Highlights of ECA Board Meeting April 28, 2021

 

Board Present: Lyle Schwartz (president), Zlatan Beca, Joe Bucherer, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Francine Klein, Elisa Siegel, Christopher Wemple

 

Others Present: Richard Springer, General Manager; Romaine Cureton, Assistant Manager (AM); Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer); Robin Manougian, John Manougian Insurance Agency

 

PRESENTATION ON OUR MASTER INSURANCE COVERAGE

The bottom line is that financial health of our Association is excellent and the only thing we need to do  to make it better is review the electrical panels (used to be called fuse boxes) in all our units and be sure that each owner upgrades to code. When we had that exceptionally bad year in 2015-2016 (excessive water damage incidents), we lost our top-rated coverage with Insurance  Co. of Greater New York (GNY). What turned around our situation at that time was the ePipe project (as led by then Board president Sharon Bobb), which Ms. Manougian said helped us move in record time (1 year) from the bottom-of-the-barrel insurance coverage to above average coverage. Since we have had 5 years without claims against our master policy we are now able to move back to the top-rated coverage of GNY. The Board decided to go with GNY and to keep our $15,000 deductible. One board member favored a $10,000 deductible. Owners will be given additional information so they can ensure their policies cover the building deductible.

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

 

            Mr.  Schwartz urged everyone to turn in their proxies to ensure we make quorum and can conduct the annual meeting on May 5.

            This is Zlatan Beca’s last board meeting. He is not running for reelection. Mr. Schwartz thanked him for his service.

            The corridor & hallway renovation is moving forward. A list of acceptable construction companies is being compiled. When demolition begins depends on vaccination levels.

 

LAWYERS REPORT

            Mr. Tucker said contract work on hallway renovation moving ahead and he briefly outlined 3 bills coming out the Maryland legislature.

—The State will require filing of condominium reserve studies every 5 years.

—Electric car charging stations: condo owners will be allowed to install charging stations in their parking spacing if it meets code. Owners pay for equipment, installation and possibly the electricity?

—Virtual meetings are officially deemed acceptable not only for emergency situations like the Covid pandemic but any time from now on.

 

NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT

            Judy Gann reported:

—The League of Women Voters ran the Meet the Candidates program with great success.

—Ten people are calling ECA members who have not submitted their proxies. The push is on to establish quorum.TURN IN YOUR PROXY IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO.

 

MANAGEMENT REPORT

            A complete copy of Mr. Springer’s Management Report is available electronically.  Here are some of the highlights:

            Elevator Update

Mr. Springer said the elevator was scheduled to be fixed last week but that didn’t happen and he didn’t expect additional information from Otis until April 30. He will issue more info via BuildingLink once he knows what the status is.

Two-way radio amplification update

Lord & Company, the selected contractor, is completing the final drawings for the project and will submit them to Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services.

 Miscellaneous:

—Emergency procedures are being worked on. Bottom line is that people with mobility issues should shelter in place and call 911 (not the front desk) to report on their situation during an emergency. There will be no list kept at front desk.

—G4 Deck: looking into possibility of just painting the floor because this would be a much lower cost then what was previously under consideration. Caveat is that paint will have to be maintained.

 —Fitness Center: awaiting recommendation from FC Committee and Covid19 Task Force to open Center possibly in June.

—BBQ Grills cannot be used on our party room terrace because Montgomery County Codes requires 50 feet distance from the building and our terrace is 42 feet deep.

Composting Is Coming to the Elizabeth!

 

On April 14, 2021, the Elizabeth Condominium Association held a town hall meeting on composting. Thomas Fazio from Compost Crew provided a brief tutorial on what composting is, its benefits, and how it can be enacted here in the Elizabeth.

 

Largely, composting is the collection of food scraps that one usually puts in the trash. It can however include used paper towels and napkins that are soiled with food residues. More information will be provided by our management on what else can be composted.

 

Food wastes like banana peels, eggshells, orange peels, etc. cause methane gas which pollutes our environment. However, compost processing yields rich natural fertilizer which is known as black gold.

 

Here are some of the benefits of composting:

—Eliminates bad odors in our trash rooms and trash shuts.

—Reduces infestation of rodents.

—Gives new value to our food dollars.

—Promotes a healthy green environment.

—Creates new jobs.

 

Look for a brochure under your door next week to explain how composting will work at the Elizabeth. The Association will pay for all composting bins and the liners that go with them.

 

Our Board Members and General Manager are enthusiastically on board with this project which was brought to their attention by our neighbor Karen Bues. I encourage you to support this important project.