pls help the flood victims

hi,

would like to urge our beloved Vista residents to give generously to the flood victims, for at the moment our nation are going the worst flood crisis in history.

for us in Penang, we are so fortunate for not experiencing those suffering the flood victims are going through right now, but from the news & photos we have seen in the media, all of us see how bad is the situation....

just quote some of the unthinkable situations which we have received from some friends from those badly affected area, run out of clean water so forced to use rain water to make milk for infants, hospital emergency ward electrical power cut but patients need oxygen tank & it can't function due to no power, many areas have no water & food supply but there's no sign of rescuer reaching them, some areas even though need help urgently but helicopter can't land there due to the flood....

believe that there are still many more other things which are worse than that... :(

after reading this, can you pls check around for those relief collection center, at the moment items like instant noodle, diaper, panadol, milk powder....etc are badly needed, but if you can't find any relief collection center then do kindly check with Malaysiakini website, they do compile a list of organization with necessary info for the relief works for the flood victims.

thanks.

some brief outlook on next year high priority project

we are in the last phase of finalizing next year's budget, committee do decided only in January 2015 for setting the time line for those project we plan to carry out next year.

some of bigger will be as follow,

1) Bomba under ground piping, we have found out awhile ago that the underground conceal piping for supplying water from Bomba pump to blk k have been leaking, at the area near the swimming pool foyer, few months ago we received the quotation from vendor for replacing the pipe, but couldn't go ahead as we haven't fully recovered financially speaking, after spent on some other big project earlier on, especially IWK matter & main pipe for blk j, for info the bomba pipe replacement project will cost abt 16K, but we in the committee have agree that should give this project highest priority in 2015, so it should be done in first quarter of 2015.

2) Switch room calibration, we also give this project high priority, and target at first quarter of 2015, beside the safety concern, we also hope through this exercise, we will be able to find out why the TNB bill of blk j is double of blk k consumption, as both meter are supporting the same facilities of each sides, namely lifts, pumps, common lights, etc, so it's hard to accept the huge gap of the bills. In the past we did approach TNB & other technical ppl help to rectify but none of them can tell the reason of this big gap, but during the calibration, as we are going to switch off all the supply & check all the component one by one, we should be able to rectify that.

3) Lift T&G system, from the feedback, found most of our residents prefer to have the system to be installed in all our lifts, security is the main reason, besides that, it should be able to help to get those hardcore defaulters to pay, especially those who thought can escape by parking their vehicles but happily using Vista facilities, for by implementing this system, they either pay the outstanding or climb staircase to go home, of course we understand those stay at lower floor still can be stubborn, but let their kids asking their parents why can't use lift...... ;)

Pray & hope that God will enable us to complete all these in the first quarter of 2015 :)

no posting this week, school holiday :)

hi,

no posting this week, busy bringing family for holiday :P

wish everyone, especially kids in Vista Condo happy school holidays :)

will be back next week.

best regards.

Report on Meeting with EXCO

some brief report the mentioned meeting...

on Thursday, 3 MC members went to Komtar 53rd floor, to attend the meeting called by EXCO office, on the various projects (on water tanks & lifts only) presented by some apartments in Penang, the meeting was attended by 3 EXCO members, 4 YBs, COB, UPEN and representatives from abt 8 different flats and apartments, included Vista Condo.

some apartments do have their requests on water tank & lifts be granted financial aids, where some were told to furnish more detail to the gov't for further consideration, also some were told to put on hold.

we took the opportunity to present the our request to replace all the roof top water tank lining, total in 8 number (4 big tank & 4 small tank), we show them the photos of our tanks, together with the quotation/proposal by the contractor, and we tried our best to let them know that our water tank lining are indeed at the end of their life span, and should be replaced as soon as possible.

to our pleasant surprise, after the EXCO member saw the photos we presented to them, the advice is to replace the water tank lining is not the best option, as they also notice that the outer layer of the tank, the metal panels are not in very good condition too. so the EXCO YB was graciously suggesting to us to consider to replace all the tank with new tanks, he even mentioned the fiberglass type.

what he suggested, is really beyond our expectation, because we thought to request for the help (on the 80% cost shouldered by gov't) is something big, but he even thought of something bigger than that! so now we are busy checking around for the quotation of the fiberglass tanks to replace the existing tanks at the roof top, so far few vendors did mention they are able to do this job, but still waiting for their official quotation.

of course, just in case the EXCO agree to extend financial help for all the tank replacement, this will pose another financial challenge to us, as the rough estimation of 8 fiberglass tank is amounting to RM400K, for 20% of the total cost need to be absorbed by Vista Condo, or RM80K in this case :P

but let's not to worry abt this 80K now, we got to try our best to get their approval for this project first, once got the approval then let's find way to raise the fund.

thanks.

new development on gov't fund application & blk j theft case

there are some new development on the gov't fund & blk j theft case which we have mentioned in our last posting...

we have submitted our appeal for financial aid on both water tank lining & building repainting projects to the state EXCO office on 21/11/14, and were told by the special assistant of the YB that they will soon contact us for meeting on the mentioned projects, we read it as a positive sign.

but anyhow we have waited anxiously for their official letter to invite us for the meeting, then after 1 week, exactly 1 week, on the following Friday (28/11/14), we got the letter from the EXCO office that a meeting will be arranged on 4/12/14 (Thursday) morning, this meeting will be attended by committee members or their representatives from few housing project in Penang Island (where they have also submitted similar appeal of fund), respective state assemblymen from their area (according to the list abt 6 YB are invited), together with COB and EXCO member Jagdeep Singh, is a big meeting indeed.

we are not sure what will be the outcome of this meeting, of course we pray hard that they will grant us our wish that both projects will be funded by them :)

or if not, then at least one project will be approved, to be carried out this year, even though in that case we still need to forge out the 20% of the total cost, but we really wish it will happen this time.

concerning the blk j theft case, after the viewing of CCTV recording in blk j ground floor, lift & main entrance, we have now manage to see the 3 thieves' face clearly, all at their early 20's, came in abt 4am, cheated the new guard that they are residents here, but went to the bike parking area of blk j stealing parts from those old or abandoned bikes, and left at abt 4.45am.

They knew that there's a camera which covering the area they plan to steal, so that climbed up to turn the camera upward, without knowing all their action have been watched & recorded by other cameras, so now our cctv vendor have helped us to copy the files, compiled into video clips, saved into CD. we have viewed the CD, and passed a copy to the bike owner, which he will turn it over to the police station where he has lodged the report, we also passed those video clips to few voluntary patrolling body to locate the thieves, and tonight we will send another copy to the guard boss when he come over for meeting with the committee, we believe that soon these mentioned parties will nab the culprits soon.

will continue to update residents on these matters, thanks.

general updates as at 22/11/14

few matters to update our beloved Vista residents,

1) lift T&G system, so far the feedback from the blog readers is generally positive, we did also check with some of our residents personally, they too feel OK with the proposal, well, we will wait for more green light then if all condition are right, we should get something going at the beginning of yr2015.

2) blk j lift rope, the faulty lift rope was replaced awhile ago, performed some test run, then contacted the lift inspector to inspect the new rope (according to the requirement) & he too ok with the rope,so now at blk J, both lifts are running, but we are also budget for new rope for other lift in yr2015, and we asked the lift vendor to monitor the condition of the other ropes, and should not wait for the sudden breakdown case like this.

3) theft at blk j, few days ago we received a report that someone force-opened the seat of a bike & stole some parts of the bike at blk j ground bike parking area, we advised the owner of the bike to make police report & we did check the CCTV the next day. We found out the camera which suppose to cover the bike where the bike part was stolen, someone has purpose turned the camera faced the ceiling but not the bikes, so now we have contacted the CCTV vendor to use other cameras at blk j to check who's the person turned the camera, and bring him to police for further investigation, will update residents on this once more info available.

