April 1 -Happy Hour

Montevideo’s First Friday Happy Hour falls on April 1 this month, which also happens to be National Hospital Admitting Clerks Day, as well as National Trombone Players Day, National Sourdough Bread Day, National One Cent Day, and of course, my personal favorite, National Edible Book Day!

Whether or not you are a hospital admitting clerk, or a trombone player, or a bread aficionado, join us for Happy Hour 5pm to 7pm on Friday April 1, 2022 at the clubhouse to enjoy some edible books and some trombone music.

Bring something to share. Bring your family.

See you Friday.

President’s Letter

Hi everyone, I’m Tom the new HOA community President. I’ve lived here for almost 5 years since I arrived from the UK with my wife Andrea, and daughters Sophie and Charlotte.

The concept of an HOA, with a shared space and joint responsibility, is not something we get much in Britain. It’s a great idea. Here in Montevideo, we are blessed with a wonderful space, complete with a community hall, and a pool.

But the reality is that after so many years, and like many of our homes, these shared facilities need some attention.

I’ve heard that many years ago, an attempt was made to improve these shared spaces, but that the idea of an assessment on each homeowner caused the community some heartache.

Let’s not do that again.

Our funds look much more healthy than they did back then.

Your board’s ambitions, whilst still high, accept that great things take time and that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

But, there’s a decision that we all need to make soon, together.

The pool leaks… which is really unforgivable in this day of water drought. The pool decking is crumbling and is a danger to toes big and small. The plasterwork will also need renewing in a year or two. We need to spend a lot of money (at least $500k) to address all of this.

We already have much of that money. We could start the work next year, and the board has an obligation to do this, to maintain the facilities of the HOA for the benefit of all residents.

However, there’s also interest from some fellow residents in the Community to take this opportunity to be bolder. Addressing the shape of the pool, making it more appropriate for lane swimming, and also making it available throughout the year.

A more traditional, rectangular pool would be more easily rented out when the Community doesn’t need it, which gives us an income stream to fund the costs of a longer opening season (it would cost us around $30-40k each year to open our current pool all year round, covering gas, water, electric, and pool servicing costs). I’ve heard that local swim clubs pay around $5k/month to rent a pool.

Let’s not beat around the bush. It’s still an expensive undertaking. Initial quotes to remove our existing pool and replace it with a new rectangular pool are around $1M.

Considering the condition of the pool as it is now, and with loan rates still near their historic lows, we have an opportunity to take that step.

With that in mind, the members of your board carefully developed a plan that allows us to borrow for this big ticket item, and use our current funds to address the other areas of the site that need attention. The loan would be paid back over as short a period as we can afford, but probably around 10-15 years.

If we get your approval, then we’ll instruct architects, contractors, banks and any other required parties to help us start this work in the fall of 2023.

If we don’t, we’ll get on with the required repairs to the existing pool, on around the same timeline. Either way, we’ll be investing in the long term future of the pool soon.

We’ll aim to make the pool more accessible to all, albeit without formal lifeguard coverage outside of the historical summer season. Note the ongoing costs of doing so are not insignificant if we are bearing them ourselves, as mentioned above.

The Poolhouse remodel is already out with the city for a permit. The fencing replacement (which will also include keycard access to the site during reasonable hours) is currently in the bidding stage. A clubhouse remodel is planned and will happen when we have the money.

We need your help to guide our efforts. Over the course of the summer, we’re going to be formally asking you these two questions:

1) Should the board explore options to change the shape of the pool while investing in needed repairs?
2) Should the board limit funding to only be by dues collection while undergoing repairs?

We need your feedback, support, and most importantly your direction. So, please send your feedback, thoughts, ideas, etc to the board at Board@miahomeowners.com. We’ll post all questions and responses here for everyone to read. We’ll also be arranging a formal poll of all householders in the coming months.

Either way, the future looks bright at the MIA,

Your President, and Board

Join us for our MIA Happy Hour – March 4 – Bourbon and Beignets

Join us on Friday, March 4 2022 5PM-7PM for MIA’s March Happy Hour.

Bring something to share, your favorite bourbon or other libation, or just come to hang out with your neighbors for a couple of hours.

There will be activities and fresh cooked beignets for the kids (and adults who love fried dough).

First Friday Happy Hour – Feb 4th

Hello Neighbors!  Happy Hour at the Clubhouse is back!  Please join us this Friday 2/4 5-7pm for some drinks, snacks, and good conversations.  Our theme for the night will be Wine Tasting. Please bring a bottle of wine to taste and/or a snack to share.  Dress warm as we will be outside.  There will be kid activities so the whole family is invited!

MIA Noon Year’s Eve Party Cancelled

We are very sorry to announce that due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 and under advice from health officials, we will be cancelling the Noon Year’s Eve event scheduled for Friday, December 31, 2021 at 11AM.

We wish you a safe and happy new year!

We look forward to celebrating together in February at our MIA Happy Hour on Feb 4

CANCELLED. Montevideo! Let’s Celebrate NOON Year’s Eve!

We are very sorry to announce that due to the spread of COVID-19 and under advice from health officials, we will be cancelling the Noon Year’s Eve event. We look forward to celebrating together in February if conditions improve

It will be midnight somewhere in the world and what better way to celebrate the New Year with a Noon Year’s Eve Party.

Bring your family & join your neighbors at the Montevideo Clubhouse to ring in the New Year December 31 at 12 Noon. Doors open at 11AM.

Sparkling refreshments and light snacks for every age will be provided.

Please RSVP and let us know if you have questions.

If you would like to volunteer to help with this or future events, email us at board@miahomeowners.com

Happy New Year!