Unit Owners' Forum:
The unit owners forum started at 7:15 pm.
- I asked whether the energy savings study that the Board approved
for $4,900 had been done and what the outcome was. Board member Chris
said they did find one item for savings and that the Board is getting
requests for proposals. He also said the study recommended a new
type of boiler for heating the lower halls and for hot water. Something
about a dual-purpose boiler that would have about a four-year payback
if installed. I asked if that was the only item recommended by the
study and Chris said there was another recommendation the Board is not
going to do because it would have about a 10-year payback and would
result in some lost parking spaces. Board president Jerry said he thought the
study showed that the building is generally energy-efficient for its
age. Chris also mentioned some smaller items that will be done
such as carbon monoxide detectors for the garage and something about flaps
for vents on the roof.
- I asked about the Winona parking lot appraisal the
Board had authorized at a cost of about $2,000 last year
and the Board never discussed the result of the appraisal. Dave,
the property manager had told me the appraised value was $1.7 million.
I asked what we're going to do with that information and what was
the purpose of the appraisal. The management company representative
said one of the Board members had wanted an appraisal because the original
value of the lot on our audit [$150,000 in the balance sheet], was too
low and we should have the market value listed. After the appraisal,
the auditor said that the balance sheet value has to be the original value,
not the current market value. Management said at least we now have
a current appraisal.
- I said that a couple of owners had complained about the lint filters
in the new dryers because they don't come out and they don't like having
to stick their fingers in the well to remove the lint. Chris
said he personally likes that better because the old filters had a gap where you could lose things.
Board member Dan said people like the new washers because they're
a lot deeper, and Board member Joanne commented that the new dryers seem
to dry better.
- Since nobody else asked any questions, I asked about the status
of the water-saving survey of residents that Chris had been running.
Chris said it's something he'll be discussing with the Board at a
future date. He said it had come out as he thought it would, that
people support saving water. Joanne asked how many people had taken
the survey and Chris said 25.
- A unit owner mentioned he had some problems with the
weather stripping on his windows and wondered whose responsibility it was
to repair it. Jerry said the Association is responsible for the windows
and that the owner should contact Dave to have Robert look at. The
owner mentioned that when the wind blows he gets some air coming in through
gaps in the stripping. It was mentioned the windows are
almost 20 years old. Dave said he would get a work order to have
Robert look at it and the owner said he already had a couple of work orders
in over four or five weeks but nothing had happened.
Management apologized and Dave said he and Robert would stop by the
next day to look at it. Another owner said she once had a problem
with the window stripping curling and preventing the window from closing
and that Robert had come up and fixed it.
There being no other questions, the Board meeting was started at 7:30 pm.
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Board Meeting:
The Board meeting started at 7:30 pm and ended at 8:38 pm (an hour and 8 minutes). All Board members, the property manager, and management company representative
were present. There were only 6 or 7 unit owners present.
The Board Minutes from the August 2010 meeting were approved.
Management Report:
- Dave, the property manager, said the Association attorney working on the
Winona lot decorative fence and landscaping project was working
with the City's zoning board of appeals and that the person she had been
working with retired and now she's working with someone new and this is
delaying the project. The attorney will ask, or has asked, for an official
approval letter of the waiver of the Lakefront Protection Ordinance
before bids are sought for the work.
- The artwork the Board commissioned from the artist Jackson
for the inner lobby [which will now be put in the outer lobby] is finished
and will be shipped soon.
- The pool is now closed, but the sundeck is still open weather permitting.
- The 5100 Halloween party will take place in the lobby on Saturday,
October 30, followed by trick or treating in the building supervised by
adults. Residents who want to participate can get a Jack 'O Lantern
from the doorman to put on their door.
- The ComEd rebate for energy-saving fixtures in the locker
room has been processed for $413. The lighting fixture vendor is
looking at other areas where we might get savings. The lighting vendor
is also looking at what lighting fixtures might be appropriate for the
pool and sundeck areas.
- The proposed budget for 2011 is being worked on and will be sent
to the Board for comments before being sent to unit owners [in November].
- One item will be done from the energy savings survey and will be
included in the proposed budget for 2011.
- Additional new signage for the trash chutes
will be installed to match the color of the other new signs.
- Inner lobby walls and door frames, and some elevator
doors were painted as needed.
- The FHA approval process needs to be redone because the contractor
who was working on it for free dropped the ball. He had said the
application had been approved but we never got confirmation. A new
contractor will be hired to renew the approval process.
- The Admiral property has some new equipment on it's lot for
the construction that will take place.
- Dave said maintenance continues to do work orders expeditiously.
- Robert and Lalo got certification from the EPA for lead paint removal
and supervision to comply with Federal regulations. Management had
suggested the certification so our staff could remove small sections of
walls to access pipes, etc.
- Work continues on putting in automatic light switches in the garbage
room chute doors.
- New signs will be put in the garbage chute rooms about wrapping
garbage before putting it in the chute.
- Proposals were received from several contractors
for a new lawn irrigation system.
- Robert is replacing door closers as needed.
- Remaining permanent security cameras for the elevators will be
installed as part of the elevator renovation project. Meanwhile,
the temporary cameras Robert installed are working.
- The hallway carpets are being steam cleaned as needed.
- New metal-halide lights were installed in the Winona parking lot
by Robert to replace the old fixtures. One fixture still needs to
be installed.
- There are currently 14 units in collection for being at least 60
days in arrears on their assessments for a total of $54,890 in arrears.
[This includes late fees and attorney fees which are charged to the
unit.] Delinquencies are turned over to the Association attorney
for collection when they reach 60 days. [NOTE: After the meeting,
I asked Dave if the units in arrears have their parking spaces taken away
and he said yes. He mentioned that most of the funds that were owed
in the 22L foreclosure below were collected. He also mentioned
that we should be receiving some payments from a couple of delinquent owners
soon.]
