For the interim, Centennial struggles to reduce expenses, minimize skyrocketing insurance costs, address other parts of its failing infrastructure (In 2013, an improperly sealed sewage pipe underneath a building breaks spilling human waste into the crawl space costing $10K to clean up and repair) while making emergency repairs as water breaches the interiors of many units and degrades the exteriors. After 3 years of delay, inaction and denial of responsibility, City staff offer to pay for a comprehensive cost estimate and construction plan so that the widely varying estimates (as high as $10M, as low as $212,000) can be reconciled. Athen Builders, the contractor who spent 8 years doing extensive repairs on the Centennial rental units is hired. Their report indicates $3.24 million is need in repairs if completed in the next 6 years. City staff, unhappy with the results, demand more detail from Athen while withholding full payment for their services. In meetings to discuss the results of this study, Crook claims that $3.2 million ($35,000 per unit) is still affordable, that no funds spent on repairs will be added to the equity or resale values of the condos, overestimates the income of Centennial home owners claiming that since all units are Category 4, owners’ annual incomes must be over $86K per year, and that owners will simply need to live with in their means and not overspend on things like food, gasoline, or skis. In order, to get his numbers closer to a level of “affordability”, Crook reduces the repair costs down to $2.1M justifying this correction by claiming that $1.1M of the necessary repair work is lower priority and can be gotten to at a later date.
If Centennial had followed the advice of Crook and other City staff and spent $650,000 on repairs, these problems would not have been fixed properly and City staff could claim that once again, owners did not do enough and are responsible for their predicament. One of the predominant reasons City staff has had for recommending that Centennial not receive any assistance is that they claim (incorrectly) that, in the past, the HOA minimized the severity of problems, ignored recommendations, and reduced repair spending. It would appear that their own actions mirror the false accusations made of Centennial owners.