4) building repainting matter, someone asked in the last posting any news on the repainting, well, as we have said earlier, we were advised by YB to apply next year, but anyhow, few days ago we brought the documents for fund application for both water tank & repainting to EXCO office for them to consider, and to our pleasant surprise we were told one meeting will be set in 2 weeks' time for the YBs in charge to have further discussion with us on the matter, we hope to hear some good news from them :)

but if (just in case) they agree to our request for the building repainting (abt 450K) or water tank lining (abt 220K for 8 tanks), then we need to contribute 20% of the total cost as soon as possible, so guys, any idea how to get the money ready :P

thanks.

are we ready for lift T&G?

as we are still finalizing the budget for yr2015, the lift T&G system was brought up again in the committee meeting, generally we feel that we are now more ready for it's implementation.

so decided to get residents feedback here, if our residents also give positive response then we are looking at early yr2015 to install the system at both blk j & k lifts.

we did bring up the same matter abt 2 years ago, those days even though the feedback was ok, but we felt that our blk k lifts were in bad shape, to install the T&G system may cause more problem to blk k residents, so we decided to put in on hold, until the lifts condition improved, so with God's help, we managed to upgrade the blk k lifts, so with 2 good condition lifts in blk k, and 2 reasonable condition lifts in blk j, perhaps now is the better time (can be the right time too) to install the T&G system in our 4 lifts.

some of the reasons we have cited in our previous meeting for this system are, first is for the security reason, this system will help to discourage the outsider with bad intention to try their nonsense in our place, shall they manage to get past the security guard post.

other important reason include to get hardcore defaulters to pay their SC (service charge), especially those stay at the higher floor, accordingly our record, quite a number of them rather to park their vehicles outside but still choosing not to pay the outstanding SC, well, this system will help to get them to pay.

we also can use lift T&G system to make sure the renovators to behave better, at the moment we still notice some renovators are not observing our house rules such as worked outside the time which they are allowed to do their renovation works, messed up the common areas, carry too much things in the lifts, etc, so with the T&G system, we can bar the access card until they behave well.

we also feel that the lift T&G system may able to help to reduce the number of foreigners hostel in Vista Condo, we actually can set in our house rules that the lift access card is not for foreigner hostel (for security reason), so by not issuing the card to these units, will force them to use the staircase for their in & out, this may produce a result which many vista condo residents like to see, control the number of the foreigner hostel to the lowest one!

someone also mention to us that the same access card can be used for swimming pool, we actually like the idea too :)

so pls give us your feedback, thanks.

sorry, water is not money :)

for some Chinese like to jokingly say, water is money, but for us once heard there's big water in our place, it's definitely not bring in money, but likely need to burn (spend) money :(

the two big source of water, namely rain water & water tank leaking water, have indeed cost us big fortune, just for the past few weeks, nearly 30K have been allocated or spent for the water related damages.

the rain water gutter at blk K can't stand the big volume of rain flowing through it & strong wind blowing against it, then it broke at the upper part, as we see that the whole gutter will fall at anytime, we have no choice but to remove the broken pipe & replace with new one, it was a high risk work, the project cost us 8K, we have seek claim from insurance company & hope that there will be good news soon.

the block J lift rope, according to vendor, also have been damaged by rain water, this really burn a big hole in our pocket,14K! we have already paid the robe supplier 7K so that the new part can be brought in, now the lift vendor have completed 80% of the work, hopefully another few more days we will see the lift running again, now the challenging part is how to convince the insurance company that the reason of the breakdown is due to rain water.....the adjuster have came in 3 times & called us many many times but still can't see the relation of lift rope damage & rain water :(

another headache of rain water is it took advantage of those crack at the wall & roof top, sip into residents house, in some cases, it is so serious until you can see water mark at the wall during the heavy rain! from our record, at least 10 unit reported this kind our water leaking problem, each case take abt 1k to 3k to patch the crack (by applying water proofing material at the affected area), so for total will amounting to abt 20K, the worst thing is, unlike the water gutter & the lift robe case, insurance company will not consider the claim for this, headache.....!!!

early on we wish for raining season so that Penang will not lack water, but now as the rain comes, we have new worries.... :P

sigh! life..... :)

defaulters issue :(

we have no choice but to put up the defaulters list at the notice board, we would not like to do it if our finance is always at the comfortable level.

there are few major expenses recently which is abt to dry up our building maintenance fund, namely blk j lift rope (14k), swimming pool pump & domestic water pump (total abt 8K), blk k rain gutter (7k), even though these items can be likely claim from insurance as the damage are due to weather & power surge, but it will take at least few months to see the money paid from insurance company, but right now we have to start paying the contractors in installment manner, easily 3k per month, besides the 7K we have already paid to lift contractor as the down payment to purchase the rope, so that blk j lift will be again be running, hopefully early next week.

normally we will keep abt 10K in the bank account as buffer, for real emergency use, but this time it has dropped to 5k due to blk j rope replacement, and we hope to build it up (to 10K) again as soon as possible, because we don't know when another urgent need will come, but it's very hard to archive that as we need to pay those installment as mentioned earlier, so right now we are facing a mini crisis :(

it's also quite shocking to learn that actually the outstanding by the defaulters is quite a big sum of money, total for blk j is abt RM54K, and for blk k is 87K, which means there's more than 140k owned by the defaulters, and we badly need them to pay now for the above mentioned repair cost, and for the upkeep (even to upgrade) our aging facilities, especially the water tanks.....

it's not fair if we just rely on the good pay masters to contribute for the maintenance & management of common facility of Vista Condo, we hope that the defaulters will come to their right senses to understand that it needs everyone's cooperation (especially in the finance area) to help to keep Vista Condo's facilities in good shape, for the defaulters too are using the lifts, corridors lights, rubbish room, etc.....

if you are reading this, and you have chance to talk some of the names in the defaulters list, perhaps you can help to encourage them to pay, we hope we don't have to send them legal notice of demand, and even drag them to court for the repayment.

thanks.

last post temporary suspended

hi guys,

we need to temporary suspend the last post as both sides started to exchange strong words, and not so appropriate one too, we just worry the matter will get out of hand & become big problem.

pls use the proper words when give comment so that it will bring constructive action, we know that everyone who give their comment here are with the good intention, but just need to polish the words a bit.

for those who give their comment in last post, we would like to meet up with you guys to clarify the issue, pls do email us at vistacondo.relau@gmail.com, so that we can explain further on the matter.

thanks..., happy Deepavali.

some proposals for budget 2015

Najib has just done his budget 2015 presentation in parliament, perhaps it's also right time for us to look at how will be our financial outlook next year.

in fact we will spend some time to look at it in the coming committee meeting....

at the moment our monthly income based on the collectible:

service charge RM27500 from 275 unit, and RM2000 from car park rental, total is RM29500, with the condition that most of the residents willing to pay promptly.

regular expenses will be 6200 (TNB), security (4300), management (3300), cleaner (2100), lift (1400), pool (850), PBA (800), 500 (Genset/Electrical contract), 175 (pest control), 240 (phones for office & MC), 2500 (maintenance & parts), for which the total will come up to RM22365.

monthly surplus, RM29500 - RM22365, will be RM7135, or RM85620 per annul.

the surplus will be used to fund some of the project which we have mentioned in previous postings...

assuming, by God's grace, next year we will get gov't financial aid to paint the building, RM350k total cost, which for that we will need to pay 20%, or 70K, so we will take from the above surplus of 85620, to pay this, then another 7 should be used for water tank lining replacement, where 20% need to be paid by us from the total cost of RM35k for 2 tanks. Then the balance of another 7K will used for other upgrading project.

thanks.

challenges ahead (part 3)

(side track a bit, if u are reading this, pls pray for Ms Ang our management lady boss, her husband admitted to hospital due to main blood vessel burst, now doctor is doing an emergency operation on him, condition consider as critical, pls pray that he will be able to pull through this stage, thanks!)

last week we mentioned much on the water tank & strategy to counter it's challenges, this week will shift our focus to the more visible, the condition of the paint on the outer wall of both blk J & K, even the corridor wall as well.

in fact even though it's not as urgent as the water tank lining, but the priority will still be given to it, as the old paint will give a very bad impression to those peoples (especially visitors) on our place, and it affects our property value as well.

at the moment Vista Condo apartment worth 280k to 310k depending on the condition of the unit, but if we put a new layer of new paint on the outer wall, one can expect increase of abt 50k immediately :)

sinking fund still no news...., so again we are hoping state gov't will extend help on this, on the 80% - 20% arrangement, one good thing is in the past they didn't even want to consider our appeal on this as we are a private project, but lately they have changed their policy, private project is within the scope of their consideration as long as we can show them that we a low medium cost apartment, for which we have done our part & they will consider our application on this.

