Aquarius by the Park Newsletter – 2012/13 Dear Residents: The 10th Management Council (MC) is pleased to present to you the Newsletter for the year 2012-13. This Newsletter gives some updates on various Social activities, improvements covering EPS system, Landscape, Cleaning, and other activities in the Estate. The year has been an eventful year. We had the Aquarius Day on 10 Nov 2012. It was a grand success and we thank all the members and volunteers who have helped and contributed to the success of the Aquarius Day. With the establishment of the Bedok Reservoir View Neighbourhood Committee, to encourage active citizenry and foster stronger community bonds within private housing estates, the residents also got an opportunity to participate in many social and cultural events such as visit to Gardens By The Bay, trekking and parental talks. The EPS system for Car park was successfully commissioned with a reasonably smooth transition in Dec 2012. The retractable awnings were also installed near the facility counter at the Club House and at the open terraces in the Club House. The MC endeavoured to manage the expenses of the estate with prudence and discretion. But with the increasing cost of services and utilities, the Management Fund continues to run into deficit. The MC would request the SPs to seriously consider increasing the Management Fund contribution to improve the financial situation of MCST. The 11th Annual General Meeting at Aquarius by the Park is scheduled for April 2013 and we would like every SP who is able to contribute time and expertise to the estate to step up and volunteer. This will benefit our estate tremendously if more volunteers could come forward, making our ‘Home’ special. The MC will continue to serve you to our best abilities and endeavours to further enhance the estate which is ‘Our Home’. We thank you for the opportunity and look forward to your continuous support and feedback. Let us continue to make Aquarius by the Park a safe, peaceful and harmonious environment and community to live in. Thank you. Vinod Martin Chairman 10th Management Council March 2013
Key Contacts
Inside this issue Aquarius Day 2012
2
Landscape - Cleaning - Security
3
Management Fund
4
Social Activities
5
Updates
6
More Updates
7
Management Council
8
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Management Office Main Guard House Email
: 6243 0423 : 6241 5307 : mcst2669@starhub.net.sg
Aquarius by the Park Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Aquarius.Day.2011
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Aquarius by the Park Newsletter – 2012/13 Aquarius Day 2012 The Aquarius Day was held on 10 Nov 2012. This Annual Event helps to bring all residents together to participate in this community bonding event, to make new friends and know fellow residents. The theme for this year was “Living in Harmony”. The afternoon events included Zumba dance and water sport games. The telematch water game provided loads of fun, excitement where participants demonstrated team spirit. In the evening, we were honoured to have our MP of East Coast GRC and Adviser of Kg Chai Chee Constituency, Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Manpower, gracing the event. The residents had the opportunity to interact with Mr. Lee who also gave away prizes for the winners and special prizes. The cultural event in the evening was full of dancing, singing and performance. Residents were treated to exhilarating performances as part of the Aquarius talent Show especially by our very own talented young Aquarians. We would like to thank Kg Chai Chee CC and Bedok Reservoir NC for their support and generous sponsorship for the event.
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Aquarius by the Park Newsletter – 2012/13 Landscape – Cleaning - Security Landscape The residents of Aquarius by the Park continue to enjoy the pleasures of living surrounded by nature both within the property and across the road at the reservoir park. Aquarius has the special advantage of expanse and space which is not necessarily offered by the newer developments coming up nearby. Over the last few years the Management Council has made an effort to improve the landscaping. The Council has worked closely with the landscaping vendor ‘Nature’ to make best use of available resources to improve and develop at minimal cost. Some of the measures in this direction have been propagation of Heleconia and other lawn edging plants. The plants within the property are ageing and the landscaping needs to go through a phased replantation. Some of the palm trees have become mature and dried out from the head and hence had to be uprooted and removed. Some of the other trees have become too tall and have to go through a cycle of heavy pruning. This is resulting in additional maintenance cost to the MCST. The Council after due diligence awarded the extension of Landscape contract to Nature considering the high levels of service provided in the last two years.
Cleaning Regular cleaning of the property is routinely monitored by the MA and the council members. The cleaning services are provided by ISS. Most areas within the estate are well kept. We experience some challenges due to littering from higher floors, refuse being left at lift lobbies and pet pee and poo being found in the elevators and walkway. We urge the residents to cooperate in maintaining the hygiene and cleanliness of the property. The bin chutes are being cleared every day, water washed every three days and high pressure washed in the bottom as and when necessary.
Security The Security team endeavours to keep living in our estate safe and secure. Currently the security services are provided by Interlock with Allan and Rajan as Supervisors. The team is involved among others in monitoring and checking on the entry of all visitors / contractors, patrol the estate, handle security incidents, attending to residents’ calls regarding security and do first level trouble shooting for any fire alarm activation.
