AGM May 2014

Dear Owners

As Chairman of the OH5 Committee, I regret to inform you all that I am no longer able to continue. My business and health has been badly affected by the current severe economic crisis in Cyprus. Subsequently, I am no longer resident in Cyprus and I travel often with little time spent at my Oroklini home. The precious little remaining time I have left, I need to spend with my partner and 3 year old son.

At the last AGM in May 2013, I requested owners to come forward to stand as Chairman on the Committee. As no-one did this I reluctantly agreed to continue, even though I knew it would be hard in terms of the time I could personally commit and in light of the prevailing economic climate. I asked all owners present at the last AGM and afterwards by email and on this Blog to come forward, so that a new meeting could be set-up to create a new Committee, however sadly no-one offered or came forward at any juncture.

Unfortunately, too many times I had to pay personally for the Electricity, Insurance, Repairs and other unseen matters that went unnoticed. I tried my best in the time available to keep the place running despite so many owners not paying for whatever reason, including a number that live on the complex. On practically every occasion we did not have funds to pay the electric bill when it came in, yet the building was only without electric for 2 days in 3 years and the cleaning, gardening, Pool etc were maintained regularly. Naturally there were never funds for anything else like a new sewage system or major repairs.

KSL made a notable blitz of the complex in October / November 2013 for all to see and no charge was made for this. Despite so many pushing for Demorilo to go, the payments never followed in line with promises.

KSL are a professional company and as such the will generate accounts and take care of matters. All owners that do not pay will have to face legal or door to door negotiations with debt collectors. It takes time to process matters legally, but when the system is followed through (as KSL will), the funds shall arrive and the complex will then be able to get necessary repairs done, for example to the pool.

I kindly ask all owners to make life easy for themselves and pay their outstanding debts and contribute regularly from now on to avoid inevitable consequences. We now need to draw a line and generate a greater nucleus of paying owners for the best interests of our community. If anyone is facing financial difficulty, then please raise the matter with KSL so that facilitation can be given.

I can safely say that being Chairman was really a thankless job, however I have no grudges or hard feeling to anyone whatsoever. My hopes for OH5 remain the same, for us all to maintain the the value of our collective property and to be civil to each other within our confines community.

From here KSL will arrange a new AGM in May to help elect a new committee (all the committee will change). The only requirement is to be a paid up owner and to place the best interests of the complex first.

Best future wishes to all OH owners
Grant Holmes

New KSL managed Bank Account

Dear Owners

Further to a recent correspondence sent to all owners by KSL we hereby re-confirm that a new Bank Account is in force, which is under the direct control of KSL. The reasons for creating a new Bank account are as follows:

1. The Committee account was originally opened at the request of owners and held at COOP and the specific bank involved COOP Karpasia has since been taken over by Makrasyka. As such online banking was not possible, which caused delays in accounting for KSL. The take-over involved no loss of money, however it involved considerable difficulty operating the account.  
2. Some Owners recently requested the Bank Account to be managed directly by KSL, which the Committee is more than happy to oblige. 
3. By KSL maintaining the Bank Account it will give them greater control of managing accounts.
4. The above point will also facilitate to provide regular accounts for all owners as promised within the agreement with KSL. 

For absolute clarity, to view the details of the account arranged by KSL, please click the below download link.

OH5 Bank Account details - managed by KSL

IMPORTANT: Updated bank details

Dear OH 5 Owners

Please be advised that as of today our IBAN Bank details have changed to those stated on the document click below link.

The reason for the change is that COOP Bank is split into many small banks and our bank COOP Karpasia is now finishing and all accounts are being taken over by COOP Makrasyka. Other than that details remain the same.

On the point of payments, we thank all responsible owners that are paying in regularly, however there are still a number of owners (even some resident) that have not paid for a long time nor to they respond to communications and accounts sent out by KSL.

Payments have always been our major stumbling block to run the complex and address issues like sewage. Non contribution completely stunts progress and does not let our professional management company get on with the job at hand. To tackle the issue of consistent non payers due process is being followed and legal letters will be prepared in addition to debt collectors getting involved with door to door negotiations. KSL were mainly contracted because of their excellent record as a company to collect funds and turn around the fortunes of complexes with collection issues, which is our main challenge. Only established companies like KSL (not individuals or committees) can make the necessary agreements with collection agencies to recover much needed funds.

