A Lovely Park in Pismo Beach

I had the recent opportunity to meet with the HOA Board President of the Pismo Beach Senior Mobile Home Park. This park is about 10 years older than the Foothills, and bears many similarities.

Not only is it a senior park, but it is resident-owned, and the park owns it’s own infrastructure as we do. The electrical, gas, water, and sewer systems are solely owned and maintained by the park residents.

Because their park is older than ours, it is kinda like looking into the future to see the issues, problems, and solutions their park has faced; and which we will undoubtedly face down the road very shortly.

I met with Donny, the HOA Board President, and Dwayne, also a board member, in the park’s recently updated clubhouse. Both men are thoughtful, well-spoken, with a lively sense of humor, and very insightful about the challenges parks like ours face.

One of the biggest challenges the park recently faced was the replacement of the transformers. The park has 7 of them, and the transformers were nearing 50 years old. The failure of one or more of the transformers was a huge potential problem, since providing power to dozens of residences while repairs were made meant thousands and thousands of dollars in expenses to provide temporary power.

The park has over 200 residents for which the 7 transformers provide power. Faced with the aging condition of the transformers, with no back-up in place, the park made the decision to replace all the transformers with new ones. And, additionally, the park bought an 8th transformer to serve as a backup. The total cost was just over $245,000. This was 2 years ago.

I had a chance to examine one of the new transformers, and it was quite a surprise. The transformer was whisper-quiet. In fact, I had to ask if it was hooked up-it was so quiet. It made no noise at all.

I asked Donny what the HOA dues were and he replied: $250 per month. That was surprising, since the park was so well maintained and looked great. Donny explained that the park was very keen on keeping the campus nice and neat and maintained, and after touring the park I had to agree. I saw no trash, no unkempt yards, no bad roofs, no clutter in driveways, nothing that suggested anything but total pride in how the park looked. As Donny explained, the residents were very aware of how the park’s appearance affected the property values.

The park’s latest challenge is the overhaul of the electrical lines running from the transformers to each unit in the park. Because the old electrical lines were direct-buried, and not run through conduit, they are failing. This was determined by what’s known as a Megger test. The cost to renovate and replace the lines runs nearly 3/4 of a million dollars, which the park has elected to do. There really isn’t any choice, as Donny explained. He showed me the Megger test results, which clearly showed the electrical lines are failing.

I explained to Donny and Dwayne some of the challenges our park faces. Their advice: start upgrading before things fail. Being proactive is the key. Waiting until failure is foolish. And be prepared.

As Donny explained, even though their park replaced all their transformers with brand new ones, they still bought a backup transformer. The risk is too great to be without a backup, especially since the wait time to get a new transformer is so long.

After our meeting, Donny and Dwayne took me on a tour of the park and I had a chance to take photos.