News
Updated May 18, 2012.

-  I was told our Board president, Chris, moved out today, May 18.  I think he will rent his unit out.  His term on the Board expires in about two weeks.  I don't know if he'll run for re-election.  We'll find out when we get our election ballots next week.

-  For residents on the north side of the building, I just found out from the Block Club president that the garden that was supposed to be installed on the roof of the four-story Admiral building will not be installed due to budget considerations.  I'm told the garden is still a possibility in the future, however, the exterior "virtual tour" that's been on the Admiral's website for a long time doesn't show a roof-top garden on that building, but does on the main building roofs.  The first of the new Admiral residents are scheduled to move in on July 9.  The nursing wing of the Admiral on the west end will not open for occupancy until year-end due to the state certification process.

-  The alley surface between the new Admiral and our building will be ground down Friday morning, May 11, as part  of the resurfacing work.  This will be noisy work.  The alley resurfacing work will take place beginning at 8 AM the following Monday, May 14.  I noticed the concrete was poured for the bus shelter on the corner of Foster and Marine.  It appears to be quite a bit wider than the old shelter, so hopefully the new shelter will also be wider.  I also noticed the roof of the new four-story Admiral building across the alley from us doesn't have a roof-top garden, as they were supposed to have.

-  An ambulance ran into our front driveway overhand and damaged it on April 27.  Their insurance company was contacted.  This damage seems to happen several times a year every year, but the Board refuses to put up any sort of warning sign about the overhang or low clearance.

-  The heavy rains Thursday night, May 3, caused some minor flooding in our lobby due to backed up drains.

-  A consulting engineer from Cosentini Assoc. was hired by the Board to evaluate our failing plumbing risers and develop a plan to address the issues.  He met with our building engineer in late April and toured our building and inspected samples of our failed pipes and connections.  Depending on the engineer's report, our risers will probably have to be replaced starting in the next couple of years.  Our old reserve study estimated the cost to be $150,000 per riser, and we have about 13 risers.  However, the Board is estimating the cost to be twice that amount.  A new reserve study has been prepared but has not been reviewed by the Board or management.

-  The morning of May 1, I noticed many of our new Hosta plants outside the Winona lot had been dug up.  I found out 16 of them were stolen over the weekend.  I don't know if our security camera facing the lot recorded this theft.

-  The morning of  May 1, the fence contractor delivered the new iron gate and last two iron fence panels that were missing.  They were installed today.  Also today, a contractor with a special boring machine dug a long tunnel under the sidewalks and the street between our building and the parking lot so that water hoses can be inserted to water the new landscaping in the lot.  Yesterday, the electrical contractor put in conduit under the driveway for the pedestrian door electrical lock.

-  The window washer was here yesterday morning, April 30.  I noticed he was not removing the screens or cleaning the windows behind them.  I alerted the property manager and he said he would contact the supervisor.  So far, they haven't returned to clean the windows behind the screens  If the window washer cleaned your windows but didn't clean the ones behind the screens, please let the property manager know..

-  The Winona lot construction project is mostly completed today, April 27.  This morning, the asphalt contractor re-asphalted the repair sections that were removed yesterday.  Robert and the staff finished painting the parking space lines and numbers early this evening.  The space markings are temporary until the asphalt surface is sealed sometime in June.  There are now 54 parking spaces in the lot, 8 spaces fewer than the 62 spaces we had before the construction.  Cars can return to their assigned parking spaces as of tonight.  The lot gate and opener still need to be installed, as is the underground water pipe from our building to the lot to water the new landscaping.

I've been taking some photos of the Winona parking lot construction progress.  To see the photos and comments, click here.

-  The window washing that was supposed to take place last week is still being delayed due to high winds.

-  There's a lot of construction going on around 5100 today, April 26.  The Admiral workers are demolishing the concrete in the alley north of 5100 to level out the alley so they can finish re-surfacing it.  The sidewalk along Marine Dr. between the alley and Foster is closed, as is the sidewalk on the south side of Foster in front of the Admiral.

At our Winona lot, most of the landscaping is already planted now.  The landscapers are getting ready to install the new sod where the old driveway used to be.  The electrical contractor is putting in new wiring in the new conduit along the  new wood fence for the corner lights.  An electrical worker is digging a trench in the new topsoil and mulch in the center planter to lay in underground conduit from the center light pole to the back fence.   The asphalt contractor removed the top layer of old asphalt from a portion of the lot's west surface.  They also removed most of the old asphalt that had previously been removed and piled up in a corner of the lot.

-  The new landscaping was delivered to the Winona lot Tuesday morning, April 24, and is being planted.  Also, electricians are installing new electrical conduit along the wood fence to connect the lot's corner lights.  This is to replace the corroded underground conduit and is an unbudgeted expense.

