For Noise, Nuisance and Security, please contact Missing Link Security or the Building Manager as follows:
- 7:00am - 3:00pm (Building Manager) 250-258-9251
- 3:00pm - 7:00pm (Missing Link) 250-938-2060
- 7:00pm - 10:00pm (Missing Link) 250-826-4976
- 10:00pm - 7:00am (Missing Link) 250-241-2523
Associa’ s afterhours is also available in case of emergency such as fire or flood @ 250-860-5445.
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November 5, 2019
Dear Owners and Full Time Residents,
We are pleased to bring to you today our first newsletter, updating you on activities within our building and community. We were very happy to have received very positive feedback with our introductory letter, so a big “thank you” to all for your positive comments. We look forward to being committed to you with support and open communication.
SOCIAL REPORT:
We’d like to first introduce our Social Committee...Susan Marsh, Donna Matthews and Diana Labossiere. Thank you to these wonderful ladies for volunteering to bring fun events to our community! If anyone would like to join our committee, please let us know. We had our first meeting last week during which time we concluded our last social event and organized our next.
We’d like to thank all owners who attended our Charcuterie Board Evening, who all contributed generously with wonderful charcuterie treats! To celebrate the upcoming Christmas Season, we have planned a Dessert Night for November 21st. There will be more information to follow but for now, please mark your calendar as we would love to see all of you out for this special evening.
ADVOCACY REPORT:
Many of you may be aware of the abandoned room on the 3rd floor, pool level. The room was initially designated as a gym, however the gym was located on the second level, leaving this room empty. It has been utilized twice, once as an arcade, and another time as a coffee room for vacation rental staff. It has been left empty now for years. About 5 years ago an owner suggested it be converted to a Guest Suite. A “hotel room” for family and friends of owners and long term residents at a nominal nightly rate. It would have allowed non-resident owners an affordable place to stay while visiting Kelowna without forgoing premium nightly rental income, and for those who reside, it would have provided an extension of their home when friends and family visited. A committee was formed to research city bylaws, insurance requirements, parking, booking systems and the added value to our development with an additional amenity, as well as the income generated to support other improvements in the building...ie. refurbishing the front lobby, providing a furnished and functioning common room for events, parties, etc. A full proposal was submitted to Strata Council and then presented at the AGM. One competing proposal was presented at the AGM by Dale Weiss, who proposed the abandoned room be used as a respite for pool goers. He had concerns that our development might take on the reputation as a campground, with family and friends brushing their teeth in the morning in the adjacent bathrooms. Our proposed guest suite was defeated with a secret vote.
We would like to open this topic for discussion.... if any owner has an idea of how this empty common room could be used. If it’s felt that a respite for pool goers be a better investment in our building than the income-generating Guest Suite, we shall move forward to see if that can be achieved.
ANSWERS TO OWNERS QUESTIONS:
Insurance to Cover the Water Deductible -
Some owners have been asking where they can get insurance for their units as some have not been able to find full coverage of the required $100,000 strata water deductible after the big flood in February. We have these suggestions;
Johnson Meier, as council suggested.
Our Advocacy Group has also investigated SGI, which can be purchased through Capris Insurance and discovered that if you have a rental unit you can get the $100,000 deductible coverage in one of the following ways:
1. If you are a B.C. Resident and have your ‘primary residence’ insured with SGI, you can also get your rental unit insured with the required $100,000 water deductible at a very reasonable rate, or
2. SGI will cover your rental unit ‘without’ having coverage on your primary residence with them, but in this instance the rate would be higher.
To do this go to www.capri.ca then choose ‘personal’, and then ‘condo’, beside the large green bar click the grey box, by the black arrow which reads ‘deductible coverage for water damage’. (You can contact Serena at Capri Insurance if you need any assistance or if you’d simply like to apply over the phone. Serena can be reached at 250-869-3968
New City Bylaws for Short Term Rentals -
A few out of town owners who rent on a short term basis wanted information about the new City of Kelowna Bylaws. It’s important to know these bylaws as the fines for non-compliance are significant. These bylaws, as well as fines for non-compliance, can be found at http://www.kelowna.ca/business-services/permits-licenses/business-licenses/short-term-rentals
IN CLOSING:
We would like to express our thanks and appreciation to our Building Manager Dan and his assistant, Richard. And to Strata Council, in overseeing this development. Going forward we hope to be a positive addition to SWR and the future we can build together. We do have concerns with a number of issues that we are aware of, as we live here full time and can see first hand maintenance issues, repairs that need to be addressed and updating that needs to be done. If any owner has concerns, sees issues or problems that need to be addressed, please contact us. We want SWR to continue being the high end development we all invested in as well as keeping it up to date with the new developments going up in our neighbourhood.