the latest development on the application is, we have spoken to both the EXCO & the YB in our area, advice were given that pls submit the application next year because this year they have already given us more than 150k for the lifts upgrade, so, let's try in year2015 :)

thanks.

challenges ahead (part 2)

continue from the previous posting....

well, base on our current collection rate, barring office staffs are too fearful to block defaulters access cards, our regular collection should hit 85% to 90%, which is good enough to pay those regular expenses such as utility bills, management service, lift vendor, guard, pool...., even to cover for general maintenance item like pipe or tap burst, light bulb blow, electrical components replacement.

but the real headache is those major items, the 3 items mentioned in the previous posting, lift, water tank, repainting.

in fact out of the 4 lifts in Vista Condo, 2 at blk k have been upgraded recently, with the help of state gov't. Another 2 lifts at blk j still in reasonable condition, which may only need gov't financial aid after 3 to 5 years' time.

this week let's talk more abt the water tanks.....

the 8 water tanks at the rooftop of blk j & k (4 each), immediate attention needed for at least 2 tanks, the rest also can't wait too long, in fact we should complete the changing of the water tank lining for all these tanks in the coming 3 years in order to make them serving Vista Condo residents well.

for these tanks, the outer layer, or the stainless steel panel still in good condition, but should put the new paint to make it lasting, but some of the top cover will need to be replaced not more than 2 years from now. and painting of panel & top cover replacement are still bearable as far as our management fund is concern.

but water tank lining replacement pose a great financial challenge for us, each tank will need 40k to 50k to have it's water tank lining replacement, together with those supporting structure attached to the lining, as said earlier, time is not at our side as we need to replace all of the water tank lining in this coming 3 years :(

so our plan is, run to state gov't for help, and in fact we have just got first approval from fund requisition from them recently, so very soon the first new lining is within sight, but let's pray that we will continue to receive kindness from them for the future requisition.

God, pls help us....

Challenges ahead (part 1)

one may wonder, what is the life span of the vehicle he/she is owning now, and all of us may know, there's no standard answer, your expensive imported car may only in good condition for abt 10 years if you don't maintain it well, but even the local assembled cars can last for more than 30 years if you do the regular service & necessary repair on time, many cars we see on the roads are actually hitting 35 years, which is much longer than the life span set by the car manufacturers.

well, come back to our Vista Condo, sometimes we do ask ourselves, how many years more this condo can be in the reasonably liveable condition? 10 years? 20 years? 30 years? 40 years?

according to our record, Vista Condo exist since yr 1993, which means it has reached 21 years of its age, younger than those in Rifle Range or Kampong Melayu, same era with Villa Condo, slightly older than Taman Desa 2, and consider as veteran if compare with those newly built & nice looking apartment in this area.

to maintain this apartments & it's facilities posed a big challenge for us in the MC, the building structure should be no problem for another 20 years or more, but the aging facilities are the one needed a lot of finance & effort to maintain/replace/upgrade, and if we do it right then Vista Condo should have many many good years ahead.

3 important facilities will critically define & decide how is the condition of Vista Condo, the lifts, the water tank, the outlook appearance (or the condition of the paint at the common wall), other facilities like car barriers, gutters, car parking lots, lights, etc, are also important but just not as critical as these.

share with our beloved residents in next posting (part 2) for more strategies & plans to prolong Vista Condo's good condition to make it a really liveable apartments for many many more years to come :)

water supply interruption & pump maintenance

some report on the water supply interruption incident & immediate measure to counter it.....

we were alerted by residents from blk k on Wednesday afternoon abt the low water pressure, and subsequently no supply at all at abt 6.45pm.

2 MC members went to the blk k roof top to checked on the water tanks, to their shocking, all the 4 water tanks were without any water, so they went on to check the main tank at the ground floor, the main tank is where the PBA supplied water be stored, before be sent to the 4 water tanks at roof top.

They found the water level at the main tank is full, which means the pumps didn't do the job of pumping the water to refill the roof top tank, and this condition should be at least 2 days already because it will take more than 2 days for blk k residents to use up all the water in the roof top water tank.

and it's true enough that, it was short circuit & the trip caused no electrical supply to the control panel which resulted pump not running, so we quickly reset the MCB at the switch room, and the pumps run immediately, water supply back to normal at 7.20pm, a bit yellowish, but quality of water improved over times & it's good at midnight hours.

in order to prevent the same thing happen in the future, we called few pumps experts to come in on 13/9/14 (Saturday) morning to check, assess all the water pumps, control panels, float sensors, valves and other related essential components, to produce a report to us which component need to replace or repair now, and even a long term maintenance contract to check & service the mentioned equipment on the regular basis, we hope can finalize the matter in the MC meeting this week & seal the deal, so that the pump vendor can start help to monitor & service our pumps & it's related equipment as early as this month.

thanks.

general updates as at 6/9/14

after all the excitement of the Residents' gathering, now got to shift our focus to the management & maintenance of the common facilities in Vista Condo our beloved homes...

here are some updates for our residents,

1) building supervisor, the new building supervisor has just reported to work 2 days ago, his name is Richard, a veteran with more than 10 years supervisory experience in this line, hope he will do well & enjoy his works in Vista Condo, he is to replace Ah Khye the former supervisor, we want to thank Ah Khye for his various contribution (especially the car park matter), as now he wish to change the working environment & the company granted him his wish & transferred him to another project, we wish him all the best in the new place.

2) we were shocked with another big PBA bill for blk j domestic use, RM8000 plus for abt 6 month usage, but after we check all the related facility and found there's no major leak (for info, only major leak will cause big volume & big money), so we contacted the PBA & asked them to check, and as they also found no major leak here, they went back & check their part, seems it's their meter recording system problem, so now the bill reduced to RM2000 plus, like to share this matter here to ensure our residents that we do check our facility regularly to make sure we can arrest the problem before it become big which will cost us big money :)

3) building repainting, we are at the moment calling those shortlisted vendors for interview, to negotiate further on the quotations sent by them earlier, besides asking them to reduce (if possible) the quoted price, also checking if they have done any projects in Penang, for even though we wish can submit the 3 quotations to the state gov't (as requirement) as soon as possible, we also want to make sure these companies have credibility to do the job, hope by end of September we are able to finalize the 3 quotations & send to state gov't for their consideration.


thanks.

party photo (1)

party photo (2)

party photo (3)

party photo (4)

party photo (5)

party photo (6)

indeed biggest gathering ever :)

it was truly an overwhelming response on 16/8/14, our record shows total abt 230 residents turned up in the residents' gathering, the biggest gathering we have ever seen in the vista condo.

but we were a bit nervous too, in the afternoon especially, when sky full of thick & dark cloud, coupled with some strong wind, it was sign that heavy rain may on it's way :(

in fact abt 4pm when we collected those hampers from Sunshine Farlim, it was raining in the area of Paya Terubong & Farlim, then 5pm when we started to arrange the chairs & tables, our hearts pumping fast when we look at the sky.....

thank God, somehow the cloud just decided to go other places to have their round :) the weather was fantastic throughout the event, we really see how God is good to Vista Condo again :P

we do have another scare at 7.30pm, when we saw our residents just starting to come to the foyer to register their names & collecting sticker for the lucky draw, suddenly we notice the service team of YB Yeoh & personal assistant of YB Jagdeep Singh around in the parking area, and according to them the two YB already somewhere nearby, but our residents presented there not even 100, malulah if YB already here but just a few residents....

but again, thank God, by the time YB Yeoh & YB Jagdeep Singh arrived, we have abt 90% of participants waiting for them, it's was quite nice to see a big crowd welcoming them, in fact they both were quite impressed by Vista Condo residents' appreciative attitude, especially one of the service team member told us that YB has helped in many projects in this area but our apartment is the only one who regularly organizing appreciation for his help.... :)

food was good, satay was fantastic, ice kacang not bad too...., for kids, they are biggest winners of the night as they have clown to entertain & also special kids food to enjoy, it was truly a marvelous night!!!

what next....? right, we will forward few building repainting quotation for the EXCO member Jagdeep Singh to consider, for this one of the reason to organize this event, hopefully through God's help, we will have good news by the end of this year.

again, want to thank all the residents who have made this event a great success, u guys are fantastic!!!

see u all at tonight's gathering....

