And I'm moving

I started this blog with high hopes. I know there's a lot of great people in these buildings and hoped I could share information about local events and community meetings. I hoped this could be a springboard for people to get interested in our community.

We have a community group in our buildings that meets every single month, on the first Wednesday, at 7:30pm. It meets in building 101 at 7:30pm sharp. The handful of group members go through issues tenants are dealing with (these days primarily hydro and the prostitution/drug ring in 201) then try to arrange events for residents. A senior's tea, building bird houses with the children, a reading night, the visit with Santa, a poker tournament, the summer barbecue. If you look, you'll realize most of these events haven't occurred. The reason why? There are not enough involved tenants to run these events.

I am the ONLY person in building 101 who attends these meetings. There are 197 units in this building and  hundreds of adult tenants. No one in this building even has to go outside, there's a door in the first floor hallway.

Not a single tenant in 100 attends these meetings, out of 196 units. Instead, the main volunteers are seniors between the ages of 60 and 95 years old from 200 and 201. If a 95 year old can regularly attend, what is your excuse?

If you're wondering why I'm mad... this is one of the reasons...

And where were you? Whoever wrote all over the notice never showed up. They had enough time to find a pen and write everything down, but didn't have enough time to go up one floor and attend the meeting.

My other reason I'm mad is we're a complex of people who don't really live here. There is not a single person who "liked" the Facebook page who lives here. And the one person who's officially following this page lives no where near here. I've given out this website to neighbours and coworkers and friends and they all have one excuse or another why they can't access it (not a single one was lack of internet). I had one neighbour tell me he couldn't be bothered because him and his wife are not really part of this community, they're going to move soon. They've lived here a decade. Not only that but he told me this in December. It took me three weeks to find an apartment, it's not that hard. I wonder how long they've been not really living here because they're going to be moving soon. My bet is about a decade.

I'll tell people about issues that will be discussed at an upcoming meeting. Issues totally relevant to that person. Push buttons on posts outside the back doors for easier access to the building. Hydro discussions.  Discussions regarding children's activities. And, each time, I'm told "Oh yes, I'll be there for sure. Thanks for telling me!" Each time they've, oops, not shown up... despite reminders. The other members of the group have the same issues. People are more than willing to complain about the buildings and love to share what they think should be fixed. However, when the meeting rolls around, they suddenly don't have time.

In two months I'll be settled into my new home. I can only hope the residents there are more involved with their community group.

Community Meeting - February 1, 2012

My apologies for the delay in reporting the meeting. I'd planned to write directly after the meeting but was sick and working full time. Blogging took the back burner to sleep.

I missed the first few minutes of the meeting as I was talking to a friend and neighbour outside the community room. She had wanted to attend the meeting but brought along her young daughter (along with colouring materials to keep daughter occupied). Unfortunately our current leader, while great at organizing events, is short on both tact and patience. Instead of explaining that the meeting was very organized with several speakers and wasn't suitable for a young child, she was too abrupt and left my neighbour feeling unwanted at the meeting. Please, if you want to attend the meeting, you are more than welcome. But they are no longer suited to children. They are long and would be boring to young children. Plus they tend to run past a child's bedtime (running from 7:30 to 9pm). Heck they run right up to my bedtime. If you have a totally breastfed baby, I will argue your case. Otherwise your best bet is to find someone to watch your child for those couple of hours. Previously our meetings were fine for children (I used to bring my son) but they were a lot more informal then too.

When I came into the meeting, Gobal Mailwaganam (Associate Vice President of Operations), was discussing a moving camera system. I missed the initial information but from what I gathered after the meeting, the camera is one that is set in one location but can be moved to problem areas. Sadly it does not record sound but can be used to gather information about what tenants (and their visitors) are responsible for certain issues.

The 8th floor in building 201 was once again a huge issue. Tenants reported excessive noise on an almost continuous basis during the day and fighting at 4am. Plus people in the problem apartment (and the people visiting the apartment) have been trying the doors in the vicinity. Their neighbours are scared to leave their apartments, worried about who they might run into.

