VIEW FROM THE CLIFFS General Manager

VIEW FROM THE CLIFFS
Winter 2012
KIMO M. KEAWE
General Manager
The big news on property is that we are nearing completion of the
long-awaited renovation of the recreation room (Hale Ho’onanea). Even
after a torrential rainstorm during the first three weeks of March.
We are very close to our original completion date and we anticipate
having the room available to host our next Board and Annual Meetings
in April. Just today we received the final key components which were
the skylights manufactured in California and sent to us in record breaking time to make our opening deadline.
The key design elements are to lighten and brighten this facility with
large skylights and a fresh color scheme in addition to adding a small
fitness center. The fireplace and its metal chimney were removed and
remodeled into a reading nook surrounded by bookshelves and comfortable chairs to read your favorite thriller. New custom-made cabinets
were made for this new area along with two laptop work stations to
replace the old library bookshelves. All of the lower cabinet doors have
been hand painted by artist Lea Ingram with tropical floral themes in
vibrant colors that will complement the new furniture and fabrics. The
new furniture is lighter and multi– functional as we will continue to host
a variety of activities in the main portion of this room. A new ceramic
tile floor has been installed with provisions for ADA access from the
outside walkway. The existing kitchen counter was removed to provide
more meeting space with a large table and chairs to replace it. A large
flat screen TV has been mounted on an adjacent wall with additional
cabinet and storage space below.
What was formerly a storage area and reservations office (pre-2008)
has now become a fitness center. Not too big and not too small, with
just enough equipment to get a good workout. This area has been all
glassed in and air conditioned. The entrance is from an exterior door
next to the existing vending machine. It contains two treadmills, a recumbent bike, an elliptical machine and a combination weight/strength
gym machine. It also includes a small free weight rack with weights. We
have installed a 42” flat screen television for those who want to keep up
with the early morning news. Finally, a new asphalt shingle roof to
match the rest of our buildings has been installed by the same contractor who did an excellent job on the reroofing project of Building 7.
As we came to the end of 2011 the Board worked diligently led by
board member Lou Genett, on a project to increase the number of solar
panels on the administration building. We wanted to take advantage of a
US Treasury Cash back grant program and a State Tax Cash Credit Program that were set to expire on December 31st. The combined savings
of both programs total 54.5% of the total cost. With the addition of
these new panels we are looking to produce around 80% of our electricity needs from solar energy. We made the necessary deposits in 2011
and all of the materials are on island. The contractor is working with
the electrical and structural engineers to complete the final array design
and installation scope of work prior to submitting these plans for permitting.
We began the final phase of unit renovations for six CRVOA units in
mid-November. Although the scope of work was not as extensive as
the CCIOA units, the furniture, case goods and paint schemes are identical. Those first units were completed at the beginning of December
and the final eight units were completed in February. With the completion of the CRVOA units, all timeshare units on property have been
renovated. The next round of renovations will begin with the CCIOA
Units in 2014.
I’ll be doing more frequent updates in Kimo’s Corner, and the recent
storm was the focus of my latest update. However, there are a few
things that should be repeated just to give you an idea of what we were
dealing with. During one seven day period it rained over 40” in Hanalei.
That’s more than 3 feet in a week! In addition, many Kauai residents
experienced a hail storm for the first time, with hail the size of marbles,
bouncing off cars and creating a deafening sound.
As a result of quality control and guest feedback we installed a new
instruction sheet on the washer door of each unit to let users know that
there is a two-minute delay before the door can be opened. Hopefully,
this will cut down on the number of work orders that are put into our
system that are labeled “washer door won’t open”.
Our initial goal in putting together the 2012 operating budget was to
keep maintenance fees at the 2011 levels. Based on a lot of work between each individual department manager and Bill Malish, our new controller, we did achieve that goal. At the October board meetings, the
AOAO and the CCIOA Boards approved a no increase budget. A two
year program to fairly allocate program expenses resulted in an increase
of CRVOA’s maintenance fees in 2012 equalizing the maintenance fees
between the two timeshare associations.
At the beginning of this year we held our annual employee recognition
luncheon and had some new twists to our program. As you all know,
this is a time to recognize those individuals who work day in and day out
and deliver the wonderful service product we have all come to expect.
This year we selected one employee for each quarter. Our first quarter
recipient was Sonja Cabebe, of our Concierge Department. Our second
quarter recipient was Ernie Cabutaje of our Housekeeping Department.
