WHY?? Due to expenses outside of the original bidding specifications, the Mailroom Project is projected to be $135,000 over the allotted budget. Covering these expenses out of CIF Funds would not impact member dues.

 

Rationale:

• What is CIF and where does that money come from?

The HFCA bylaws allow members (in good standing) to approve funds to cover expenses through a membership vote. Each time a member purchases a home in Hemlock Farms, a fee is paid and deposited into the interest-bearing Capital Improvement Fee Fund account. When members vote to use these funds on projects or other expenses, the cost does not impact member dues.

 

• Why the Mailroom Project?

In 2024, we brought the Mailroom Project to the membership as a CIF project. The membership approved the use of up to $700,000 from the CIF Fund to spend on the Mailroom Expansion Project, allowing more space for member packages, meeting the needs of our growing community, and improving the facility’s accessibility for people with disabilities. This project is underway but, as the project progressed, several unanticipated costs contributed to this project exceeding the original approved budget:

 

• Garage Fire Rating Requirement. The garage, originally designed as a simple unloading area, was required by a third party permitter to have additional fire rated protection. This included additional fire-rated walls and a motorized roll-up door that closes in the event of a fire. These requirements were not part of the initial estimate and required additional architectural and engineering work.

 

• Vestibule and ADA Entrance Changes. The original design treated the entrance as a ramp with railings, which would have funneled members into a confined entry point. To improve accessibility and flow, we redesigned it with a running slope, eliminating the need for rails but extending the concrete farther into the parking lot. While parking lot repaving was already planned, this additional concrete work was not included in the original budget.

 

• Foundation Work. During excavation for the building addition, a rock ledge was encountered, requiring additional time and resources.

 

• HVAC Replacement. The plan to reuse an existing HVAC unit was abandoned after it was determined that the unit was unreliable and insufficient. A new split system was installed instead.

 

• Generator Addition. While initially excluded due to cost, a more affordable generator option was later identified and added. This is considered essential to ensure continuous mail operations, especially given past reliance on temporary lighting and generators during outages.

 

• Bathroom and Door Modifications. Code requirements mandated additional interior access to bathrooms, leading to added doors and partial bathroom renovations, including plumbing and flooring updates.

 

The total overage amount above equals $85,445. Architecture and Engineering costs including overages total $115,829 and legal and permitting costs totaling $6,745. Plus the initial cost for the Mailroom and vestibule of $621,500. The total project cost equals $829,519.

 

The main issue was the project approval process itself. Historically, Capital Improvement Fee (CIF) projects were brought to the membership with minimal upfront costs, only just a concept, renderings, and a rough estimate. The goal was to avoid spending money on detailed planning unless the project was approved by the membership. However, this approach created a major gap:

 

• Detailed permitting requirements,

• Third-party reviews,

• Construction documents, and

• Code compliance adjustments.