The town of Whitby has no time limits on noise complaints. You can call in complaints regarding excessive noise at any time. One tenant complained that the music from the apartment beside hers was so loud, her pictures were shaking on the walls but was worried to call as it wasn't between 11pm and 7am. The non-emergency line for the police is 905-579-1520.

There are still issues regarding urine and spit in the elevators of 201 and at least one person asked Gobal to request cameras in the elevators. It would be nice but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them.

Security was brought up again. Right now we don't have security at all. It was brought in, briefly, to deal with the children who had been running wild around the buildings, but that was temporary and they are gone (the security, not the kids). If Cap-Reit feels there's an issue that needs security, they'll hire them again but otherwise they rely on cameras.

One tenant complained (and was promptly agreed with) that a big issue is the lack of follow-through regarding issues. An issue is brought up, management agrees it's a problem, then nothing is done. The tenant specifically mentioned tags on cars, noting that the spot next to him has multiple cars that use the same spot. Gobal promised to do better. We'll see.

I brought up the laundry room on behalf of the tenant who was not able to attend due to having her child with her. She was concerned because the washers in the laundry room smell. Gobal was going to call Phelps Laundry Service to deal with the issue.

A representative came from EnerCare Connections (formerly Stratacon) to answer questions regarding hydro. The first question was if smart meters in apartments were even legal as the tenant knew there had been issues in Toronto regarding this a few years ago. The representative explained that back in 2009, some landlords in Toronto tried to force all their tenants to pay hydro, even the ones who had been there for years, claiming it had been in their lease when they originally signed. Hydro payments were suspended for half a year while this issue was sorted out. The end result was that they are legal but existing tenants cannot be forced to pay rent. New tenants have the choice of moving in or not, existing tenants can sign up for hydro if they want but otherwise stay with all-inclusive rent.

The next question was regarding the two meters showing up on each bill. Each apartment has two breakers in the unit. One is for the electric heat and the other is for the rest of the electricity in the unit. Each breaker has a smart meter. Both meters are yours, you are not getting charged for another unit.

Then came the question regarding the $17.50/m administrative fee. Whitby Hydro is the company that supplies everyone's hydro in the area while EnerCare Connections does our billing. Cap-Reit gets billed for the administration of the bills and that fee gets divided between the tenants.

Any tenant who wants to view their hydro consumption can view their account at: my.stratacon.ca. Information from the smart meters are downloaded daily.

Several complaints were made regarding the state of the windows in the building. It's hard for tenants to cut down on heating costs when they can feel wind blowing through gaps in their windows. Gobal insisted that tenants can just put in a work order for window repairs, even though a tenant insisted she'd done that and was told nothing could be done. He said that third party repairs could be done via Trimark. We'll see at the next meeting if requesting third party repairs via a work order makes a difference.

Work is still going on via Elizabeth Roy (our west ward councillor) to get a bus shelter on White Oaks Court. There was one there for years, between 200 and 100, but it blew down in a storm several years ago. Several members from the group will be writing a letter to the town of Whitby explaining why a bus shelter is needed and stating the previous shelter was not vandalized.

And, it's about time, handicapped access is being installed at 201, with a key post and push button away from the door. If this is successful, the rest of the buildings will also have posts and buttons installed.

The squash courts have been cleaned up and are in use in 201. They will be working on each court individually. This will be great. I know my children loved using the squash court in our building years ago. It had a basketball hoop and was wonderful on cold or rainy days when the kids wanted to run around and play.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 7:30pm in the community room (at 101) for anyone who wishes to attend.

Pizza woes

I came home from work late one cold and rainy afternoon. I hadn't felt well all day and decided to pamper myself by ordering a pizza. I usually order from Panago, the rare occasion we order pizza, but this time I decided to try somewhere different and ordered from Pizza Pizza.

Their website was easy to understand and soon I had a pizza ordered. I joked that I'd got dinner started and it would be ready in 40 minutes then settled down to read. I half-thought about getting into my pjs but luckily decided I didn't want to answer the door in them.