Concerns:
Sufficient Security - we researched other developments in our neighbourhood and found that our fines of $200 this past year were not in keeping with others. Fines at other developments were in the area of $14,500 per annum.
Biohazard - we brought this concern forward for Strata to consider as we have had a few biohazard issues this summer. We have suggested BioSolutions, who operate 24/7. It should not be the responsibility of security, Dan or Richard to clean up biohazards.
Break-ins - we would like Council to make owners aware of break-ins to our building. We had a significant theft of 15 bikes from our parkade. Owners were only made aware when they arrived for their family holiday to find their bikes had been taken.
Transparency - we have had concerns expressed to us about the lack of transparency with vacation rental managers, who are representing owners who rent short term. If you have had similar experiences or have concerns, please contact us. We have a plan to present to owners who rent, to ensure there is always open transparency.
Lack of Owner Involvement at our AGM - this would be our biggest concern. Of the 130 units in this development only 19 were in attendance at our AGM. Each of us has a voice, which we need to use at our AGM. We will never ask you for your proxy, but will always represent you should you have need. We would rather you come, be aware, and vote. Use your voice to ensure you are fairly represented and that this development is going in the direction you want. This investment is yours and you need to be concerned if any one person is representing the majority of this development. Be proactive and involved....we care and are doing just that.
Sincerely yours,
Your Advocacy Group
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September 11, 2019
Dear SWR Friends and Neighbours,
Welcome to the new Sunset Waterfront Community!
Recently a group of owners have shown interest in facilitating positive change to Sunset Waterfront, bringing this wonderful community together through involvement and support. Going forward, these owners will work with me to achieve these goals, therefore, information you receive through my email will be signed as per below rather than ‘LMcDougall for SWR Owners’ as has been the case in the past.
SWR is composed of owners who are investors, owners who are full time residents and owners who reside part time. We feel each of us has a common bond as we are all invested in seeing the full potential of Sunset Waterfront realized. We hope we can be that help in creating a better lifestyle, community, and development. With open communication we can get to know one another to help build a positive and supportive environment for everyone. As we have never had open communication at SWR, we are encouraging everyone to share ideas and concerns. We will share your ideas with others but will never use your name. Your ideas will be shared in the following format, "An owner would like to share the following ....", or "An Owner would like to know if anyone ....".
For those of you receiving this letter through Canada Post or under the door, we would ask that you register a current email address with us to keep you updated on important information and events. From now on, we will not be using Canada Post or hand delivery. Please forward the email address you wish to use to:
[email protected]
If you received this letter on ‘email’, you are already registered and don’t need to do anything more. Please note, we will never share your email address or abuse your contact in any way. We will keep you updated by sending newsletters once a month.
What we are doing....
We are creating a Social Club with events planned for all owners and full time residents. We welcome anyone who would like to be a part of our Social Committee. We will meet once a month for coffee to decide the next month’s event, be it a simple coffee get together, a pot luck dinner, a day trip for wine touring or yoga mornings. We welcome you and all ideas!
We have also created “Owners’ Advocacy”, helping with support should you live here or away, offering information and assistance. With the recent flood this past winter, we lent aid in finding insurance companies that provide sufficient coverage for the strata water deductible. We searched for information and availability on water sensors to help prevent costly flooding. For those who rent nightly, and need information on the new City of Kelowna Bylaws, let us know as we can forward that information if you wish. We will be ears to listen and will offer any assistance we can in answering any questions or concerns you might have. We want owners who live a distance away to know that you are an important part of this community. We respect the differences with the investments we all have in Sunset Waterfront. Know that we care and wish to support everyone should you have concerns or ideas that would benefit this community. This is our home and our investment; we are neighbours helping neighbours.
To welcome everyone we have organized our first social event, which will be held on Thursday, September 19th at 7:00pm, first floor common room. A Charcuterie Evening. Even if you live a distance away we hope you will come, meet those of us who have been here for many years and those who are new to our community. Please bring anything to add to a Charcuterie Board....cheeses, meats, olives, etc., ideas are endless as will be the fun and friendships to be made. Also, bring along a 'sippy cup' with a 'beverage of your choice'.
We hope to see everyone there!
Sincerely yours,
Your Social Committee and Owners’ Advocacy Group