Summary of May 2009 Elizabeth Condo Board Meeting

The May meeting of Elizabeth Condo Board focused on such items as the upcoming contract for professional management with Legum & Norman, cessation of paying utility taxes, significant contracts that may be replaced with new companies, building security, and a long list of problems in the building. Here is a thumbnail list of what took place.

President Woody Cunningham began meeting by referring to the annual meeting and the motion to remove him. He said of the votes cast for his removal, there were only 13 votes or 3.4% of the association membership to remove him.

Residents need to be vigilant for water problems in their units. Pinhole leaks are now to happening more frequently as the pipes age.

The meeting on professional management will be a presentation May 20 by Legum and Norman. They will address their proposed management plan for the Elizabeth. The agenda will consist of a presentation by key officers of Legum and Norman, followed by an opportunity for owners to ask questions related to external management. After that meeting, owners are encouraged to provide comments to the Board. An open Board meeting will take place May 26 where the Board will meet in open session to discuss and vote on a proposed contract with Legum and Norman. Prior to that meeting, owners will be provided the Board's estimated one-time costs as well as the annual costs for professional management.

Charles Bressler expressed concern about security during moves when the garage door is open for extended periods of time. He suggested that when there is a move into or out of the building, that the driver be required to leave his license at the front desk, and that it not be returned until after the move is completed. At that time, the front desk should signal the engineers to unlock the elevator and close the garage door.

Contract status:

Building Insurance policy (John Manougian Insurance/Fireman's Fund) - approved $161,028.

Trash Away, Inc - $2671 per month approved.

Complete Building Services - $2791 per month approved.

Structural Preservation Contract for G-3 - $30,000 additional to cover extend contract and cover new work required - approved.

Structural Preservation Systems Contract for water penetration in building - $6000 - approved to install drain pan in apartment 06.

AcquaFit contract was not renewed. Asked for competing bids. (Complaints about lifeguard who was not attentive because he focused on his PDA and laptop rather than swimmers.)

Clean Inc was not approved. Board is to get more bids.

Landscaping Maintenance contract was not approved. Board is to get more bids. Judi Barth expressed concern that there has been controversy about the design of the landscaping in front of the building. And, as long as we were going to take bids on the maintenance contract, Judi asked that landscape design be addressed as well.

Jerry Feldman gave Board comments about election process and need for reform.

Maurice Trebach reported that he believes that we can utilize the energy tax credits, that is, owners can claim them on their returns. He is getting the specific information to the Board, as well as the actual forms to make such claims.

Items needing attention as reported by Sharon Bobb & Karren Alenier:

a. Need for better data collection and a complete database on owners, renters, pets etc.

b. Number of renters reported is not accurate...our anecdotal data gathered during our campaigning is that it is much more.

c. Sample rent contract distributed by ECA is not in conformance with Montgomery County law. We need a new legally sound document, and suggest Jason be involved.

d. Some arcade owners reported that they have no fire horns in their units. They cannot hear our fire horns and we are not warned in the event of a fire in the Arcade units.

e. Board Meetings & Arcade Attendance: Some Arcade owners stated that they have been told by ECA management that only the person whose name appears on their legal ownership documents can come to Board meetings. However, renters can come to Board meetings and serve on the Board. Husbands and significant others living with owners can come to Board meetings. A notice needs to go to Arcade owners explaining that anyone working for their business can be designated to represent the business at Board meetings.

f. Arcade area is not kept clean and the smell from the trash area invades the Arcade during hot weather.

g. Dogs are urinating on Arcade walls and defecating in the Arcade area. This devalues our property and must be addressed beyond what the House Rules call for, because in order to invoke the House Rules, you must be able to identify the offending dog/dog owner, and this is often impossible to do.

h. A certain number of the original toilets spontaneously break each year, causing floods in other apartments. Asked that the condominium put out a notice alerting residents to this problem. Also asked that management negotiate a bulk price for new toilets (as they did with duct cleaning by Americlean) and offer this as an incentive to owners to replace the original toilets.

i. Suggested we employ an exercise physiologist on contract for about 3 hours to survey our Exercise Room and equipment, recommend which equipment should be replaced and what new equipment to buy, as users of this facility usually favor one or two pieces of equipment. Also, this contractor should indicate where equipment should be placed in this facility for effective use. Those using this equipment to do circuit-weight training exercise muscle groups in a particular order. The Exercise Room is an important amenity that attracts new buyers to this building and improves our property values.

Controversy over dogs
East side residents said there is constantly dog urine and occasionally feces on the floors of the elevators. Residents called for the Board to address this issue squarely. There was discussion about how to define a small dog as our house rules currently say residents may have small dogs. Sharon Bobb suggested that we use the definition of small dog as stated by the American Kennel Association. Another owner suggested that we go back to requiring that dogs be carried into and out of the building to avoid dogs eliminating on our common area floors. Owners commenting on this issue included: Barbara Sandler, Helen Soderberg, Judy Gann, Jerry Feldman, Joan Rosenhbach, and Stephanie Olshan.