Originally posted 12/7/22

I heard that the Board has outrageously priced bids to have work done!

The Board did indeed receive some outrageous bids and we were as shocked as the rest of you.  But the Board has not approved or accepted any of the bids that were received, nor scheduled any of that work. Instead, we have been soliciting additional bids until we can find a company with a good price and a good product.  We are also only looking at licensed, insured and bonded contractors for work that is done at Seaview.

I heard there was a Board Takeover.  How did the current Board get elected? 

Each Board Member’s term is for 2 years (Article IV, Section 3). Elections are held at the Annual meeting and members are elected by a vote of the unit owners (Article III, Section 6 and Article IV, Section 3). Any Board Member whose term is expiring- if they wish to run for another term, they need to put their name on the ballot. If their name is not on the ballot, they can not be voted in for another term.

At our most recent election in June, a notice went out to all unit owners on March 19th asking for nominations to the Board. Everyone who was interested in joining the Board submitted a ‘resume’ outlining their reasons for wanting to join. The ‘resumes’ for the nominees can be found here.

None of the previous Board Members wished to have their name on the ballot to be re-elected, which is why there was a full turnover. It was not a takeover. In case there is any further confusion, here is Bill’s resignation as Chairman.

If a Board member resigns (outside of a Special Meeting) then that vacancy is filled by a vote of the remaining directors, even if there is only a sole director left (Article IV, Section 4). The next election will be June 2024. No Board members my opt to just stay on the Board past their expiration- all Board Members MUST be elected.

Why were all the Fractional Accounts separated out into their own Bank Accounts?

This was recommended to us many times over the years. It’s not a good idea to co-mingle funds between units. Each Fractional Unit should have their own separate account for only their funds, to prevent accidental over-drawing by a different unit. 

I hear that the Board’s decision to separate our Fractional accounts into separate accounts now has us all paying service fees! 

Not exactly.  In order to be charged the $16 service fee, 4 of our accounts must have a balance of less than $5,000. Since the majority of the Fractional accounts carry a balance above that, the chance of being charged a service fee is quite small and it would only be billed to those accounts that are affected.

I hear that the Board is planning a revision to the ByLaws to allow short term renting.

The ByLaws committee will be the ones who address that sometime in the future.  At that point, they will seek feedback from the community to determine the association’s preference, and then propose clear undeniable language to be included in the ByLaws revision that will either prohibit short term renting or allow it, based on ownership vote. But again, that is not a topic that the Board has been discussing and is not anything on the the ByLaw committee’s radar. If you want to assist with the ByLaws revision, please join the ByLaws Committee.

We urge everyone to attend our monthly meetings and contact the Board when you have questions.

Original post 12/7/22

NOTICE: The Board has received a petition from the Members of the Association demanding that all Board Members resign.

The attached letter has been received by the Board, demanding that all Board Members resign, or hold a Special Meeting within the next 7-50 days to allow the membership to vote to remove each Board Member individually. There is no mention of who the replacement board will be or how those members will be appointed.

Many unit owners were not aware of this coup d’état and have asked to see the proxies that were obtained. They are published here for your inspection. If anyone wishes to rescind their proxy or change their vote, please notify the Board of Directors. 

The basis of the claim appears to be the result of the following letter, which was sent out to a select group of owners, not to the entire ownership.

There are several misguided statements and accusations that the Board would like to address, so they have added comments to the document that respond to the misinformation.

Originally posted 11/7/22

NOTICE: The Secretary, Elisa Buckley, has submitted her notice to resign

This resignation opens up 2 positions: a Board Member position, and the Officer position of Secretary. These 2 positions can be filled by the same person, or the Board can appoint someone to be Secretary without having that person serve as a Board Member.

Due to the nature of the Secretary’s responsibilities, the Board is eager to fill the vacancy. If you are interested in being Secretary, please contact the Board at board@seaviewhoa.org.

Original post dated 11/1/22

NOTICE: The Treasurer, Jeff Vachter, has submitted his notice to resign

This resignation opens up 2 positions: a Board Member position, and the Officer position of Treasurer. These 2 positions can be filled by the same person, or the Board can appoint someone to be Treasurer without having that person serve as a Board Member.

Due to the nature of the Treasurer’s responsibilities, this position requires someone with experience to fill the vacancy before the Treasurer can officially resign. If you are interested in being the Treasurer, please contact the Board at board@seaviewhoa.org.

Original Post dated 11/1/2022

NOTICE: The Board Chairman, Mark Severson, has resigned.

We appreciate the time and effort he has put into the running of this board, and his diligence and heartfelt dedication to the betterment of this association. We thank him for his service.

Bill Cummings has been appointed to the board to fill the vacant Director position. Liz Ohlmann will act as the Interim Chairman until further notice.

The official meeting minutes won’t be reviewed and approved until the November meeting. In the meantime, here’s a brief recap of what was discussed.