William Ovalles of our Facilities Department was chosen for the third
quarter and Shanoa Law of our Accounting Department was the recipient of our Fourth Quarter award.. After a close vote Ernie Cabutaje
was chosen as our Employee of The Year! Ernie exemplifies the qualities
we look for in any outstanding employee with his willingness to help
others and his cheerful personality. He was a very deserving winner.
We also honored two employees for their 25 years of loyal service at
The Cliffs. William Ovalles of our Facilities Department and Julie
Cabutaje of our Housekeeping Department.
The real treat of the get together was the managers’ rendition of the
Twelve Days of Christmas (local style). Each of us was assigned a specific day and had to come up with a prop or costume that reflected that
particular day. As an example, in the traditional song, the first day of
Christmas is “a partridge in a pear tree”. In the local version it is “one
mynah bird in one papaya tree”…….you get the idea! The performance
was hilarious and was recorded. You’ll find a link to our song in another section of this newsletter.
Based on the comments we have received from owners, guests, vendors and other partners our property now stands out as one of the
premier properties of its type on Kauai. We thank all of our owners for
their continued support of our efforts on their behalf and we look forward to many more improvements in the future.
Kimo
AOAO PRESIDENTS REPORT
& UPDATES OF JANUARY 2012
The entryway project has been a long “long range
plan” effort. We are tying it in with our landscaping project, which will probably evolve in several phases. As of this
date, Your Board has not agreed on an acceptable plan,
principally because our “dreams” are larger than our Budget. Back to the drawing board, but have patience, because
we would rather have the scope of work which is in our allowable Budget and at the same time enhances the property.
For those of you inclined to serve on the Board, we
gave notice that January 31, 2012 was the deadline for resumes. There are 6 proposed candidates to be reviewed.
While at the Cliffs this January we witnessed some
Thanks for your endeavor to participate. During our April
of the best winter weather that I have observed in a long
meetings, the vote you cast will determine the make-up of
time. Make your plans to join us next January and upcomrd
ing future Board meetings set for the week of April 23 , July your ensuing Board.
23rd and October 29th for 2012. Check the website for details
Past minutes of the Board will be posted after the
and be sure to have your email address sent to the General
Board approves them. You can currently review them for
Office of The Cliffs.
the November 2011 meeting, which were approved in January.
The Joint Boards plan on introducing more social
media through the website. The Joint Communications
Committee is currently working on Facebook, so plan on
seeing more of this technology based programming in the
future.
Your Board has unanimously approved the Management Contract with CCIOA for year 2012. CCIOA hires all
personnel as a matter of centralizing and controlling all personnel costs for the campus. CCIOA also, through the GenYour Board has been talking about the revitalization eral Manager and staff, administers all day to day activity
of the Recreation Room for some time. Finally, we are un- campus wide. Each year we negotiate a contract to pay our
pro-rata share of associated expenses. These are all allocatderway. I witnessed the removal of the fireplace hood and
chimney structure, where our contractor used ingenuity in ed in our Budget having been reviewed by your Finance
severing the hood and hoisting the long column with a huge Committee and presented to the Board for approval.
AOAO in turn, charges CCIOA or other group usage of the
crane. The demolition of the interior phase was virtually
Recreation Center to promote activities, etc. Just to inform
done within a week. Under the demolition phase we took
you that these are negotiated decisions which must have
many pictures that we hope to share on the website.
Board approval.
This will be a ten to twelve week process including a
The CCIOA Solar Water Heater project is still onnew roof with skylights, expanded library and social meeting
going and your AOAO Board has no further update other
area; plus a fitness center. All flooring is to be replaced,
new furniture, repainted color coordinated interior, includ- than statistics are being accumulated to determine its viability. The test units are in Building 5 (all CCIOA Units). If
ing lighting, large T.V., audio equipment for meetings and
it becomes viable we will keep you informed.
an array of other comforting items prepared for the usage
of all members and guests. This will be completed by our
next meetings.
I should mention that Quality Control is an ongoing
subject. To that end, I have asked George Bruns and Jim
Ricker to conduct an insightful review of our system and the
integrity of our constant awareness. We should have a report at the April meetings.
Our fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 and was
on track, slightly ahead of Budget. The tightening of expenses helped our course. There were no new delinquencies which helped us to stay on course. Our carryover surJanuary 28th was the annual whale watching spectaplus should be a fraction ahead of Budget and contributes to
cle on our very own Cliffs property, with official “counters”
being able to have a proposed level budget with no increasand “evaluators”. It is nice to be home to such great activies for the year 2012.
ties.
The Board did confirm a contract for some curbing
near the Administration area and our first chip seal on the
asphalt in order to extend its life. We will plan additional
curbing if it proves to help our maintenance program.
See you in April.
