Meetings of residential space owners were organized February 28 – March 1, 2015 in Novo-Molokovo residential complex. The main goal was to meet the new heads of the management company, inform residents of the current situation and answer the most burning questions.
There was a total of two dozen issues on the agenda. Most of them concerned selecting house management methods, approving the terms of management agreement, list and cost of included services, electing the Chairman and members of apartment house Council and approving Council Regulations. Taking a decision on the way to form the capital repairs fund for common property in the apartment house and related issues formed a separate topic.
Top managers of the company spoke at all meetings, explaining their position on the main aspects, from general issues (residential laws, house management methods, procedure for charging utilities) to specific issues directly related to the residential complex (functions of the elected apartment house Council, current situation with utility supply, additional services (house intercom, security etc.), situation with bills receivable and measures taken against debtors, reports on completed work).
A considerable part of the allotted time was devoted to answering questions of the participants. It was important to divide them into questions directly related to the management company and other questions remotely related or not related at all. It was also important to set priorities. The first group of questions was connected with the developer. At the moment school and daycare center have not yet been built and the complex territory is not fenced off. As for apartments, they have faults that are typical for such situations: improperly adjusted windows, ventilation not working at full capacity, leaks, water supply failures. All these issues will be resolved step by step, in close cooperation with the developer. According to statistics, life finally comes back to normal and becomes better than before only six months after people move in.
The second group of questions is connected with relationship with administrative authorities and the general government policy in the field of housing services and utilities. Among other things, the increase in the price of utilities after the New Year is caused by obvious economic crisis and accompanied growth in prices, including prices for heating and other supplies. There were some negative comments regarding the work of the district police officer. Many questions concerned the community infrastructure and were included in the minutes: installing traffic lights at the exit from Volodarskogo highway to the Residential complex, providing lighting on the road at the entrance to the complex, public minibus taxi from the residential complex to Moscow (the latter is already done).
Finally, the third group of issues is being resolved and will be resolved by the common efforts of owners and the Management company. Some of the topical issues to be put to the vote is decision regarding the opening of trash chutes, launching Automatic management & control system and Automatic system of commercial accounting of power consumption, trash removal schedule, cleaning common spaces and adjacent territory, introducing energy saving technologies (such as motion sensors in the entrance halls), creating a dog park, paid parking etc.). And certainly the security issue is under special control, and according to public opinion, it cannot be regarded separately from fencing off the territory. It should be mentioned that house intercoms already function and there are concierges in the entrance halls.
According to estimates the attendance rate among owners ranged from 18.2% (Vasilia Molokova St. 15) to 32.9% (Solnechnyi Proezd 8), which was not sufficient to achieve a quorum and pass resolutions. So next time we call on the residents to be more active, since the direction of further development of the complex and the most acceptable resolution of possible problems depends on the decisions passed by the majority of owners.
However at the present stage it is the moral result of the events that matters. We cannot but note the credit of trust extended to the new company management, which they still have to live up to. But most important, the Management company is and will be ready for a dialog, ready to provide technical and legal assistance in organizing legitimate owner meetings. There is still a lot to be done, but the foundation has been laid. The fact that many of the residents’ wishes have been put into life testifies to it.
It should be noted that all interaction takes place within the legal framework and mutual obligations undertaken. This is cooperation of business partners characterized by mutual respect, without any backslapping. It is for the purpose of building such constructive dialog that Management company employees were giving their cell phone numbers to all participants of the meetings.