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IMPORTANT NEWS:
A Special Vote Will Be Held This Summer to Change
CRRA Bylaws
From the General Manager’s Desk - Important
Votes on the Horizon
This past Saturday at the regularly scheduled board
meeting, the CRRA Board of Directors made the decision
to present to the membership voting on two major and
important issues.
1. A reduction in the dues assessment for timeshare
owners, and;
2. Merging the Coosawattee River Resort (CRRA) and
the Beaver Forest Chalet Villas Owners Association
(BFCVOA).
For the past nine years the villa association and
the CRRA have been at odds over the legal liability
and responsibility for the villa association and the
timeshare owners to pay the full amount of dues to
the CRRA that the residential lot owners pay. The
biggest point was whether or not the timeshare owners
had to pay at all. Two years ago the Superior Court,
then the state court of appeals and finally the supreme
court all stated emphatically that yes, the timeshares
were “lots” and had to pay assessments
to the master association, CRRA.
Since that ruling, the two associations have been
trying to figure out the best way to resolve the legal
issues between the two associations and to resolve
them in a manner that would be the best for Coosawattee
River Resort and ALL of the members, timeshare owners
included. After months and months of negotiations
and discussions, it has been decided that the best
course of action for all members would be to formulate
a reduction in assessments for timeshare interval
owners and to merge the CRRA with the BFCVOA.
Ever since the inception of the timeshares, the timeshare
owners have been charged the same yearly assessment
as the residential owners. This means that even though
timeshare owners only have access to their unit one
week per year, they are paying the same amount as
someone who has access to their house or lot all year
long. In researching the matter further, we have not
been able to find one other situation that is the
same as this. In every situation that we have looked
at, all timeshare owners pay only a fraction of the
amount of annual assessments for residential lots.
Because of our current situation, timeshare owners
are being priced out of the market. Currently, based
on this year’s assessments, timeshare owners
have to pay $555 for CRRA assessments and then on
top of that, they have to pay $625 for their maintenance
assessments, bringing the cost for one week’s
ownership to $1,180; a cost that makes owning a timeshare
cost prohibitive. It is this prohibitive cost that
has caused timeshare owners to quit paying their CRRA
assessments and for the value of a timeshare interval
to plummet to almost zero.
The vote to change the dues structure was recommended
by the bylaw change committee and would mean that
if passed, timeshare owners would pay one fifth (20%)
the amount of residential lots. Based on this year’s
dues that would mean that timeshare assessments owed
to CRRA (not counting their maintenance fees) would
be $111. If this measure passes, this would be the
first step in restoring some value to the timeshares,
making it so that there would eventually be a market
to resale. This is VITAL to the CRRA because CRRA
now owns almost 1,500 of these interval weeks. A healthy
timeshare operation means a financial benefit to the
CRRA. A healthy timeshare operation means increased
value for CRRA residential owners. A healthy timeshare
operation means that the villas will be able to be
financially stable and self-sustaining without the
fear of going bankrupt.
The second vote, merging the two associations, is
just as important as the first, especially since CRRA
owns so many of the timeshare intervals. Having such
a large portion of ownership, the CRRA naturally wants
to be able to manage this large asset the best we
can. The boards from both associations feel that merging
the two associations and making the villas a department
of the CRRA is the best way to oversee this vital
asset and to realize the income potential that they
will eventually hold. If there is no merger between
the two associations, in 18 months the CRRA will be
liable for associated costs of ownership without being
able to oversee and control the operations.
For the reasons outlined above, the boards for both
the BFCVOA and the CRRA have agreed to merge the two
associations and are urging all of the members to
vote to approve the merger in the upcoming elections
and voting. Over the next two months there will be
updates, letters, information listed on the web site
and town hall meetings to further discuss both of
these issues. I encourage everyone to be involved
in the education process and to vote for the bylaw
amendments that will be presented.
Until next month,
David
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