Snowater is a unique resort nestled in the natural beauty of the foothills of Mt. Baker. The property has boundaries with the Nooksack River and the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest.
Snowater consists of 174 individual condominiums in 15 condominium buildings. There are 78 lower 1-bedroom, 30 upper 1-bedroom, 60 upper 2-bedroom, and 6 lower 3-bedroom units.
The Snowater Association is the managing agent which oversees the governing of the entire complex. It is responsible for the safety, maintenance and insurance of all the common facilities and all of the common grounds.
Snowater Governance
The Snowater Association is the umbrella organization that oversees the entire complex. It maintains the Snowater Capital Reserve Fund to finance capital improvements and replacements of the common facilities and grounds. Each of the 15 buildings comprising 174 condominium units is privately owned and is regulated by its own Condominium Association, which is responsible for the maintenance of its building and the grounds extending 10 feet in each direction from the building. Each Condominium Association has its own Condominium Capital Reserve Fund, and elects a building chairperson and secretary at the Annual General Meeting held at the Club House on the first Saturday in December. At this meeting, the Snowater Board of Directors is also elected. The 15 Condominium Associations are the members that comprise the Snowater Association.
In the early phases the developer asked some of the owners to become involved with the Snowater Association, so that continuity was maintained in setting up the Declarations, By-laws, Rules and Regulations, etc. It became apparent to the owners that the original maintenance fee structure that was suggested by the developer would not be sufficient to meet the future needs of the owners. It was quickly agreed to increase the quarterly assessments in order to maintain the buildings and property in pristine condition. By doing so the owners avoided the often-repeated difficulty that many other developments had experienced, and as a result visitors to this very day remark on Snowater’s high level of maintenance.
Snowater Association was formed within the first year of the development and full control passed to the Condominium Associations in 1978. It became clear many owners wanted to continue the reverence paid to the Snowater property by the developer. Cooperation with the developer was of great importance. However, there were many lively debates and discussions about the direction in which Snowater was headed. This led to some healthy disagreement, which ended up, in most cases, with the support of the vast majority of the owners.
Over the years Snowater has been blessed with dedicated and hard working volunteers who gave of their time and expertise to set in motion the present day operation. These volunteers were knowledgeable in many significant areas such as law, finance, construction and property management. Their professional touch added greatly to the Snowater we know today.