Summary of ECA Board Meeting September 29, 2015

Board Present: Sharon Bobb, Patricia Batey, Clifford Cohen, Peg Downey, Jim Jones, John McNerney (by phone), Steven Schattman

Others Present: ECA General Manager Terry Lee, Legum & Norman Regional Manager James Santos, ECA legal counsel Jason Fisher

What follows are highlights from the meeting.

President’s Report

—Executive meetings of the Board were stated with dates and purpose including mention of a meeting with our concierge service provider NFC to ensure that they stabilize staff and reduce the rapid turnover at our front desk.

—The Request for Proposal (RFP) process was discussed in light of petitions being signed to keep the current property management company (Legum & Norman) and bypass the RFP process, which is mandated, by good business practice and fiduciary responsibilities of the ECA Board members.

—Second Town Hall meeting on the property management company RFP process scheduled for Sunday October 4 from 4 to 6 pm.

—Town Hall meeting on building pipes Tuesday October 6 from 7-8 pm.

—More bids collected on duct cleaning companies relative to common area systems (as opposed to duct cleaning inside individually owned units).

Special Report.

Barbara Pollack collected data from area condominiums and produced a stunning report that compares the Elizabeth to other condos in Friendship Heights. The bottom line is that average condo fee per square foot is well within average condo fees charged in other condos.

That said, it is not an exact science because every condo association in the neighborhood is different from ours and how condo fees are calculated varies from association to association. For example, the ECA has 353 residential units and 13 commercial while the closest comparison is 4620 North Park with 292 units. Like the ECA, 4620 includes utilities in their condo fees, owners own their own parking, and has an average condo fee per square foot only pennies lower (4620: $.63 vs. ECA: $.67). However, the Elizabeth has amenities and services that 4620 doesn’t have like an indoor pool, guest parking, etc.  and 4620 had a $13,000-$14,000 assessment per unit in the early 1990s while ECA has never had any assessments.

Of more concern is that the Elizabeth’s price per square foot is the lowest among buildings surveyed. Those buildings surveyed include 4620, the Carleton, Somerset I, and the Willoughby. This is again a wakeup call to continue our capital improvement projects, improve maintenance and address problems with leaks as well as get our percent of rented units under control.

General Manager’s Report:

—Humidity problems are cropping up in apartments with new HVACs but the problem also involves a tighter building envelope subsequent to renovations. Management is working with contractors Mendoza, Quality Air, and Daikin to resolve the problems.

—Installation of an ADA power-assisted door at East lobby and arcade.

—Work continues on the domestic hot water system with upper and lower system piping installed and electrical work completed. Projected completion last week of October 2015.

Board actions:

—House Rules amended for a $500 elevator usage moving-in fee and $200 elevator usage moving-out fee (of which $75 may be refunded if no damage is confirmed). (Unanimous approval)

—Installation of vibration isolators to the domestic water piping by Densel Company to eliminate vibration noise, amount not to exceed $15,912.

—Approval to hire Eric Cunningham as a part-time Live-on maintenance technician under the Legum & Norman contract.

—Approval of corridor duct cleaning by AmeriClean, a fully vetted company.

Petition to keep Legum & Norman as the ECA property management company. A petition with 100 signatures was presented to the ECA Board. You may want to ask each Board member if he or she signed this petition. Note: Board members are obligated under their fiduciary responsibilities to put aside their personal opinions to support the RFP process currently underway, which is looking at what property management companies have to offer.

Committee Reports:

Fitness- equipment will need to be replaced and needs to be factored into the next budget.

Library-Committee is planning a book giveaway after the November Board meeting.

Making a Difference-Volunteers being solicited to continue work of making knitted and crocheted items in preparation for the holiday gift-giving event targeted for the homeless.

Ad-hoc Committees

Smoking—Speakers are being scheduled on topics of interest. Dates and times will be announced for this fall.

Management Company RFP—The four members continue their review of proposals sent by vetted property management companies. Each review takes about 18 hours (4 hours by each committee member and at least two in a group meeting). Results will be turned over to the ECA Board and the Board will check references, conduct interviews, and make site visits as required.

Newsletter—a new edition of the newsletter has been published and can be obtained in paper or online through BuildingLink.

Web—Pat Batey has posted the RFP for Property Management Services FAQs and the latest newsletter on BuildingLink.

Conversation with the ECA Board 9/19/2015

Date of the Informal Meeting: September 19, 2015

Board Present: Sharon Bobb, Cliff Cohen, Jim Jones

Hot Topics: Pinhole leaks, elevator inspections, office security, management company proposals

Level of interest: Standing room only in the party room

Here are some highlights from the hour-long meeting:

Pinhole leaks was the first topic of discussion with this question from Rosemary Bowen: If your unit is on an upper floor, is there less chance for a pinhole leak affecting your unit?

The question generated lots of response but not an exact answer to the question. Alfred Muller said pinhole leaks were not an issue because a study had been done some years ago. Sharon Bobb said the Board had recently contracted for an infrastructure study. Pat Peyser said her apartment had been damaged by a pinhole leak problem above her unit.  Bobb said it was time for the new study because more leaks were occurring and some of them were pinhole leaks.

On October 6 at 7 pm in the West Lobby, there will be a town hall meeting to address Pinhole Leaks.


Elevator inspections are being neglected said Marian Drazin. The inspection certificates are often out of date and the management office does not have a current one. She wants Board action taken immediately because the safety of the residents are at stake.


Office security is not being attended to said Marian Drazin. At stake is office equipment and sensitive information in paper format. The simple solution is for the engineering staff to close and lock their office doors when they leave.


Management company proposals are under review. Some people in the Association are circulating petitions to keep Legum & Norman without allowing the Request for Proposal process to work. One attendee said she was harassed when she told one of the circulators of the petition that she would not sign it. Cliff Cohen said the Board was doing due diligence by asking management companies to give the Association their proposals. He also said people do not like change but just because we like the staff hired by our current management company, that does not mean we are getting the best value for the money we pay a management company to run the business of the Association. Some people are concerned that the members of the RFP committee are prejudiced against Legum & Norman. Karren Alenier said that all proposals including one from L&N are being evaluated the same way and that the final decisions, including interviews and contacting references, would be done by the Board. Cohen said the ECA has a very competent committee for this job and people need to be realistic about who they think could do this better. Alenier, a member of the RFP committee,  reminded the participants that everyone on the committee, and the Board for that matter, are volunteers and Association members need to treat everyone with respect.

Other Topics included  suggestions for social events. Jeffrey Axelrad suggested an omelette party.  Another attendee suggested that every social event should have a minimal charge to defray costs and to make the head count more accurate. Of special concern is the holiday party in December when thousands of dollars are spent.