These are personal notes taken by Rick Basch at the April 4, 2011 Board Meeting.
They are not the official Minutes of the meeting.
| Unit Owners' Forum: The unit owners forum started at 7:16 pm. There were 7 unit owners present. - I commented on the renovated elevators, that they were supposed to be faster and smoother than before but they were actually slower than before (I timed the passenger elevators before and after the renovation) and didn't seem any smoother, though the doors close faster and are more responsive to the "close door" button than before. Dave, the property manager, said they weren't finished with the renovation and that they were doing the renovation according to design specifications. He said not to hold them to my own test and asked me if I was an elevator engineer. I said no, but I know how to use a stop watch and if the elevators take longer to go up and down than before the renovation, it tells me they're slower. He said when the project is done, we can discuss it and see if any improvements need to be done at that time. Jerry, the Board president, said when all three elevators are back in service, they can be set up to run synchronized as a team or run independently, whichever is more efficient. This can be programmed into the new elevator computer. - A unit owner from the 27th floor said that the Board and management were making great progress and doing a good job. - I suggested that the Board consider finding a new company to count the votes in the upcoming Board election in June. We currently use our auditing company and they charge us $600 for the count, which takes about three hours. I said that we used to use another company that specializes in election counts and only charges about $300. Jerry said something about having to use either a CPA or lawyer to do the count, but I said these were not required, only an independent person. He said it's something we can consider. Dave said the company we used to use calls every year to see if they can do our count, but the management company always recommends we stay with the auditor. He said the auditors have a high level of professionalism and adherence to the law. Dave said when the election company calls again this year, he will see what they offer and consult with the management company. - I asked what our status is regarding assessments in arrears. The Board met in "executive session" after the last meeting to discuss "collections." Dave asked me what I wanted to know. I asked how many units are at least 60 days in arrears. Dave said about 15 units, but didn't say what the total amount owed is. He said the delinquent accounts are monitored constantly, and any units past 60 days are turned over to our attorneys for collection. We also check for foreclosures or anything else that might affect collections. The owner from the 27th floor asked how the arrears compared to years before. The answer was that it's worse than before but given the real estate market since 2008, we're doing better than many other condo buildings. [NOTE: I've suggested our delinquent assessment situation should be included in the management report or Treasurer's report, since it affects all of us, but there seems to be resistance to doing this.] The Board meeting was started at 7:31 pm. ================================================================================ Board Meeting: The Board meeting started at 7:31 pm and ended at 8:33 pm (an hour and 2 minutes). All Board members and the property manager were present. Rose Marie Wert, the management company representative was absent again. The Board Minutes from the February 2011 meeting were approved. Management Report: - Dave, the property manager, said the elevator modification project is proceeding
on schedule. The last progress meeting is scheduled for April 13.
The last elevator ("B") should be completed on April
23. There have been no service outages recently. Treasurer's Report: The Treasurer, Chris, read the report prepared by management. The
year-to-date numbers through February 2011 (two months) show
income was $5,108 less than budgeted [about 2%] and operating
expenses were $42,577 less than budgeted, resulting in an operating surplus
of $37,469. No explanation was given for any of these variances.
The total investments as of the end of February totaled $1.71 million.
[NOTE: I'm guessing the total investments will decline to about
$1.1 million when the remainder of the elevator renovation and communication
system expenses are paid out.] Jerry mentioned how well we're doing on the income side,
considering the economic situation, that we are only $5,000 less than
budget. Dave said the majority of the income variance had to do with
the scavenger [garbage] rebate, but I don't know if he meant the variance
would be worse if we hadn't received the rebate. New Business: - Lawn irrigation [sprinkler] system. The Board discussed the
proposed lawn sprinkler system for a long time. This is to replace
the existing system that has not worked for about 10
years. There were three proposals including permit costs. The
highest bid was for $29,205. The second highest was from Tortorello's
for $14,715. The lowest bid was from Turf Industries for $4,600.
Dave said the reason for the lowest bid is that they use a flexible vinyl
hose instead of rigid piping and he thought this might not last as long.
Dave said he talked to Robert, the building engineer, and Robert
felt that the staff does a good job of watering the lawn and he doesn't
see the need for a sprinkler system. Robert also felt that watering
the lawn does not negatively impact the staff's ability to do their other
jobs. Dave said Brinkman, our landscape contractor, told him
we have the best looking lawn on the Drive. After a long discussion,
it was decided to go along with Robert's recommendation and table
the decision to some other time. Dave said he would ask Turf Ind.
to amend it's proposal to include rigid PVC piping like Tortorello's, and
he would also monitor how the lawn is maintained this summer. About
22 minutes was spent on this item. |