Have you ever played that game dogs love where they invite you to play tug-of-war with a favorite toy, rope, or some other object?
When a dog embarks on this kind of mission, they are single-minded in their effort. Nothing else can distract them. They feel that they must win at all costs. It’s where we get the popular term “like a dog with a bone” in reference to people with tunnel vision on a particular issue.
Our Strata Council member Marc has shown this same kind of dogged determination when it comes to his assertion that every ventilation pipe in every building throughout the complex is somehow deficient.
There has been zero evidence that this is the case. There are a few disconnected vent pipes. It has been generally determined by different parties that this is due to the poor workmanship with the last roofing project. Connecting them back is a simple matter of connecting the pipe to the vent, something that can be done in minutes by a basic handyman.
But in Marc’s view, not only is every pipe disconnected, but every pipe needs to be re-routed to a different location in the roof. In his latest letter to the owners, he states “there would be a physical need to make new holes in the new roof for the rerouting of the new ventilation vents and patching the initial location.” Really? Which units, exactly, are affected? Where is his evidence that this is a widespread issue, if it exists anywhere at all? A need to move the ventilation piping in every building? What a completely absurd premise! It would mean that every unit was built incorrectly. They would never have passed initial inspection. Or is Marc suggesting that over time, the pipes and vent openings moved (again, in every building) to such an extent that the vent holes need to be moved in the roof? What would have caused that, short of a major earthquake?
We know that modern building technique calls for straight piping instead of flexible piping, to avoid buildup of dust particles in the pipe over time. But that’s a minor issue and shouldn’t be part of the scope of this project. We are replacing the roof, not redesigning it.
Marc has been on this tirade for some time. Under the previous council, he kept demanding that this extensive work be included in the roofing project scope. The rest of council disagreed. They felt that the problems were minor and could easily be dealt with on a case-by-case basis separate from the roofing project. To include this into the entire roofing budget for all units, when only a few vents, if any, needed any kind of modification, was absurd.
But Marc felt that since council didn’t agree with him, they weren’t listening to him. This led to him throwing the entire council under a bus, causing three council members to leave and eventually creating such divisiveness that the remaining three council members were thrown out based on false statements, innuendo and even outright lies.
The blind fixation on this single non-issue caused the roofing project to be rejected, only to be re-issued at essentially the same cost but with no oversight, no scope, and now much higher interest rates for every owner. Some owners will be paying $3,000 to $5,000 extra in interest payments merely because of the delay in getting this project approved. And since the new quote doesn’t include a proper scope, we will need more quotes and all of them based on a real scope of work. That will delay things even more, with the possibility that interest rates will increase further. This all could have been avoided with approval of the roofing project at the November SGM.
Marc also alludes to the assumption that all these misaligned pipes he refers to are causing mould and other health concerns.
There is indeed moisture in the attic spaces. There is zero evidence it is caused by misaligned piping and a great deal of evidence that it is caused by a poorly installed roof. The roof deficiency report even showed photos of ventilation pipes with no flashing, where the sky could be seen around the ventilation hole! This has nothing to do with misaligned pipes! It’s a roofing problem, pure and simple.
In Marc’s latest letter, in which he accuses others of creating divisiveness, he states the owners should “jump off your ship of assumptions and hop on the little boat of reasonings.” Marc is basing his own ventilation fixation on assumptions. Those who believe he is on the wrong track are basing their view on quality reasoning. Marc has it completely backwards.