the registration until this already already hit 200!!! it's truly an overwhelming response from our beloved residents :)

we want to thank those residents who took the trouble to register with the office for this event because will help us to have a better estimation for the quantity of food we need to prepare, earlier on we have ordered for 200 pax, but as the registered number already hit 200, now we have ask the food vendor to increase for another 30 pax, based on our experience, it's always 20 to 30 residents who will drop by & register during the event because they only can decide to attend due to busy schedule, anyway we always welcome everyone who would like to come, the more the merrier :P

2 YB have confirmed their attendance for the gathering, YB Yeoh Soon Hin & state EXCO YB Yagdeep Singh Deo, we want to thank them for making themselves available for our gathering because at the moment all the YB are extreme busy for attending the poh-tor dinners, as now is the Lunar Calender 7th month, yesterday I spoke to YB Yeoh, he said average 3 to 4 dinners he was attending almost every night, the same frequency applied all his colleague, really not easy to be YB in Penang....

and now we are praying hard for the good weather, also we pray & hope that Almighty God will bless this event & make it a successful & memorable one for all who attend this event.

see u all, thanks.

perhaps biggest gathering this time :)

quite possible this gathering will be the biggest gathering we have ever organised so far...

up to 12pm today, the registration already reached 104 residents, among them 70+ are adults and 30+ are children, we are so encouraged & want to say "THANKS" to those who signed up early for the gathering, this will help us greatly to do the right estimation of food stuffs we need to prepare.

according to our past experience, more than 50% of ppl will sign up on the same week where the event is held, so if we follow the trend, maybe this time the number will hit 200, which is highest for the event we have organised all these years, excellent!!!

we will hope to see as many residents as possible to turn up for the gathering, besides building better relationship with each other & appreciate what the state gov't have done for us, we also want present our requests together as united group to the gov't, especially building repainting & sinking fund.

we still waiting confirmation from few YB, by the way YB Yeoh Soon Hin has confirmed to attend & even to contribute some items for lucky draw :)

(YB Wong Hon Wei said he will try to come, YB Jagdeep Singh's PA said should be OK, he also has helped us to invited Ramkarpal Singh our MP)

so if you haven't sign up (or know of anyone hasn't done so), pls do contact the office at 019-5730637 to register, we will do our best to make sure the food is more than enough for all who come, and program will be according to the plan, ie Clown to entertain Vista Kids, Satay, Ice Kacang,lucky draw, delicious dinner....

God, pls give us a nice weather & successful event :)

not to be missed....16/8/2014 :)

for those who are coming for the 16/8/2014 residents' gathering (appreciation dinner) will find very good deal on that night....

especially satay lovers, ice kacang lovers & parents with kids :)

as you know this event is free of charge, and some good quality stuffs will be served during the event.

we found out satay still a favorite food of many residents, and this time we decided to give our beloved residents a nice treat, so our fellow satay lovers, sure the satay will make your day on 16/8/2014!

how abt satay with ice kacang :P, yes we will serve ice kacang too, this two are the good combination, and we will need to make sure we order enough quantity for our residents, of course the dinner will be nice one too, fried chicken, fried rice (or beehoon) & other halal dishes too....

another highlight will be the clown, trust that many vista kids still remember how they were entertained by the clown in Vista mini carnival 2 years ago, yes that guy is really good, he brought a lot of laughter & happiness to our Vista kids, so we believe that this time he will again make the Vista gathering a memorable one for Vista kids!

oh ya, lucky draw, at first we thought of do away the lucky draw this time as the event is free of charge, but as we start to receive some cash donation for the event, to our pleasant surprise we actually can allocate some budget for the lucky draw, as per now at least 10 prizes are ready, but who know it will be more if we continue to see big donation coming in ;)

so, will you pls come......? because we also like to show the EXCO/MP/ADUN that Vista residents are the truly grateful peoples, and perhaps this will help to convince them to release more fund for our future plan, especially the building repainting, so see you guys....

thanks.

let's build momentum for residents gathering (appreciation dinner)

we pray & hope that this residents gathering (appreciation dinner) will be a successful one!

in the past we did some gatherings, and most of the times see more than 120 peoples turned up for the gatherings, even though all these gatherings needed residents to pay certain fees, generally adult paid RM8 & kids RM5, but this year will be different, it's FOC!

so, some worry, if it's free then do we able to provide enough food for all who come for the gathering? also some worry that if it's free then residents may think the quality of food is lousy & then they may don't want to come...., honestly we are not sure too abt how many will attend this time :)

but one thing we want to ensure our residents that, although it's free but we still will serve good food & prepare good program especially for the kids, for this most like a clown will be hired to entertain vista kids, food wise if budget permit then we may want to serve the "killer" food such as satay & on the spot fried kuih-teow & ace kacang too :P

some good news to share here, we have so far got some sponsorship from vendors & still more are coming, the most encouraging one is the electrician Lee has committed to give RM500 for the event! abt the guest & VIP, yesterday YB Yeoh has confirmed to us that he will be attending the event, whereas YB Wong Hon Wai said he will try to make it, at the moment we are still waiting for YB Jagdeep Singh (EXCO)& YB Ramkarpal Singh (MP for Bkt Gelugor)'s reply.

one very important reason to organize this appreciation dinner (besides to thank the state gov't for the lift upgrade) is to appeal to their help on the building repainting fund & sinking fund, we hope to present to them this request as huge group of united residents to come together, and we believe as we show our desperation, it will definitely helps for our building repainting fund application and sinking fund matters.

so, our appeal to our beloved Vista residents, can you pls come for this appreciation dinner, and bring your friends & neighbors too.

Thanks.

residents' gathering will be on 16/8 (Saturday)

like to make an early promotion for the yr2014 Vista Residents' Gathering.

in our last MC meeting, we have decided to organise an annual residents' gathering on 16/8/14, Saturday 7.30pm, but this time will be free one :)

part of the reason we decided to make it free for our residents is because this gathering will be an appreciation dinner for the blk k lift project as well, as for this reason, the YBs who have helped us to get the gov't fund for the lifts upgrade will be invited for the gathering, and we like to say thanks to them before the newspaper reporters, so far those YBs in our invitation list are YB Yeoh Soon Hin, YB Wong Hon Wai & YB Jagdeep Singh, we will send our invitation letter to CM as well, hope that he can drop by for awhile :)

at the moment we are approaching our vendors & contractors for the cash sponsorship for the event, in the past they used to sponsor in cash or present for lucky draw, but as this year we will not be having the lucky draw, so we will channel all the sponsored cash for the better food if possible, also if by then the budget permits then possible we will hire a clown to entertain our vista kids, still remember 2 years ago the clown had brought so much fun & laughter to the peoples who attended the gathering? what a nice memory....

in order to have better estimation for the quantity of food for the gathering, we will like to invite our residents who plan to attend the gathering to register their names (it's free of charge) with the office, we will put up the notice to officially inform our residents concerning the gathering once all the detail be finalized, but we welcome residents to do the early registration with the management office.

lastly....in case...just in case, if anyone like to give donation for the gathering, we will be very happy to receive the donation so that better food will be served :P

thanks.

a good deed by resident, good lesson to learn

last Wednesday night, a blk k resident's good deed might have save vista condo from some big trouble, we would like to share the story here, and encourage our beloved residents to continue to show care for vista condo, this will indeed make vista condo a much safer place to stay :)

story goes like that, abt 8pm, a blk k resident just came back to vista condo, while parking his bike at the bike area, he noticed that a floor a bit slippery, for the time even though he was in the hurry to go back to have his dinner with the family, but he felt that he need to find out what has caused slippery floor.

so he traced the oil stain, to his shocking, he has found a bike with a Johor number plate leaked petrol badly, and got so much petrol on the floor near the blk k ground floor next to the ladies toilet, as he understood that petrol is an inflammable material, and for that quantity of petrol on the floor, if anyone just careless enough to throw a cigarette butt on it, the fire will be caused and 10 over motorbikes which parked at that area will be at risk!

so he immediately gave a MC member a call, and the member also contacted other members & guard to attend to it, the guard helped to check the bike and found the petrol tube is loosen & it cause the leak, so he helped to fix it, the MC members to attended to this also took water from ladies toilet to flush away the petrol from the floor to prevent any possible of fire, they also asked the guard to monitor the area through the CCTV as it is covered by our CCTV system.

