Notes from August 7 2011 "Fireside" Chat with ECA Board

Over 30 people attended the informal gathering led by Al Muller in the party room. Charles Bressler, Molly Frantz, and Ilo-Mai Harding also attended.

Some of the topics that were discussed included:

Employment of contractors by unit owners: this was a lengthy discussion. Among the many concerns raised was contractors working on weekends when there is no house manager to address problems that might arise including noise and use of the elevators.

Financing windows/balcony door replacement: According to Al Muller there are only three choices—an assessment, loan, or put off the project for four years until the reserves are built up to handle the expense. The do-nothing now option also involves raising the condo fees by 5% each of those four years. Attendees indicated by a show of hands that they would rather pay an assessment.

Need to hire an expert to prioritize major projects: Ilo-Mai Harding brought two handouts that indicate that our Mendoza report is not sufficient to prioritize the major projects in the ECA. One handout was a letter written to Jim Santos from Harkins Builders, a general contractor from Marriottsville, MD. The letter prioritizes various projects starting first with repair of the garage concrete on the G-1 level followed by replacement of windows. Ten projects are listed with the 9th project listed being balcony & exterior veneer repairs. Number four on the list was the replacement of mechanical systems which I take to mean the HVAC-McQuay project. The letter concludes by saying:

“In order for the board of directors to make the most informed choices about the design and phasing of the facility upgrades, the following disciplines (at minimum), in addition to a Construction Manager should be involved as early in the process as possible:”

The list includes: a structural engineer, an industrial hygienist, an architect/interior designer, a mechanical systems engineer, an energy consultant, and special lighting consultant.

The second handout was a memo from Lester Hunkele professional licensed engineer with numerous certifications (PE, CCM, LEED AP, F, CMAA) to the ECA Board giving his opinion on how to accomplish the daunting list of projects we are faced with. Ms. Harding requested his opinion. This engineer reviewed the Harkins letter and found a number of faults with it but said absolutely the replacement of Garage concrete at G-1 was rightly prioritized as number but he threw into doubt about whether window replacement should be number 2 over the HVAC project. He recommends that we again hire an Engineering/Architect firm to thoroughly study and recommend the order of undertaking our projects.

According to Sharon Bobb, Ted Ariav spoke to Mendoza and Mendoza said he did not do the level of detail suggested by Mr. Hunkele because the Board at that time did not ask for this level of detail.

It sounds like the logical thing to do is to hire Mendoza again, since he is familiar with our issues and already has done extensive work, so that he can provide the guidance needed.

Building security & the locked party room doors: This issue was raised at the last informal meeting of Board members with residents. Our house manager said there would be an unmonitored security risk if there was easy access through the party room doors to the patio. It isn’t that hard to get to the patio from the street. The cost for putting fob access was in the neighborhood of $2500.

Mail & package deliver problems: We continue to have problems getting our mail and packages. I suggested that if the current website is up for renewal, it is now time to look into a better service that allow for package recordation and notification by email and by paper notice. The package system recently purchased is not working.

Board performance: The Board is taking to heart that they need better skills and are looking into suggestions from the house manager for training.

If you attended the meeting and feel something else important was left out, by all means, let me know. Also I assume you can get the handouts distributed in this meeting at the management office.