Sincerely,
Jerry Hempenius
CCIOA
From the Presidents Desk
So as usual, there is a lot going on at the Cliffs and your Board continues its labor of love looking for ways to make the Cliffs even better. As always, I
sincerely appreciate all our members who either stop me at the Cliffs to talk or
drop me an email. Your comments are vital to us to ensure we are making this
resort the best possible place for all 5400 members and I really do enjoy talking
to all of you. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.
Mahalo and wishing you all the best possible 2012.
Mark Barra
Aloha to all our Cliffs Club family.
As we welcome in 2012, I want to wish all of our Cliffs Club members
a happy, healthy and prosperous new year and I hope all of you get an opportunity to come visit your resort. The start of a new year also gives us a moment to
reflect back a bit and see what we have accomplished at the Cliffs over the past
years. From 2007-2011 we refurbished all 107 CCIOA unit interiors to the
highly acclaimed standards we now have. We purchased, renovated and fully
moved into our Administrative Building in 2008. We completed and dramatically
increased the size of our pool area in 2009. All our sidewalks were widened and
replaced in 2010. Our friends in the Cliffs Resort Vacation Owners Association
(CRVOA) will have all their units fully renovated by the time you read this newsletter. And at long last, the renovation of our Recreation Building is fully underway with a completion date of late March anticipated. All of this occurred during
a very difficult economic environment, which makes the list of improvements
even more satisfying. To cap this off, I am most pleased to continue to report
that our financial position continues to be solid and capital reserves remain
strong. We were one of the very few resorts anywhere in the country which
was able to hold our maintenance fees level in 2012 and we will do our very best
to strive for that same goal next year. My thanks to our General Manager, Kimo
Keawe , for putting the retrospective together.
Some of the highlights from our most recent meetings in January include something that we are very excited about. The Cliffs Club will be entering
into the social networking world! Yes, we are putting together a Facebook page,
which should be operational by the time you read this. We are very excited to
be taking this next step in our evolution here at the Cliffs. We will start off simple at first, but the hope is to consistently expand our Facebook and even Twitter presence in an attempt to expand the world’s knowledge of what we have
here at the Cliffs which will benefit all our members financially. For all of you on
Facebook now, please go ahead and “Like” us and begin spreading the word to all
your Facebook friends and contacts to do the same. We will be having contests
and giveaways (For example, a free week stay at the Cliffs for New “Likes”) and
will have pictures galore of our fellow members, exchangers and renters enjoying
the paradise we have here at the Cliffs.
Special Recognition
To Our Outstanding Employees:
Employee of the Year
Employee of the 2nd Qtr
Ernie Cabutaje, Housekeeping
Employee of the 1st Qtr
Sonja Cabebe, Concierge
Employee of the 3rd Qtr
William Ovalles, Facilities
Another highlight is the continued Solar Hot water heater experiment
that so far has given us some very positive data. The goal here is to find creative
ways to offset our ever-growing power costs at the Cliffs and this project appears to have a positive outlook. It’s estimated that hot water heaters in the
units consume about 45-55% of all our electric costs for the CCIOA. Our goal is
to greatly eliminate this cost with a unique solar configuration, which could and
should save the association (and you!) several hundred thousand dollars annually.
More on this likely in April.
In the near future, we will begin an internal trade desk operation.
Basically members will be able to “internally” bank their use week in one year,
for use in one of the next two years for a small fee. So if you cannot use your
week for whatever reason one year, you can effectively bank that week for use at
the Cliffs over the next 2 years. This program will be in its infancy and we expect to come out with additional enhancements and expect this to be an attractive additional benefit for our members.
Employee of the 4th Quarter
Shanoa Law, Accounting
Congratulations on a job well done!
CRVOA
FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS SCHEDULED
At our January meeting, the Board scheduled the July, 2012 annual
meeting and its January, 2013 on-site Board meeting.
It is expected that the CRVOA Board will meet on Thursday, July
26, 2012; however, that date still needs to be finalized. We will be holding
both a regular Board meeting and our annual meeting that week. We have
requested that the schedules be arranged so that our Board meets after all
of the other Boards on the property so that we can make decisions based
on what another Board might do. This change was implemented in January
and worked very well.
From the Presidents Desk
Christopher Stawski
The January, 2013 on-site CRVOA Board meeting will be taking
place during the week of January 21, 2013. At the moment, we are projecting that our Board meeting will occur on Thursday, January 24, 2013. You
will be kept updated if this changes.
GEHRKE RESIGNS FROM BOARD
Long time CRVOA Board member Chuck Gehrke resigned from
the CRVOA Board at its January, 2012 meeting. Chuck served on many of
the Boards and Committees located on-property and he will be missed.
