The Top Benefits of the Association for Members

 

1. How the Association Offers Value to its Members

With the investment of volunteer’s personal time and the collection of Subscription funds each year, the Eagle Valley Association is developing value for the three core interests of its Members:

  • The interests of Residents in ensuring a positive living environment & community
  • The interests of Home Owners in protecting property values
  • The interests of Landlords in an attractive rental location and protection of the value of their investment.

The Association achieves this value by funding & developing four core services:

  1. Estate Maintenance & Development: The Association funds and drives the maintenance of the Estate, particularly at the most basic level of paying for the grass cutting of the Greens. It also seeks to ensure other maintenance issues are addressed e.g. public lighting, street cleaning, pot holes etc. to ensure that the Estate maintains a good appearance. The Association also funds Estate Development projects to improve the amenities of the Estate. For examples, projects that have been identified include speed controls, signage, trees replanting, recreational areas etc.
  2. Members Access the Power of a Collective Voice in addressing Environmental and Social issues of concern to its Members. The Association provides an umbrella structure to draw on the collective network and knowledge of its individual Members in seeking solutions by:
    1. Representing the Estate’s Membership Interests with outside bodies in proactively accessing resources, services & decisions that affect the Estate “If you don’t ask, you don’t get” e.g. Planning, Gardai, Council etc.
    2. Enabling Members with the support of an authoritative Group structure to collectively address interests and issues in their area rather than as a lone individual.
    3. The Association can liaise with a Landlord and neighbouring Residents and Landlords impacted by the antisocial behaviour in a facilitation capacity. This includes advising Landlords of any anti-social issues by their Tenants for whom they are legally responsible and organising the appropriate documentary data to assist the Landlord in addressing the issue. The Association can act as a facilitator by assisting the Home Owners to connect with each other to enable dialog and resolution between themselves informally and hopefully avoid progressing to the formal avenue of the RTB. The proper authority for dispute adjudication, mediation and resolution is the RTB and the Association is a body of volunteers who do not have the legal authority, skills or resources to perform such functions.
  3. Register of Home Owners: In a large estate of 300 houses where people don’t know their neighbours and over 70% of houses are rented, the Association invests significant personal time by volunteers and its funds in ensuring a register of all Home Owners (Members and non Members) in the estate is maintained and kept up to date to enable contact where necessary with a Home Owner.
  4. Community Forum: Investing in Community Building social events (e.g. Clean Up day, Christmas Lighting etc.) and an IT Communication Forum System to enable Residents and Home Owners to communicate and build a co-operative and supportive Community spirit.

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2. Why the Association seeks Subscription Fee Payments from Landlords and not Tenants

Everyone in Eagle Valley benefits as a Resident or as a Home Owner from the work of the Association. When a Home Owner, whether Owner Resident or Owner Landlord, pays the subscription fees to date, all Members of their Eagle Valley Household are Associate Members of the Association and can participate in the Association’s activities and communications with their own personal sign in to access the Members Portal.

However, it is the Association Policy is for the Home Owner, whether Owner Landlord or Owner Resident, to pay the Annual Subscription Fees rather than Tenants for a number of reasons:

  1. As Home Owners, it is in the interest of Landlords to have the Estate looking well for optimising their rental income potential and protecting the value of their capital investment.
  2. Only approximately 25% of the 300 Eagle Valley houses are owner occupied so if Landlords didn’t pay …
  3. It is too hard for a small voluntary group to keep track of frequently changing Tenants so the Subscription Fees are sought from the Home Owner, whether Landlord or Owner Occupier.
  4. To avoid a conflict of interest in the event that there are anti-social issues with a Landlord’s Tenants. The Landlord has legal responsibilities for the behavior of their Tenants to their neighbour’s in the Eagle Valley Community. As the paying Member for the Household, the Landlord is the Primary Member of the Association for the House and with whom the Association communicates on issues in their Area.

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3. Landlord’s benefit from the Association in a number of ways …

  1. If the Association doesn’t exist with a sufficient number of paid up houses in each area, there is no maintenance in the Estate, property values go down and rental income gets eroded.
  2. At some stage, Landlords may have issues with Tenants or those of neighbouring houses and need to use the Association network to work with others in resolving. For example:
    – The Association has helped a number of Landlords in the Estate where such anti-social problems from other Houses resulted in the loss of Tenants/rental income
    – The Landlord needed assistance from Neighbouring Residents and the Association in documenting anti-social behavior of their Tenants to effect a solution.
  3. The subscription of €60 per year is tax deductible for Landlords
  4. All Members of their Eagle Valley Household i.e. Tenants are Associate Members of the Association and can participate in the Estates activities and have their own personal sign in to access the Members Portal.
  5. Every paid up Member House is issued with an Annual Membership Sticker for their Front Window to demonstrate their support and participation in the Eagle Valley Community.

