Unit Owners' Forum:
The owners' forum started at 7:15 pm. There were 13 unit owners present.
- I commented that since the recent work was done on the ventilation
fans in the hallways, the fan noise level has increased and, on my floor,
the noise sounds like wind blowing through a drafty window. The
noise on the 4th floor was even higher. I asked if the ventilation
system balancing and noise reduction part of the project was finished.
Dave said that the balancing portion of the project was
not finished and that the heating and ventilation contractor would be brought
in if necessary to make corrections.
- A long-time owner who I think was attending his first meeting
commented on the fact he had been in arrears on his assessments but he
had paid the full amount that was required by the court. He wanted
to know why he was now being charged $60 in late fees since he had already
paid the amount owed. He said he was told the late fee would be removed,
but it wasn't. The management company representative said she would
look into it and get back to him in a day or two. About six minutes
was spent on this.
- The same owner also said that some years ago he had some flooding in his unit and maintenance had done
some work to fix damage to the popcorn finish on his ceiling
and that the work done didn't match the rest of his ceiling, and what
would management do to fix this. Dave said the ceiling work he was
referring to was done at least 15 years ago and that the popcorn texture
was applied with a roller at that time, where now it's sprayed on. Dave
said he didn't think the texture or color was different on the repair
and he didn't know what could be done to fix it. The owner said visitors
to his unit comment on the difference in his ceiling where the repair was
done. The management company representative told him they would get back to him, that
she wasn't sure the association would fix it and that it may be his responsibility, that
the meetings are to discuss problems with the common elements and the building
and not for individual units, and she suggested he meet with Dave
in his office. About six minutes was spent on this item too.
- I commented on the real estate tax bill we had recently received
and I noticed an increase of about 14% compared to the bill last year.
I said that the assessor's website showed that our tax appeal had
been denied, but that the attorney we hired said last year that
our tax assessment had been reduced. Jerry mentioned that the first
installment bill is 55% of the prior year's total bill, so it's just an
estimate. Management said we would only have paid the attorney if
we had received a reduction in tax assessment. I said I would wait
until the second installment tax bill comes because that has details on
the amount of the assessment and other information not shown on the
first installment. [NOTE: a few days after the meeting, Dave
emailed me some information on what our tax savings were for 2009 and 2010,
according to the attorney, and how much we paid the attorney (25% of the
tax savings, paid in three installments)].
Since there were no other questions, the meeting was started at 7:32 pm
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Board Meeting:
The Board meeting started at 7:32 pm and ended at 8:30 pm (58 minutes). It was followed by a closed "executive
session" to discuss delinquencies and collections. All Board members were present. The property manager and the
management company representative were also present, as was the management
company's director of technical services, Jim LaChapelle.
The Board Minutes from the December 2011 meeting were approved.
The management company representative asked if the Board would change the
meeting agenda so that Mr. LaChapelle could make his presentation first.
The Board agreed. This was for the "Make-up air heating
system project." [NOTE: There was no explanation to the owners present
of what Mr. LaChapelle was talking about, however, based on the subject
title and discussion, this had to do with the previously proposed project
to convert the hallway heating on the lower 12 floors from electric to
hot water heating, which had been voted down by the Board at a prior Board
meeting.] Mr. LaChapelle said that because electricity and gas prices
had both declined, the savings for the project would be lower and the payback
period would be 8.5 years. The engineer who had proposed the energy-saving
project had projected a payback period of about 4.5 years. If electric
or gas rates change in the future, the savings of the project can be re-evaluated.
The Board thanked him and he left the meeting.
Management Report:
- Dave, the property manager, said the elevator rush-hour timer had been
set so that the elevators are all-call during morning 6 to 9 AM
and evening 4 to 7 PM weekday rush hours, and
individual call at all other times..
- Dave is working with RCN to get a dedicated emergency phone
number that residents can call during emergencies such as power outages.
- Dave mentioned the loss of life in a recent fire in another high-rise
building in Chicago and said that our new smoke detector/alarm
and elevator safety features installed at 5100 in 2011 might have
prevented the tragedy. He mentioned that on December 31, smoke got
into the hallway on the 5th floor and the hallway smoke detector notified
the fire department and automatically sent the elevators to the first floor
so they could not be used. The system worked perfectly.