If any owner has genuine difficulty to pay due to the financial crisis or other reasons we are always more than willing to listen and find solutions with reasonable payment plans etc. However, by completely avoiding any communication whatsoever and continue not to pay leaves us with no option but to turn to collection agencies (also in the UK / Europe) and the courts. 

Updated Bank Details

Blockages to drains

Dear OH 5 Owners and Tenants

We kindly request that all Owners and Tenants living in the OH5 complex do not throw the below mentioned items down your toilets or sinks, as we have had to pay for callouts to unblock drains, which also causes sewage issues. 

ITEMS NOT TO THROW DOWN TOILETS AND SINKS

• Paper
• Nappies
• Sanitary towels
• Food
• Cloth
• Any material that does not dissolve easily in water

All of the above was found in the drains of the OH5 complex that has to be unblocked. Apart from the issues that blocked drain pipes cause, the cost is unsustainable to keep unblocking them and making repairs. 

This message will be sent to all apartments at OH5 by hand. 

Thanking you in advance for your cooperation

The Committee

Necessary Pool repairs to take pace as funds arrive

Dear OH5 Owners

We wish to inform you that the Swimming Pool equipment has been deteriorating these past few years and as such we need to order new parts, which are specific and need to come from the US according to our service provider KSL. One key part is the filter, whichIs currently broken. 

KSL are in the process of ordering these parts from the US, incoming funds willing. The current situation is affecting the appearance of the Pool. Once the parts arrive and are installed the Pool will take a week to return to the normal color. 

Moreover, we need to drain the pool as the Cyanuric acid levels are uncomfortably high. This operation is a little costly and requires us to take all of the water out and refresh. 

The goal of course is to take all of these actions in time for spring, so that the Pool can be used as normal but with new parts and a better balance.

Apart from the broken filter the parts and need to refresh the water was identified by KSL upon making a thorough inspection. 

Meanwhile, we kindly ask all owners to bring their accounts up to date with immediate effect and to follow to payments requests from KSL. 

OH 5 Committee

Before and After pictures of the major Oroklini Hills upgrade

Dear OH5 Owners,

Warm Greetings from Cyprus!

As promised by email, please see below the Before and After pictures which demonstrate the extent of the major upgrade of OH5. 

We trust you will all view the Gardens to be quite impressive now, especially compared to what they were. Note that this came at no cost to OH5, as KSL made the investment. 

Before 

 

After 

Demorilo Holdings have terminated service

All owners are kindly advised that Demorilo Holdings have withdrawn all services with immediate effect, due to non payment of their services. This development is contrary to the agreement whereby Demorilo promised to continue until the end of September 2013.

Over the weekend Treasurer Brian Walton paid his own personal money to cover the disposal of sewage.

Committee members held urgency meetings to discuss the replacement of vital services at the earliest juncture. An announcement will be made next week by means of a solution.

As previously advised funds are critically low, which has caused strain on all services in the past month(s).

In the meantime, we welcome any fully paid owners that would like to come forward and join the committee or provide support. 

Final urgent call for funds - Demorilo to finish at end of contract

Dear OH5 Owners

We take this opportunity to inform you that Demorilo will cease all services at the end of the current contract (end of September 2013).  According to Demorilo’s own accounts the OH5 debt reached just over 2,900 euro and they feel that it’s unsustainable to manage the complex, as so many owners were not paying.

While some owners in our complex have taken issue with Demorilo in the past, they remain popular locally and manage 11 complexes. We have spoken to the Committees of many and they are satisfied. The facts of the matter means that in the current economic crisis with Demorilo out of the picture, it will be very hard to find another professional management company willing to take on the complex and even individuals will show caution. Moreover, individuals either demand money up front or paying exactly on time, which is something we have not been able to do until now due to the volume of non-payers.

