After Hearing the Experts, Time for Action

Those Elizabethan Condominium owners know if they attended the expert briefings this summer, read the executive summaries, or browsed through the hundreds of pages presented by the hired consultants that building elements, such as balconies, doors and windows and our heating and cooling units, are well past their useful lives.

THE BRIEFING FROM THE STRUCTUAL ENGINEER

Hearing Kenneth Kosteva, the Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates engineer who was involved in evaluating the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral after last year’s earthquake damage say that the ECA must attend to balconies and balcony doors as well as window replacement and backing up that pronouncement with detailed information made it irrefutably clear that we must attend to this situation immediately and that we must make these repairs correctly. He also made it painfully clear that we must not do a halfway job or else we would be wasting our time and money. He said halfway repairs are done when investors want to flip a property and get rid of the financial burden of owning something that is inferior.

Need I say the Elizabeth is home to the greater majority of people who are owners and we live in a desirable neighborhood with many conveniences and low crime rates? Shall we say that investing in the proper repairs will restore the quality of life we believe we all deserve?

The good news on window and balcony door replacement is that it will help regulate temperature within the units, bring down energy costs, contribute to resolving mold problems, do away with asbestos implanted in the walls, and stop water penetration. The bad news is that this project will take two years to complete and cost an estimated $5.3 million.

THE BRIEFING FROM MECHANICAL ENGINEER

The briefing on heating and cooling restoration from Mr. Mendoza of Mendoza, Ribas, Farinas & Associates ran along the same lines. The original hvac units within the apartments are beyond their useful lives, failure is imminent, and replacement will bring numerous benefits. Mendoza’s current estimate for replacing an in-wall McQuay unit runs about $5200 without the cost of fixing drywall or other details impacted by such a replacement. He had no estimate at this time for the smaller visible units but clearly these units would cost less than the in-wall units to replace.

What would be ideal in the replacement of the hvac units is to have a coordinated building-wide plan where all hvac units are replaced probably tier by tier. This would benefit everyone because it would minimize the disruption time and ensure that every unit was replaced.

The bad news is that coordinated building-wide plan is not possible at this time. Why? Because our ECA bylaws make every apartment owner responsible for the cost of replacing their hvac units. Some owners on limited incomes say they cannot afford to make such a costly repair and that until the hvac units fail, they will not replace them. What will happen is that apartments surrounding and underneath failing hvac units will suffer damage, usually water damage, as the old hvac units continue to age.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

--First of all, attend the monthly meetings to understand the issues we all face in this Association.

--If possible mark your calendar for Wednesday, September 5, 2012, at 7 pm when the board will conduct a workshop to prioritize pressing repairs and restorations, form an action list, begin development of a financing plan, and outline a process for implementation of the work.

--Attend the informal Sunday evening gathering on September 9 at 7 pm to ask questions about the issues we are facing.

--Vote affirmatively to approve bylaw amendments that deal with unit owner insurance and reducing bylaw vote requirements from 75% to 66 2/3%. Wouldn’t you prefer to be able to change the bylaw that makes hvac unit replacement your financial responsibility so that the Association can assume that burden? If the Association was financially responsible for hvac replacement, than everyone will benefit from a coordinated building-wide replacement plan and owners on fixed incomes can participate without facing sudden bills totaling thousands of dollars.

--Be proactive and join a committee to improve the quality of life in the building. The energy is looking for help for example. Call Joan Rosenbach at 301-657-3241.

Just remember if you owned a single-family home, all the costs for repairs and the responsibility for making those repairs would fall on your shoulders. Stay informed. Be proactive to protect your investment. Be proactive if your home is here at the Elizabeth.