- The management office is working on the transition from 2011
to 2012 regarding files and other "protocols" and ordering supplies.
- The auditor has been notified to start the annual audit of
our financials for 2011.
- The annual 5100 food drive took place in December. A box
was placed near the manager's office to collect donated food and it was
distributed.
- The scavenger rebate application for 2011 was submitted to
the City in January.
- Information was received from our alderman regarding the "Shared
Sidewalk" program. This is where the City pays for half the
cost of fixing or replacing the sidewalks in front of residences. The
owners pay the other half. 5100 will participate in the program.
Dave said some of the sidewalks in the vicinity of 5100 are
in need of repair. This may happen as early as spring 2012.
- Dave said funds were collected for the employee holiday fund and
the employees thanked the residents who contributed to the fund. The
5100 holiday party was held in December.
- The maintenance staff continues to complete work orders on a timely
manner based on priority.
- Maintenance painted the doors and door jams on the north and south
side entrances in January.
- New energy-efficient light fixtures will be installed in the bike
rooms. We will apply for a rebate from ComEd.
- Dave commented on another building that had problems with heat
being off because of a leaky chimney. He said our boiler is inspected
annually to prevent problems, and we have a stainless steel
chimney to comply with a city ordinance. We also have
an outside exhaust fan to clear the boiler exhaust, as well as carbon monoxide
detectors.
- New bulletin boards were installed by maintenance in January, including
one in each elevator to keep residents better informed.
- A water leak was fixed in unit 5A/5C shower area and no damage
took place.
- The LED holiday lights were taken down in January.
- The old first-floor intercom system by the north entrance was replaced
by Robert in February at a cost of $300. The systems allows
people to communicate with the doorman from the north entrance.
- Maintenance has removed, cleaned, and reinstalled all
of the air return units on the hallways over the garbage chute room doors.
The work was completed on January 27. Residents may notice
a change in air flow, temperature, and noise. This will be addressed
by Robert and the HVAC contractor if necessary when the system is balanced.
Also, air deflectors will be installed.
- "Green" environmentally safe cleaning supplies had been
tested and approved by maintenance and they were less costly than the supplies
we had been using. The company that makes the "green" products
is in Chicago and has been in business for many years. Joanne later
asked about the cost savings. Dave again said the "green"
degreaser works just as well, if not better, and is less costly than the
product we had been using. The glass cleaner was also replaced with
a "green" alternative. Dave wasn't sure if it cleaned as
well as the Windex, but he thought it was about the same. One of
the owners from the 27th floor said one of the maintenance staff showed
him that the new "green" window cleaner worked better than the
old cleaner. Dave said other "green" products would be
tested and purchased if as good as the current products.
- Chris also commented on the new bulletin boards installed in the
elevators. Owners at the meeting said they liked them and thought
they were useful. Dave said he would try to keep them up-to-date.
- There was one unit sold: Unit 4H sold for $65,000 (NOTE:
This was a foreclosure unit). Three units were leased: 8B
for $1,200/mo., 9D for $1,000/mo., and 14H for $950/mo. Dave said
the owner-occupancy is at 70%.
Treasurer's Report:
The Treasurer, Sajed, quickly read the report prepared by management for
December 31, 2011. Copies of the report were available to owners
present. The numbers below are from the copy. The total income
for 2011 was only $172 higher than budgeted. The total expenses for
2011 were about $171,489 (10.5%) less than budgeted, so we wound up with
a net operating surplus of $171,661 for the year. The total investments
as of the end of December totaled $1.59 million. [NOTE: Makes
me wonder why the Board raised assessments for 2012 when we had such a
large surplus in 2011. While it wasn't mentioned, the Board will
likely be having a "separate assessment" later this year to transfer
the operating surplus from 2011 into reserves, rather than using
a portion to offset the increase in our assessments].
New Business:
- Reserve Study Update. Dave got proposals from three engineering
companies that do reserve studies. [NOTE: A reserve study looks
at all of the infrastructure of the building and estimates the remaining
useful life and how much it should cost to replace each item.] Dave
said the original reserved study was done in 2002 or 2003 and was last
updated in 2008. The proposals ranged from a high of $7,500 to a
low of $4,800 for a "level 2" study, which is less extensive
than a "level 1" study which would cost about $12,500. The
company that did the prior study bid $5,950. Chris commented that
he was concerned with how far off the current reserve study estimated our
elevator renovation project would cost [the reserve study
estimate was about $300,000 too high]. After some questions and discussion
the Board approved the $4,800 proposal. Joanne abstained, but didn't
explain why.
