THE ELIZABETH CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION
4601 North Park Avenue
Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting May 16, 2011

Board Present:
Charles Bressler ..........................President
Seth Levine .................................Vice President
Molly Frantz ...............................Treasurer
Ilo-Mai Harding ..........................Secretary
Judith Barth ................................Director
Alfred Muller ...............................Director

Board Absent:
M.S. Cockburn ..............................Director

Others Present:
Scott Murdoch ...............Community Manager, Legum & Norman
James M. Santos ...........ECA General Manager
Elisabeth Ostler .............ECA Recording Secretary, On the Record


Call to Order: Mr. Bressler called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes:
No minutes to approve.

President’s Report: Mr. Bressler stated that there was a record low attendance for the election. Mr. Bressler stated that he would like the board to be more open and come-up with more innovative ideas. Mr. Bressler has asked Mr. Santos to install a mailbox in the corridor, I will personally address any comments towards me and compliments will be accepted. This year we will work toward updating the house rules, The Elizabeth resident directory, the data at the front desk which will make the front desk more operational and self-sufficient. Mr. Bressler has requested information regarding a data program that is used by most of the neighboring condominium associations and The Elizabeth residents will be kept informed every step of the way of any progress.

Mr. Bressler stated that the Board is working toward instituting a new policy for owners that intend to remodel their apartment. Residents will be required to submit a request to perform the work, which will need to include a description of the scope of the work to be completed in the apartment with proof of the contractor being licensed, bonded and insured. The Elizabeth is legally responsible and liable for any damage caused by someone that is not properly licensed.

Mr. Bressler stated that in order to bring unity to The Elizabeth, former presidents of the board and other active in the building have been invited to sit down with the a rotating group of board members to create a round table that will meet once per month to exchange ideas and make suggestions. Mr. Bressler stated that although there have been some disagreements in the past, hopefully for the good of The Elizabeth the past can be put aside and can come up with solutions that can be beneficial to all of us.

Mr. Bressler stated he created two additional committees: Security Committee and Architectural Committee.

The board is eager to work hard and closely together to make the Elizabeth a great place to live in harmony.

Treasurer’s Report: Ms. Frantz stated the tenth month was just completed of the fiscal year and is pleased to report that the operating fund is running on small surplus. Expenditures through April 30th of this year were $2,078,741.00, income was $2,084,713.00 and reserve expenditures were $1,740,334.00. On April 27th the board approved a 10% increase in the condominium fees for the fiscal year 2012. This was 5% higher than the proposed budget with all of the increased fees, which amounts to $172,096.00, going to the reserve fund. That makes the fiscal year 2012 to the reserve fund contribution $1,430,350.00. Ms. Frantz will be seeking board approval to hold a working session to develop a new and current five-year reserve expenditure plan, with the expectation that the plan will be approved at the June 20th board meeting. The number of owners who are delinquent continues to drop due to the hard work that management puts in. As a result, delinquencies continue to be low by industry standards amounting to only 1.32% of total assessments. Two-thirds of our $45,000 in delinquencies is due to one owner whose property is currently in foreclosure.

There was an operational error with an out-of-town post office that impacted the deliveries of April condominium fees and Mr. Murdoch will be touching upon that situation. Mr. Murdoch will also be contacting our auditors to initiate the associations first ever cost; basis adjustment letter. For tax purposes, homeowners must first determine the adjusted cost of their home before they can figure the capital gain or loss on the sale of their property. This letter will provide owners the information that will be used to help to determine that cost basis.

All the paperwork required to put Mr. Bressler and Ms. Frantz on the bank accounts will be completed tonight.

Management Report: Mr. Santos stated that currently the update on the delinquency totals for the work orders is down to $933.05, of which $464 is over 60 days. The Board was also given an updated copy of contractor guidelines and a memorandum on the WSSC public hearing attended last week regarding mixed use of meter reading and potential billing. Ms. Frantz asked when the next WSSC meeting will be. Mr. Santos stated that it would be later in May, it should be this week and they will give the results of the public hearing comments to the commissioners and finalize the policy. After they approve the policy, they will send out a 30 day comment again to the public stating that this is what the commissioners have approved and are forecasting. If after the 30 day period there are no changes to it, it will be adopted and go into effect at the end of 2011. Ms. Frantz asked how many people are involved in the work order. Mr. Santos said that he guessed it would be between 25 to 30 people. Dr. Muller asked about the high flow units with regard to the dry cleaners on site. Mr. Santos stated that the form is generic and he will be submitting a waiver for each one of The Elizabeth’s commercial spaces because the size of the space or that they do not use the high flow consumption of water.