As the debt is mounting we are forced to start limiting services. Demorilo have been financing our complex for the past few months, so to avoid more mounting debt, we negotiated cheaper prices for August / September 2013 at 800+ euro per month (including sewage, pool maintenance, gardening, basic admin and cleaning) instead of 1480+.  Considering that the cost of the sewage disposal is now 400 euro per month alone due to the forced new system involving an increased frequency of disposing sewage we had to adopt, which includes stamps from Nicosia, the rest of the services are in reality being subsidized. The temporary fee will however mean we will receive limited and reduced services.

As a Committee, we gave strong warnings to all owners on the Blog and by email in July. Moreover, a number of owners were contacted individually and sadly the response was not as good as we hoped for regarding payments. We did however get a positive response from the usual core of responsible paying owners, but this was unfortunately not enough to pay the debts. Apart from a list of regular persistent non-payers, which has always caused the maintenance challenges (Quality, Palm View, Absolute all in debt), a new set of owners started not to pay (some are even resident in the complex) and this has of course caused the extra damage, which may affect all of us. This lack of funds in turn also meant that we could not start the sewage repairs that were voted on at the AGM in May 2013.

At this juncture, all Committee members will discuss this new development as a matter of urgency. Owners should be aware that services might well be affected as a result. There are only limited funds to work with at present, however all incoming funds will be used to cater for critical services such as the sewage (now more expensive than before) and the Swimming Pool. The last Electricity Bill was paid by Grant Holmes and we still have a few weeks before the next one.

We welcome the individual input from fully paid owners that have supported the OH5 community until now, as we are in a critical situation and they have the right to influence what happens from here on.

We advise all owners not to pay any money into the Demorilo Account any more.

Currently we have no funds and debts to Demorilo (mentioned above), Insurance and water Irrigation. Utility bills will come in soon and we risk even Demorilo stopping services sooner if we cannot pay at least something towards the debt.

Despite what may have passed, this is an opportunity to clear the decks, let bygones be bygones and come together as a community of caring owners. All owners with outstanding debts now have an opportunity to show their good will to the community by depositing into the Committee Account (details attached) by 1st of September 2013. As bank transfers take a few days, simply send details of your deposit to this email address. For owners with large debts a minimum deposit of 500 euro is expected, thereafter we can create a payment plan. Owners with lower outstanding payments, we just ask to bring your account up to date until the end of August. If you are experiencing financial difficulty please make contact with us and we will arrange something, however in all cases we need to see a token of good will.

Owners that do not show a token good will and have outstanding debts, will be placed on a list of non-payers, then contacted by someone from the Committee or a Credit Agency. The list will be shared with all fully paid owners owners, as everyone paying regularly has the right to know who is causing such harm to our complex.

In closing, please act quickly, as this is a matter of urgency.

OH5 Committee

Demorilo Office Summer closing over bank Holidays

Advice to OH5 Owners

Please be advised that the offices of Demorilo Holdings, both in Larnaca and Oroklini will be closed on the below dates, which incorporate the national bank holiday of Assumption Day (a religious event):- 

• Wednesday 14th August Closing from lunchtime
• Thursday 15th August Closed 
• Friday 16th August Closed

The Demorilo offices will re-open as normal on Monday 19th August.

Should you need to contact Demorilo in the event of an emergency,  dial the Larnaca office number (00357- 24400343), which will be diverted to the out of hours phone.

Concern for Utilities

Dear OH5 Owners

Further to our recent communication which urged all Owners to bring their accounts up to date due to a low level of funds and looming Utility costs in addition to the costs of ongoing services.

At this juncture the the utility bills have arrived which all owners can download here below: 

• Page 1
• Page 2
• Page 3
• Page 4 
• Page 5

The total bill is 821.33 euro. The Lions share of the cost is Block B which amounts to 571.26 euro. Block B operates the Pool, however the amount is still high compared to last summer and in view of the fact EAC have reduced Electricity costs. We have asked Demorilo to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, some owners living in the complex on a full time basis in addition to others visiting the Complex for holidays are using the services and not contributing. All of these owners will be contacted in the next couple of days in an assertive way. All means to recover funds are being considered.

In closing, we kindly remind all owners to bring their accounts up to date as a matter of urgency to avoid a cut to Utility services. 