Because of Chuck’s resignation from the Board, there are two
Board positions open in July. If you are interested in running for one of
these open Board positions, please review the call for candidates contained
in this Newsletter.
All persons running for the Board will be interviewed by one of
the members of the CRVOA’s Nominating Committee. Chuck’s position on
the Board will remain vacant until our elections in July.
CRVOA CALL FOR
CANDIDATES
After accepting Chuck’s resignation, the CRVOA Board formally
thanked him for his years of service as part of its business at the January,
2012 meeting. We all wish Chuck the best in his future endeavors.
CRVOA RENOVATIONS COMPLETED
As of the end of February, the last of the CRVOA units were completely renovated. The CRVOA Board wishes to thank everyone on The
Cliffs staff who assisted us in this project. We are now beginning to reserve
funds for the next round of renovations.
The Board is very pleased with the new look of our units. If you
haven’t yet done so, you can take a virtual tour of our newly renovated units
by visiting us at www.cliffsatprinceville.com. I assure you that you will be
very impressed by what you observe.
MAINTENANCE FEES NOW OVERDUE
Some time ago, you should have received a billing for your 2012
maintenance fees. If you have not yet paid this year’s maintenance fees, now
is the time to do so. Our organization’s budget is based on the presumption
that all of our owners will pay their maintenance fees in full and on time.
We will experience a budget shortfall if we are unable to collect all maintenance fees that are due.
To those of you who have already paid your 2012 maintenance
fees, I extend a hearty Mahalo to you. Those of you who have not yet paid
your 2012 maintenance fees should expect to receive a reminder from us
soon. Remember, it is now possible to pay your maintenance fees by credit
card on-line so the process is easier than it has ever been before. Hats off
to the Technology Committee for its hard work in making on-line payments
a reality.
In the next issue of this newsletter,
there will be a call for candidates. In
July, The Cliffs Resort will be conducting its annual election of Directors. There will be one Board member up for election this July. The
Cliffs Resort encourages you to
throw your hat into the ring if you’re
interested in serving on the Board.
While there is a lot of work involved,
there is great satisfaction in knowing
that Board service contributes to
helping keep The Cliffs Resort a first
class property.
Who is Who?
A. Jerry Hempenius , President AOAO
B. Paul Cannings, Vice President CRVOA
C. Ann Hermosura, Executive Housekeeper
D. Tom Selders, Treasurer, CCIOA & CMG
E. Sabrina Callahan, Conciege
F. Barry Kinman, Director AOAO, Advisor CCIOA
G. Alice Berntson, Advisor, CCIOA
H Kimberlee Kain, Administrative Assistant
I. George Bruns, Secretary AOAO
K. June Sundberg, Rooms Division Manager
It’s All About Hawaii
OUR UNSUNG HEROES
KIMBERLEE’S PICK
Watch our Cliffs Staff Members
perform the Hawaiian 12 Days of
Christmas.
Our Gratitude & Appreciation go out to these employees who went above and beyond their normal
responsibili-
ties during the
recent flood-
ing in March
making sure
our guests and
owners were
comfortable and
secure.
Many of them
could not go
home because
of bridge clo-
sures as crews
cleared the
highway of de-
bris and
waited for the
water in Ha-
nalei to recede.
Mahalo to Belinda, Merida, Nora and Myrna in
Housekeeping; Benson in Maintenance; Mark and
Glenda at the Front Desk and Josh and Eric in Security.
SPECIAL THANKS to June Sundberg our Rooms Divi-
http://bit.ly/GzXsgJ
Don’t forget to pick up your Maka’i
Card at our Front Desk
sion Manager and Ann Hermosura our Executive
Housekeeper
Pronunciations
It appears that some of you may be mispronouncing the last names of our fabulous
staff members
Here is a little help:
Our Fearless Leader,
General Manager
Kimo Keawe (kay-aah-vay)
for Special savings at our local
Our Fabulous Facilities Manager ,
Foodland Grocery Store!
