driveway improvement (Part 3)

This photo shows the driveway improvement near Building I (photo is taken facing west).

2009 Driveway improvement (Part 2)

This photo shows the driveway improvement near Building R (photo is taken facing south).

Frost free

Most of the hose bibs at Kenthill Townhomes are ordinary, standard, non frost free hose bibs. Over the past thirty years, when there was a problem with these hose bibs, such as when they leaked, etc., they were replaced. Some of these were just replaced by ordinary, standard, non frost free hose bibs. But others were replaced by the better, but more expensive frost free hose bibs. These new exterior faucets are “frost-free” meaning the shut off, or point in which water is not exposed to the exterior elements, is within the insulated portions of the house, or in our case, condo, thus minimizing the potential of the faucet to freeze. If the hose bib is of the frost free variety, the process of turning the water on and off drains the remaining small amount of water in the system, and this occurs every time the valve is closed, as the stop itself is located 12 inches or more away from the spout. That distance is usually always inside a wall in a heated space. No additional freeze protection is required.

However, these new frost free hose bibs are not without their faults. They can and do fail, and when this happens, it is almost always because the homeowner did not disconnect and remove the garden hose from the hose bib. Even when this happens during the winter months, garden hoses, having been disconnected by Board members or nearby homeowners, are often reattached by other homeowners to wash their vehicles or to water their plants. Then these garden hoses are not disconnected when they are done. This condition is the Achilles heel of these new frost free hose bibs: All garden hoses must remain disconnected from them during cold weather, otherwise the frost free feature of these hose bibs is defeated; it is simply the way they operate and how they are engineered to work. A garden hose will cause a frost free hose bib to freeze when the water in the garden hose freezes.

[Also, a related piece of information is that the average plumbing company today charges $250 per hour. Not only is this a factor, but this particular task of installing a new frost free hose bib usually (but not always) involves acquiring access to the interior of the Unit. All obstructions, such as hot water heaters or appliances, etc., must be moved out of the way. Then the dry wall or sheetrock inside the Unit must be cut in order for wrenches to be applied to the pipe on the other (the interior) side of the wall, as well as to the hose bib, located on the outside of the wall. Later the dry wall must be repaired, mudded, sanded, and painted. Historically, over the years when this type of project has been undertaken, the total project costs have proven to be very expensive].

Pest control

Due to economic reasons, the contract with Willards Pest Control, Inc. (the contractor that has been used by Kenthill Townhomes for over a decade to address pest issues. such as ants) was cancelled in late 2007. Homeowners are encouraged to use the many aftermarket products available at local hardware stores to deal with problems with insects, such as ants.

2009 Driveway improvement (Part 1)

In 2008, the strip of shared driveway that lies east and west on the property (this is S.E. 254th Pl.) was resurfaced with new asphalt at a cost of approximately $15,500.

In 2009, additional asphalt driveway resurfacing will occur (see the post dated May 20, 2009 for additional information) near Building I and Building R. The square footage of these two areas to be done in 2009 is approximately twice that of the area resurfaced in 2008.

[Maintenance of these items is considered a shared expense under the Joint Access and Easement Agreement of 1976 signed by both Kenthill Townhomes and Easthill Apartments. Easthill Apartments share is 60%. Kenthill Townhomes share is 40%.].

2009 wooden curb

Final improvements made to the parking island curb near Buildings A, B, and C in 2009.

2008 wooden curb

Improvements made to the parking island curb near Buildings A, B, and C accomplished in late 2008.

2007 wooden curb

Condition of the parking island curb near Buildings A, B, and C in 2007.

2009 dry rot repairs

Significant dry rot continues to be discovered at our buildings. In order to address this dry rot (where the roof line meets the vertical wood siding on the building), wood siding repairs are being accomplished at Buildings C, E, D, and I.