we are not saying if this resident didn't report the case then fire will sure happen, but the chance for it not small too, because many smokers do have a habit of throwing cigarette butt on the floor, especially that area is also a walk way for many blk k residents...

this is a good example of how a good initiative of resident can help to prevent unfortunate things from happening, so we just want to share it here for the benefit of everyone in Vista Condo :)

big goals to hit in 2014/15

we hope that in this coming 12 months, some big things can be achieved, besides those small upgrades here & there...

in fact to set vision like this is very important, that was how we have dreamt & eventually to see it happened later for some big projects like entrance shade & blk k lifts upgrade. (actually other smaller projects like walkway shade, kids playground, CCTV were also went through the process of converting the vision into reality, but bigger vision will normally take much longer time to see the actualization.)

first one is the sinking fund, for we have tried very hard & so far what we have is paper judgement from the high court that we have won the case & the developer should transferred those money to us, but..., well we haven't give up yet, right now still trying all available option to recovered the money & hope to see hope break through in this coming 12 months.

second one will be the blk j & k building repainting, as now the MC have been given the green light to go ahead to apply fund from state gov't on the sharing cost of 80% - 20% basis, we should quickly decide in the MC meeting which quotations we would like to submit to the state gov't for their consideration, and to see our buildings with the new coats before next July, all by God's grace :)

third one is to replace at least 4 water tank lining, for we have at the moment 8 water tanks for residents' domestic use, 4 on top of blk k roof, another 4 at blk j rooftop, these water tanks have been serving our residents faithfully for coming to 20 years already, many of them share the common problem, ie the lining (the plastic-like material which holding the water inside the tank) start to give way & some of them have reached the stage of beyond repair, for which the replacement is needed to prevent water leakage, each water tank lining will cost from 8K to 12K depending on it's size, the good news is state gov't have approved our application of 20K to replace 2 lining, for which they will absorb 16K & from our management fund 4K, we will try to get approval in this coming MC meeting & then hopefully to send the 4K cheq to the state gov't to issue work order to the contractor to commence work on the 2 tanks (each blk one tank) as soon as possible. We wish after the 2 linings are replaced we will be able to get more fund from them to replace another 2 water tank linings in this coming 12 months.

God pls hep us..... :)

new MC members line up :)

the new MC committee members have a first meeting on Sunday night, during the meeting we have chosen the new office bearers & coordinator for different areas in regards of Vista Condo management & maintenance, below are the new line up:-

Office Bearer :

Chairman : Cheng (J-11-6)
Vice Chairman : Megam (K-6-8)
Secretary : Selva (K-17-5)
Treasurer : Deva (K-10-4)
Internal Auditor : Morgan (K-16-3)


Coordinators :

Lift : Deva/Selva
Safety : Tan/Selva
Security : Deva/Hamid
Plumbing : Selva/Cheng
Housekeeping : Ang/Megam
Swimming pool : Siknee/Arman
Electrical : Morgan/Cheng

Trust that this new team will bring Vista Condo to a new height, with God's grace & support from Vista Residents :)

Thanks.

some brief report on the AGM

first we want to thank God for the peaceful & successful AGM :)

we are glad that our residents have given MC the green light to apply for the financial aid for Vista building repainting, for we also reassured our residents that we will try our best to save enough money in the management fund for the 20% of total cost as part of the requirement set by state government, we hope that we need not to collect extra money residents by the time approval granted by government for this project. (just like those days we didn't collect from resident extra money for blk k lifts upgrade)

we are also thankful for the questions raised by residents during the AGM, for this have given us the opportunity to explain & clarify on various matters, and even to promote some of the on going projects. we also heard useful feedback from residents which we will bring to the committee meeting for new MC to consider.

some other important decision also be made especially concerning the fire insurance policy, besides explain to residents why such a huge increase in the recent premium, we also get instruction from residents that we should call an EGM to let residents decide for the next insurance renewal, for that we will call the insurance agent to explain in detail on the policy coverage before residents decide what level of coverage they would like to have for the common property & individual units.

we also glad to see many residents responded to the call of joining the new MC committee, in fact all the 14 slots are taken up, but after management office screen thought the payment status & other eligibility, 10 candidates are qualified to be in the MC, we are sorry for the 4 unqualified nominations mainly due to their outstanding Service Charge payment & fire insurance, but we would like to thank them for the heart to serve, and we believe surely they still can find many other areas in Vista which their contribution is truly needed.

now we are busy compiling the minutes & other documents for the submission to COB on this AGM, most likely the first MC meeting will be held next week, we welcome the new members to be on board with us, and we pray, hope & believe that by God's grace we will form a highly united team, and with the continuous support from our beloved residents, we will be able to bring further improvement to Vista Condo & making Vista a better place for living!

thank you.

AGM tonight....

each time when AGM or EGM is near, honestly we do have some stress too.... :P

it's always so much worries & concerns, such as will we get scolded? will some angry residents become uncontrollable & take matters into their own hand? will peoples who can't get the parking lot which according to their wish be throwing tantrum there? or some very persistent water leaking problem will turn residents mad & we become the target during the meeting...???

for some of these happened during AGM/EGM before, but actually most of the AGM/EGM are the peaceful one, hope that tonight God will give us another peaceful & fruitful AGM :)

we understand that we are mere human being & it's impossible to solve all the problem, or make decision which will please everyone in Vista Condo, in fact sometimes we do made unwise decisions too, but overall we just glad that we didn't mess up too much things in Vista Condo, and we are happy to see some of the things we have done really benefits Vista residents, for this we would like to thank God, also thank Vista residents' support & cooperation on those successful projects.

what we hope for tonight is we will have an AGM which is like family members sit down together to discuss & decide on various matters, let's bear with each other & give others chance to express their opinion if there's some different views presented during the meeting. And from the MC, we would like to take this opportunity to update our residents over some of the on going & completed projects, and even future plan for Vista Condo.

so, see u guys tonight, look forward to the fruitful AGM :)

no posting this week....

hi,

we will take a break this week as some of us will be away for taking family for school holidays trip, also like to wish all vista residents happy school holiday :)

we will be resuming the posting again next week.

thanks.

hooray! recycle bin almost full :)

glad to inform our beloved Vista Residents that the 2 recycle bin we have placed at blk J & K ground floor are almost full, in fact the one at blk j has reached the top but we plan to shake it a bit & sure it can keep some more recyclable items before we call the recycle vendor to collect them, and count money :):):)

we want to thank the kind cooperation of Vista Residents on this recycle project, for it has two fold purposes, one is to generate more revenue for Vista building maintenance fund, for this we hope can gather perhaps RM100 to RM200 per month for the beginning, and eventually hit RM300 per month once the momentum is built, another purpose is to do our part for the environment, especially now it has become a common awareness on how hard the plastic material can harm the environment if it's not disposed properly, for our beloved residents' information, even a small plastic bag will take forever to be dissolved, leave alone those plastic container.

so can you pls help to pass the words around to other residents to encourage them to bring to the recycle bin their old newspapers, plastic bags/containers, aluminium can, bottles, papers, cards, etc to help to make this Vista Recycle Project a success, thanks :)

AGM on 14/6 & building repainting matter

last night some of us went to attend a ceramah in Han Chiang school, a resident who tumpang our car told us during the sembang sembang that some residents have started lobbying should (or should not) support the proposal of absorbing 20% of repainting cost in AGM, he said some even went as far as the kopitiam nearby to try to convince another resident to agree their point, wah....!!! we really feel the heat now :)

but we wish to make it clear that this is a proposal (or option) which now open to residents to consider, and MC is not doing the hard selling on the idea, we thought as the state gov't is now willing to consider (and even approve if criteria is right) to channel fund for repainting for private project like us, then we should get our residents informed & let them decide on the proposal, so pls don't talk as we are pushing our residents to contribute the additional few hundred Ringgit for the project & start to have hostile feeling toward us :(

of course at MC level we thought this is good deal from state gov't, from financial point of view, by giving RM200 or RM300 each unit and to see all the unit property value go up by 50K is almost too good to be true.

but anyway, as mentioned earlier, residents should decided on this, and we believe our residents make a right decision on this.

so far we have received few quotations, all still sealed in the envelopes & none of us know how much the vendors quoted, but we check around with those friends who have experience on building repainting, the estimation from them is it should cost somewhere around 350K, and if their estimation is right then 20% should be 70K, or each unit will be abt RM250, or even lower if by then the management fund saving in bank is enough to absorb some of the cost.

but one thing we are a bit concern is can we form enough quorum on 14/6 to effect the AGM, because we need at least half of the total unit to turn up in order to start the meeting, for this case need 138 unit owner to come by 8.30pm, but if not then got to adjourn it to the following Saturday 8pm, and on 21/6 night whoever come for the meeting will automatically form the quorum and start the AGM.

but for those who make an effort to come on 14/6, shall AGM can't be held, we still want you enjoy some nice food & have some discussion with us in the foyer, of course our wish is the AGM can be held successfully on 14/6, but just in case....

thanks.