Just over a half-hour later my son answered the phone, said "okay", then hung up. I asked him if the pizza person was on the way up and he said, "No, he's waiting downstairs for you." What? Grumbling, I pulled on my boots and headed downstairs. Then stood in complete confusion as there was no one in the lobby. Had he gone upstairs after all? The elevator opened and my friend and her daughter asked if I wanted in. I shrugged. "I'm supposed to be getting a pizza," I explained. "He's supposed to be down here but I can't find him." Elevator doors can only stay open for so long; eventually they left.

I looked around again. The lobby and hallways were empty. No one was coming out of the elevators, no elevators were on our floor. The only sign of life was a plain black car parked outside the doors. It didn't look like a pizza delivery car... there wasn't a sign or a decal... I moved toward the window.

The driver noticed my attention and climbed out of the car while holding a pizza bag. Then he stood there waiting for me. It was pouring rain and the temperature hovered just above the freezing point. I was in regular clothes and no coat. I hadn't brought keys downstairs with me either. He soon realized I was not heading outside. He slowly walked to the doors and came inside.

I commented that I'd been expecting service at the door, like other pizza companies. He looked at me like I told him I'd expected him to set fire to his hair then announced they couldn't be expected to go up to the apartments. It wasn't safe.

I gestured toward myself... "You have no problem with sending me, a middle aged woman, downstairs to get the pizza but won't go up yourself?"

"You have no idea what goes on here!" he protested. "Just a year or so ago there was a big murder here. Someone was knifed in those elevators! There was blood everywhere! I saw it with my own eyes. There's blood in those elevators on a regular basis."

"That's funny," I replied. "I've lived here for almost eight years and take the elevators regularly. I have never seen blood in the elevators and certainly don't remember anyone being murdered here." [Note: I couldn't find anything on Google either. I was here when the young woman overdosed and died in the ravine behind 200 and I'm sure a bloody murder in an elevator in 101 would have had even more media attention]

From talking to the driver, I realized this is a full White Oaks ban. It doesn't matter if you're a 23 year old ordering pizza for you and your friends... a Mom ordering dinner for the family... or a 95 year old... Pizza Pizza expects you to go downstairs and get that pizza yourself. And, if you get the driver I got, he's expecting you to go outside (no matter what the weather) and fetch it yourself.

I did some calling tonight and found several places who deliver here. As far as I can tell, Pizza Pizza is the only one with this ban. I didn't call Little Caesars, simply because their walk in special is so cheap and it's right next door. If you have found another place which does not deliver, please post it in the comments. And, if you've found a local pizzeria that delivers to the door, please post it as well (along with the phone number if you have it handy).

Pizza Hut 905-430-5725
Domino's Pizza 905-668-9797
Yellow House Pizza 905-665-6320
Panago Pizza 310-0001

Let's give our hard earned money to the companies who are willing to show us enough respect to come to our doors.

Community Meeting - January 4, 2012

We had quite the loud and lively meeting yesterday evening. It lasted two hours and covered a variety of important topics.

Building 201 is primarily a senior building. Weirdly, they seem to be having the brunt of the issues lately. Their first issue was a door that was broken sometime late Christmas night/early Boxing Day morning. Someone, unfortunately out of range of the security cameras, threw a rock through the glass back door. The concern was the lack of timely repair of this door. Granted, it was the holiday weekend, but the door was "secured" with tape and a plastic recycling bin. This allowed everyone free access to the building, until the door was finally repaired the evening of Wednesday, December 28th.

Nina, the representative for Cap-Reit, immediately began the blame-game. It wasn't their fault because no one called the office. She said this several times until she finally listened and realized the office had been called... several times. She immediately went on to blame the caller. If she'd said "secure the door" and detailed exactly how to do that instead of asking them to "fix the door" everything would have been fine. Then she blamed the staff member who did the initial "repair". He's new and didn't know that doors need to be secured with more than tape and a plastic bin. He thought he'd done a good job. When tenants expressed concerns that they'd felt unsafe while the door was open to all, Nina laughed and told tenants they were perfectly safe and they should try moving to Toronto if they thought they were in any danger to see what "unsafe" was like. After much animated discussion she backed down and said she'd talk to the person in the office about how to deal with phone calls from tenants. The person was supposed to notify Nina immediately, instead she closed the office and went home (the caller watched this from her window).