Asphalt maintenance 2009

The Kenthill Townhomes Board has been informed by the owner of Easthill Apartments, Hume Investments, LLC., that asphalt maintenance will occur within the next few months. Asphalt resurfacing will occur at the south shared driveway area. This includes the area which lies east and west between 108th Avenue SE & 106th Avenue SE, just south and in front of Building I. Asphalt resurfacing will also occur at the southwest shared driveway area. This includes the area which lies along 106th Avenue SE, just southwest of Building R.
[Maintenance of these items is considered a shared expense under the Joint Access and Easement Agreement of 1976 signed by both Kenthill Townhomes and Easthill Apts.].

Date change

Because of the Memorial Day holiday, the May 25, 2009 homeowners meeting will be moved to May 18, 2009.

Pool modifications

For many years, the King County Board of Health has been pressuring Easthill Apts. to drain the pool and install three drains (instead of the only one drain, presently in use) in order to comply with current county codes. Recent changes in federal law have now made these changes unavoidable. The Kenthill Townhomes Board has been informed by the owner of Easthill Apartments that these improvements, along with certain other upgrades, will be made to the swimming pool. The work will begin soon and will conclude before the Summer months. More information may be found on this website by viewing the September 02, 2008 blogpost or by clicking on http://kenthillwebblog.blogspot.com/search?q=chlorine .

Water valves to date

During the past five years, water valves were found to be defective at Buildings A, B, C, D, E, I, J, L, and O. Costs for replacements averaged between $2,000 and $2,500 each. [In order for a water valve to be replaced, the main valve which feeds the entire property plat (both Kenthill Townhomes and Easthill Apartments) has to be turned off. Because of legal and safety requirements, only the City of Kent Fire Department can do this. This requires considerable coordination between the two properties as well as the plumbing company involved, and the project typically takes several days to complete].

Plumbing Projects

This was placed on all six mailboxes:
NOTICE:
KENTHILL TOWNHOMES WILL HAVE THE WATER SHUT OFF TO THE ENTIRE PROPERTY COMPLEX [INCLUDING EASTHILL APARTMENTS] ON THURSDAY MAY 7TH, 2009, BEGINNING AT 8:00AM. THIS IS BEING COORDINATED WITH NEIGHBORING EASTHILL APARTMENTS IN CONJUCTION WITH THE CITY OF KENT AND BEST PLUMBING, INC. THE PURPOSE OF THE WATER SHUT OFF IS TO REPAIR TWO FAULTY WATER VALVES ON KENTHILL TOWNHOMES PROPERTY AT THE NORTH END OF BUILDINGS C AND O. THERE IS A 5:00PM GOAL FOR RESTORING THE WATER BUT IT MAY BE SOONER UNLESS PROBLEMS ARISE. THE TIMIMG OF THESE TYPEs OF REPAIRS CAN BE VERY UNPREDICTABLE. PLEASE BE SURE THAT ALL WATER FAUCETS ARE IN THE OFF POSITION BEFORE LEAVING YOUR UNIT. LEAVING THEM ON ACCIDENTALLY CAN CAUSE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE IF THE WATER IS RESTORED AND A FLOOD OCCURS.

Speak before the meeting

This may be an opportunity to speak with members of the City Council regarding the LID (before the May 19, 2009 meeting downtown). The following is the the City of Kent's website:
Kent City Council to Host Town Hall Meeting KENT, Wash. – April 8, 2009 – The economy, neighborhood livability and economic development are expected to top the list of discussions with council members at a special Town Hall meeting on Thursday, April 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Training Room at Fire Station 74, 24523 116th Ave. SE. [This fire station is the one located just to the northeast of Kenthill Townhomes, about a mile away].
The Kent City Council is hosting its third in a series of Town Hall meetings so residents can freely and informally speak and ask questions about the issues important to them.
“Town Hall meetings provide an opportunity for residents to come and speak to us in a very casual setting about their concerns, suggestions and hopes for our city,” said Council President Debbie Raplee.
“We started hosting these last fall and participation by the public was terrific,” Raplee said. “The open discussion and hearing from people directly was very valuable to us. We see these meetings as an opportunity to expand our outreach while also increasing residents’ participation in city government.”
Attendees will be invited to submit their questions at the beginning of the meeting, where a moderator will then facilitate discussion.
Contact:Michelle Witham, Community and Public Affairs 253-856-5709 mwitham@ci.kent.wa.us

Information about L.I.D.