AGM will be held on 14/6 (saturday)

after long delay due to the lift upgrade project, we decided not wait for the full completion of the project but to go ahead with the AGM which will be held on 14/6 (Saturday), 8pm at our swimming pool foyer.

few important decision will be passed on that night, new management committee will be elected (max number is 14), house rules concerning foreigner hostel may be changed, but what interest us most is the approval from residents concerning the building repainting.

as we have shared earlier, now state gov't is open for the private project to apply fund for building repainting, but the condition is these private project must be low cost or low medium cost apartment, and for Vista Condo, we managed to find some very early document (with the help of MC member who stays at blk k first floor) to prove that we are the low medium cost apartment, so this qualify us to apply the said financial aid, shall it approved then our residents will need to bear 20% of the cost.

(we must stress here that we are qualify to apply, but still the gov't decision for the approval)

so far we have received few proposal/quotation for the building, but haven't open yet, right now still waiting for few more then will open all of them few days before the AGM together with some senior & experience residents from Vista Condo, then will shortlist it to three & present them to residents during AGM for approval & agree to absorb the 20% of total cost shall the application approved by state gov't.

so how much is the 20% in Ringgit form? assume that the cost is RM400k then it amounting to RM80K, or if total is RM500 then 20% will be RM100k, so take these 2 figures for calculation, then we will have (RM80K shared by 275 units) RM290.00 or (RM100 divided 275) RM360.00 per unit.

we can foresee that not everyone will agree with this proposal, but also many residents are keen for it, so the best option here is to table it during the AGM for residents to decide...

just a note of caution, if on 14/6 night not enough residents turn up for meeting, or can't form the quorum (one half of total unit), then the meeting will be postponed to the 21/6 night, and on 21/6 night whatever number attended will automatic form the quorum, so for this we are planning some light refreshment on 14/6 night, for in case not enough peoples to form quorum, then those residents who present at the foyer still can enjoy some good food together & have good time of discussion...

thanks.

swimming pool magnetic lock?

(before write on the magnetic lock, we would like to inform our beloved residents that the lemongrass at the kids playground are glowing well, we notice that less mosquitoes now & hope that after all these plants have reach it's full grown then all the mosquitoes will migrate to other places :)

another thing like to update here is the recycle bin are placed at the ground floor of both blk j & k, so pls contribute your unwanted items like newspaper, metal, aluminium can, plastic, etc...thanks)


abt the swimming pool T&G system, we are now looking into the possible of installing the magnetic lock at the pool entrance, as this request from our residents has been heard more frequently recently, but as we are not able to install there a touch & go system as canggih as one at the guard house due to it's high cost, so we may want take the middle path ie to fix something which will prevent outsider & hardcore defaulter from entering the pool area, but block of the access will not be as easy as the one at the main entrance.

the best option now is to install a magnetic lock which will lock the grill door of the pool, the magnetic lock only can be open by scan the card at the scanner besides the door, but we will not be able to link this system to the T&G system at the guard house entrance due to it's cost involved & the complexity, which means if we go ahead with it then residents will have separate card for entering the pool area.

we have checked around for this kind of system (some of MC members are using it in their own office), the complete set should be in the range of RM1000 to RM2000, include the magnetic lock, door closer, cards, scanner, other accessories & wiring, the barring & unbarring of the cards will be done manually through the scanner but not the computer.

we are now checking with few vendors on the systems, comparing their prices, quality of the devices & after sales service, hopefully can get the system installed by end of month.

Thanks.

kids playground upgrade soon

we are looking forward to the better children playground soon, perhaps in 2 weeks' time.

2 days ago one of our regular contractor contacted us, saying a few set of very good condition children play set are available, free of charge, and asked us if interested to have a look, we told him since is free & good condition then we should not miss it.

then he sent them in Wednesday night, a set of see saw (metal one) & one animal shape swinging set, both are in quite good condition, we decided to accept these 2 & he was happily sponsored us by paying the previous owner a token of gift.

and now, few more sets still in the previous owner's place but as the size is bigger (include a kid's slide) then we are arranging a trip to view them ourselves & if decide to get it for our place, then we will need to pay a small sum of money to the owner & get a truck to bring them in, and for this we also check around for right person to fix all these at our kid's playground, we got to make sure these will be "planted" properly into the ground so that they are secured enough to be used.

we view this as good opportunity to upgrade the kids' playground as all this while we have been checking around for gov't fund for this project but couldn't see good progress, so now as the opportunity knock then we should just grab it, just spend a few hundred to get a complete kids' playground is just a very good deal!

another thing we will be soon doing is to get rid of those mosquitoes at the kids' playground, we have asked the same contractor (who is also our resident) to get many many lemongrass plants from his friend in Balik Pulau & then get his worker to plant them in the kids' playground, so that when Vista kids enjoying the play set, they won't be disturbed by these uninvited guests :)

will update further on this once things are ready.

thanks.

general updates as as 26/4/14

few matters to update our beloved Vista residents...

1) walkway shade - the 6 walkway shades have get completed on Thursday, so far our residents response is quite encouraging, especially those with little kids & elderly ppl, for these shade will be helpful during rainy days, as now we can see more rains are visiting Penang, and we mentioned in last posting, our bigger concern is the safety, for these shade also provide some covering for our residents from those falling object like gutter, bottles, pots, etc....

2) foreigners' hostel - we have contacted EXCO YB Jagdeep Singh's PA & get the confirmation that the ruling that low medium cost (LMC) & low cost (LC) apartments are not supposed to convert to be foreigners hostel & it also applies to private apartments like us, so for this we have asked the management office to get for us the list of such hostel in Vista, and it have been forwarded to EXCO's office for them to send notice the house owners & take further action if they fail to comply with the ruling.

3) lift upgrade - we have warned the vendor to complete the process of lift upgrade in blk k, for which the electrical & mechanical have been upgraded but the new door, wall & floor still remain outstanding, we told them if they don't get it done in May then we may not be able to advice the state gov't to release full payment to them, and we also will think twice for the future upgrade in blk j lift, perhaps should give other vendor a chance...

4) building repainting - thank God there's some new development concerning this matter, our blk k resident Mr Selva has found out from EXCO that now the state gov't also willing to consider the application for the financial aid for building repainting for private project (in the past they only opened for gov't built & low cost flat), now we are contacting contractors to provide quotations & will present to residents during AGM (end of May or early June) for approval, under this scheme state gov't will contribute 80% of the cost, and 20% by our residents, pls wait for the notice for the AGM.

thanks.

the 6 walkway shades

we are installing 6 walkway shades in vista condo, 3 sets each for blk j & k, for both convenient & safety purposes.

it should be completed by next week, at the moment our residents may notice some metal have been fixed at the both walkway walls behind the lifts & another one lead to the motorbike parking area, some earlier response from residents are encouraging one, most of them said it will provide some coverage during the rain, useful especially for little kids & elderly persons :)

yes it's true that Vista residents will enjoys it's benefits when it's rains, and more importantly, it's abt safety.

we are concern more abt the falling object from high, especially the old drain pipe gutters which are already passed 20 years. Last few years we have seen few gutters fell to the floor, most of them just a short sections, but one time abt 1/3 of the whole gutter fell, another one time abt quarter of it.

we thank God that these incidents didn't cause injury (only once it damaged a MC member's car door with it's window) but we should not take thing for granted, so as now the finance is more ready then we decided to install the walkway shade in those areas which most of our residents need to pass by regularly.

the material the vendor use for the shade is abt double thickness of the usual car park shade, which should be able to withstand the pressure of falling object like bottle or stone, or short section of gutter. It may not be strong enough to block the long section (like half of the gutter) from falling to the ground but it definitely can reduce much of the impact which will cut the risk of the possible injury to the minima.

some may ask why not get the permanent solution for the gutter problem, we did try in the past to ask residents' cooperation to let our gutter vendor to enter their balcony & rooms so that they can to the gutters to tighten the clip which hold the gutters firmly to the walls, but unfortunately not many of them willing to open their doors for the gutter vendor to carry out the jobs, so lastly we thought instead of waiting for them to be ready, perhaps to install the shade is the best option at the moment :P

thanks.

further cost saving & increase revenue actions

after seeing 2 successful project on the cost saving & increase the revenue, namely rental parking area which bring in extra money for abt RM1800 per month & T5/LED lights project which save our management fund for abt RM1200 to RM1400 monthly, this give us more motivation to look into more of this kind of plan so to continue to generate more income for Vista Condo, the extra income will be used for betterment of facilities here & also serve the purpose of keeping the monthly service charge to RM100, trust that by this our residents already know that some of our neighbors have increased their monthly service charge, but thank God for we still manage to keep it at RM100 :)

2 plans we have at the moment....

