Dear Homeowners,
 
We’re sending this to explain the actions the board has taken to address the water intrusion caused by ice dams over the past two years of record snow and persistent freeze-thaw cycles.
 
Our goal is to reduce ice dams and the corresponding leaks, and we have been spending tens of thousands of dollars each year on replacement of gutters and heat tape with no discernable reduction in ice dams.
 
There have been a lot of opinions offered about why we have seen ice dams at what seems to be a high rate: undersized heat tape, not enough heat tape, heat tape installed incorrectly, inability of the electrical panel to support the heat tape, bad thermostats, bad building design, not enough ice paper under the shingles, insufficient roof venting, insufficient attic insulation… you get the picture.  We have a lot of opinions but no expert advice.
 
This year we have engaged an alpine expert to do a thorough investigation of our roofs and provide a phased plan for roof replacements. A subsequent investigation will offer recommendations for how to most effectively mitigate the occurrence of ice dams in our community taking into account the plan for roof replacement. We expect a preliminary written report later this year.
 
In the meantime, our experts observe that in much of our community we have heat tape that protects the gutter, but does nothing to mitigate ice dams. Therefore, on the advice of the experts we will remove damaged heat tape and gutters, and will replace damaged heat tape and/or gutters only in a few areas where such replacement is expected to address safety issues. This work is expected to begin in early September. We will also have a contractor ready to manually remove ice dams this winter as soon as they are detected, with particular focus on those buildings/units that have experienced leaks in the past.
 
As your Board of Directors, we have an obligation to our homeowners to act responsibly to protect your property interest while appropriately managing the financial health of the HOA.  Our attorney has advised us that the board has an obligation to follow expert advice and a corresponding fiduciary obligation to spend your assessment dollars wisely, assessing the cost tradeoff of very expensive short-term fixes (adding heat tape, electrical panels, etc.) that may not solve the problem versus working toward a long-term solution.
 
We hope you’ll be patient with us while we work through this for the benefit of the entire community.
 
Regards,
 
Board of Directors
The Boulders Condominium Association