At this point Nina got a phone call and had to leave due to an emergency. There was a water leak in the basement of 201. This water leak also occurred on the 28th. Several tenants commented the leak smelled like sewage, despite Nina's insistence it was just water, and one tenant said the previous repair didn't appear to be much more than replacing the floor tiles over top the leak. Concerns about repairs in 201 lead to discussion regarding a loud buzzing sound heard throughout the building (primarily in the bathrooms). Tenants described it as loud, annoying, persistent, and irritating. One tenant explained she had to sleep with a fan blowing to cover the sound so she could sleep at night. When Nina came back she informed the tenants it was just normal noise and that all the experts they'd brought in had told her this. But if tenants wanted to bring in their own professionals to check, she'd pay for it (all said in tones of extreme irritation). Tenants in 201 wanted to know why their hallways were unheated and cold to the point that they needed to put on coats to go to check the mail. They were informed that no hallways in any building were heated. It was brought up that the hallways in 101 were warm. 201 has known circulation issues and it was brought up as a possible reason for the temperatures in the hallways. At this point several tenants commented that cigarette smoke and cooking smells entered their units from other apartments.

A final, but huge issue, for tenants in 201 is "escort services" located in certain apartments in the building. Tenants were deeply concerned about the people entering the building to go to these locations. Multiple tenants have been propositioned in the elevator. We had a couple of police officers attend the meeting and one mentioned a co-worker was also propositioned in that building. There are condoms scattered around the building and one tenant's teenage son entered the elevator at the tail end of a blowjob. Thankfully this issue is being dealt with and, also thankfully, not entirely by Nina who once again informed the concerned tenants that these are the best buildings in Whitby and, if they thought otherwise, they could always just move. Hopefully we'll have a positive resolution for this issue by the next meeting.

Apartment repairs came up next. Two tenants had the same issue. The bathroom fan had problems, a work order was filed, and oops, Cap-Reit didn't have the right size fan so a larger fan was installed until one could be ordered. One tenant was still waiting for the right fan while the other tenant had to fill multiple work orders (and speak to the former property manager at a previous meeting) in order to get a new fan. Tenants wanted to know why maintenance staff didn't file paperwork stating a repair was incomplete and a new product needed to be ordered. Nina explained that the staff was "busy" and we just didn't understand what their days are like. The tenants, all of whom either worked or were retired, were underwhelmed by this excuse.

The final and biggest issue was hydro. When I moved into the buildings years ago, our rent was all-inclusive. New tenants now have to pay hydro on top of their rent. The tenants came in confused, angry and frustrated. Tenants were told, when they moved in, that their electric bill would only be about $30 or $40 a month. One tenant's bill was $170 (not including initial set up fees and deposit). Him and his wife work full-time so no one's home for most of the day. He said all they do in the evening is watch some TV with only one light on. Their stove is broken so they don't even cook at home. Another tenant's hydro bill came to $75 and they haven't even turned their heat on yet. She's freezing and shivering under blankets with their dogs to try and stay warm, terrified of what their hydro bill would be with the baseboard heaters on.

The two tenants who brought their bills in were both being charged for two meters and neither knew why. One had tried to call Stratcon (the electric company on the bill) only to be told they'd contracted their services out to Cap-Reit and only Cap-Reit management could explain the bills. Cap-Reit said it was Stratacon who dealt with the bills. Meanwhile the tenants are stuck with bills larger than the ones they had in full detached houses and no one willing to explain why. And they're stuck dealing with leaky windows and faulty thermostats (although Nina insists work orders will fix this).

There is some good news for the tenants who moved in while the rent was all-inclusive. I called the Landlord and Tenant Board today and those tenants will not be paying hydro unless they sign something stating they want to (or move to another unit).

The next meeting is on February 1st at 7:30pm and I'm hoping to see more people there.