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4. What do the Association Subscription Fees Fund?

To deliver on these goals, the Association’s Subscription Fees fund the budget for all the Association’s annual expenses and development projects, including

  • Grass Cutting & Estate Maintenance Costs. The Council does not pay for these although it does provide some support services when requested by the Association.
  • The Association’s Online Member Portal that is critical to enabling the Association to function in today’s electronic society
  • Communication costs e.g. website, SMS, printing etc.
  • Administration Costs g. Insurance, Bank charges etc.
  • Special Estate Development Projects which are financed where any funds in excess of the core maintenance and operational expenses permit. There are a number of projects that Members have identified which will require significant funding and for which the Association is trying to build up its funds. Such projects may include speed control, new directional signage, restoration of the community recreational area (playing pitch/tennis/basketball courts), new planting, new parking spaces etc.)
  • Reserve Funds, an important “savings account” for any community, to address any unexpected issues. For instance, the Association has had to retain the services of a planning consultant and solicitors in the past to assist in addressing various issues that arose in the Estate.

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5. Examples of Projects by our Association Members that have helped Eagle Valley

  1. Successful lobbying Cork County Council to take Eagle Valley and the Hedgerows in charge for public infrastructure in 2015. With the Cork City Council boundary extension in 2019, Eagle Valley is now with Cork City Council. However, Cork City Council does not maintain the Estate or cut the greens as Eagle Valley is not a Council Estate. Like other private estates throughout the city, the Home Owners have to fund its maintenance. We are very appreciative of the support of Cork City Council , its Representatives and Employees in our work, much of which would not be possible without their support.
  2. General Maintenance of the Estate since June 2014
    1. Grass Cutting
    2. Weedkilling & Road Sweeping
    3. Drain Clearance
    4. Pot hole repairs
    5. Repainting of Street Markings
    6. Street Lighting Repairs
  3. Semi Annual Volunteer Estate Clean Ups
  4. Estate Environment Improvements:
    1. 2019 – Replanting with new 16 Trees
    2. 2017 Addressing Funeral Home Traffic Issues
    3. 2016/17 Restoration & Planting of Eagle Valley Entrance Rockery, Signage & Lighting with the support of Cork County Council through the Amenity Grant Scheme
    4. 2016 Installation of 3 Salt Bins with the support of Cork County Council
    5. 2015 Pedestrian & Traffic Lights Reactivated at Entrance
  5. Community Affairs
    1. Assisting neighbouring landlords and residents in addressing and resolving issues with Squatters
    2. Assisting the Landlord together with neighbouring landlords and residents in addressing anti social behaviour from his tenants
    3. Assisting Home Owners in pursuing a case with the PRTB as a result of anti-social behaviour in their Area.
    4. Removal of Abandoned Cars
  6. Monitoring Planning Submissions
    1. 2017 Completed – Successful Submission to Cork County Council on planning application on new 98 Unit Development at entrance to Eagle Valley
    2. 2016 Registering objections on inaccurate placement of Sarsfield Road/Wilton/Togher signage in 2016
    3. 2015 Planning Representation re Mainline Place
  7. Securing 3 Amenity Grants totalling €1600 from Cork County Council
  8. Association Administration
    1. Register of Member Home Owners of the Eagle Valley Association
    2. Database of all Home Owners in Eagle Valley & associated eMail/SMS List & house status (Resident Owner/Landlord Owner)
    3. Accounts System
    4. Insurance cover for Officers of the Association and to enable the Association to run events
    5. New Association VoIP Phone Service in 2019
    6. Communications Systems
      1. New Eagle Valley Member Portal in 2020
      2. Eaglevalley.ie website
      3. Facebook Group for community alerts & information sharing www.facebook.com/groups/eaglevalley/
    7. Association Bank Account
    8. Association Name: To better reflect the population of Home Owners in Eagle Valley, the Association’s name was changed to Eagle Valley Association of Residents and Home Owners in 2017.

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6. The Bottom Line … life without the Eagle Valley Association …

21st May 2014 Before the Association …
12th June 2014 … The Cavalry arrives … funded by the new Eagle Valley Association and the hard work of its Volunteers

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