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Aquarius by the Park Newsletter – 2012/13 Management Fund 2012 has been a challenging financial year for our estate. This year has been another year when the Management Fund is in deficit for the financial year (for the sixth consecutive year). Overall we are now in deficit for the Management Fund. The key challenge has been to manage our estate this year with a budgeted monthly deficit of 29,432 SGD (143,083 SGD in revenues vs. -172,515 in expenses) – budgeted annual deficit of S$ 353,178. This is due mostly to the lack of increase in our revenues (the contribution of our Management Fund remaining at SGD 50 per share per month). YTD Budgeted deficit vs Actual deficit in 2012 (in ‘000 SGD) Jan-12
Feb-12
Mar-12
Apr-12
May-12
Jun-12
Jul-12
Aug-12
Sep-12
Oct-12
Nov-12
Dec-12
Budgeted - YTD
(29)
(59)
(88)
(118)
(147)
(177)
(206)
(235)
(265)
(294)
(324)
(353)
Actual - YTD
(28)
(46)
(65)
(91)
(114)
(136)
(140)
(152)
(158)
(169)
(190)
(197)
1
13
23
27
34
41
66
84
107
125
133
156
Savings vs Budgeted
This structural deficit has driven the Management Council to focus its effort on Cost Savings. As shown in the table above every month Council had used every possible opportunity to control expenses resulting in a deficit much lower than Budgeted. At the end of 2012 we spent significantly less than the budget was planning for! Such an effort has been achieved through fiscal prudence, making sure all expenses are controlled and monitored and only necessary expenses to maintain the estate are approved and negotiating the best terms from all the vendors. However this expense management can be stretched only to a point. The cost of living around us has kept on rising over the last 12 years as the chart below illustrate. Our Management Fees have never changed when the Consumer Price Index has gone up by 25%.
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics In the year 2012 the maintenance costs and consequently deficit have shown a further increase mainly because of the increase in the utilities bills, increase in contract fee by major service providers and higher building repair and maintenance costs arising from ageing building, facilities and equipment which were constructed more than 12 years ago. If we look more in detail in terms of our expenses, the following are the five main categories of expenses and they contribute to more than 78% of our total expenses: Category
% of Total
Utilities
26.4%
Cleaning Services
17.8%
Security Services
14.3%
Property Management Fee
12.2%
Landscape
7.5%
Utilities is the biggest expense head and also had the biggest increase from the last year. And the price of Electricity over the last 12 years has increased by 51%! (Source: Yearbook of Statistics Singapore, 2012). The Council is exploring energy saving initiatives to manage the increasing Utilities expenses. Based on the facts, we need to increase our Management Fees contribution to reflect the reality of the rising cost of living.
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Aquarius by the Park Newsletter – 2012/13 Social Activities Visit to Gardens By The Bay A total of 82 residents from Aquarius together with 66 residents from Clear Water Estates visited the Gardens By The Bay on 25 Aug 12. The volunteers from the newly formed Kampong Chai Chee Bedok Reservoir View Neighbourhood Committee successfully organized this family event with the support from both the MCSTs. The objective of this event is to enhance the bonding among the residents through social and fun activities like outings and hobby groups. The highlights were the visit to the Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and thereafter to experience the spectacular light show at the OCBC Skywalk. CNY Lion Dance and Dragon Performances The Social Sub-committee organised a Lion Dance and Dragon Performances during the Chinese New Year on 16 Feb 13 as part of efforts to bond the residents of all races together through this social cohesion event.
Social and Civic Consciousness We received complaints from residents that they were encountering throwing of litter such as cigarette butts, used tissues, glass bottles and dog waste from the apartments at higher levels. These inconsiderate acts in addition to causing great inconvenience can also be hazardous to other residents. We would like to request all of us to be conscious of this and refrain from such littering. The killer litters from a height are also an offence under the Environmental Public Health Act. The Management instituted an educational campaign where circulars were sent to the residents, information posted on notice boards and even house-to-house visits in the affected blocks to advise residents against such antisocial behaviour. Another complaint was urination in lifts by the pets. The Management requests consideration of all pet owners in this matter.
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Aquarius by the Park Newsletter – 2012/13 Updates Car Park – EPS System The Electronic Parking System (EPS) was successfully commissioned in Dec 2012. This replaces the vehicle transponder system that was used earlier for recognizing the registered vehicles to park in our Basement Car Park. The new EPS has three antennas at Main Resident’s Entrance, Block 3 Car Park entrance and Block 15 Car Park entrance. The re-registration exercise for registering and updating the details of the vehicle and IU numbers was conducted in Nov 2012 and thanks to the efforts of the MA and Vendor team the transition to the new system was reasonably smooth. The residents can feel the benefits of the new system as the registered vehicles are smoothly recognized and allowed to pass through. This system also enhances the security as the vehicles are registered and recognized by their IU numbers.