The OH5 Committee

Sad news concerning our Head Gardener

Dear OH5 Owners

It is with deep sadness and regret that we write to advise you that Richard Brown, Head Gardener for Demrilo passed away 19 of June, aged 29 years. At the present time the cause of death is unknown.

As you can imagine the entire Demorilo team are in a state of shock and upset at this tragic loss.

The Demorilo offices, in Larnaca and Oroklini will remain closed for business on Thursday 20^th June. The Oroklini Office will also be closed on Friday 21^st June in addition to Monday the 24th of June. 

We greatly appreciate your understanding and patience at this very difficult time.

If any owner has an emergency please call the office on +357 24400343 and it will be diverted to someone managing the line. 

UPDATE
A fund raising evening was held Friday 28th June 2013 to raise money for Richard.

The Committee considered to contribute, however due to low funds it was decided that ore personal contributions would be appropriate.

The Committee would  like to take this opportunity to thank all owners that already contributed to the cause.

OH5 Committee

Urgent request for funds

 Dear OH5 Owners

We kindly request all owners to bring their accounts up to date with immediate effect.

The balance of accounts is alarmingly low. Income is required urgently to cover ongoing utilities, maintenance charges and to ensure the general upkeep of the complex.

Owners that do not contribute promptly, penalize other owners in the complex. To illustrate this point, with the lower fixed charges in place now (compared to previous years) it is possible to reduce the monthly fee, however due to the non-paying rate, the fee has to stay higher than necessary to cover the lack of payments coming in.

Moreover, the non paying rate impacts on other areas as follows:

• Limits our options with regards to services, as we can only work with companies that will accept irregular and late payments (including insurance).
• Our capacity to negotiate costs with suppliers.
• We cannot set up direct debits to pay utility costs, due to the fact we cannot be sure there will be money in the account. If direct debits are returned charges are incurred.
• We need to fix tiles, drainage, painting, plumbing and many other general maintenance jobs, which often owners request, however without the funds it's simply impossible.

As a result of this somewhat vicious circle created by non or late paying owners, the OH5 Committee will take all reasonable measures to secure funds for the benefit and best interests of the complex as a whole.

If an owner reading this message is unsure of their funds owed or is experiencing difficulty to pay please contact Alison York from Demorilo on:

• Telephone: +357 24 644995
• email: creditcontrol@demorilo.com

For owners in difficulty, the Committee is willing to set realistic payment plans, however non compliance, avoidance or refusal will result in assertive action.

We want to avoid any impact on utilities and the next payment for Insurance, however we can only manage the money that comes in. It is not naturally sustainable or realistic to expect the Chairman or other Committee members to pay from their own pocket for Utility and Insurance bills any longer.

The OH5 Committee

AGM main Action Points - originally sent by email 23.5.13

Copy of email sent to all owners on the 23rd of May.

Dear OH5 owners

With reference to the AGM held on the 6th of May, we would like to first apologize for not getting in touch earlier, however Grant had to travel to Dubai and then Italy on business and the follow up was also delayed.

Minutes have been drafted and are currently being checked. These will be posted in due course on the OH5 Blog http://oroklinihills5.blogspot.com/

First and foremost we would like to thank all owners that cared enough to attend the AGM personally, especially those who flew in specially. Meanwhile, we thought you would all appreciate a brief overview of the outcome:

Details

Date: 6th May

Time: 11:00hrs

Location: Lithos (very quiet and we were the only ones there – only water served)

Attendance: 12 OH5 people present and 14 apartments represented with 4 proxy votes.

Committee

A temporary Committee was elected

Chairman: Grant Holmes

Treasurer: Brian Walton

Member: Reg Swallow

Member: Malcolm Price

Note: The committee agreed to stand only until the end of September at the point the Demorilo Agreement ends.