Mr. Bressler inquired about the garage fan and asked if it was located on the G1 level. Mr. Santos stated that all exhaust fans on G1 to G4 levels are original equipment with 1975 technology. Mr. Santos put it on hold until the Board reviewed the 5-year reserve plan. He has been making repairs to them but has not replaced any of them yet. Mr. Santos addressed the attire of the concierge at the front desk. Mr. Santos opened discussion about purchasing a blazer for each of the staff at the front desk with an estimated cost of $150 per blazer for 6 staff members. The board discussed the purchase of blazers and agreed that it would improve professional appearance. Mr. Bressler asked if the problem with the pool staff had been fixed. Mr. Santos stated that the weekend guard was not focused on the residents and guests that were actually in the water so Mr. Santos spoke verbally with the president of the company and addressed the issue with the staff member. The issue seemed to continue so Mr. Santos wrote a letter and sent an e-mail. The pool staff member was replaced and the performance of the new guard is 100% improved.

Mr. Bressler asked how the activation of the newsletter is going to be reinstated. Mr. Santos stated that the current website for The Elizabeth condo has module built into it to create a newsletter. It is just a matter of time of creating some topics and writing the document, sending it to the board as a draft. But also, Legum & Norman and its parent company, Associa, has some resources to produce a newsletter so that avenue would just need to be pursued. It would just require some time. Mr. Santos stated that he tries to send letters out to residents on a regular basis and post them in the in the elevators but these are not as good as longer documents that could identify discussion points on several topics.

Regarding the incident with the Mutual of Omaha Bank: a letter was received in April stating that Mutual of Omaha had been notified by the post office that there was an issue with the mail and some homeowner payments were damaged at the post office or had been found loose in the mail. This has affected several of the properties and it is being dealt with on a case by case basis as there is no way to know who was affected.

Open Floor: New resident, Barbara Pollock commended the past board and new board on their civility and also commended the management for doing an amazing job under difficult circumstances. Ms. Pollock also would like to see more communication in the form of a professional newsletter. Mr. Bressler asked if Ms. Pollock would like to be on the committee for the newsletter. Ms. Pollock stated she would volunteer to serve on the newsletter committee.

Resident, Maurice Trebach, requested the minutes from the board meetings posted in due time. Mr. Bressler stated that the board needed at least thirty days to make changes and approve the final draft of the minutes. The board had a discussion about ways to make the minutes more concise and efficient. The community requested an action list posted the day after the board meeting.

Resident, Joan Rosenbach, Chair of The Energy Committee, informed the board of a meeting on Wednesday, June 1st run by Bethesda Green in which ways to lower energy costs will be discussed.

A resident stated concern about the proposed guidelines for contractors. The resident further stated that she would like to hire contractors that she trusts and has confidence in and does not feel that they should be excluded if she would like to hire them. Mr. Bressler stated that accidents happen, The Elizabeth would be liable and that the resident would be paying the cost. Ms. Barth added that she attended a meeting with the insurance agent a few weeks ago and they were appalled that we did not have a policy in place which could put the community in jeopardy.

Old Business: Mr. Santos stated that the fitness committee is still trying to determine the individual pieces to recommend. They may be asking for additional funding. The budget is currently set at $17,000 and that number is currently being exceeded by $4,000. A resident on the exercise committee stated that they are recommending Heartline equipment. They are requesting an increase due to it being over three years since they first had that budget item and some of the current equipment has deteriorated in that time.

Dr. Muller asked if The Elizabeth was able to get a discount on Heartline equipment. Mr. Santos stated that Heartline has an agreement with Associa which is the parent company of Legum & Norman to provide a 40% discount on exercise equipment through the Heartline fitness company. All quotes given to the exercise committee already reflected the reduced rate.

MOTION Dr. Muller moved, Mr. Levine seconded to approve the increase of the exercise equipment budget to $22,000. The motion passed unanimously (6-0-0).

AMENDMENT Ms. Frantz moved, Mr. Bressler seconded to delay the motion and vote now to show the consensus of the board and then vote by email once actual numbers are provided to the board reflecting the increase to the exercise equipment budget to $22,000. The motion failed (2-3-1).

Ms. Barth stated that the board should move forward with approving the provisions outlined by the General Manager in accordance with the outline of contractors to work within the community. A memo was received in August of last year and notification was received by the insurance agent that this is something that needs to be done. Everyone has had an opportunity to look at it since August and have looked at it again recently by email.

Mr. Bressler stated that before the board goes into the motion that the association determines all of the policies and forms regarding the issue so that a single motion would approve the entire apparatus by which the measure would be defined, complied with and enforced. He stated that he had already sent the material to the members and that we would make a motion on it next month but would meet in the mean time to make a complete answer to this problem that could face The Elizabeth. Mr. Bressler affirmed that he is very eager to make a motion on the matter but that the board should wait, have a session on this and come up with a definite forum for this provision that does not leave any questions unanswered.

