New Claim Condominiums Owner Update May 2, 2020

New Claim Condominiums Owner Update

May 2, 2020

Greetings, Owners! We want to heartily welcome the recent new owners who have chosen to buy in New Claim. In this new decade of the 2020’s, New Claim is making great progress. Our neighborhood, Prospector Square, has almost completed Phase One of a multi-million dollar Improvement Plan. New Claim Condominiums has seen many positive improvements, which have been reflected in higher rents and resale values. To keep the momentum going, please read and respond to the Hot Tub section of this update. Your timely response is very important!

During this first half of 2020, we have all been affected by the Covid-19 virus, whether in Park City or at your absentee owner homes. We hope all of you, family, and friends are staying safe and following the stay safe guidelines. As an HOA, we are moving forward with optimism for New Claim’s future. As of yesterday, Summit County has lifted some restrictions, but still is not supporting visitors, whether tourists or out of area homeowners. Here is a link to the local Park Record: https://www.parkrecord.com/news/summit-county-plans-to-lift-stay-at-home-mandate-friday-detailing-new-restrictions-in-forthcoming-public-health-order/

Over the last few years we have completed building repairs and updates including the fire suppression system, emergency exits and the signage for them, painted the building exterior and the interior railings, replaced the carpeting, replaced the video surveillance system, and more. We are now in compliance with all Building and Fire Codes. Last fall we added a ski locker room and a secure bike storage room. Both are accessed off of our main lobby, are secured by keypad locks, and are available for owner rental. Projects on our list for 2020 include refreshing the stairwell and elevator, and replacing the hot tub, which is now beyond more repair.

It has been 5 years since the former Board and former Property Manager of the then nearly bankrupt HOA were replaced. We’re pleased to announce that we now have $0 balance on each of our 2 loans, our Operating budget is fully funded, and for the first time in memory, our Reserve Fund is now fully funded. After no increase in operating dues over the last 3 years, a 5% increase was recommended by our Property Manager, endorsed by our Treasurer (a Professional Financial Advisor), and approved unanimously by the boardmembers. Our costs have increased, though not nearly as much as our property values and rents. Insurance premiums, Prospector POA fees, and utility costs are major examples of areas where costs have gone up. The special assessment for the Prospector Improvement Plan levied by PSPOA ended with our March payment. There is no increase in our Reserve Fund assessments.

Owner, tenant, & guest issues: In the past year there has been an increasing number of inappropriate calls received from tenants or guests by our HOA Manager, Maria Johnson, occurring at all hours of the day and night. Your HOA board recruited Maria Johnson, with White Pines Real Estate, several years ago because of her highly respected experience and expertise in HOA management. Maria has been instrumental in turning around our HOA by focusing on planning, efficiency, and preventative maintenance. She works part time for the New Claim HOA and we simply do not have the funds to hire a full time assistant position. Although Maria has kindly helped everyone in the past with their individual condo issues, we cannot continue asking her to do things that are the responsibility of individual owners. Please review the following examples of where concerns are appropriately addressed:

Example: Issues that should be handled by the owner

Guests that need code entry into the building and hot tub

Guests/Tenants that need Wifi Codes

Guests/Tenants that are locked out of the building or their unit

Guests needing parking passes

Drain issues (best to call Budget Plumbing if clog goes beyond walls of condo)

Individual Condominium maintenance issues

Condos available to rent

Guests want spa access passes to Silver Mountain Spa

Guests want bus schedules

Example: Issues that should be handled by White Pines

Issues that affect multiple units such as plumbing backups/Water leaks

Fine related issues (noise complaints, smoking, etc.)

Elevator not working

Common lights, Fans not working

Exit door alarms

Any common area maintenance related issues

Example: Issues that should be handled by calling 911

Fire or threat of violence in the building

Illegal Activity

It is imperative that we as owners take responsibility for our own unit, leaving either our number, or our personal property manager's number (preferably both), visible for our tenants and guests. This information also must be sent in advance to all nightly renters.

We have a list of “preferred vendors” on our website, where you will find a lot of other useful information. The website is www.newclaimparkcity.com and the owner password is “newclaim121”.

We have basic wifi in the building for things like email, but not good for streaming. The wifi name is “newclaimguest” and the password is “parkcity”. New Claim owners receive a discount from Xfinity for personal high speed wifi and premium HD TV. Contact Xfinity if you would like to upgrade your unit’s service.

Parking Passes, parking issues, and underground space leasing is handled by Craig Dennis of Prospector Square at 801-368-4303, craig@dennis.net.

*IMPORTANT! The hot tub has been closed due to Covid-19, and it had already been scheduled for replacement because it is old, worn, and beyond additional and expensive resurfacing. Originally, when the hot tub was installed, it was outside under the stars. That was well before the atrium was enclosed by the plexiglass roof. With the unfortunate current state of the economy and employment, this is the perfect time to make positive long term changes. Therefore, the HOA Board has asked Maria, our Property Manager, to secure favorable bids on pricing and labor to have the new hot tub installed, outside the building. The interior lobby/atrium will then be more open and inviting. This will add value to owners, as well as peace and quiet to owners, tenants and guests. The new location will be in the general area where the barbecue patio has been. It will be well planned, have secure access with video surveillance, and hours of operation will be the same or similar. We met with Prospector Square this week for approval, which looks favorable. They will tie in their planned landscape project, about to start, with our outdoor Hot Tub area. For us to take advantage of this opportunity, our Condominium CC&Rs require 67% of our owner’s to agree by vote/proxy. Please sign and date the attached Ballot/Proxy Form, and return it in one of the several ways listed. If you prefer to e-DocuSign, that can be arranged with Maria. Your Proxy will cast your vote with your choice of Yes or No. We need your official response by Friday, May 8th to secure the discounted project and the PSPOA landscape tie-in. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter! We’re very excited that we can make this long needed change! In addition, this move will allow us to design a dramatic updated entry/atrium area for our owners and guests. It’s a win all around!

The Annual New Claim HOA Meeting, which normally occurs in June, has been postponed until August due to the Covid-19. A minimum 30 days notice will be given once a date has been determined. We know that many owners like to attend, and hopefully that will be more feasible in August.

Meanwhile, we encourage all owners to consider joining the Board or a Committee and help continue our improvements at your New Claim. Please share any interest or comments by email to: newclaimcondos@yahoo.com

Best of health to all, we hope to see you at the Annual Meeting!

Your New Claim HOA Management Committee