Summary of ECA Board Meeting November 20, 2019

Board Present: Lyle Schwartz (president), Zlatan Beca, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Elisa Siegel, Jimmy Whalen

Absent: :  Christopher Wemple

Others Present: Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton, Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer), Dan Watkins of FEA, Bill Martel of CPR

Highlights of the meeting:

The primary focus of this meeting was the ongoing garage project.

It began with a discussion of repair problems illustrated with extensive slides of concrete problems and repair procedures.

The cost has increased dramatically from the original estimate due to:

1.     Prior repairs were failing, and this was not appreciated during the estimate. Prior repair procedures not documented. But all old work was done from the bottom. Old patches used cement that was less strong than original concrete, did not bond to rebar and did not bond to original concrete. Thickness was 2 to 4 inches whereas CPR does not believe any more than 2 inches of patch material should be used. Old patches failed when concrete was hammered.

2.     Original estimates based on mostly “half depth” repairs which expose the rebar by drilling from above and refills with fresh concrete. However, old patches fell out of bottom requiring full depth repair. Concrete also delaminated from vibration of nearby work.

3.     Rebar was more corroded than anticipated. [Rebar are metal rods used to strengthen the concrete.]

4.     G4 floor proved to be in very poor condition.

Current estimate is that concrete repairs will be done by end of January 2020 and corrosion and coating treatment completed by July 2020.

Comments:

From audience: On G4, the floor gets covered with water from sump pump that spills out water. East corner by ramp shows fine cracks. Apparently, these issues are not being addressed by the CPR contract.

Lyle Schwartz: There are numerous maintenance issues that were not addressed in the past. The current board will setup a schedule for routine maintenance and try to keep up with maintenance to prevent deterioration. Sump pump needs to be investigated. Send issue to management.

Al Muller: Original time estimate was 6 months for everything. Now it is 1.5 years for concrete repairs and 6 months for coating. Obviously, something was wrong with original estimates.

Various audience members gave passionate speeches: failure to estimate is criminal, CPR and FEA should be liable. Jeremey Tucker explained that this type of work involves unknowns and the contracts specify rates for fixing problems as sound – not fixed price bid. Lyle Schwartz acknowledged the original estimates were inaccurate but added that one problem was that no one could anticipate the lack of cooperation with moving cars and the delay this would cause. Elizabeth has had to pay for towing. Owners are not reimbursing us. Also, the original estimate did not include the corrosion treatment that the Board has approved and feels necessary due to the degree of rebar corrosion found during the work.

CPR: concrete must be thoroughly cured before surface treatment so once concrete repairs are done, we move all the cars again to do the topside treatment.

8:45pm – representatives from CPR and FEA depart and Schwartz and Tucker explained decision to negotiate contract adjustment. CPR is taking losses due to the difficulties they have encountered plus an inflationary increase in costs over the unanticipated long performance period. CPR threatened to walk off the job if the Board not approve increased payment. Board members were inclined to sue for breach of contract rather than pay. However, Tucker and Chris Wemple did a careful estimate of costs which include these factors: legal costs and cost of hiring a new contractor at what would be today’s fully inflated rates. Lastly, it was not clear what kind of warranty we would have if splitting the work between contractors. Tucker and Wemple consulted the original bidders to obtain their current rates for repairs. With these prices in mind, the Board entered into negotiation with CPR. CPR compromised at a lower amount. The amount makes it about a wash whether we pay or sue. Considering the uncertainties of legal action and the protracted delays that finding, evaluating, and scheduling a different contractor would entail, the Board agreed to pay. The payment will amount to about 3.6% increase over contract cost. Exact amount is uncertain because we pay for each unit of work as it is done at the negotiated rate. Nobody is happy about it but it is what it is.

The actual Board meeting began around 9 pm.

1.     GM Mary Ann Hall’s financial report first: she read some bottom line figures from the available written report

2.     No legal report – Tucker passes

3.     GM’s management report – filter changes in progress, moving cars for phase 12A

4.     Treasurer’s report prepared by Wemple but read by Schwartz – main point: we will make a discretionary payment on the loan as planned.

