September 30, 2011
Dear Morgandale Resident: The best thing and the worst thing about community-association living is the rules. Rules do more to enhance property value and promote community harmony than any other factor. Rules also do more than anything else to create negative opinions and division in a community. In this letter, I will attempt to do away with the worst thing--and promote the best thing--about community living by proposing you look at another perspective. I am going to ask you to imagine Morgandale as a grand hotel, and you are the co-owner, an investor, in this beautiful hotel, with dreams of keeping this hotel one of the most sought out places to stay. As a co-owner, you are one of the decision makers, one of the people responsible for keeping the Morgandale Hotel profitable, clean, well-maintained and inviting. You enter into a contract with the other co-owners, agreeing to the same terms to invest in maintenance and improvements. You all spend countless hours creating fair and responsible policies, procedures, rules and regulations for your employees and guests to ensure that the hotel looks its best, is a pleasant place to stay, and keeps its value. You believe that your co-owners have the same set of principles that you do and will support these decisions. But, as time goes by, you realize that some of your co-owners are unwilling to follow through with their responsibilities. They do not want to invest their money and time into the hotel and have a different set of standards or priorities for themselves.. Oh no… what do you do? Your investment is at stake….. This scenario is what we face every day when enforcing your rules with all in the community. Residents sometimes seem to think that making exceptions to the rules will help them out. However, in the long run, failure to carry out their duties to the association will hurt property values and may create liability issues. The Association hopes to achieve a balance by developing and enforcing rules that are necessary for the safety and well-being of the residents. However, the rules must be enforceable, consistent, yet flexible if a circumstance arises that requires leniency. The Rules and Regulations Committee, Council, and Management work incredibly hard creating, maintaining, and revising the Rules and Regulations, considering property values, reasonableness, and legal rights as their top priorities. With your help, we can continue to keep Morgandale a nice place to live. We invite you to consider yourself as co-owner, and, in a sense, co-creator of our community. Please click on the link below 'Download File Now' and find five new Resolutions for you to review and keep with your important papers. A summary of the Resolutions is as follows:
1) Resolution Number 18 ~ Lease Administration and Processing Fee and Term of Lease: The current Lease Addendum was too cumbersome, with too many pages and subsequent revisions making it confusing for anyone to read. Therefore, the Association’s attorney condensed the Lease Addendum to six pages. The fee remains unchanged for 2011 at one and one half months condominium fee, currently $273. This resolution will be effective October 1, 2011.
2) Resolution Number 20 ~ Census Form: It was determined that the Occupancy Verification Form that is included in the Lease Addendum and required to be filled out by the homeowner and tenant would be replaced with the Census Form. This resolution will be effective October 1, 2011.
3) Resolution Number 19 ~ Amendment to Fine Schedule: Due to the continued problem with dog owners not picking up after their dogs, the Council is in the process of investigating ways to eliminate the dog waste problem we have here at Morgandale. The first step agreed upon was to increase the dog waste fine from $50 for the first offense to $100 for the first offense. Subsequent violation fines were increased from $25 increments to $250 increments. This resolution will be effective October 1, 2011.
4) Resolution Number 21 ~ Garden Villa Exclusive Use Areas: To clarify the responsibility of the landscaping beds on Stockton, Cross Hill and Jefferson Courts, the Association created Resolution Number 21. Lower level Garden Villa Units (Stockton, Cross Hill and Jefferson) have the easement for the exclusive use of a portion of Common Elements extending 4 feet from the front wall and the area within the HVAC/utility bed, not to extend beyond the privacy fence, in the rear. Therefore, lower level homeowners are responsible to maintain and replace the landscaping located in these areas. This resolution will be effective October 1, 2011.
5) Rules Violation Complaint Form: Per the Rules and Regulations, complaints must be in writing by a homeowner or tenant to the Management Office. This written complaint must provide adequate information as to the date, location, and time of the violation in order to allow Management to take action. When possible, confidentiality will be maintained. In order to help register your complaint, the Association has created the attached form that can be used to submit your complaint. This form is not mandatory, just another tool for your convenience.
If you have any questions or concerns with regards to the above referenced resolutions, please feel free to contact the Management Office at (215) 368-6350.
Sincerely,
Jill L. Geiger, CMCA, AMS
Community Manager for Morgandale Condominium Association
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