Board Present: Lyle Schwartz (president), Zlatan Beca, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Francine Klein, Elisa Siegel, Christopher Wemple
Board Absent: Jimmy Whalen
Others Present: General Manager MaryAnn Hall(GM), Romaine Cureton, Assistant Manager (AM) Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer)
Meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM
President's Report:
—Long time resident Mary Catherine Curran died from cancer on August 23, 2020.
—Commercial units 101, 102, 103 (Montage) had police and FBI removing things from their units as our meeting was in progress. No further information was available.
—October 7 is the new date for our annual meeting (postponed originally from early May to September due to coronavirus) because the company with electronic counting fell through. Owners are asked to be sure to turn in their proxies to ensure 51% participation. There is a monetary cost if the Association fails to get 51% participation and is forced to reconstitute the meeting at a later time.
—Gates Hudson is transitioning its financial software and will not be processing any of transactions until after October 7.
—Accounting for the detailed costs of the garage project will be presented at the next board meeting.
—While there are still details on a checklist being worked on, the garage project is completed BUT some consideration is being given to an additional four-week project to treat and paint the floor of the G4 level. Additionally work is being done to repair the ceiling at the entrance of G1.
Important Dates:
-October 7 at 5 pm deadline for turning in Proxy Ballot to ECA Management Office
-October 7 at 7:30 pm Annual Meeting on Zoom
General Manager's Report
Boiler Blowout:
—For 19 hours (September 20-21), residents were without water (including inability to flush toilets) and without heat. The noise of an expansion coupler could be heard in the lobby and the lower floors of the West Tower. According to the GM, NAC was called to the site that night but they failed to fix the problem because they did not have access to the needed parts. The next day couplers on both boilers were replaced to avoid this problem happening again. Travelers’ Insurance agents have inspected the boilers and reported, as is required to Montgomery County, that all meets standards. Communication about this extremely serious problem (since residents have no options to go elsewhere during the pandemic) was delivered late from the General Manager whose job description details 24/7 duties.
Garage Project:
—The expected completion of the final checklist, including the ceiling repair over the incoming G-1 garage, is October 9. However, more extensive repairs were identified September 23, requiring that scaffolding be built to reach these newly identified problems. (Sounds like this effort will take longer to repair.)
—The floor of G4 is now being considered for additional concrete crack repairs, smoothing of the floor and application of an epoxy coating. Due to pending cold weather this project would be put on hold until the spring. One proposal put this work at $231,000.
—This news raises several questions, especially given the cost. Were the cracks in the G4 there when the original garage project was evaluated for cost? If so, why weren’t these cracks repaired already? Since the industry doesn’t recommend treating the foundation floor, what advantages besides aesthetics are there to preparing the floor and then treating it with an epoxy coating? Does this epoxy coating hold up since it is the foundation floor? There must be some reasons why the industry doesn’t recommend doing this.
Pool Access:
—Changes to how reservations will be handled were detailed in distributed documents.
—One disturbing aspect of the changes was how frequently the pool area would be disinfected (down from cleaning before each new set of users entered the pool to twice a day).
—Another idea being considered is bringing back water aerobics classes.
—Here are some things to consider for the upcoming colder months: Health experts are now telling us that six feet distance is probably not enough given that tiny particles known as aerosols linger in the air in the same way as tobacco smoke. People who participate in a water aerobics class would be more likely than swimmers to spread aerosols. Wearing masks is impractical given the possibility that the masks will get wet. Additionally, the air circulation in our pool area is not particularly good (no cross ventilation). We haven’t had Coronavirus cases here in the Elizabeth that we know of and we should keep it that way.
Elevators:
Inspections have been done and elevators safety certified.
Roof Replacement:
This is on hold for three years. One thing to know is that we cannot use the same materials we currently have which involves some kind of stone.
Front Door Canopy:
The leaks have been repaired.
Corridor Renovations:
Hallway assessment will begin and residents need to remove anything they have been leaving outside their doors such as carts, strollers, and shoes.
Lobby Climate Control:
This project is on hold due to Coronavirus.
Emergency Radio Antennas:
The GM received additional information from two bidders and will be forwarding the compiled data to the Board.
MOTIONS
—Board voted unanimously go forward with an additional loan paydown in mid-October after Gates Hudson has made its transition to a new financial system.
—Board approved new pool rules.
Meeting was adjourned after 9 PM.