Main Action Points

1. Communication: Many owners present expressed the stress of over communication by email by some owners and the volume of exaggerated complaints, which were realized upon visiting the complex. All agreed in principle that future communications should be kept to the Blog, positive, collaborative and productive.
2. Solutions: It was determined that in future all owners should focus on a solution based approach, as to criticize or complain was destructive, it provided no help, solutions or way forward. Only by focusing on solutions with owner collaboration could we progress as a complex.
3. Demorilo: All agreed to maintain the Demorilo agreement until it expires at the end of September 2013, thereafter the situation should be properly evaluated with new tenders sent by 1st September 2013 (all comprehensive and serious proposals are welcome. Meanwhile, Grant Holmes will seek to negotiate to reduce the Demorilo cost yet further.
4. Sewage: The sewage issue was discussed and all owners unanimously voted on the least expensive quote (previously indicated). A follow up will be sent out in due course.
5. Insurance: Issue discussed and a copy of the current policy was agreed to be posted throughout the complex (done).
6. Public Toilets: All agreed the outside toilets should be kept open in the summer months, then closed 1st December – 1st of March.
7. Reporting: All agreed a reporting procedure was required. This will be set up via the Blog and automated.
8. Swimming Pool: Flaps urgently required (already ordered), Net needed (already in place and donated by Demorilo), more loose tiles needed repairing (others previously fixed – pending new quote), One cover necessary (ordered).
9. Lighting: Times to be changed to 7pm – Midnight to save on electricity cost. Some bulbs to be removed (every other one) to save electricity cost in Car Park area.
10. Blocked drains: Letters to be distributed to all residents of OH5. Also a sign recommended. Drain-pipes are to thin, so all residents must adopt best practices.
11. Non-payers: Main cause of current price is to cover the effect of non-payers (fact) and not the actual cost of the operation. No owners have the right to tell others t=not to pay. All assertive means available will be taken to collect funds. Demorilo to report to all owners quarterly fees paid, fees owed and balance.
12. Trusted Traders: A couple of Owners suggested a trusted Traders list could be posted on the OH5 Blog. This was warmly welcome.
13. Accounts: Brian Walton will oversee accounts. Each quarter a balance of accounts will be posted on the Blog. Owners that require more detailed information should request to Brian Walton, who will arrange for owners to see the accounts personally with Demorilo. It was suggested by Brian that Andrew N could audit the accounts.
14. Blog: The Blog will become the main means of communication. The existing Blog already features the most comprehensive information of a complex that any committee is offering in Cyprus we know of. It has long since answered many of the frequent questions repeatedly raised in the multiple emails sent in the past. Grant Holmes will yet further develop the concept in due course.

New OH5 Committee

See Minutes, voting and updated Action Points on the left hand column. 

Sewage Update - Pending proposal

Dear OH5 Owners

We would like to inform all owners that on Wednesday, April 3rd 2013, as a Committee we delegated the task (by email) of analyzing all the various quotes to repair the sewage plant and improve the situation (including sewage distribution) to the two owners that were dedicated to this task. We asked them both to formally make a formal proposal, as they initially raised the issue and made the complaint. We vowed to forward their proposal to all owners in order to decide by vote, as the investment is likely to be significant.

We took this decision as both above-mentioned owners reported the challenging situation we face concerning sewage issues in our complex (common to many complexes in the area, as we are not on the main sewage mains) to the Environment Agency on a European level, which naturally affects all owners. Moreover, the detail in the quotes and input became extremely complex and was out of our professional capacity to analyze in addition to the fact the 2 people in question did not want to follow the advice of our professional management company. This in essence took the matter out of our hands and out of the direct influence of the local Oroklini council who initially supported us, until the sewage issue was reported. In short our complex has been singled out above all other complexes in the region for a common problem and our options have been severely compromised, meaning the only options available would be expensive at a time when funds are low partly due to recent events, instability and the economic crisis in Cyprus. 

Until the date of this post we have not received any proposals whatsoever and the deadline for all motions for the AGM on the 6th of May has also passed.

This communication was simply made to inform all owners of the prevailing situation. A copy of the original owners in question is available on request. 

The OH5 acting Committee

Crisis in Cyprus and Bank Account update

Dear OH5 Owners

No doubt you have all seen the international news and read about the economic crisis in Cyprus, which is still unfolding.