Mr. Bressler affirmed that a draft could be sent to everyone in the building. Ms. Barth suggested that the board appoint a board member to move the draft along with management so the document is ready to be voted on in June. Mr. Bressler suggested that Ms. Barth take charge of that effort until the June meeting. Dr. Muller reiterated that the proposal must be ready to be voted on in June and not push the vote off until July.

New Business: Ms. Frantz stated that when the budget was approved last month, there was not an expenditure reserve for the next 5 years. Proposed holding a working session in the coming month to update the research, bring in the 2016 items into the current 5 year plan along with the current items that have been spilling over into the reserve and then deal with the issues of what the other priorities are or to suspend additional spending activities for the coming year. There will be a board work session on Wednesday, June 1 at 6:30 to review the 5-year reserve plan.

Ms. Harding presented comments about needing accurate projections of costs to update, renovate and maintain the building’s fixtures. A letter was presented that was written by the doctors from the arcade:

(Attach Letter)

Ms. Harding identified certain areas of the commercial sections that needed to be maintained to include carpeting. Mr. Bressler asserted that those areas were not common areas and would need to be maintained by the owner/tenants. Mr. Santos affirmed that since his tenure, he has tried to incorporate the commercial tenants and owners into the operation. He stated that he felt the areas in question were, in fact, common areas. In the mean time, he had already met with contractors regarding certain maintenance provisions to the commercial property into the current 5-year plan, i.e. replacing single-pane storefront windows with more efficient glass, maintenance of grout and fascia, pressure washing some of the walls, replacing the lighting, benches and trash cans in that area to improve the atmosphere in that area. Ms. Frantz requested to be given the list of items to be considered in the 5-year plan. Mr. Santos confirmed that the list will be provided.

Ms. Barth suggested that the letter be answered with the items that the board discussed in the present meeting. Mr. Bressler stated that he would help draft that letter. Additionally, Ms. Barth discussed a “suggestion box” that a tenant in the building has requested. Ms. Barth stated that the association had just spent over $1.2 million on a renovation by an award winning designer. To then put holes in the wall paper to support such a box is a bad thing when the box could have been put in the office or somewhere else that did not put holes in our new wall paper. Mr. Bressler stated that putting the box near the mail area was the best option for the intent of the suggestion box.

MOTION Ms. Barth moved to disallow putting holes in the wall paper without the consideration of the renovation advisor committee, Dr. Mueller seconded. The motion passed with two votes in opposition by Ms. Frantz and Mr. Bressler and one abstention (3-2-1).

Committee Reports: Dr. Rosenbach stated that Bethesda Green is doing a series of lectures dealing with financing of projects. Meetings are held at Monument Bank and funding sources are presented as available by Monument Bank and from government sources. Dr. Rosenbach cited p. 28 of Mendoza Report stating mold and mildew problems in the building suggesting that The Elizabeth could bring in an environmental engineer. A list of several contractors is provided by the State of Maryland Dept of Energy listing those environmental engineering contractors that deal with mold and mildew. Some mold and mildew can cause disease; a call to awareness of this fact was made. Dr. Rosenbach suggested that she head up a group to interview potential contractors, refine the list to three prospects and let the board make the final selection.

Mr. Bressler asked if there had already been a mold investigation previously. Mr. Santos said that there was a report and a request for quote has been under way for some time. Mr. Santos further stated that he had the name of one group and was just given the names of two other groups the week previous. Mr. Santos will explore the matter further, consult with the experts and come up with appropriate recommendations. Mr. Santos explained that the cost of sampling could exceed tens of thousands of dollars and that the cost of obtaining a report will need to be approved. Dr. Muller asked why it is so difficult to get a sample performed and asked if the previous report could be used. Ms. Barth stated that the previous test was of the party room, a contained area with a limited scope. Dr. Rosenbach suggested that the testing take place during July, August or September because those are the times when this issue is most prevalent in the cooling ducts. Ms. Frantz further stated that if the mold is discovered within a specific unit, it will be the unit owner’s responsibility to remove and that caution should be used when pursuing this because it could potentially be so costly. She suggested trying to identify points of decision whereby the costs of the project can be considered as they arise.

Floor representative committee:
[Letter from Ms. Esler was read aloud to the board]

Attach letter:

Landscape Committee: Mr. Santos presented a report from the landscape committee. Phase one enhancement is 50% complete. The committee asked that the board be informed that over 90% of the previous plant material has been kept, just moved to a different area of the building.


Adjournment:
The President adjourned the meeting at 9:09 p.m.

The initial draft of the minutes, upon which these minutes are based, was prepared by Elisabeth Ostler of On the Record.

Respectfully submitted,
Ilo-Mai Harding, Board Secretary