The Kenthill Townhomes Board will not be taking a leadership role regarding this issue. The Kenthill Townhomes Board is only composed of four homeowners who volunteer to oversee issues affecting the Kenthill Townhomes Homeowners Association. Therefore, their efforts will likely be ignored by the City of Kent. This issue is with respect to proposed improvements along the S.E. 256th Street corridor. Therefore, it is only going to be affected by the turnout of all of the homeowners, all 82 of the homeowners, who live at Kenthill Townhomes. Only by turning out at the May 19, 2007 City of Kent Council Meeting, together with all the other affected homeowners who live near or along S.E. 256th Street, will the City Council listen. According to the documents recently mailed to all these citizens a 60% protest is needed in order for the City Council to reconsider this proposal, and to stop the formation of a Local Improvement District, and the levying of taxes on all those affected.

That said, a committee of interested and concerned homeowners is being formed and is in its infancy. As information about this committee develops, it will be posted on this Kenthill Townhomes weblog at http://kenthillwebblog.blogspot.com/. As noted above, only individual taxpayers will be given any credibility, so a large turnout is critical. It is suggested that homeowners do all that they can such as doorbelling, carpooling, etc. There will be a certain number of homeowners that simply cannot attend. Two e-mail addresses have been provided for these people to write their representatives. The first is an e-mail address for the City Council. It goes to all the members of the council, not just one. It is citycouncil@ci.kent.wa.us. The second is an e-mail address for the mayor. It is mayor@ci.kent.wa.us

A number of Kenthill Townhomes homeowners attended the meeting held on March 23, 2009 at Kent Meridian High School (there is another meeting scheduled for April 2, 2009 at 4:30; these are “Informational Meetings Only”). When pressed to provide a dollar figure for the average cost to be assessed to individual homeowners for this proposed project, a city official would only say, “…thousands…”

Kent Meridian High School

A six page letter from the City of Kent, dated 03-10-09, was mailed on 03-11-09, and received by all 82 homeowners by 03-12-09. It states that numerous improvements will be made to S.E. 256th Street. The letter states that while a grant was obtained which will provide a portion of the needed funds, homeowners adjacent to S.E. 256th Street will also share in the costs, since they stand to benefit from said improvements. Two meetings will be held at the local high school, one on 03-23-09 and one on 04-02-09, to provide for citizen’s questions, comments, and protests. The times for each are 4:30 to 6:45PM.

It is a known fact that for years Kenthill Townhomes Annual Meetings are always held in March, coinciding with the date of typically held monthly homeowners meetings, that being the 4th Monday of the month. The only exception was in 2005, when there was some difficulty during the transition from Phillips Real Estate Inc. over to Suhrco Residential LLC., and the meeting had to be re-scheduled for April. This requirement of holding the Annual Meeting in the first quarter of any given year was actually a part of our old Declarations or Bylaws.

The 2009 Kenthill Townhomes Annual Meeting will not be rescheduled. Many homeowners plan year round to attend this meeting. Two dates are offered for citizens to attend a meeting regarding the road improvements at the local high school. The times for each are 4:30 to 6:45PM. The start time of the Kenthill Townhomes Annual Meeting is 7:00PM.

2009 Annual Meeting

The 2009 Kenthill Townhomes Annual Meeting will be held at 7:00PM in the Cabana on March 23, 2009. Homeowners are urged to sign proxies if they are unable to attend. Homeowners may wish to re-read the December 2008 Newsletter (additional copies may be found on the doorstep of Unit J-4).

Delinquencies, foreclosures, and bankruptcies

The property management company that handles Kenthill Townhomes is Suhrco Residential Properties, LLC. Suhrco employs numerous property managers who manage properties throughout the Seattle through Auburn area. Each property manager is typically responsible for approximately 12 properties. Recently, the property manager for Kenthill Townhomes made a statement regarding the current financial crisis affecting our region. She said that she is currently spending an ever increasing amount of time managing and keeping current over five hundred delinquencies which cover all of the properties she is managing (only one of which is Kenthill Townhomes). A huge number of these are foreclosures and bankruptcies. She said it was quickly becoming a full time job, keeping up with each an every development, keeping in touch with the attorneys, and staying current on the status of each individual delinquent homeowners legal and financial status.