Our current funds are around 1000 euro and as such not affected by any haircut. We do feel however that it’s better to close the current account and ask Demorilo to collect funds on our behalf as before. The reasons for this are as follows:

1. As a Company Demorilo will be able to collect funds in a variety of ways Bank Transfer, Cash and PayPal. Due to the crisis, we need to collect funds using different ways facilitated through a professional administration Company, which can be held accountable. 
2. As Committee members we have never collected any cash personally (except for Fund raising) or PayPal payments, as we thought it unwise to do so. In light of all the heated conversation about accounts, this proved to be the right choice. 
3. Individual Accounts have a spending limit of 300 euro per day, which is limiting. Moreover, as a Committee, we only ever-used Cheques for payments (except when one of us or Demorilo paid personally if there was no funds available), so it could be recorded, now cheques are more difficult to use for suppliers. 
4. Clearly company Accounts have more flexibility; hence it’s in the best interests of the complex to take advantage of a Demorilo bank account. 
5. As Demorilo complete the accounts, it also makes the process faster, to ensure accounts are updated more speedily, as a couple of owners have requested this of late (before we received no requests). 
6. As there is an AGM in May, we should close the Committee account before then. This will facilitate an orderly transition. 

For any owners with a direct debit, we kindly ask you to cancel it. We will close the account over the period of one month to allow for any direct debits that may come in.

Meanwhile, Alison from Demorilo will be in touch soon to request payments. We ask all owners to cooperate with Alison and bring their accounts fully up to date.

Grant, Brian and Costas

Drainpipes checked and cleaned up

Our sewage disposal provider checked all of t drain pipes around OH5 and cleared them.

A number of items were found to blick the pipes, which leads us to call on all owners to take care when flushing certain items down the toilets.

We therefore all owners and the people they rent to, to refrain from flushing down toilets or sinks the following items:

• Sanitary towels
• Cloths
• Clothing
• Tampons
• Any item that could block the drains. 

The sewage system generally in Cyprus is not as efficient as most parts of northern Europe and strictly speaking not even toilet paper can be flushed. Most brands usually however disintegrate, but not so the items stated above. 

We will follow up on this matter in due course. 

Special Sewage Meeting

Dear OH5 owners

With reference to a constructive and productive meeting held on Friday 8th March 2013 - 4PM at the Demorilo offices in Larnaca, we are pleased to inform you of the following:

Attendees

• Brian Walton (Committee member)
• Lawrence and Twyla Shannahan
• Luke and Angie Medley
• John Honly
• Grant Holmes (who chaired the meeting)
• 3 representatives for Demorilo

Presentation of quote to repair and recondition our biological plant

An Engineer called Paris with appropriate Government certification presented his quote and answered questions to all in attendance. A summary of answers are shown below:

• The cost is just under 4,500 euro.
• It features a mixture of new and reconditioned items. 
• We learned that all reconditioned items had a 6 month guarantee.
• In the event one recondition item breaks it will not affect the others and therefore could be replaced individually.
• When the works are being conducted all owners will still have free use of toilets and showers without interruption.
• It was estimated that the Chroline will cost around 200 euro per year.
• if we go ahead, a cost of 150 euro will be charged per month to maintain including adding of Chroline and testing.  
• Assuming the water is properly treated and tested all agreed it could be then dispersed onto the hill.
• Savvas offered to improve the piping onto the hill at no cost. 
• With respect to the connection of the Biological Plant to the irrigation system (only possible to beds - not grass), this has to be carefully checked first.
• It was discussed and agreed that the plant will be totally concealed (front window access by means of 4”discharge pipe will need to be completely protected/covered). The purpose of this is is to protect the complex from unnecessary spread of pathogens (by possible means of birds, bugs, rodents, flies etc) and eliminate anything from entering or falling into the plant.
• It was also agreed that the lock that was attached to the top doors was a great idea. This will protect our liability for any possibility of exposure and/or entrance of unauthorized personnel into our WWTP.
• Electricity costs are expected to rise, however the volume of water is notably less than first thought, so the impact while difficult to calculate should not be too high.
• If this contractor is used, he agreed to a payment plan over 3 months starting with a 1,000 euro deposit. 

NOTE: All quotes will be placed onto the OH5 Blog.

