URGENT: Upcoming Board Decision Will Affect You!

 

On September 26, 2023, I spoke with our General Manager Lee Ann Weir to understand what is involved in the Maintenance Contract that the Board will vote on Wednesday evening, September 27.   Lee Ann explained the following:

 

·      The contract is slated for a company named Tolin.  Tolin would find and interview candidates for the engineering positions for our building. (This means the new engineers would be on contract with Tolin -- not employees of The Elizabeth. It also means that once Barry Blanton leaves, we would lose our institutional memory.)

 

·       The engineers most likely would NOT live in The Elizabeth.  (This probably means that they would be here Monday through Friday during normal working hours, but be on call evenings, weekends and holidays.)

With so many problems involving water, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, building structure, and other issues that are part of an aging building, live-on Engineers are critical, and the Chief Engineer is perhaps our most critical position.  Please consider this:

·      Water damage, not fire, is the #1 cause of high insurance claims in condominiums.  In emergencies, response-time is critical to prevent serious damage.

·      Outside contractors mean delays in attending to critical situations. If water is pouring into an apartment, every second counts. In 30 minutes, a flood on a higher floor can wreak havoc, affecting neighboring units on the same floor and on the floors below, including the common areas. 

·      Such water damage can easily result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance claims, including loss of insurance, as The Elizabeth experienced a few years ago.

·      If contract engineers are only here Mon-Fri, what happens in the evenings, on weekend, and holidays when a flood occurs? 

o   Even assuming they will respond to calls, and they can get here in 30 minutes, how much water damage will be done in 30 minutes? 

o   How many of our residents know where the water turn-offs are in their unit? 

o   Even if we explain where the cut-offs are, how many are able to get down on their hands and knees to turn off the water?
 

o   Will those with arthritic or weak hands be able to turn the knobs?

o   What about flooding that originates in an apartment whose owners are away?

 It is important to point out that not only does this position require a license, it requires a Class I Stationary Engineer License because of the size of our largest chiller. Barry Blanton has a Class I license. Breach of these requirements can result in fines and jail time. (This requirement cannot be waived.)  Refer to FAQs on Maryland Department of Labor website at https://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/stateng/statenggenlfaqs.shtml (Questions 6, 7, and 8) 

 

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