5.     Committee reports: Social- Dec. 14  holiday party, Knitting group – planning a sale of knitted items, fitness group – no report today but the committee will meet with board members in December. Newsletter – deadline for content for next issue is las week of November.

No old business

No new business

Consult the Management Report ECA Action Item List for status/progress on things requiring action.

ECA Town Hall on Residential Hallway Renovation—November 14, 2019

My goal in this brief summary is to provide some highlights of the Elizabeth Condominium Association Town Hall meeting held November 14, 2019. For additional information, refer to the six-page document that went out to all residents prior to the meeting and which was used during the event which essentially was an opportunity for residents to express their comments and for the ECA Board to collect information of which they were not previously aware.

The meeting was led by ECA president Lyle Schwartz with several Board members in attendance including Zlatan Beca, Mak Dehijia, Francine Klein, and Chris Wemple. Schwartz followed the document prepared by the Hartman Design Group dated October 15, 2019, during which time the Hartman Group, the Elizabeth Condominium design committee and the ECA Board of Directors discussed the key design issues. Aspects of the project discussed included: carpet, baseboards, door thresholds, hardware for new doors, lighting fixtures, walls, crown molding, and special ceilings on designated floors that require special treatment.

In 2012, this project was budgeted at $1.5 million. It is not known at this time what labor and materials will cost. However, the baseline established in 2012 indicates that hallway renovation is a big-ticket item. It should be noted that we no longer have the original story boards that displayed sample colors and fabrics. These displays were destroyed during the flood in the West Lobby.

An unexpected cost element surfaced with sobering effect when we learned that fire and police officers cannot communicate in our building now because the signal has been blocked by recently constructed tall buildings in Bethesda. We are obligated to install an antennae on the roof and transmitters in our hallways.

The Town Hall gathering may have been the best meeting this community has ever held. The community members provided useful information in the spirit of genuine concern to make this project successful. For example, one aspect of the project which is controversial addresses whether the renovation should address hallway walls with wall covering or paint. Resident comments included the observation that what is under our current wall covering are walls with uneven surfaces that are labor intensive to repair. This means remediation will be extensive if the solution is to paint the walls.

Painted walls require constant repair and touch up given the large number of move-ins and move-outs as well as deliveries and contractors with bulky equipment. One possible method is to use a combination of wall covering and painted walls. One of our issues affecting this decision is that we are an older building with large pipes that could fail. There is no easy solution. In the long run, painted walls are expensive to keep up. Commercial grade wallpaper is more forgiving to things knocking against it. However, we need to keep a supply of such wall coverings when repairs become necessary. This is what we did with the current wall covering. The last wall coverings lasted 20 years, which is in keeping with when the next renovation should start.

The discussion about carpet surfaced a knowledgeable advisor who lives among us. A.J. Young stated that the Axminster carpet chosen for the lobby as well as the residential halls is 80% wool and will last many decades. Made mostly of wool, this carpet withstands fire better than other fibers. Given the bad flood experienced in the West Lobby, the carpet has already proven to be very durable.

Replacement of our units’ hallway doors created a little stir regarding metal versus wooden doors. One worry was about fire safety. Apparently wooden doors are made with fire safety in mind. Our current metal doors have often been made unsafe for fire protection by such actions as being adjusted for carpet and additions of other locks and hardware.

What was surprising about the Hartman list of elements was no inclusion of furniture as part of the design element. Apparently, Phyllis Hartman has indicated to the Board that she needs to determine which selections from 2016 are still available. Then alternative selections need to be priced. The Hartman Group has purchasing power that will negotiate a best price.

Schwartz said the color scheme for the hallways will be similar to the color scheme in the lobby and can be best seen in the renovated hallway adjacent to the elevators in the West Lobby. He also said selections for lighting have improved since 2016 and we will be able to take advantage of the new LED options.