Conclusions and Agreements

All in attendance unanimously agreed to the following:

• In the first instance all agreed that we must proceed and quickly, as the cost of disposing the water frequently in the proper manner was going to be high and fixing our plant once and for all was the best course of action all things considered. 
• Luke Medley proposed to request 2 quotes from each contractor. One with with new part and the other with reconditioned parts. This is to enable us to properly compare all details. 
• Paris was asked to prepare this and Luke Medley will arrange the same with the other Contractor for comparison. 
• It was a agreed by all that a full inspection was required of the piping and drain pipes, which can overflow during heavy rain, hence quotes will be requested with immediate effect. Depending upon the outcome this could make a notable impact on the overall cost. 

Other matters arising

Here below are additional points and issues that came up during the course of our productive meeting:

• Each owner present agreed without question it was in the best interests of everybody at the complex that we all worked together in the collective synergy of true community spirit.
• Moreover, that there were many skills and experiences to utilize for the benefit of the complex. 
• A line was drawn under the past and the cooperation / collaboration projected was encouraging.
• Grant Holmes proposed that Lawrence Shannahan should be head of Health and Safety at OH5 with immediate effect, as he possesses a wealth of technical experience within this field and all owners present agreed. This role would oversee the repair of the biological plant. 
• Grant Holmes also proposed that Luke Medley should be head of Building / Construction matters at OH5, as he previously owned a company within this field. A number of important structural and building concerns need to be addressed, however a study was required first to understand the best way forward and someone with appropriate experience needed to be dedicated to this area of concern. All owners present agreed. 
• The communal toilets and lifts were also discussed, however conclusions will be sent in another communication, which will require general owner feedback. 

Next steps

The next step is to evaluate the 2 sets of quotes requested in order to decide on which contractor and type of quote is best to move forward with. Once we come to this conclusion all owners will be contacted for approval. 

Best regards

Grant Holmes on behalf of of all attending the special sewage meeting

Positive Swimming Pool Tests as usual

Our Swimming Pool water is tested regularly, by a professional CPO certified Pool Operator called Ian Fraser. You can view his Certificate on the side bar of this Blog. We would  like to share the latest results with you, which are quite standard. 

Please find below the most recent test results, that were taken on site at 5pm 6.3.2013 using a Lamotte 2056 Color-Q Pro 7 test kit, which is one of the best on the market. 

1. FC: Free Chlorine - Ideal level is between 2 and 4 ppm (parts per million): Hills 5 reading as of 6.3.2013 was 2.3 ppm
2. TC: Total Chlorine - Ideal level is for the total to be the same as the free chlorine: Hills 5 reading as of 6.3.2013 was 2.3ppm
3. pH: Acidity/Alkalinity - Ideal level is between 7.2 and 7.8ppm: Hills 5 reading as of 6.3.2013 was 7.2ppm
4. TA – Total Alkalinity – Ideal levels vary depending on pool type & finish: Hills 5 reading as of 6.3.2013 was 61ppm
5. CH – Calcium Hardness – Ideal level is between 100 and 350ppm depending on pool type: Hills 5 reading as of 6.3.2013 was 260ppm
6. CYA – Cyanuric Acid –Ideal level is between 60 and 80ppm: Hills 5 reading as of 6.3.2013 was 84ppm which was just over the ideal but still okay.

For more specific details as to what each of the readings mean, please consult the Swimming Pool Guide on the side bar.

Sewage Update

Dear OH5 Owners

As promised we spoke with Makis from the Oroklini Council today, who was a pleasant and supportive person.

Initial response

His first response was to sympathize with our position in that our complex is not on the sewage mains (also will not be for the foreseeable future, especially so as Municipality funds are very tight at present and it would take a considerable investment) and we like all other complexes are receiving serious challenges with incoming contributions, further affected by the economic climate. This financial matter cannot be understated and has always been the root cause of our problems.

Options
Basically he said we have 2 options open to us, either of which he would be perfectly satisfied with.

Option 1
We would need to regularly remove the waste. We are already doing this in the full knowledge of the Oroklini Council and guided by Kokos and Demorilo, however it appears we should to do this more frequently now, as the matter was reported to a European Health body and we are advised to be absolutely safe and sure that no untreated water flows from the pipe into the hill.

To step up the waste removal will no doubt be more costly, so we need to speak various waste disposal providers to see what the lowest actual cost will be according to the need.

