PRESIDENT'S REMARKS

Summer is coming to an end and the Board is now considering its activities and initiatives for the fall and winter. We will soon announce our educational plans (keep an eye on our web site). One of our initiatives arose from our opinion that the time is ripe for a review of the Strata Property Act, now nearly six years old. We have recently begun to discuss this issue with other interested parties and hope to catalyze a call for review from the condominium community. If you have any thoughts about the shortcomings of the Act, drop us a note at paco@condohelp.org or phone us at (604) 538-8888 weekdays 12:30 to 3:30.

The Association is currently facing a very difficult period. This year we have lost our President, Bill Dypchey, and two other long serving Board members have had to step down. These three carried a large share of the work of running the Association and were an important part of our “knowledge base”. We are in urgent need of a few members to come forward and offer their time as Board members. At present we have difficulty in staffing the office each afternoon. In particular, we need someone to manage our Education and Training Program and someone to assist with the production of our newsletter, the Condo Chronicle. A desirable qualification is previous service on a strata council, but to assist with the Chronicle a good acquaintance with Word Processing is all that we are looking for. There are other jobs, which are simply not being done at present because we don’t have anyone to do them.

Pacific Condominium Association provides a real and worthwhile service to strata councils, especially, but not exclusively to self-managed stratas, and to condominium owners. Most weeks we have between 8 and 10 calls from owners or council members who have problems of one kind or another. Providing help and advice is a worthwhile and satisfying experience. I can almost hear some members saying, “I’d like to help but I don’t have the experience and I don’t know enough about the Strata Property Act”. Many board members were in that position when they first joined the board but attendance at board meetings, afternoons in the office with a more experienced person at hand and participation in training seminars and workshops can provide all that is needed.

Judging from the calls for help that we receive, many councils get into trouble simply because they are not aware of the workings of the Strata Property Act. For example, disputes about money often arise, particularly in self-governed stratas, because the council has not put in place the controls that the Act spells out. We have heard of stratas in which relatively large expenditures over and above the budget have been made without approval by the owners or, sometimes, even by the council. Irregularities of this nature can blow up into big fights. To avoid them, it is necessary for council members to know what the Act requires. Even if you have a property manager, it is prudent to have as many as possible on council familiar with the Act, because the manager is only an advisor to council, who carry the ultimate responsibility for the activities of the strata corporation.

Another way to extend your knowledge is to read the Condo Chronicle. Our publisher, Karl Gregg, has unstintingly done the hard work of getting out each issue, with the help of board members. As mentioned above, we would like to find someone who can help him with these duties. The ideal assistant would have some knowledge of word processing but we would welcome anyone who would be willing to learn about newsletter production. Call us at the office ((604) 538-8888) or e-mail us if you are interested in helping. The survival of the Association depends on your support and also on the contributions of time and effort by our dedicated volunteers. Come and help us please!