1) we are now buying 2 recycle bin (660 litre each) to be placed at the ground floor of blk j & k respectively, the bins should be sent in to our place by end of April, for this we would like to invite our Vista residents to donate their recyclable items, such as papers, metal, cans, aluminium, etc, we hope our residents don't mind to go extra miles by placing the mentioned items into the recycle bins which should be not more than 20 meter from the lift lobby :)

we believe with the support of our residents & helps from the office staffs, we should be able to collect another few hundred Ringgit extra income through this project, imagine that if it's 400 per month, then by a year's time we should have 4800, quite a sizable money...

2) another plan we have is to expand the rental parking area, we are now studying the possibility of shifting the swimming pool fencing inward, to build another perhaps 8 to 10 lot, which will bring 400 to 500 extra income per month, if this project goes well, plus the 400 from the recycle project, our finance will in the much better position to bring more improvement to Vista Condo :)

let's pray for the sinking fund too, as now we are now still "doing" something on it.

thanks.

Report on T5 tube cost saving

some pleasant news for our beloved residents....

we have just got the 2nd TNB bills after 100% blk j common light & 80% blk k common light changed to T5, together with 80% of car park & entrance light change to LED light, the whole project cost us abt RM8000, but as we check on the TNB bills, we know that we are on the right track, indeed it's all by God's grace :)

the calculation shows the blk j TNB bill has dropped 20% from the total usage, from average monthly usage of 10500KW drop to 8200KW in these 2 months, or RM1000 as goes by RM0.51 according to new tariff. For blk k TNB bill, it drop from average monthly usage of 4500KW to 4000KW, or RM250, so the total saving is abt RM1250 per month as per Feb & Mar TNB bills, and we are happy to find out that the return of investment (ROI) will take only 7 months to fulfill, so much shorter than the earlier estimation of one & the half year.

the reason why the blk j usage is so much higher than blk k is it also supports all the car park compound lighting, T&G barrier, office & guard house power, entrance spot light, firefighting facility, but honestly we are still trying to find the convincing justification for this huge gap, earlier on we even suspected some irresponsible party may curi current, but as we & the electrician went floor by floor to check, and even checked outside Vista Condo fencing, but found no illegal connection, well, will continue to check until we are satisfied on the situation.

now we still waiting for another 30 set of T5 to be delivered to fix for blk K common lighting, and also the remaining car park light changed into LED type, and trust that it will save even more after all these is done :)

thanks.

general updates as at 29/3/14

few updates for our beloved residents....

1) yr2014/15 fire insurance - this time due to the huge surge of the property value in Vista Condo, the fire insurance premium need to be increased in order to provide sufficient coverage for our residents' properties & the common properties, so after some discussion with the insurance agent & also consider the current economy & financial challenges faced by residents, we have decided to get the policy which is RM150.40 per unit compare to RM125.00 previously, and a friendly reminder to some residents who still paying bank for the fire insurance, you actually have an option of not doing so, and this will help you to save few hundred :)

2) IWK pipe replacement - after months of arguing, finger pointing & negotiation with our neighbors (Villa Condo), we decided to go ahead with the replacement of the collapsed IWK pipe near the main entrance of Vista Condo. Actually we prefer they will create the new outlet for their human waste (instead of sharing with us as now) but in view of new outlet will cost them more than RM100k, which is almost impossible for them to do now, so as to exercise good neighborhood spirit, we are now replacing the main pipe as our residents can notice that. It's a big project, cost RM14k (both side pay RM7k each), will take abt 10 days to be completed. So we really appreciate our residents to show good patience to bear with the inconveniences.

3) Lift at blk K - now we are chasing the vendor to replace the floor, walls & doors for the upgraded lift which is currently undergoing the test run, the newly upgraded one seems running more smoothly compare to the first one, so in view of this we also urge him to try to make the first upgraded lift to perform as good as the second one. We still for the full completion of the job & also decided to go ahead with the plan of residents gathering which also a night of thanksgiving to the few YB for their help on the lift upgrade project.

4) Swimming pool - not sure what happen to the pool vendor as we are still waiting for the new grating (drain cover), keep chasing since he came back from India 2 weeks ago but he always replied us OK OK..., will wait few more days & if he still can't give us the firm answer when to deliver the new grating then we may need to look at other source :(

Thanks.

foreigner hostel, cleaners issue & a chairman killed in BKT Jambul :(

few issues were raised by our residents in last post, so we thought perhaps we should address them in more detail, also another matter like to bring to our residents' attention is, if anyone got problem with the decision made by MC, pls talk to to us, a bit scared because last week another committee chairman was killed in the conflict with his resident :(

the case is the 2nd committee chairman got killed in Penang, the first one was in Farlim, abt 1 to 2 years ago, also due to some conflict with his resident, stabbed to death in the common area, he was in his mid 30's then....this time the chairman is a 60's yrs old uncle, also happened in common area, sad...., of course we always thank God because most of our residents are peace lover, even though few times in the past we were confronted face to face, by angry residents due to T&G card, car parking & outstanding SC matters, but fortunately these were settled without involved violent acts, hopefully for the future we still can continue to have patience & tolerance by our residents...


someone mentioned abt foreigner hostel in vista condo in last article, we also meet some other residents who also show concerns on the increasing number of hostel in vista & ask committee to stop the landlord to stop renting to them....but legally speaking, MC (or JMB, or residents' association) have no right to stop any house owner from renting their unit to foreigner or factory workers, which means the owner can take legal action against the committee or management if we force them stop renting to foreigner or factory workers.

but after consulted with lawyer, few option we can consider, one is to ask many residents to sign petition & give pressure to the owner to stop rent to them, another one is pass the resolution in AGM (or EGM) to impose stricter condition (like extra service charge) on the owner if they rent to foreigner, for these 2 options will be presented in next AGM which will be soon to be held as the blk k lifts almost completed in the upgrade.

abt the new cleaners, we do get mixed feedback from residents concerning their performance, the lady actually sweep the corridor everyday & the man clean the car park & drain every morning...which we thought is very good, but another hand we also heard complaints that they didn't mop the corridor & the rubbish rooms were not washed... :(

so for this we have spoken to their boss & to them as well, we told the lady instead of sweeping the corridor everyday, she can stop sweeping once a month but use the time to mop, the same for the guy as well, perhaps he should spend more time to clean the rubbish room in the more thorough way...

but basically we are ok with their performance so far, it just need to fine tune a bit so that they will give more attention to the area which we are more particular with :)

thanks.

blk k 2nd lift is at test run now :)

while we are writing this article, the blk k 2nd lift has been in the test run mode for abt 42 hours already, thank God so far it's ok.

which means the lift vendor does live up his pledge, to shut down the lift for abt 2 weeks & complete the upgrade in abt one month's time. now the remaining part is to fix the new door, floor & the wall panel, which may take up to 2 days' time.

we will let the lift run for few more days then will off it again (the 2nd lift only) to fix the door, floor & wall, we also now talking to our cement works contractor to put the cement block in front of the lift door at every floor lift lobby during the shut down like what we did for the 1st lift, the purpose is to prevent water from corridor to flow into the lift to cause short circuit.

so we are looking forward to the day when new wall, floor & doors being installed, for that we will consider this assignment is completed, for those who follow this blog, still remember abt 3 years ago we mentioned we have 3 big projects, ie entrance shade, blk k lift upgrade & sinking fund, so not long from now we can conclude that 2 out of 3 are done, only sinking fund a big struggle then :(

how abt organize a thanksgiving party (residents' gathering) to thank those YB & EXCO who had helped us in this lift project? now in MC we are discussing abt it, and the same time residents will enjoy their time with each other, especially kids always enjoy the most in Vista residents gathering :)

perhaps we can plan something big this time, better lucky draw items, more delicious food especially prepare more satay, clown to entertain Vista kids, more booth like digi (or KFC?), considering to invite YB Yeoh Soon Hin, YB Wong Hon Wei, EXCO YB Jagdeep Singh, maybe can try invite CM Lim Guan Eng as well???

