Highlighted in the June meeting of the Elizabeth Condo Board were: replacement of horizontal pipes (about $700,000), refurbishment of the lobby level after pipe replacement, continuing transition to management by Legum & Norman,
1. Board President, Woody Cunningham, announced that we received the $89,000 refund from Maryland for overpayment of utilities sales tax. This savings is to be attributed to the fine advice provided by Legum & Norman during negotiations.
2. The last day for Carolyn Farrell and Ed Polite was August 1. Diane Robinson will stay on through August to help with the audit.
3. The Board has saved $18,000 so far this year on legal fees because we no longer pay our lawyer to attend all of our Board meetings.
4. Board meetings will be limited to three hours total, including the time spent in Executive Session.
5. Replacement of garage membrane has ceased. A small amount of work remains to be done in the garage.
6. We just negotiated a natural gas contract which we expect will save us considerable money next year.
7. The Energy Committee Chair, Joan Rosenbach, reported on the audit by American Renovators. She said that our windows and balcony doors are at the end of their useful life and the Committee is looking into options for their replacement. She expects to furnish this information to the Board as soon as possible. Additionally, she reported that American Renovators suggested that we employ an Architect/Engineer (A/E) firm to conduct an in depth audit and provide us with more information.
8. Judi Barth reported on the Refurbishment Committee. She said the plan is to do the lobby, excluding the pool an Exercise Room. With regard to greening of the building, Judi reported that Phyllis Hartman said that it would be very difficult to certify the Elizabeth due to the state of our mechanical systems. Ms. Hartman’s experience is that it is a very complex undertaking to green a building and not worth the effort to try to be certified. Hartman said it would increase contract costs by 25% to get what's known as LEED certification. Instead, she recommends that we consider the spirit of greening the building, rather than really trying to green the building for the purpose of lead certification. Along those lines, she said she would use energy-efficient products as much as possible. It was also suggested that to hire a green building consultant might cost about $50,000-$60,000. The L&N Community Manager John Algner said the value of certification was certainly not worth the cost and trouble.
9. The Board approved a contract for Valley Crest to do landscape maintenance - $16,428. Monique Fridell and Judi Barth spoke in favor a contract for landscape design, but no decision was made. In the discussion period, Sharon Bobb asked that a contract be approved for landscape design, and suggested Merrifield Gardens.
10. Security – New procedures require that anyone making a delivery and locking off the elevators leave their driver’s license at the front desk until the delivery is completed and the elevators unlocked.
11. Securitas contract was approved for another year, with no increase in cost over previous year.
12. Aqua Fit contract was approved with no increase for the coming year.
13. Renovation – the board voted to give The Hartman Group the go-ahead to begin renovation on the lobby floor – excluding the Exercise Room and saunas. The amount of funds to be expended for this purpose in this fiscal year is expected to be the budgeted $1.2 million.
14. The Board approved the proposal to replace the horizontal pipes in the West Lobby, which is necessary prior to any renovation. This problem has been recognized for some time, was deferred in 2006, and regardless of the renovation would have to be done. The Heath Company proposal is for $498,850 plus $198,680 for the lobby area. However, work on the pipes in the G-1 garage area is being deferred.
15. Judi Barth reported on the Social Committee. She said that there were 10 social events this year, of which six were at no cost to the residents, and four were at a modest cost. Also, she announced that there would be a Box Party December 6 in the West Lobby, as we did last year, and the goal is to fill 350 boxes for the homeless.
16. Dogs continue to be an issue in the building. In question are irresponsible dog owners who diminish the quality of life for others at the Elizabeth.
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