ont CL

THE concept of a stra- ta title is relatively new in real estate.

Each person owns a pri- vate section of the building complex and shares: owner- ship of the common area used by everyone, Common areas include hallways, park- ing and landscaped areas.

Typically a strata or man- agement council is elected by the owners to manage the common area that is collec- tively owned. Strata council can represent a hundred

owners and manage a budget of several hundred thousand dollars.

Management of the land- scaped area around a complex can be handled in a number

of ways. In smaller units, one © owner may volunteer to do-

the landscape maintenance in lieu of paying their monthly

strata’ fee. Ifthe person is..

conscientious and reasonably

« knowledgeable about garden- . ing, the ‘arrangement can

is beyon the person's ability -

“or. ambition,’ then: the

‘arrangement will lead to diffi- « culties” in a a relatively. short |

time2o Many strata councils will ©

sow it grows

form a garden sub-committee to arrange and manage a landscape maintenance con- tract. The committee will generally accept the lowest bid and’ assume the concrac- tor is capable of doing the work,

‘They may, if they: are lucky, get.a knowledgeable and competent contractor. However, they may also get someone who — has little understanding of soil improvement, pruning and long term plant care. The work pattern often becomes “Chop down anything that gets too big and: blow the leaves off the walkways.”

Sometimes problems take -

longer to show up, because of a contractor who bids low to

ect. the contract ‘and then .- “cheats: “on. the. amount. of

‘work: done. If only. 60 per ‘cent “of the work: is being

.. done, the strata council is los- ing 40 per cent of the value”. _of their. contract — possibly

amounting. to. thousands of

‘dollars annually. - °... Whether. the problem is

poor quality work or too firele

comers W

work, the overall level of landscape maintenance begins to go. down in an almost imperceptible way over several years. It is only when problems: begin to show up or the general dete- rioration becomes evident that the strata council realizes there is something wrong. They may have saved a thou- sand dollars cach year over five years but are now look- ing at a potential bill of $10,000 for upgrading in addition to signing a new contract.

Strata councils may just

“re-tender the contract with

the hope of getting a compe- tent contractor the next time. All too often they award it to a contractor who promises them a lower price and a bet- ter job and the cycle repeats itself.

In some cases the owner.

of the landscape maintenance company. is knowledgeable

- but the workers that are sent

to the complex are poorly -trained, lack supervision and - are paid minimum. wages...

The damage to. the ‘garden can be disastrous.

Larger strata complexes: generally use management companies: to. handle’ their landscape maintenance con-

tracts but very few manage-

ment companies have anyone

on staff that is knowledgeable ©

about landscape mainte-.

. mance. There is also a tenden- * “cyto play “musical chairs” with Jandscape companies:

the name of an air charter company.

- Of course, I'm also part of the scenery, a

“slices at the air, she’s got strong opinions on.

things. Her table mate looks cowed and signs inaudibly. < And then there’ 5 the tall philoso her ‘ who:comes early in the morning. Always sits at the same table with a scholarly. titled < book at hiand and writes notes on large blank index cards with a drafting pen. He sometimes tapes his cards together with » clear surgical Ea When his cellular phone rings (a wired

_ Tituals.

ilosopher) he answers with .

bleary-eyed woman dressed in too many sweaters, hunkered down in the overstuffed armchair with her coil-bound journal. And to tell the truth, ’'m with the philosopher. It’s just that we sit at separate tables to dis-* patch our individual tasks. { think people are.

- amused by this. So be it. Coffee culture is a 7”

haven for. eccentric behaviours and personal

And OK, I conte:

a0 ‘don’ even drink - coffee. I drink chai.’ : BPR eS

FUNCTIONAL. WORKS OF ART

ince 1834, Wusthof Trident has heen hand forging knives in Solingen, Sermany. ‘Created from gta noa stain stect for superior edge retention and maintenance, Wusthof Culfaar, cs

and contracts. Their prime goal is to keep costs down and collect their management fee.

The life of a landscape committee chairperson) can also be fraught with prob- Jems. They are expected to keep the grounds in pristine condition with a limited bud- get. Some residents want to pay the extra money for sea- sonal plantings and colour while. others would just. as soon have green concrete. Finding the right balance can be difficult.

The contractor can also experience challenges in work- ing with the chairperson and residents. [deally ali communi- cation and instructions to the contractor should go through the chairperson. Having 15 or 20 resident foremen on the job leads to trouble.

Wednesday, December 6. 2000 — Merth Shore News - 21

livi

ith strata garden

Sometimes the best gar- den practices are not what individual residents think are appropriate, ‘For example, leaves left under low growing shrubs act as a mulch and help maintain moisture, pro- vide organic fertilizer and break down to form soil. At some sites where residents have complained about leaves, the soli surface has been raked clean so many times that most of the plant roots are now growing on the surface and expensive top soil, and composted mulch has to be brought in to cor- rect the problem. With prop- er planting, good growth and expert pruning, much of the leaf-covered soil should. not

be visible for the residents to-

complain about. -In'spending an extra 5 per cent in order to prevent many

of the situations listed above, some strata councils have chosen to employ the services of an independent landscape inspector or consultant to provide the strata council . with the expertise they need or to monitor. the contract might save money in the long ran, .

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