With the arrival of the new year - and the due date for annual maintenance fees - we're bringing you some images from a recent, but less publicized project at Pacific Shores. Before we broke ground in 2007 on the new fractional homes, renovations were completed on the 300 block.

From top to bottom, each of the 300 units received new furnishings, carpets and paint, as directed by Pacific Shores Owners Enterprises Ltd. or PSOE.

Did you know that the strata council is Owner-run? Representatives drawn from you, our Owners, meet to decide how to allocate maintenance fees.

Here are a few of the repair, maintenance and housekeeping budget items for 2008:

• Refurbishment, Replacement & Upgrades - 14%
• Maintenance & Repair - 3.15%
• Housekeeping - 20.23%
• Management & Front Desk 12.11%
• Other Cleaning - 1.78%
• Guest Supplies - 2.74 %
• Utilities - 7.04%
• Recreation - 9.4%

So that's a grand total of 70.45% of your maintenance fees that will go straight back to your enjoyment of Pacific Shores!

But where does the rest go? To keep things running behind the scenes, some fees are spent on administration as follows:

• Strata Fees - 14.66%
• Accounting & Professional Fees - 2.97%
• Office Meetings - 3.54 %
• Taxes - 8.39 %

To keep tabs on minutes from strata meetings, log in to the strata section of the Owner Portal. If you don't have the password, contact owner@aviawest.com or call 1.866.769.6377 for details.

B-side unit