Hose bibs fourteen

Most of the hose bibs at Kenthill Townhomes are ordinary, standard, non frost free hose bibs. Over the past thirty years, when there was a problem with these hose bibs, such as when they leaked, etc., they were replaced. Some of these were just replaced by ordinary, standard, non frost free hose bibs. But others were replaced by the better, but more expensive frost free hose bibs. These new exterior faucets are “frost-free” meaning the shut off, or point in which water is not exposed to the exterior elements, is within the insulated portions of the house, or in our case, condo, thus minimizing the potential of the faucet to freeze. If the hose bib is of the frost free variety, the process of turning the water on and off drains the remaining small amount of water in the system, and this occurs every time the valve is closed, as the stop itself is located 12 inches or more away from the spout. That distance is usually always inside a wall in a heated space. No additional freeze protection is required.

However, these new frost free hose bibs are not without their faults. They can and do fail, and when this happens, it is almost always because the homeowner did not disconnect and remove the garden hose from the hose bib. Even when this happens during the winter months, garden hoses, having been disconnected by Board members or nearby homeowners, are often reattached by other homeowners to wash their vehicles or to water their plants. Then these garden hoses are not disconnected when they are done. This condition is the Achilles heel of these new frost free hose bibs: All garden hoses must remain disconnected from them during cold weather, otherwise the frost free feature of these hose bibs is defeated; it is simply the way they operate and how they are engineered to work. A garden hose will cause a frost free hose bib to freeze when the water in the garden hose freezes.

[Also, a related piece of information is that the average plumbing company today charges $250 per hour. Not only is this a factor, but this particular task of installing a new frost free hose bib usually (but not always) involves acquiring access to the interior of the Unit. All obstructions, such as hot water heaters or appliances, etc., must be moved out of the way. Then the dry wall or sheetrock inside the Unit must be cut in order for wrenches to be applied to the pipe on the other (the interior) side of the wall, as well as to the hose bib, located on the outside of the wall. Later the dry wall must be repaired, mudded, sanded, and painted. Historically, over the years when this type of project has been undertaken, the total project costs have proven to be very expensive].

Making up the difference

The following is an excerpt from another website:

"The Association does not have "deep pockets." The only money it generally receives is the assessment payments of the owners. If some of the home owners go into bankruptcy or simply cannot make payment, there will be a budgetary shortfall. Because the budget is determined and then divided amongst the home owners, bad debt will cause a shortfall. It is necessary for the board to determine the anticipated shortfall from bad debt, and to budget accordingly. The past history regarding bad debt can be useful in determining the expected shortfall, but other factors such as the number of cases in collections and the general condition of the economy also may be considered.
"Once one understands that an association budget is nothing more than dividing up the expenses between the home owners, it becomes readily apparent that the failure of one homeowner to pay his or her fair share of the expenses means that his or her neighbors are the ones paying the delinquent owners bills. This is not an acceptable situation. Therefore, the board has a duty to take every reasonable action to collect the assessments. The board may not waive or excuse, or otherwise forbear the payment of assessments. Those home owners who refuse to pay their assessments should be pursued in court, and every reasonable action should be taken to compel payment. Most associations have lien rights in the unit and can foreclose, take ownership or possession of the property, or garnish the wages or bank accounts of the delinquent owners. Most associations have the ability to recover from the delinquent owner, the costs of collection, including attorneys' fees and legal costs. In addition, because it is unfair for some owners to pay on time, and others to cause the Association to incur expense from late payment, it is appropriate for the board to charge a reasonable late charge (in accordance with its governing documents and applicable law)."

Important fact

The post reprinted below was first placed on this webblog on 2006 Monday, October 23, 2006:

"In August [of 2006], 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."