The MC haven't got any final decision yet, once confirm on this then will put up the notice to inform our beloved Vista Residents.

thanks.

general update as at 9/3/14

it's time to update our beloved residents over some development in Vista Condo...


1) few days ago we checked with the vendor on the progress of the 2nd lift upgrade, the reply was "hampir siap..." but again we dare not to commit here when will be the actual date of completion, but as they gave the brief time timeline of doing the test run in the following week, then take some time to do the new lift wall panel & inner door, after that should another round of test run, then can release to residents for use....:)

(personal opinion, may happen in 2 weeks' time)


2) after upgrade all the camera in blk j & k (with their DVR as well) to the high resolution standard, we have extended the upgrading to the main entrance as well, now not just the 2 existing camera upgraded to high reso, we even added 2 more cameras at the entrance, hopefully this additional facility will further boost the security here.

but we still need residents to be our eyes & ears that if you notice guards not doing their jobs right, or notice any suspicious figures around, pls quickly contact guards or MC members, let's not take chance when come to security concerns.

3) last week we received the TNB bills for both blk J & K, we are happy to see that the blk j power consumption has dropped abt 20% in February, but we guessed abt 8% is due the number of days in February is 2 days less than usual month, so can safely say that 12% drop from the total usage is from the upgrading to T5 light which started from 2nd week of February, in short the T5 light has helped to save abt 25% on the current used by the common lighting, in another words, should be abt RM400 based on our calculation, but we can't have a sure conclusion just based on one month's bill, so we will continue to monitor this.

we are also happy to inform our residents that last week we have upgraded 85% of blk K light to T5, another 15% of the corridor light will be replaced once the stock arrives, hopefully it will help to save more bucks in the TNB bills :)

thanks.

lift shut down for upgrading....

so, after 2 weeks from the day the vendors started the ground work for the lift upgrade, especially laying of the cables & the wires, they finally have shut down the 2nd lift to continue the upgrading process...

which means, our blk K residents will only have one lift to serve them at the moment, but how long will this last? honestly we don't have the exact answer, but the vendor told us they will try to keep it below 2 weeks from now, again, notice the word "try"......?

the only thing we have confident is it will take much shorter time than the first lift upgrade, which according to our record it took abt 4 months, which was abt 2 months longer than what we have expected, and received a lot of complaints & scolding from residents :(

but as during the first lift upgrade, they also have done some of the works which cover for both lifts, so as this time for the 2nd lift upgrade, we were that it will involve lesser works & duration needed for the works can be reduced as much as half, so 1 to 2 months should be a reasonable time frame.

we do think of some back up plan during this period of upgarding, especially only 1 lift is running in blk K, we are asking staffs, guards, vendors & even MC members to keep their eyes on the only lift which is running, if detect any abnormality then must inform the lift contractor immediately, as we can't afford to see it break down or else our blk k residents would not have any lift to carry them, we pray hard & hope that this won't happen.

when writing this, can sense that the stress of the MC members are going up, haha, we still worry so much abt the lift, especilly how long it will take for upgrade & will the lift which is running be able to shoulder the responsibility well :)

God, pls help us....

what happen to the sinking fund?

2 more months to go, will mark our 2nd year anniversary of obtaining the court order for the developer to release the sinking fund back to our residents.

sadly, still don't see the sign of the money, so far what we have see is the paper judgement, but until the developer transfer the money (quite near to 400K by now) to us, it just remains as paper judgement.

looking back to those days when we went around checking with some experience peoples, include few lawyers of how to go abt getting back the sinking fund, most of them actually don't really encourage us to pursue this, suggesting we will just waste our effort for trying to get back the money, so now after 2 years still no sight of money, it make us think that they may be right :(:(:(

are we lost heart & lost hope now? to be honest some times we really think that. but nevertheless when we still think that God is watching & the justice will prevail at last, we would try whatever option available & push until very very very end to try to get the money back, this is our commitment, even though we can't say sure it will bear fruit finally.

past few weeks, again made ourselves busy with chasing & discussing our lawyer, talking to some other law expert, seeing gov't ppl, for the purpose of getting help & finding the right way to fight for the case, but we must say not much progress at the moment, hi, who knows if we keep trying, the success may just around the corner...

we always encourage ourselves with how God help us to get the gov't fund for the lift upgrade, for which also no hope at first, but with much prayer & trying, then all the sudden the light just appeared & still remember the whole approving process took just less than a week :)

who know, the success may just around the corner....

let's keep praying & keep trying, thanks.

fighting dengue at all cost!!!

it seems that the dengue cases don't show any sign of slowing down in Penang, but keep increasing every week!

Again the matter make it to the headline of local news & publication, and relevant authorities & departments have been appealing to the public to do their part to make sure the space under their care would not become the breeding place for aedes mosquito.

here again we would like to assure our beloved residents that we are doing our best to fight dengue in Vista Condo, and giving this assignment the highest priority, and prepare to spend more money & manpower for it if it's needed.

here there are some latest decisions & actions made (or taken) in regards of fighting dengue in Vista Condo,

...we have hired a contractor to clean thoroughly the big drain at the edge of Vista parking area, the two big section of this drain (one in between Vista & Villa, another one in between swimming pool fence & Hindu temple) took the contractor & his workers 2 full days work to clear all the leaves, tree branches, rubbish, sands, mud, other things (u name it:)

...we have instructed the cleaners few weeks ago to check & clean regular those places which got the high risk of breeding mosquito such as common drains, semi circles..., but unfortunately we found out later on this had not been carried out according to the instruction so after we have talked to the cleaners, we have decided to replace them with another group of cleaners which their employer have committed to get these jobs for us, new cleaners will report to work on 16/2/14, and we will monitor them especially to make sure no stagnant water in the semi circle & all the drains.

thanks.

general updates as at 8/2/14

hi, few matters to update our beloved residents,

1) the blk k second lift upgrade has already started, few days ago the vendor Samsudin with his workers went in there to start some ground works, right now they are laying those cables & wires right from the motor room, as such no need to shut down the lift at the moment, but we expect next week they will need to shut down the second lift for upgrading, which means only 1 lift (the upgraded 1) will be running, we are praying that it's reliable enough to shoulder the responsibility. How long will it take then? We are also praying hard that it's all completed within a month....

2) we have already replaced 150 sets of T8 tubes to T5, just completed this morning, so we hope that at the end of this month we can see some different in our TNB bill, hopefully can see as much as 540kw saved, which is abt RM250 according to the new tariff, so if everything go smoothly then should recover the investment in abt a year's time, our plan is if can see consistently 540kw saved in the follow few months, then we shall replace the rest of the T8 light to T5 as soon as possible, for info we have abt 400 light tubes in total.

3) we also planning to engage some help from professional engineer to thoroughly check our switch box, panel, boards & perform necessary calibration, because past few months as we did some some detail calculation on our electricity consumption, it seems our usage should not be that high as reflected in the TNB bills, and hopefully the professional can help us to find out where's the "leakage" so we can save even more money in the future, so right now still in the talking stage with them.

4) CCTV vendor has done what he promised, upgraded all the cameras & DVR to the high resolution model in blk j without charge single cent, thank God for him :)
at the same time as he also so kind for giving abt 50% discount on blk k high reso cameras, so we went ahead to ask him to replace all the cameras in blk k, less than 3K for the cameras, and we also spent another 1k to replace the blk k DVR for which also consider good buy.

5) Swimming pool vendor has place order for the new grating, once arrive then will fix it immediately, again want to thank our resident KK for pledging 1K as donation for this project.

Thanks.