Summary of ECA Board Meeting February 26, 2019

Board Present: Zlatan Beca, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Monique Fridell, Al Muller, Lyle Schwartz, Rhonda Taller, Christopher Wemple

Others Present: ECA General Manager MaryAnn Hall, Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton, Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer), and Jeremy Powell, CPA, Goldklang Group

Highlights of the meeting:

Yearly Audit Report

Jeremy Powell of the Goldklang Group presented the completed report saying that despite our loan debt, the Elizabeth is remarkably in good financial shape given our dire situation two years ago. We have adequate financial cushion in our operating funds.

President’s Report

·      He noted the passing of two Elizabeth neighbors: Helen Huntley and Arnold Kutzmak.

·      He urged Association members to keep in mind that the annual election will take place in May and that we should participate in that election at minimum by attending the meeting or voting a proxy.

Management Report

·      Garage Project

o   The last two phases of the project have required fewer repairs, which is good news.

o   The General Manager will try to arrange for an in-person report on the status of the project from one of contractors for next the Board meeting.

·      West Lobby

o   ServPro has completed its work and there is no mold.

o   Work to restore the lobby and the moldings is ongoing and should be completed by February 28, 2019.

·      Noise

As stated in the last meeting summary, noise that had been occurring for years with intermittent loudness in tiers 10 and 01 has been resolved by an expert from Thomas Downey Limited. What had not been stated is that minor plumbing issues in an apartment on the East Side were fixed and that was what allowed the noise problems to be resolved on the West Side.

Motions

·      Loan—motion to approve an additional payment of $75,000 for pay down of the loan was approved unanimously.

·      New Version of Employee Handbook—except for one modification, the new version of the employee handbook that was done by Rhonda Taller was approved unanimously.

·      No Smoking Amendment—Board voted to send it to the Association members after our legal counsel puts the package together. Vote of the Association will be accepted in the management office and at the annual meeting.

·      Merv Filters—additional information required the motion to be delayed until the March meeting.

Summary of ECA Board Meeting February 7, 2019

Board Present: Zlatan Beca, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Monique Fridell, Al Muller, Lyle Schwartz, Christopher Wemple

Absent: Rhonda Taller

Others Present: ECA General Manager MaryAnn Hall, Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton, and Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer

Highlights of the meeting:

Management Report

·      Garage Project

o   The budget for this project has been exceeded by 20% with no cap yet declared. The work on G-1 is taking less time (so less expensive), but the work on G-4 is taking more time (more expensive).

o   In November, the estimated completion date was the end of August but now the contractor is not giving us a projection of cost or completion. 
See Comment below from Lyle Schwartz.  The info above on the garage project was taking from the management report.

·      Plumbing

o   In mid-January, a major backup problem occurred in the 14^th and 15^th tiers due blockage in the pipes from broken snakes (a.k.a. auger,  implement used to clear blockages) and other debris.

o   Also in January, O’Connor Plumbing cut into a hot-water pipe and caused flooding on the 9^th and 10^th floors as well as shorting out the fire alarm which blasted for 90 minutes.

o   In early February, a makeshift conduit for hot water which was an attempt by a past building engineer to bring more heat to the concierge desk burst shorting out the fire alarm again and dumping a considerable amount of hot water in parts of the west lobby and the west elevator lobby.

·      Noise

Noise that had been occurring for years with intermittent loudness in tiers 10 and 01 has been resolved in a common sense solution as advised by an expert from Thomas Downey Limited.

·      New Concierge Service

The Jeffrey Scott Concierge service began working in the Elizabeth on January 1, 2019.

·      Fire Evacuation Maps

The new fire evacuation maps need to be redone because they do not accurately identify the building layout. One resident suggested the Board and Fire Committee look at the easy-to-read fire evacuation maps in the nearby Marriott Courtyard which are much smaller and produced on aesthetically pleasing and durable brushed stainless steel.

Loan

Motion to approve an additional payment of $75,000 for pay down of the loan was withdrawn. At this time, we will continue the payments as scheduled.

Employee Handbook

        The motion to approve the employee handbook was tabled pending further consideration.

Rental Unit

         Approval of lease renewal on Unit 10 was tabled. Approved lease renewal with 6 votes in favor.


2-13-19 Comment on the garage project from Lyle Schwartz:

The current actual expenditures are at ~50% of budgeted (with contingency), but projections do suggest that the final total will significantly exceed that amount.
 
It was the already finished work on G1 that appears to have been the most expensive per sq. ft., due to spallation on the ceiling below. Current, very limited  work on lower floors seems to result in much less spallation and so less cost and more rapid completion. G4 will have no such issues since it is “slab-on-grade” with no ceiling below it and may actually end up costing a bit less than originally estimated..
 
CPR has certainly continued to give us estimates of both cost and completion dates, but they and we recognize the uncertainty of such estimates as the work load on the G2 and G3 levels can only be estimated based on previous experience. Current estimates seem to be on the high side as we find less work required on the lower levels, and will likely be adjusted as they get more experience on other parts of G2 and G3.