Joanne said she wanted to add something to the agenda for
the Board to approve tonight for new artwork for the inner lobby.
She said she and Dan saw some artwork over the weekend
they thought would be good for the inner lobby. She said it would
be for five pieces at $350 each. She said samples of the artist's
work are in the lower section of the restaurant Cafe
Baci on Wacker Dr. and they're scenes of Chicago like we have in the party
room. She said the order must be put in by October 8 to lock in the
price. Jerry said he knew about this artist and said the artwork
is photography of Chicago that the artist applies some abstract technique
for a unique effect and that the price we're getting is very good. Joanne made a
motion to approve a maximum of $3,000 for the artwork. Board
member Nancy voted no because she wanted to look at the artwork before
she approves it. Jerry said he relied on Joanne and Dan's
judgment. The Board approved the purchase four to one.
- Dave said the Board needed to approve one lease, unit 14E for $950/mo.,
and one sale, unit 22L for $183,000 [The seller was a bank and the unit
was in foreclosure]. The Board approved these. Dave
didn't say what the owner occupancy is currently, but last meeting
it was 71%.
Treasurer's Report:
The Treasurer, Chris, read the August 2010 report prepared by management.
A copy of the report was not available to unit owners this month,
so it was hard to follow the numbers being read. Current month income
was $870 less than budget. The year-to-date numbers through August show
income was $16,527 less than budgeted [NOTE: No explanation
was given, so I'm assuming most of this deficit is assessments in
arrears] and operating expenses were some amount less than budgeted [I couldn't make out the amount
read], resulting in an operating deficit of only $253 year to date.
The total investments as of the end of August totaled $1.72 million.
New Business:
- The waste/scavenger contract with Waste Management expired. Dave
got new bids. Waste Management lowered it's bid to be competitive
and Dave and Robert recommended staying with them. Dan
mentioned that WM was only $60/mo. more than the lowest bid from a company
we had no experience with. The Board approved the lower WM bid. Management
mentioned that the Association gets a refund of waste/scavenger fees from
the City.
- Elevator modification electrical work. The management company
got three bids for this work that needs to be done as part of the elevator
renovation project. Dunning Electric had the lowest bid and management said it
does good work. The Board approved $12,950 for this work from Dunning.
- Lobby plant proposals. The Board reviewed several proposals
to add or replace plants in the lobby areas. Dave said the Board indicated
we might want a bigger plant in the lobby. Dan mentioned the plants
in the lobby look really bad. Nancy mentioned that she didn't think
it was a good idea to put a plant near the door because the cold weather
would harm the plant. Management said the plant vendor will replace
plants for free if they die during the contract. The Board approved
the proposal from Plant Parenting to rent the new plants for $235
per month for one year.
- New floor mats for north deck entrance and in the lobby by the
revolving door. Dave said these mats are in poor condition. Dave
had some samples he showed the Board. These new mats have a new type
of backing with small holes that help clean the mats. Dave said Robert
requested the mat by the north entrance not be cut out by the door frame
as this prevents the mat from being turned around. Also, the new
mat by the revolving door will have a cut-out to match the curve of the
door to prevent the wear that the door causes to the mat. Dave also
mentioned a mat for the basement elevator area and that a faulty drain
that had caused some flooding there had been replaced. The proposal
from Matting by Design was approved for $7,335.
- New lawn irrigation system was mentioned in the management report.
- The 2011 proposed budget was mentioned in the management report.
- Elevator penthouse HVAC system for cooling new elevator computer
equipment which requires additional cooling. Dave got three bids.
There was some discussion about how much cooling capacity would be
sufficient. One of the vendors proposed a large system that would
require an expensive helicopter delivery. The lowest bid was
from Fabian & Sons for a system with two 4-ton chillers
for $10,790 which could be delivered on our elevator. The management
company engineer said the Fabian system would be sufficient for our needs.
After a long discussion and questions, the Board approved the Fabian
bid as a maximum, but management will check on how much less a system with
two 3-ton chillers would cost. Dave said there is no rush on this.
- The Board approved the "separate assessment" to move
the 2009 operating surplus of $115,969 into replacement reserves. [NOTE:
Unit owners had received a letter regarding this "separate assessment"
earlier. The Board does this to bypass our Bylaws
requirement that the surplus be returned to unit owners as a reduction
in future assessments.]
Old Business:
- The Winona lot decorative fence and landscaping project. This
was mentioned in the management report, but there was additional discussion.
- Jerry asked Dave some questions about what went wrong with the
FHA approval process that was mentioned in the management report.
Ratification:
- The Board ratified its decision to spend an extra $16,800 for overtime to speed up the renovation work on the service elevator. The Board had previously approved this expenditure by email, but since the condo law requires Board decisions to be approved in an open Board meeting, the Board approved it at this meeting. The speeded-up work will be 10 hours a day, six days a week, instead of the standard 8 hours a day, five days a week. [NOTE: After the Board adjourned the meeting, I asked how much sooner the work
on the service elevator would get done with the more expensive speeded-up
work schedule. Would it get done a month earlier or a couple of weeks
earlier? The Board didn't really have an answer, but said we wanted
to get the service elevator done as quickly as possible because it's the
only elevator that goes to the basement. The Board said that the
elevator work should progress more smoothly after the first elevator is
done and the workers have more experience with our elevators.]
Adjournment
The Board meeting adjourned at 8:38 pm and said the Board needed to have a short "executive session." As usual, the Board didn't say what the purpose of the "executive session" was, so I asked. Dave said it was for a rule violation.
The Board met in "executive session" until about 9:25 pm.
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