- Parking Rules and Regulations. The Board apparently came
up with some changes to our parking rules, which I believe were last changed
in around 1995. There was no discussion of what the proposed rule
changes were. Nancy made a motion that the proposed changes be approved
[so they could be mailed to owners for review?]. Jerry made a motion
they table the proposed changes to take more time to review the
attorney's comments and to better define what changes are being proposed
since the rules affect two thirds of the association, and then send copies
of the proposed rules to owners for review 30 days before the
Board meets to formally approve them at the next meeting in April.
The Board agreed to postpone this. [NOTE: The condo law requires
Boards to give owners copies of proposed rules changes 30 days before they're
voted on by the Board].
- North Parking Deck Metal-Halide Lights. Dave said he thought
the north parking deck seemed too dark. He proposed replacing the
existing sodium light fixtures with metal-halide lights. He said
the new lights are better and are like the new lights installed on our
Winona parking lot, and that the images on the security cameras with the
new lights would be much better and would improve safety on the north deck.
He said there are eight light fixtures on the north deck and the
cost of the proposed lights are $198.75 each, for a total of $1,741. The
Board approved it.
- Laundry and Lobby Camera Proposal. Dave commented on the
security cameras that were installed in the elevators. These are
monitored at the front desk and in the management office. He said he and some
Board members thought that it might be a good idea to install
a security camera in the laundry room, though there had been no reports
of issues in the room, other than people using too many machines or not
disposing of trash properly. He said the new laundry room camera
would be recorded in a separate digital video recorder (DVR) along with
the lobby camera. He was also proposing moving the digital
video recording devices from under the doorman's desk to the
manager's office to prevent tampering while the doorman is away,
or accidentally turning them off. The proposal from ADT, the company
that installed our other security cameras was
"not to exceed" $4,000, and this included our
staff installing the wiring from the laundry room
to the office. The Board approved the proposal. The resident
from the 27th floor asked if the laundry room camera could be hooked up
to the same monitor as the lobby camera so we could see it in our units.
Dave said he didn't think we wanted to do that, that the camera would
be monitored by the doorman and the manager. The owner said it had
been proposed once before by a former property manager. Another owner
asked if people who go into the office when Dave is away can have access
to the recorded videos. Dave said no because it requires a password
that only he and Robert have.
I asked if $4,000 was for one camera, which seemed expensive. Dave
said it included the camera, hooking it up to the system, a new DVR, and
some other equipment listed on the proposal. Chris said the cost
included some software, networking equipment, cabling, and labor. [NOTE:
After the meeting ended, I commented that a couple of years
ago someone had suggested that a video camera in the laundry would be a
good idea so that residents could look to see if the laundry room was busy
before they came down with all their laundry to find all the machines being
used. Now that a camera will be installed for security, I suggested
that maybe it could be shown on our building information channel, 195,
which I didn't think anyone really looked at, or maybe channels 95 or 96,
which we used to use. The owner from the 27th floor said he thought
it was a good idea. Chris asked how people would know if a machine
was being used or not, if the lids are kept closed. I think we could
put up another sign in the laundry room asking people to keep the washing
machine lids open when not in use. An owner said it would cost less
just to take the elevator down. Dave said he would contact RCN to
see if it was possible. If you're a 5100 resident, let me know what
you think about this. Maybe residents don't want other residents
looking at them doing their laundry.] Ten minutes were spent on this
item
Old Business:
- There was no old business.
Ratification
- The Board ratified the "Demand Response" proposal for
2012. [NOTE: Demand Response is a ComEd program
that allows ComEd to turn off our air conditioning power for short times
during periods of extreme demand. In return, ComEd pays us an amount
each year. I think the amount has been around $1,300.]
The Board meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm and management said the Board needed to have an "executive
session." I asked the purpose of the "executive
session" Dave said it was for delinquencies and collections. The
Board met for approximately one hour after the open meeting ended.
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