Condo V- August 2026
Welcome to the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer! August symbolizes warmth, bounty, and vitality, reflecting a time of harvest and abundance. It is named after the Roman emperor Augustus, representing leadership, wealth, and power. Additionally, August signifies a transition from summer to autumn, encouraging reflection and growth, making it a period rich in spiritual significance.
With no federal holidays, August instead highlights daily, weekly, and monthly celebrations and observances such as U.S. Coast Guard Day (8/4), Purple Heart Day (August 7), National Aviation Day (8/19), Senior Citizens Day (8/21), World Lung Cancer Day (8/1), National Book Lover’s Day (8/9), and International Left-Handers Day (8/13). If you love dessert, there are plenty of opportunities to celebrate with something sweet, such as National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day (8/4), National Raspberry Cream Pie Day (8/1), and many other fun and unique daily celebrations.
PROJECTS AND UPCOMING WORK
• At the Birchwood Road basement, new dehumidifiers have been installed along with the necessary electrical outlet. This equipment is hung from the ceiling for functional efficiency, so be aware and watch your head if you are walking/working in the area.
• Gutter cleaning started in July and should be progressing.
• We have conducted some jetting of drainage pipes on portions of Woodland Ct. This has cleaned much of the drainage network in these areas but has also identified sections that require repair. The repairs will be scheduled for later in the season.
• The bulk of the work in the Woodland Ct. basement is complete. Some concrete repair and the installation of the dehumidifiers is all that remains. We had to remove all the wooden pallets for the refurbishment as mold is an issue with wooden pallets. You may purchase and use plastic pallets, which are available from several outlets online.
CONDO V BUDGETING
As noted in the July issue of the newsletter, the Board is working on the budget and resulting common charges for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, which begins in October. As is well known, costs for everything have gone up significantly over the last year or so. HOA charges are likely to increase in response to higher costs, and we have had a serious increase in our insurance policy. We have received a generous refund from MPAU, the group that oversees the collection of fees for and the maintenance of our sewer treatment plant. These funds and recouping some of the interest from our financial investments will be accounted for when assessing our budget and resultant fees necessary. This year as always, we will focus on safety and necessity in funding budget items. Some discretionary projects will have to be put on hold as we try to keep the common charges to a minimum. Please understand and appreciate the careful thought and hard work of the Condo V budget committee.
We hope everyone has a safe and fun-filled remainder of the summer.