James Sarme (Sar-may)
BOARD OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
2012/2013
AOAO Board of Directors
CCIOA Board of Directors
BOARD OFFICERS
President Jerry Hempenius
Vice President Lou Genett
Secretary George Bruns
Treasurer Mark Barra
BOARD OFFICERS
President Mark Barra
Vice President Gus Daal
Secretary Lou Genett
Treasurer Tom Selders
AOAO COMMITTEES
2012 Board Meetings at the Cliffs
CANDIDATE REVIEW
Mark Barra, Chair, Lou Genett, Rolf Ramelmeier
CONSTRUCTION/ CAPITAL PROJECTS
Don Jacobs, Chair
Gus Daal, George Bruns
ENERGY, RESOURCE & CONSERVATION
George Bruns, Chair, Barry Kinman
FINANCE
Mark Barra, Chair
Don Jacobs, Barry Kinman, Norman Litell
LEGAL & BYLAWS
Rolf Ramelmeier, Chair
Don Jacobs, Norman Litell
LONG RANGE PLANNING
Lou Genett, Chair
Gus Daal, George Bruns, Mark Barra, Rolf Ramelmeier
QUALITY CONTROL/EXTERIOR MAINTENANCE
Gus Daal, Chair
George Bruns, Lou Genett, Barry Kinman
TECHNOLOGY & COMMUNICATIONS
George Bruns, Chair
Norman Litell, Lou Genett, Barry Kinman
CRVOA Board of Directors
BOARD OFFICERS
President Chris Stawski
Vice President Paul Cannings
Secretary James Moyes
Treasurer Mark Barra
CRVOA COMMITTEES
CONSTRUCTION
Paul Cannings
LONG RANGE PLANNING
Chris Stawski
NOMINATING
Paul Cannings
James Moyes
TECHNOLOGY & COMMUNICATIONS
James Moyes, , Chair
CMG Board Officers
Debra Wood President
Charles Gehrke Vice President
Tom Selders Treasurer
Deborah Nicosia Secretary
Cmg-hawaii.com
JANUARY, 2012
Week of January 16-20, 2012
APRIL, 2012
Week of April 23-27, 2012
JULY, 2012
Week of July 23-27, 2012
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012
Week of October 29 thru November 2, 2012
CCIOA COMMITTEES
CONSTRUCTION/CAPITAL PROJECTS
Gus Daal , Chair, Don Jacobs, Jim Ricker
ENERGY, RESOURCE & CONSERVATION
Gus Daal, Chair, Lou Genett, Tom Selders
FINANCE
Tom Selders, Chair
Jerry Hempenius, Lou Genett, Jim Ricker,
Alice Berntson, Barry Kinman
Sub-Committee: Resale
Lou Genett, Jerry Hempenius, Barry Kinman,
Alice Berntson
Sub-Committee: Rental income Increases
Tom Selders, Barry Kinman, Jim Ricker
FURNISHINGS
Jerry Hempenius, Chair
Gus Daal, Lou Genett, Alice Berntson
LEGAL & BYLAWS
Don Jacobs, Chair
Jerry Hempenius, Tom Selders, Lou Genett,
Barry Kinman, Alice Berntson
LONG RANGE PLANNING
Gus Daal, Chair
Jerry Hempenius, Tom Selders, Jim Ricker, Lou Genett,
Alice Berntson, Barry Kinman
NOMINATING
Jim Ricker Chair, Gus Daal
PERSONNEL
Jerry Hempenius, Chair
Don Jacobs, Jim Ricker, Alice Berntson
QUALITY CONTROL/MAINTENANCE
Gus Daal, Chair
Tom Selders, Don Jacobs, Alice Berntson, Jim Ricker
TECHNOLOGY & COMMUNICATIONS
Jerry Hempenius, Chair
Gus Daal, Don Jacobs, Tom Selders, Barry Kinman
Sub-Committee: Ballot Revision
Barry Kinman, Tom Selders
Like us on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Cliffs-At-Princeville/115612761793516
SEE what others are
SAYING
Wish I was
there, need
a break
from reality! How
Awesome!!
See you in 4
months,
can’t wait.
My husband
& I will be
coming back
in August!
Can't wait to
take pictures
with my new
camera!!!"
Hollie HummelBryant
Sandra
Cremers
We more than
"Like" the Cliffs at
Princeville - WE
LOVE IT!
Marilyn Curry
We will be there on Thursday! Honeymoon & 1 year
anniversary! We are so excited!
Shawnna Fisher
What a fabulous, peaceful
place to relax and enjoy
its beauty.
Judy Cannings
Oh How I Miss This Place!!!
Lesley Dewig
THE CLIFFS
3811 Edward Road
Princeville, Kauai, HI 96722
www.cliffsatprinceville.com
Check us out on Facebook “The Cliffs at Princeville”
Aloha, you’re invited to join our staff at our Cliff’s Welcome Reception
on Monday at our newly renovated Hale Ho’Onanea Rec. Room at 5 p.m.
Come and enjoy our delicious pupus, door prizes and meet fellow owners and guests.
June Sundberg
Rooms Division Manager
Editor
Kimberlee Kain