Snapshot of Accomplishments

The Chairman read a letter outlining the accomplishments of the new Board in the 3 short months that they have been in office. The letter will be attached to the meeting minutes or you can access it here.

New Meeting Date

Due to a scheduling conflict for one of the board members, Board Meetings will now be on the FIRST Tuesday of the month.

You can help keep our bookkeeping costs down

The most time consuming part of bookkeeping is figuring out what the checks are for, which unit they belong to and where the funds should go. Every check you send to Seaview- please clearly write what the check is for (HOA, FOA or Cleaning) and also write your Unit # and Track # on the Memo Line.

Write ONE check for HOA Dues.
Write ONE check for Fractional Dues.
Write ONE check for Cleaning fees.

If you own more than one week in a single unit, write your Unit # and BOTH Track letters.

If you own in more than one unit, your FOA dues must be paid to each unit separately, as each check gets deposited into a separate account.

Memo line examples:
“HOA Dues 203 F”
“FOA Dues 203 F”
“Cleaning 102 J”

The easier it is for the bookkeeper to identify which unit the check is for/from, the easier it is to make the deposits and ledger entries, and the less hours we will be billed for.

Be sure to pay your Cleaning Fees!

Whenever you use your unit, you MUST pay the $80 cleaning fee- this is done by writing a check payable to “Seaview Condominium Association”, and on the memo line write “Cleaning Unit # ______ (and track/week)”

A bid was approved to begin work on the leaking between 102 and 202

Work should begin shortly!

A bid was approved to insulate the sprinkler pipes in the parking garage

This needs to be done before the freezing temps hit- and the cost is $3,145. History: the sprinkler system was originally a wet system, but after several leaks due to freezing temps it was converted to a dry system (1999). It remained a dry system until early 2022 when the air compressor failed causing the elevator to not work. The previous board felt it was best to convert the system back to a wet system. Total cost to convert back to wet (conversion + insulating): $6,000+.

Possible special assessment

If you have been attending the meetings you are aware that we lack the funds needed to complete the repair and maintenance items that have been identified as needing to be done over the next few years. We also do not have a proper Reserve Account. The Finance and Reserve Committee is working with the Maintenance Committee to determine how much of an assessment or dues increase is needed to cover the short term repairs/maintenance and also fund the Reserve Account properly. This is a lengthy process and there is not enough information at this time to be able to estimate what the dollar amount will be or when that dues increase or assessment will be going into effect. If you are selling your unit, you need to disclose the building inspection report and that there is likely an assessment and/or dues increase coming in the next year or so.

Security camera discussion

The Board stated that they still do not have access to the security cameras or door access system and read off some bullet points from a letter that will be going out regarding all the facts of the system. That letter can be found here. There is no security company monitoring the cameras or footage. All of the cameras are wired into one person’s unit and only this person has full access to the system. Legal fees have been incurred relating to the turnover of the door access and cameras. The Board has made the decision that the cameras need to be disabled until legal and technological matters can be resolved. A copy of that letter is here:

Fines for Violations of Rules

There is a new document in the works that expands upon the previous violation memo that the previous board distributed, and sets forth a procedure of due process. A draft copy will be published to the website and sent via email so everyone can review and provide feedback before it is made official. You can review the draft here:

Parking Passes

These are not required to be used, but are recommended. If Rock Creek Inn guests or out-of-town tourists want to park in our parking lot, if they see the signs that permits are required and also see permits hanging on the rear view mirrors, they will likely not park there. But if they pull in and nobody is using them, it may invite them to park in our lot.

The following topics came up at the Board Meeting on 9/13. The official meeting minutes won’t be adopted until the October meeting, so here is a brief recap of the hottest topics covered:

John Pedden of IBI gave a presentation and held a Q&A Session regarding the building envelope inspection in July.

The building report can be accessed here. He said to give out his contact information if anyone has questions or detail to provide: 503.451.4991 John.Pedden@iibii.com

The elevator repair is currently penciled to possibly begin the 2nd week of October.

The exact dates are being finalized and as soon as we have the dates the Board will send out an official notice. The elevator will be unusable during the work period, which should last about 3 weeks.

UPDATE 9/26: Elevator work will begin on Monday October 17th and although they plan on it only taking 3 weeks, they caution us to prepare for 4 weeks.

Fireplace warning! Fire hazard risk!

Two units have reported issues with their fireplace that cause them to be an extreme fire hazard. It is recommended that every unit have their fireplace inspected. Unit 103 and 203 have hired the following company and asked the Board to share their information: Fireplace Center & Haltinger Heating 503.842.5653  www.haltingerheating.com

Security Camera – Temporary Restriction

Due to the numerous complaints that the Board has received regarding the cameras, and a recent incident that confirms the concerns that many people express (that there are owners who are monitoring the cameras for curiosity or pleasure), the Board made the decision to disable the cameras on the 4 residence floors until they can get guidance from counsel on how to proceed. The Board does not have system access to turn off those 4 cameras, nor can they access the account management system to remove owner access. After discussion with the owners who attended the meeting, the decision was made to cover those 4 cameras, temporarily, as they consult with counsel to put a formal resolution in place. The cameras in the lobby, exterior door and parking garage will remain active, as those are public spaces with no expectation of privacy.

