Notes from July 19 2010 ECA Board Meeting

Present at the meeting was the entire ECA Board, on-site manager Jim Santos, community manager Scott Murdoch

The most important item of interest is that the Board passed almost unanimously (only Charles Bressler abstained) a ceiling on the spending limit for "furniture" for the lobby-level renovation. The schedule puts delivery of these furnishings toward the end of the year.

Because this particular item went back and forth betwee two expenditure limits without clarity regarding what that expenditure included, ECA President Alexandra Kiety was consulted. She said in an email:

"The board approved an expenditure level for furnishings.
Naturally, that does not mean the expenditures will total upper limit. The
furnishing allowance includes all furnishings, draperies, light
fixtures, lamps, and art work. The carpeting has been included in the
construction budget. Ceiling tiles are not included."


Another important item is that all contractors, including our own in-house staff who do painting and small repairs, will need to show that they are licensed in the state of Maryland and prove they are insured before they begin working in individual units. Why? Accidents have happened within individual units that have proven costly to the Association.


The renovation is now scheduled for completion at the end of August. As of July 23, the following is going on:

-- Walls are being prepared for paint or wall cover.
-- Sound insulation has been installed.
-- Wiring in place for lighting and audio/video devices.
-- Door access control project has been approved.


After close review of several services, the Board approved a web site hosting service for the ECA. The service is AtHome.com based on the recommendation from Seth Levine and community manager Scott Murdoch.

Upcoming Issues:

The Board will be scheduling a briefing from Mendoza regarding the engineering report. Some small projects recommended by Mendoza will begin right away. One project concerns the heating/cooling system. Management is prioritizing the various recommendations.

The June minutes of the last ECA board meeting were not ready to be voted on. In fact a discussion of a process for how to handle these minutes took a considerable amount of meeting time.



NOTE from Karren Alenier:

Because the Association has not received enough information to understand what has been going on behind the scenes in the renovation, I feel the following communication from Sharon Bobb, who was on the advisory renovation committee, should be made public. This statement was read during the Committee Reports.


Alexandra, I would very much appreciate it if you would read the following email aloud at the Board meeting. Thank you, Sharon Bobb

I attended a meeting on Tuesday, July 12 at the Hartman Design Group, along with other members of the ad hoc Renovation Committee, members of the standing Refurbishment Committee, and two Board members (Al Muller and Molly Frantz). It was a long meeting as Hartman presented all the selections for furniture, lighting, window and wall coverings, and fabrics for each upholstered selection.

We asked Hartman to give us a design that would be elegant, classic, and timeless. We also asked that the furniture, floor and wall coverings, and fabrics stand the test of time in terms of durability. The work they have done to transform our home into a beautiful and functional living area is nothing short of remarkable. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Every piece of furniture selected was carefully chosen because of its comfort as well as its good looks, and Hartman specified additional padding for the sofas and chairs to make them even more comfortable and easy to get out of.

2. The fabrics and wall coverings were selected for their durability and ease of being cleaned and maintained. The strength and resilience of most of these items is being further enhanced by a special chemical application - not scotch guard – but something newer and infinitely more effective and durable. Best of all, in addition to being hard-wearing, these selections are stunningly beautiful.

3. The color palette is both calming and pleasing…..there is nothing selected that should offend anyone’s sense of style or color.

4. Hartman Group worked closely with lighting design experts to assure that we would have the best and most effective lighting in all areas…appropriately selected and appropriately placed. This work was completed in a very painstakingly and detailed manner.

5. Noting the interest our residents have in the lending library, Hartman designed a beautiful and functional book case that will accommodate many more books than we have today. In addition, they also provided us with a very large and beautiful table for residents to sit at in the library area, whether to look at the books or work on laptops, 6-8 upholstered chairs for use at that table…and, as well, provided electrical outlets for the laptops under the table…plugs that will be carefully hidden in the carpeting so as to keep the area aesthetically pleasing.

6. The lobby is being carefully wired for speakers to permit us to use a portable mike anywhere in the lobby.

7. The needs of card players were addressed with four beautiful card tables and accompanying chairs…all upholstered with handsome durable fabrics.

8. Hartman provided for a Business Center to house our copying machine and two computers (several residents have volunteered their computers for this use). This will be especially nice for residents who do not have computers, as they can use the Business Center computers to access our website when one is set up.


The result will be a new updated and elegant lobby – clean and bright – tastefully decorated – with a very warm and inviting feeling – a lobby with a variety of uses to please all of our residents’ differing tastes – a lobby we can be proud of. It will greatly enhance our property values for the benefit of all owners, and will significantly increase our quality of life.

All of this has been accomplished - remarkably - within our $1.2 million budget…..a feat not to be ignored. I believe that the owners owe a great debt of gratitude to Alexandra Kielty, Judy Gann, and Judi Barth for their contributions of considerable time and energy. It is because of their hard work that we are successfully accomplishing the first phase of this long-needed project in the Elizabeth.