Option 1 will involve greater cost in sewage removal, however there is no up front cost. We now need to establish what the best price we could obtain will be. Meantime, we have instructed our Property Management Company to arrange for the sewage to be disposed off more frequently in line with the guidelines given and with immediate effect.

Option 2
To repair the water treatment plant once an for all, which has not been fully functional ever since we took over as a Committee, hence we inherited the problem. In fact as previously reported the first task of Palm View Property Management Company when they took over from Quality was to dispose of the sewage, which had built up and was left untreated. It took around 10 truck loads on the first day.

We received a quote from Mr. Shannahan who recently brought the matter to light, which was in the region of 6,000 euro. Our property management Company Demorilo obtained a quote for a similar job from someone certified by the Government as part of a feasibility study, whereby the cost is around 2,000 euro less.

Option 2 will feature a high up front cost, which according to past contributions will not be feasible. Therefore, something dramatic will have to happen such as an extra one-off payment, which will need to be voted on by all owners and we have to be certain that is does not impact on ongoing contributions. Moreover, electricity costs will rise with this option and there are other issues to consider.

Meeting
From our perspective, at this juncture, it is crucial for the sake of the complex that we all collaborate in a conciliatory way to come to a quick solution with the positive spirit of the community. We will therefore kindly call for the following people to meet at the Demorilo Larnaca office on Friday 8th of March.

• Owner and representative of Demorilo, our Property Management Company. 
• Representative of the Committee. 
• Mr. Lawrence Shannahan and Luke Medley.
• Other potentially interested owners. 
• The contractor that provided the second cheaper quote. 

Objectives

• To compare both quotes and agree on a preferred quote. 
• To consider the extra electricity costs and how this could be potentially minimized. 
• To determine precisely where the chlorinated water will be dispersed (estimated to be up to 30 tons per day), because even if it is treated it has to be dispersed, and adding the costs of option 1 additionally will make the project even less financially feasible. 
• To consider all other potential consequences. 
• How to fund the cost.

Final step
Once we receive the outcome of this special meeting, we can then make a unified proposal to all owners to vote upon.

In closing, we are following the directions of the local Council with immediate effect to be on the safe side.

Grant, Brian and Costas

Sewage system sabotage

Dear Owners,

I am writing this email to inform you that sadly on Saturday the 2^nd March 2013 sabotage to the sewage system at OH5 was identified. 

Upon a weekend inspection of the complex it was noted that waste had backed up again into the communal toilet block, so the system was checked over to ensure that the pump was operational and the system was functioning. Upon further inspection of the pipe that removes the waste off site it was observed that a section of pipe had been removed, which basically equates to the waste having nowhere to go and this action caused the waste to back up within the complex. Whoever took this action has shown a total disregard for the complex and the safe/well-being of the residents on site.  

We are all well aware and it has been well documented that many of us would like a fully functional/operational biological treatment plant onsite but this was never commissioned properly from day one of the complex opening, nor does the complex currently have a main sewage system connected to it like many other streets and towns in Cyprus. Therefore we either employ a waste lorry to visit the site daily and remove the waste water every time tanks start to fill up, which would be very costly for everybody concerned or we have to run with the system at this present time that has been in place with the councils authorisation for many years.

I hereby ask all owners that are onsite to be extra vigilant with regards to the obvious sabotage that is apparent as further sabotage will put the health and safety of the aforementioned residents at risk.

Demorilo Holdings Ltd along with some of the owners onsite are still compiling a feasibility study into the commissioning of the biological treatment plant but many factors have to be considered as a hasty decision could lead to spiralling energy costs, large volumes of recycled water that would need a destination (it cannot all be used on the gardens) and large costs would be incurred in the running of the plant room due to weekly maintenance being required and large volumes of chemicals would be required to operate such a system. In summary we simply don’t know at this moment in time if the commissioning of the treatment plant is viable but like most we hope that it will be once we have gathered all of the facts together.

Once again Demorilo Holdings would like to reiterate that the current system in place on your complex has been approved by the local council and we again strongly advise that if any owner should require clarification from the local council (responsible for health and safety) then please feel free contact the person indicated on this blog.

Kind Regards

Simon Tunnah

General Manager