Board Present: Lyle Schwartz (president), Zlatan Beca, Joe Bucherer, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Francine Klein, Elisa Siegel, Christopher Wemple
Others Present: Richard Spring, General Manager, Romaine Cureton, Assistant Manager (AM) Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer)
President's Report
Phyllis Hartman is preparing storyboards on the hallway renovation project for a zoom town hall meeting for the residents. The actual work not likely to start until the end of 2021.
Management Report
Richard Springer is proving himself to be a proactive, efficient, can-do manager. What follows I italics comes from his first management report:
Garage Status Report
Concrete Protection and Restoration (CPR) submitted their final payment application to Facility Engineering Associates (FEA) for certification and approval on January 7, 2021. In turn, FEA certified and forwarded the payment application to The Elizabeth.
After touring the garage, I reached out to CPR to advise them of materials left on site that needed to be retrieved prior to releasing final payment. The materials were picked up on January 19, 2021 and the payment application was released for payment.
The following is a summary of the costs associated with the Garage Project.
|
Company |
Amount |
|
Facility Engineering Associates |
$140,371.76 |
|
CPR Permits & and Expediting Services |
$44,253.16 |
|
Concrete Protection and Restoration |
$1,800,695.52 |
|
Environmental Consulting Services |
$30,850.00 |
|
Elizabeth Arcade Parking |
$25,200.00 |
|
Guzman Towing |
$1,260.00 |
|
Total |
$2,042,630.44 |
I met with an engineer from Wiss Janney Elstner (WJE) to walk the G4 level of the garage to explore the option of coating the floor with a product similar in appearance to the G1 – G3 levels.
WJE will submit a proposal to develop contract documents that will define the project to include:
· Document Review and Project Preparation
· Visual Survey
· Repair Documents
· Bidding and Procurement Assistance
· Construction Period Services
It is anticipated that this will be presented to the Board for consideration at February’s meeting.
[N.B. I urge you to pay attention to this possible NEW Garage Project, which would be expensive and would only provide aesthetic value. Whatever grinding of concrete will provide noise and dust. Nothing has been decided and, by the way, those people whose cars were damaged during the last garage project will not be getting compensation.]
Two- Way Radio Amplification System Update
The Elizabeth was cited by Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting Services for inadequate coverage for emergency responder radio coverage on April 11, 2019.
We have been accepting proposals to install a two-way radio amplification system to comply with the county’s requirement regarding radio coverage for emergency responders.
A recent article in Bethesda Magazine prompted the below email to Assistant Chief Radcliffe with the fire department.
Chief Radcliffe,
I recently took over the General Manager’s position at The Elizabeth Condominium in Chevy Chase. The Elizabeth was issued a Notice of Violation on April 11, 2019 by Inspector Brian Barnes for inadequate radio coverage for emergency responders.
We have received proposals for the installation of an 800MHz two-way radio amplification system at a cost of approximately $180,000. Recently, I had one of the vendors install a mockup on one floor for our Board of Directors to view prior to moving forward with the selection of a vendor.
My purpose for writing to you is the recent announcement by Montgomery County to switch to a new emergency communication system that will double the number of towers thereby “increasing the coverage area to 98.8% of the county, including in buildings and other hard-to-reach areas.” (The quote is taken from the December 10, 2020 Bethesda Magazine article found at https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/police-fire/after-major-outages-montgomery-county-ready-to-switch-to-new-emergency-communication-system/?utm_source=Bethesda+Magazine+%7C+Bethesda+Beat&utm_campaign=36a26250d6-Beat-12.11.20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1bbe9df5d9-36a26250d6-104435883&mc_cid=36a26250d6&mc_eid=d6d9486f9d
My hope is that the new communication system will negate the need for us to install the amplification system.
The following is the response to my email:
Mr. Springer,
I am forwarding your email to Rick Merck from Permitting Services. He is the manager who oversees the inspection and enforcement of the Fire Safety Code, and is better suited to answer your question. I will tell you from an operational standpoint that even though the new radio system has much better coverage, we still have problems with reception and transmissions in large buildings - no matter how many radio towers we build.
I waited a week to follow up with Mr. Merck but have not received a response as of January 22, 2021. I will provide more information at the meeting should I receive a response.
The proposed installation of towers in the future does not eliminate the requirement for emergency responder radio coverage in the Elizabeth Condominiums. Now that we are quickly approaching a year since the notice of violation was originally written, when do you suspect you will be submitting a permit application with plans for review so that we can close out the violation?
Anticipating that we will be required to install the radio amplification system, I asked one of the bidders, Lord & Co., to install a typical mockup on the 8th floor in stairwell C in the East Tower.
The sample antenna that will be mounted to the corridor ceiling just outside the fire exit door is available for view in my office.
I also met with Brian Barnes who issued the notice of violation and brought him up to date on our progress. He asked that I let him know when I hear back from Mr. Merck. He did let me know that several buildings were issued the same violation notice, but only one property has installed the amplification system.
For now, we are in a holding pattern until we hear back from Mr. Merck.
Roof Repairs Update
A total of eight leaks originating from the roofs and canopy were addressed in September by D & D Roofing and Waterproofing. A visual inspection of the roof indicated that no additional repairs were required.
During the development of the Reserve Study, Facility Engineering Associates was informed by management that the intent was to replace the West Tower roof in 2021. The balance of the roofs, East Tower and lower, are scheduled to be replaced in 2023.
Based on the recent repairs and assessment of the West Tower roof, we will consolidate the replacement of the three roofs to occur in 2023. The combined anticipated cost is $2,053,332.
The Reserve Study also calls for the main entrance canopy system (skylight and roof membrane) and the Arcade canopy to be replaced in 2021 at an anticipated cost of $76,875 and $20,500, respectively.
These two projects warrant further discussion as this would also be the most opportune time to remove or redesign the canopies.
Elevator Repairs Update
The Board contracted with an elevator consultant, Michael Blades and Associates, to assess the condition of the six elevators in advance of the Partial Elevator Modernization project scheduled to occur in 2022 at an anticipated cost of $609,363.
The assessment confirmed that the project could occur as scheduled although replacement parts are becoming more difficult to locate as the original manufacturer is no longer in business.
The assessment also revealed issues with the service contract provider’s performance. A total of eight deficiencies were noted and addressed with Otis Elevator Company.
A second inspection was conducted on January 15 followed by a meeting with representatives from Otis. Several items were not addressed to the satisfaction of the elevator consultant and
the Otis service manager was directed to take ownership of the remaining issues and report back on the progress.
In fairness to the service manager, he had been out recovering from a partial ankle replacement and showed up in an orthopedic walking boot.
I will continue to report on the progress at future Board meetings.
Mr. Springer has also proactively listed all our contract services and I quote from his Management Report:
Bidding Process for Service Contracts
The Elizabeth has service contracts for the following:
· Concierge Services
· Elevators
· Emergency Generator
· Financial Management
· Gym Equipment
· HVAC Maintenance—GM is looking into this.
· Housekeeping
· Landscaping
· Pest Control
· Snow Removal
· Swimming Pool
· Trash Removal
· Uniforms
· Water Treatment
I will be preparing a chart to include the current vendors, contract price and terms for the Board to review to determine which contracts will require Board approval when up for renewal.
All contracts will be competitively shopped to insure we are receiving the best service for the lowest cost.
No action is required by the Board at this time.
Approve Contract for Composting Service
Postponed to February Board meeting.