Maintenance Activities Following are some of the major repairs / replacements done during this year: Squash Courts : Both the squash courts were repaired and reopened for the use of Residents. Tennis Courts : Replacement of lamps, water rollers Sump Pits : De-silting of all sump pits in basement car park : Pumps Replacement: sump pit near Blk 11, storm water sump pit #2, fish pond Fire Protection : Replacement of MV fans and MV subpanels : Troubleshooting of alarm system and replacement of faulty fire detectors Gym : Bicycle seat repair, replacement of ab-strap for multi-station BBQ Pits : Repair of tiles Pumps : Replacement of domestic water pump at basement transfer pump room : Repair of ejector pump at Blk 19 basement car park : Replacement of water pressure gauge for all roof top pump system TV Room : Replacement of Air conditioner units Play Ground : Repair of see-saw and stork nest rope Guard House : Replacement of Air conditioner units Facility Counter : Installation of intercom to link Facility Counter with guardhouse Swimming Pool area : Replacement of float valve for balancing tank : Repair of leaking water taps at open wash area at 1st storey pool areas.
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Aquarius by the Park Newsletter – 2012/13 More Updates Retractable Awnings Retractable Awnings were installed at the following locations: at the poolside entrance to the Club House to prevent rain water ingress into the Club House Facility counter area. one each at the two Club House Open terraces, to enable usage of the facility during rain.
Electricity – Energy Saving One of the focus areas of the Management Council has been managing the Electricity expenses as they have seen the most significant increase this year. This is despite the electricity consumption remaining more or less the same. Utilities comprise the biggest expense head for the estate contributing to about 27% of the total expenses under the Management Fund. The MC undertook an Energy Audit to understand the consumption patterns of electricity within the Estate. One of the areas identified for energy saving is the Car Park lightings which contribute to 22% of the total electricity consumption. One option that is being explored is to replace the current Car Park lights system with Energy Saving lighting system (lighting dimmers sensors) in the basement Car Park at Blocks 3,5,7,9,11,17,19 and 21. This technology was invented in Singapore Polytechnic a few years back and is used by Fraser Centrepoint, CPF Building and some schools. It comes with TUV certification.
This dimmer sensor detects the motion of car or human. If no car or human is detected, this sensor will dim down the T8 fluorescent tube to 40% energy usage. If car or human is detected, the sensor will light up the fluorescent tube to the normal 100% brightness. Projected energy saving will be 50% to 58%. On top of 50% to 58% energy saving, our technicians again are free from maintenance of these new sensor lightings for the next 3 years. The payback time for this is expected to be 24 months and the life span of the sensors is 5 to 10 years.
Bicycles for Charity An exercise was conducted to clear the old / unused and unclaimed bicycles from the basement car park. The unclaimed bicycles that were in a reasonably working condition were donated to a Charity organization.
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Aquarius by the Park Newsletter – 2012/13 Management Council and Managing Agent Management Council The following are the members of the 10 th Management Council Vinod Martin o Chairman o Finance-Admin SubCom John Ng o Secretary o M&E-Building , Finance-Admin SubCom Christian Mailhes o Treasurer o Finance-Admin SubCom Ashish Kapahi o Member o Landscape-Cleaning SubCom Awaneesh Srivastava o Member o Social-Security SubCom Balaji Ramaswamy o Member o Landscape-Cleaning SubCom Clarissa Bellstedt o Member o Social-Security, Finance-Admin SubCom Ernest Tan o Member o Finance-Admin SubCom Frencis Foo Sek Juat o Member o Social-Security SubCom Neo Chye San o Member o Social-Security, M&E-Building SubCom Neoh Kean Chye o Member o M&E-Building SubCom Rakesh Rawat o Member o Social-Security, Landscape-Cleaning SubCom Titty Thomas Varghese o Member o Landscape-Cleaning, M&E-Building SubCom
10th Management Council – 2012-13
Managing Agent Steadlink is the current Managing Agent. The following are part of the MA team Chan Chee Seng o Condo Manager Dennis Ong o Assistant Condo Manager Roland Lim o Property Officer Sheila Suhaila o Admin Assistant P Kuppamah (Raginee) o Facility Supervisor
Essential Service Providers Managing Agent Technicians Security Cleaning Landscape
Steadlink Asset Management Pte Ltd Air Tech Engineering & Consultancy Pte Ltd Interlock Security & Investigation Services Pte Ltd ISS Facility Services Pte Ltd Nature Landscape Pte Ltd
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Shuttle Bus Lift Refuse Disposal Swimming Pool Pest Control
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Metro Tours Pte Ltd Hitachi Elevator Engrg (S) Pte Ltd Sembwaste Pte Ltd CU Water Services Pte Ltd ABJ Pte Ltd
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