-  A lot of work is being done on the Winona parking lot, on Friday, April 20.  The contractors demolished two of the concrete planter forms that were constructed last week at the back because they weren't per the plan.  A new form was constructed about two feet further back, adjoining the back fence.  I think this corrective work is being paid for by the contractor.  They're also removing the asphalt from the perimeter of the parking lot just inside the new fence.  Nobody thought that this asphalt needed to be removed prior to putting in the required 24-inch-wide mulch border, so it wasn't budgeted.  Also, a 12-inch tall concrete wall or curb was poured under the new metal fence to eliminate the very large gap that was under the fence when it was installed, and also to keep the landscaping from sliding down toward the sidewalk.  There was also a request to replace the underground electrical conduit because it was found to be very corroded.  I'm guessing the additional unbudgeted expenses were approved by the Board by email.

-  The sidewalk on Foster in front of the new Admiral will be closed for about a week beginning Monday, April 16.  The bus stop on the corner of Foster and Marine will be closed, and bus boarding for the 144, 146, and 147 buses will be at Foster and Sheridan.  Of course, you can still board the 144 and 146 buses on Marine in front of the 5040 N. Marine building.

-  There was an open Board meeting Monday, April 2, at 7:30 PM.  There were only five owners present, and two Board members were absent.  Among the items of new business were:  ERISA Fidelity Bond, water riser consulting proposals (for replacement of the risers), maintenance price list changes (increase in charges to residents for work done in the units), and Association insurance proposal.  Prior approvals "ratified" were:  Acceptance of offer from delinquent owner, and $2,500 permit cost increase for Winona lot irrigation installation.  To read my notes of the meeting, click here.

-  A security camera has been installed in the laundry room.  The monitor for the camera, as for all cameras on the property, is at the doorman's desk.  Our cable company, RCN, is investigating whether the video from the camera can be shown on one of our closed circuit TV channels so residents can see if the laundry room is full before coming down.

-  You will not be able to park in the lot for about one month beginning Monday, April 2 due to construction.  Also, note in the Calendar link at left is the schedule of neighborhood street sweepings which will prevent street parking on Winona and Marine Dr. during certain days.

-  Our long-time mailman, John Carrico, has retired after many decades of service.  Since we have a new mail person, mail is being put in the wrong mailboxes.  Please check your mail carefully and put any mail that is not yours in the mailroom slot next to the mailboxes.

-  There was an informational meeting regarding the upcoming Winona parking lot fence and landscaping project March 27, in the party room.  About 20 to 25 residents attended.  The project is expected to start Monday morning, April 2, and is expected to last one month with no parking.  To read my informal notes of the meeting, click  here.  For Winona parkers who will lose your spaces during this time, the Block Club president tells me people can park at the Margate Park parking lot overnight for 25 cents an hour from 9 PM to 6 AM.

-  The Winona parking lot project (required new decorative fence and landscaping) is projected to start on Monday morning, April 2.  All cars must be removed by 7 AM or they will be towed.  Management is looking for alternate parking during the project.  We will lose 8 parking spaces as a result of this project.  My understanding is that the newest parkers in the Winona lot will lose their spaces, and I'm guessing they will be put at the top of the parking wait list.

-  RCN cable is looking to see if the approved new laundry room camera can be added to the basic channel line-up.

-  The maintenance staff started adding a second self-closing hinge on the hallway doors on the 27th floor yesterday, February 9.  No notice was given to residents beforehand.  Today, the property manager put a notice on the bulletin boards that the smoke detectors and self-closing door hardware in all units will be tested [and replaced as necessary].  The 26th floor will be done on Monday, February 13, and they will work down from there, doing one floor per day.  For some reason, this work was not mentioned at Monday's Board meeting..

-  A Board meeting took place last night, February 6, in the party room.  To read my notes of the meeting, click here.   Among the items of New Business on the meeting agenda were:  new parking rules (tabled until the April meeting), new laundry room/lobby camera, replace north parking deck lights, and reserve study update.  The Treasurer's report showed we had an operating surplus (income exceeded expenses) by almost $172,000 in 2011.  The surplus will not be returned to owners as a reduction of assessments as required by our Bylaws, but will be put into reserves.  The meeting lasted almost one hour, and 13 unit owners were present.  The Board also held a closed "executive session" after the meeting regarding delinquencies and collections.  This lasted about one hour.

-  The property manager has posted many updates of things being done by maintenance, and items being purchased.  There are too many items to list here, so I recommend you read his updates posted on the large bulletin board across from the management office.

-  According to a notice the property manager put on the bulletin board on December 31, there was smoke on the 5th floor in the morning due to burning food.   The hallway smoke detectors sounded the alarm and notified the fire department, and automatically brought the elevators down to the first floor.  The fire department responded and at first had a problem figuring out how to restore the elevators to service.  The property manager and building engineer were called in, but the firemen had figured it out by then.  There was no fire and no damage, and the new emergency system worked as designed.

-  Our building was approved for FHA mortgages as of 2011.

-  I added an aerial photo of the New Admiral construction site and neighborhood in the Neighborhood Information page.  The photo was taken by the construction company.

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-  For neighborhood information and news, including proposed new building developments, click the Neighborhood Information link.
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