Bookkeeping and Invoices

A bookkeeper has been hired! We hope to have everything reconciled soon and resume sending out dues invoices and statements. In the meantime, please continue sending your payments each month. Be sure to write separate checks- separate checks for each unit that you own, and separate checks for HOA dues and Fractional Dues. Write your Unit Number and Track/Week on the memo line so we know which account to credit the payment to!

Contact Request Form

There’s a new form that will be going out soon and every unit owner is required to fill it out. It will give you the ability to opt in or out of email communications, opt in or out of email invoices/statements and opt in or out of having your contact information published in the Seaview Association Directory. Save postage! You can fill out your form now by downloading and printing a copy and mailing it back to us!

ByLaws Amendment

House Bill 2534 requires homeowners associations and condominium associations review their governing documents and remove discriminatory language (or certify the nonexistence of such language) by December 31, 2022. Amending the document to remove discriminatory language does not require approval by the homeowners or board members. Instead, there should be a certification signed by the association’s president and secretary clarifying that the amendment only changes the document to the extent HB 2534 requires. More detail can be found here: https://www.schwabe.com/newsroom-publications-oregon-hoas-and-condo-associations-need-to-omit-discriminatory-language-in-governing-documents

Are we using PayHOA yet?

We are still in the process of setting up the accounts and invoicing- we aren’t quite ready to roll it out yet, so online payments and emailed invoices won’t be ready to go out quite yet, please stay tuned!

What is PayHOA and how can I learn more about it?

Here’s a great overview video: https://vimeo.com/350964325

Did PayHOA replace the bookkeeper?

No. We still need a bookkeeper. PayHOA is a system that automates dues invoicing and dues payment processing, but PayHOA does not replace the need for a bookkeeper. It just removes that particular task from the bookkeeper’s duties, allowing them to focus on all the other aspects of our finance and account management.

Who is doing our bookkeeping since the bookkeeper resigned?

A new bookkeeper has been hired! Any bookkeeping questions should be directed to the Treasurer at board@seaviewhoa.org

I accidentally mailed a check to the old bookkeeper, what do I do?

The old bookkeeper is forwarding us any checks or mail that she receives. There will not be any late fees billed to unit owners while we transition to a new bookkeeping process.

My Fractional hired someone to do some repairs for us- how do I pay them now?

We do not want to inconvenience local providers. If you need to pay them at the time of service and it has been your unit’s policy to pay out of pocket and then get reimbursed, you can certainly still do that. If the provider is willing to wait, you can have that person send the invoice to the Board via email or regular mail (Vancouver PO Box), be sure to have them clearly state which unit it is for, and send a message to the Board that we should expect this invoice.

How are we going to get our dues invoices?

Invoices will be mailed out. The PayHOA system allows us to create and send invoices automatically, but before we can do this, we need to finalize each owner/unit to ensure that every account reflects an accurate and current balance.

What if I want to receive emailed invoices?

It is beneficial to the HOA if you opt for electronic notices, as it saves on postage, paper, envelopes, etc.  It also allows you to receive the notice timely and gives you the option to pay your invoice online, with one lump payment.  If you want to opt in for electronic notices, please contact the Board at Board@SeaviewHOA.org and we can get the form to you.

Do I need to have a PayHOA login?

No, you do not need to use PayHOA’s online portal, unless you want to make online payments (once that is set up).  You can continue receiving your dues invoices by regular US mail, and you can mail your payments to the Vancouver PO Box. You do not need a PayHOA login unless you want to utilize that system.

Do I need to log into PayHOA to see the quarterly financial statements?

No. The Board will continue sending out the quarterly financial statements when they are available.  Notices and announcements will continue to go out the way they have been- via email, posted to the website and for those who require paper, printed materials will be available.

When will we be able to use all the functions we see in the PayHOA video?

Our first priority is to get each account set up for proper invoicing and ensure it shows the proper balance for each owner.  Once that is complete, we will start looking at setting up the other features of PayHOA. We do not have a timeline for that, yet.  

While we transition between bookkeepers, we ask that if you still pay your dues on time- you do not need to wait for your invoice to pay your HOA and FOA dues.

• Write TWO separate checks – as these get deposited into two different accounts (both made payable to Seaview Condominium Association)
• Write your Unit and Track/Week # on each check
• Indicate if the check is for FOA, HOA or Cleaning Fees.
• Own more than one unit? Please write separate checks for each unit.

Pardon our dust as we build a website for our association!