FEBRUARY 2012


"Adopt the pace of nature:
her secret is patience."

Ralph Waldo Emerson
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KRCA Homeowners
Board of Directors Meeting
 
March 14, 2012
7:00 PM Kilauea Neighborhood Center

Kalihiwai Ridge Homeowners can find official minutes to KRCA meetings by setting up their own account log in at certifiedhawaii.com.  They can assist you in getting your 7 digit owner number.  After you have that you will then need to set up a user name and password.  You can also set up having the Agenda to these meetings sent to you by email the day before they are held.


My Impressions

We gather, a small group of 8 lot owners after the well attended annual meeting.  It is decided before each agenda item the members present will be allowed to comment up to two minutes, then the board members will discuss the issue among themselves without interruption or further input before taking action.  Delinquent accounts are historically at the 15-17% of the membership who can't afford to pay or don't want to pay but can.  It was decided to keep these accounts in attorney collection status and at close of escrow all delinquent fees will then be collected.  Certified Management will keep ongoing record of these properties and inform escrow/title companies of back fees due KRCA when the CC&R's are requested before close of sale.  The current assessment fee for 2012 will be billed in two installments to be paid in March and September.  

The Dog Kennel project is being extended for three months while donations are being collected, financing secured, and a charitable contractor found to complete the approved county plans.  Much appreciation on all sides has been expressed for the progress in solving this neighborhood issue.  As we progress with the engineering studies required by DLNR it is known this will take considerable time to find an approved DLNR engineer at the best price for KRCA with about four months to complete the studies.  In the meantime, it was decided for maintenance items and other smaller projects three competitive bids and/or negotiation with contractors would be implemented on costs up to $18,000 paid at the board's discretion and using their good judgement of a fair price.  John Donatoni is head of the new Nominating Committee along with members David Lord and Joe Donahue to seek out and recruit individuals interested in running for the board next year at the annual meeting, along with taking nominations from the floor.

Skylar Brown passed out a suggested equation for a fee payment difference between lake lot owners and non-lake lot owners to cover the annual budget based on assessed value between all lot owners instead of divided equally that would require a change in the KRCA by laws.  This brings up issues of equal voting rights that he ties to use of the lake or not rather than how much you pay in association fees.  A number of lake lot owners have not built on the lake, have no view of the lake and probably use it as much as other members living elsewhere on Kalihiwai Ridge.  As an example, others living on Kahiliholo have their private views of the Ridge and ocean sunsets behind Makana in the distance that for them is probably just as precious as the lake view here we are happy to share with our neighbors.  The issue then is how much do you value your privacy vs. those of us living beside a lot that is potentially shared and used by all our members?  These are choices we have all made when we bought our property here at Kalihiwai Ridge with our by laws responsibly understood at the time of purchase. Another example is our association fees are not just about lake lot maintenance.  Legal action was initiated by a previous board concerning the neighboring Pavilion we were all obligated to pay for that had nothing to do with the lake, just as other liability issues may come up in the future also unrelated to the lake lot.  These and other questions certainly come to mind regarding this fee adjustment suggestion.  


A productive meeting as we move forward, working together as a community with thoughtfulness, mutual respect and we hope a building mutual trust as well.  There is also, however, much left unknown.  In executive session the draft of the Memorandum of Agreement with the water use easement holders was apparently approved and what ultimately the DLNR approved engineer will say about the safety of our dam, two important examples of what is still left unknown.  As we await more information in the months ahead let us celebrate with the EPA that May 2012 marks the 22nd Anniversary of American Wetlands Month. You can learn more by going to www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/pdf/awm.pdf  It is a rare privilege we can help preserve and live so close to our own listed and certified wetland habitat here at Kalihiwai Reservoir.

Aloha, Maggie Lea

Suggested Readings:
Water Resources and Climate Change Adaptation in Hawai`i: 2012
Reference:  Commission on Water Resource Management
Click here to download PDF file

Koamalu Volumes 1&2
by Ethel M Damon, 1931
A story of pioneers on Kauai and of what they built in that island garden

Sugar Water by Carol Wilcox 1996
Hawaiian & English definitions from the book:
wai - water, blood, passion, life
wai wai - wealth
pani wai - dam
water - transparent, odorless, tasteless, liquid, H2O

Wetland habitat non-invasive plant suggestions:
bacopa, makaloa, carex, aka 'akai, neke
kupukupu, laua'e


Links:

Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge
www.fws.gov/hanalei

Kauai Forest Birds Recovery Project
www.kauaiforestbirds.org 

Sounds Hawaiian
www.soundshawaiian.com/birds

National Wildlife Federation
www.nwf.org

Kalihiwai Reservoir is a
Certified Wildlife Habitat

Ducks Unlimited
www.ducksunlimited.com

Fishing Notes
www.fishingnotes.com

Hawaii Audubon Society
www.hawaiiaudubon.com

Sierra Club Hawaii
www.sierraclubhawaii.com




Sufi at the helm of Moe Moku