Summary of ECA Board Meeting July 23, 2016

Board Present: Lyle Schwartz, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Elisa Siegel, Christopher Wemple, Jimmy Whalen

Absent: :  Zlatan Beca

Others Present: Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton, Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer)

Highlights of the meeting:

Three motions passed unanimously:

Motion: to appoint Francine Klein to fill the vacant seat left by Rhonda Taller’s resignation. Ms Klein, who has lived in the Elizabeth since 2016, is Chief Counsel at Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Motion:   to approve garage project consulting service by an additional $25,000. 

Discussion:  Original contract included $50,000 to cover the consulting service for 6–7 months during the contract administration phase. We are now in the 13th month. 

Motion: To approve a deferred assessment resolution for FY 2018-2019.  More specifically, “The Association elects to apply all or part of the excess assessment income to the following year’s assessments and that such final amount shall be at the Board’s discretion.” 

Discussion:  This resolution simply means that the Association will plan to use any surplus earned during the last FY during the current year. We have passed this same resolution every year at the suggestion of our auditor.

On an annual basis, condominiums choose to file tax returns either one of two available methods:  Corporate Method or Exempt Method. Once the current fiscal year ends and the audit and/or income tax preparation has been completed, Goldklang recommends the best filing method.

For us, assessments are the major source of income, so when we have a surplus in a year, it is a sort of gross profit. Under the corporate rules, when we commit surplus income to normal purposes (Maintenance, reserve funds, etc.) it no longer is considered “profit” in the same sense, and our taxable income is reduced. So, this assessment resolution helps strengthen our income tax filing the decision to use the Corporate Method. 

Other Business:

·      Infrared roof testing has been completed on three spots on the roof.  Only 9% revealed wet spots.  The Tremco roof has been in place for 15 years.  Tremco will send technicians to determine source of water and make repairs.  This will preserve the 91% good roof at a cost of $2081. Tremco recommends a restoration of the roof, which will come with a 20 year leak free warranty. This is planned for 2020-21 at an estimated cost of $725,000.

·      Licurgo Furniture Service is repairing furniture in the West Lobby. This is the same contractor who visited the Elizabeth periodically since the new lobby design was installed.

·      Marble floor and metal refinishing process is beginning within the next two weeks. The marble work in the mailbox corridor has been completed. Plan is quarterly visits.

·      New pool and patio furniture is being ordered for the pool area, patio adjacent to the pool and patio adjacent to the West Lobby.

·      Filter changes have been completed in both towers and condensate lines have been cleaned.

·      Someone broke the glass tabletops in the West Lobby Media Room. New tops are being made by Bel Pre Glass and should be here in two weeks.

·      Loan was re-amortized in mid-June. We will continue to pay the same monthly payment, (at the same interest rate), however, the final payment is scheduled to occur in April of 2025. This means the loan will be paid off 18 months sooner than originally scheduled (October, 2026).  The loan balance now is slightly less than $3,100,000.  As we continue to provide further pre-payments of principal, our payoff date should continue to move closer.  At the moment, the board has agreed to make 3 additional prepayments next year, which are reflected in the current budget.   Beyond that, to the extent that funds are available and circumstances permit, more prepayments may be made.

·      .  $58,000 in delinquencies were collected in July.

·      Garage Project is 63% complete by June 30. Main problem is that people are not parking in the spaces assigned while their spaces are being repaired. Some  weekend work has been approved by the Board.

·      Town Hall on Fitness Center was attended by 35 owners, all users of the center.  While the committee is continuing ono planning for this project, a questionnaire will be sent out to all owners re:  current usage of each type of equipment.

·      The Hallway Planning Committee met July 11.  Members are:  Lyle Schwartz (Chair), Elisa Siegel (Director), Judy Gann, AJ Young and Connie Rowe.  MaryAnn Hall will attend all meetings.

·      People have been sneaking contractors in without signing in at the Concierge Desk and without completing the required forms which include the license and insurance information of the contractor.  These contractors have been responsible for damage to other apartments in the course of their work.  These contractors are getting a letter saying they may no longer come in the building. If they do, they will be cited for trespassing.

·      Social Committee Chair, Suzan Stafford, announced a few upcoming events:  Sept 3 – cookies and juice in lobby for the children on the first day of school; Sept 14 – ice cream social and welcome for new people; October – Halloween Party; December – Holiday Party.

·      Storage Committee Chair, Layo Fabunmi, announced that the committee now has five members. Plan to re-organize the storage facilities is taking longer than expected due to safety concerns during the garage project. The Committee will work toward removing dangerous items from storage. A letter to residents to this effect should be coming out this week.

·      Stephanie Olshan advised that an owner was the subject of an unprovoked attack by another owner’s pet. The attacked/bitten owner suffered seven puncture wounds from the dog, and consequently went on two medications and had to have a tetanus shot. Animal control was called, but Counsel said the state of Maryland has a “two-bite rule,” meaning that the county will not remove the pet unless it has bitten twice. The Board is addressing this issue. Management has spoken to the dog owner and has been assured that the dog will be carried in and out of the building. The bylaws and House Rules address pets and provide that a nuisance pet can be removed by the Board. 

·      Some owners are reporting high humidity.  Ms. Bobb, former Board President, pointed out that high humidity in apartments with the new fan coil units was a big problem when the new HVACs were installed in the 2014-15 timeframe. These new units were purchased directly by owners, not by the Association. Suggestion was made to identify whether apartments reporting high humidity are running the new Daiken McQuay units. If so, in accordance with the determination made previously, the issue should be resolved between the owner and the installer or the manufacturer, as it is not an ECA responsibility.

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