Dear Chinquapin Homeowner,
Spring is coming, however, if you look at the 30 and 40 foot piles of snow
around the property, it is hard to imagine. Mother Nature has given us a gift
that appears to have eliminated the drought conditions in Northern
California. Lake Tahoe is full now, even without all the snow melt that will
still happen. The harbor master has been releasing water into the Truckee
River for the last month.
Unfortunately, this “gift” was not free. The large amount of snow has
caused extensive damage on the property and we do not know about what we
cannot yet see because of the snow. There are 8 to 10 broken street and
pathway lights, at least 6 downed trees with many large and small broken
limbs, many large potholes in the roads, bent signs, broken stair railings,
smashed garbage bins, one damaged roof from a fallen tree, leaking roofs,
and probably worse of all – ground water seepage into 10 to 12 unit’s crawl
spaces and bottom levels. Our General Manager, Bob Duffield, and
WMC’s Aidan Miles have been working diligently with the affected
homeowners to deal with the ground water seepage. We have been repairing
and replacing sump pumps and will bring in additional pumps if necessary.
Please be aware that damages from ground water flooding is a homeowner
expense and that you will need to work with your contractor and insurance
company, if necessary.
The CHOA Board of Directors has identified monies in the current budget
that can be shifted to damage repairs and identified projects that can be
delayed. Because the snow melt may take a while, some projects will be
delayed any way – in particular, the installation of the bocce courts and
pickle ball courts on tennis court 6 will not occur this Spring. Our
expectation is this project will occur in the Fall of 2017 after the water
seepage problem under the tennis courts has been resolved.
The development work for the revised Chinquapin Homeowner website is
almost finished and we expect to do testing of the website during the month
of April and go “live” in the beginning of May. This is one month later than
the original schedule as we wanted to make additional content revisions.
It is not too early to think about joining the CHOA Board of Directors. We
expect to have at least one opening for a new board member. It is a very
rewarding experience and you can make a great contribution to our
community. Please contact Charles Quaglieri or Carl Bertelsen: the
nominating committee with your interest.
Recently the US Government stated that it would make funds available for
Lake Tahoe Basin forest fuels reduction programs. Chinquapin is working
with local forestry officials to make sure we receive some of that funding.
Twelve years ago, under a similar program, we got significant benefits from
that program in eliminating potential forest fire hazards. It is time to do it
again.
We look forward to seeing many homeowners on Memorial Day weekend.
At the CHOA Board meeting on May 27, the Dollar Estate Planning
Committee will present their final report and recommendations for the use of
Cabins 1-3. All homeowners are welcome to attend the meeting.
Yours truly,
Tom Popek
President, CHOA Board of Directors