Summary of ECA Board Meeting January 27, 2015

Board Present: Steven Schattman, Sharon Bobb, Patricia Batey, John McNerney, Alfred Muller, Jim Vuko

Absent: Jim Jones

Others Present: ECA General Manager Terry Lee, Legum & Norman Regional Manager James Santos, and Ken Kosteva, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (he answered questions from audience.)

Highlights of the Meeting

Energy tax credits were renewed but we did not prepare our certification, according to ECA Treasurer John McNerney. Jim Santos answered this and said it would have cost more than we could have saved to complete certification. Our windows are not energy star rated but they exceed the star rating standards.

Balcony demolition on the 6^th tier exceeded noise levels experienced with other tiers. Demolition continues in 4^th and 6^th tiers but these are the last tiers.

Window fasteners issue requiring large expense.  For some months, the  outside building renovation team has been aware of window fasteners (nails) that may be weathering badly. Terry Lee presented a change order to the Board without the Board having been informed about this problem at the time the issue surfaced. The Board tabled decision on this issue to allow adequate time to research the problem.

Approval and funding to write documentation related to environmental safety granted.

Quality Air scheduling of HVAC replacement has been disrupted because shutting down water in a tier has been curtailed due to the cold weather. They are  working on a new schedule.

A $100,000 insurance claim was filed for the recent sewage backup problems.

No candidate has been vetted for assistant engineer. The hope is to identify a qualified military veteran.

BuildingLInk presence in lobby. A large screen will be mounted in the mail corridor as an aid for residents to determine whether they have any packages at the front desk. While a public discussion was held at the Design Committee meeting, the decision for where the screen would be placed was mostly determined by Board members who also were not interested in poling ECA residents relative to the use of BuidlingLink. At this stage, BuildLink will provide good administrative support for accurate package delivery. It is unclear how useful the BuildingLink screen mounted in the mail corridor will be since there is no immediate access to the front desk for package pickup.

Participation Committee is kicking off a campaign to update the ECA Bylaws starting with the initiate to lower the number of votes required to change ECA bylaws. Volunteers are needed. Contact Jim Vuko, Jackie Lapidus, or Jean Umiker-Sebeok.

Social Committee – is planning a meet and greet for new residents some time in late February. In April the plan is for wine tasting party, similar to the one held last year.

Making a Difference Committee—will collect professional clothing to help financially disadvantage to get jobs.

Noise from water pump continues. Resident asked for public assess to Mendoza. The problem is over one year running.

Issue of second-hand smoke discussed. Suggestions included making the Elizabeth a smoke-free building but grandfathering in current smokers.

Summary of ECA Board Meeting November 18, 2014

Board Present: Steven Schattman, Sharon Bobb, Patricia Batey, Jim Jones, John McNerney, Alfred Muller, Jim Vuko

Others Present: ECA General Manager Terry Lee, Legum & Norman Regional Manager James Santos, representatives from Quality Air & consultant on asbestos abatement

Highlights of the Meeting

HVAC

New problem: asbestos in the drywall compound. To correct this problem before in wall HVAC can be installed, test needs to be conducted ($25). If there is asbestos (high likelihood there is), the area will have to be contained and repaired. This will cost about $200-$300 per standing unit and take a day’s time.

Many people buying HVAC units from Quality Air expressed discontent with the color of the grills on their in wall units (brushed aluminum). At first QA said they could do nothing to change the product but further discussion yielded effort on part of QA to look into correcting the issue.

It was suggested that some HVACs could have thermostats and valves replaced to extend the life of the existing HVAC. Owners need to contact company of their choice to evaluate their HVAC. Quality Air is one possible company for the work.

Question brought up about the quality of air filter used in the HVAC. QA said they use the highest quality (Merv 8)

WATER PUMP NOISE: Expectation is noise from water pump will be fixed by installation of new holding tanks.

Board passed motion to change bylaw majority vote from 75% to 66.66%. Volunteers needed to help with this effort.

Building Links  system suppose to aid in package delivery process but not in time for the full holiday package load at front desk. Expect system up in mid December.

Hartman Design contract just signed.

Parking regulations enforcement still an issue.

Social Committee –Holiday party December 14 (7-9 pm)

Making a Difference—successful hat and scarf sale (almost $800 received in sales) to fund Holiday box filling for homeless.

Dec 6 – wrap and stuff boxes for contribution to homeless.

Summary HIghlights of ECA Board Meeting October 28, 2014

Board Present: Steven Schattman, Sharon Bobb, Patricia Batey, Jim Jones, John McNerney, Alfred Muller, Jim Vuko

Others Present: ECA General Manager Terry Lee, Legum & Norman Regional Manager JamesSantos

President’s Report:

We lost our neighbor Maurice Trebach. He did the original research on our window project. He was a board member and a Village council member.

Complaints about the windows. Pat Batey shadows the contractors. Management is overseeing them but also the building. Major cause of the complaints is the building itself. A lot of corners were cut and some of that original shoddy work is coming to light now.

Treasurer:

Energy tax credits expired in 2013 and are not available at this time. If Congress acts on this, the Association will be notified.

Management Report:

Problem with window installation in Tier 11: Muller suggests that if any aesthetic changes are to be made in the building renovation projects, the entire Board should decide them. Tier 11 had problems on lower levels. Muller is asking that door handles be treated as they were originally. It affects furniture. In this case, there will be 2 months to reorder the doors that did not fit since no measurements was taken on the lower floors of tier 11. Batey said putting all the door handles on same side gave us a discount. Santos will investigate.

Noise from water pump now being discussed with Mendoza. Lee can hear the noise at the lobby level as well as certain occupants of floor 3.

Building Links (computer system) loading Association member info. Will be available first to general managers to test.

Parking regulations enforcement still an issue.

Design Committee—east hallway discussion available as minutes in management office. Committee wants to purchase a bench for Library area. Recommend that Hartman proposal be accepted.

Making a Difference—big success for linen collection.

Nov 13 & 14 – handmade hats/scarves sale and show

Nov 21—prebox party. Kids decorate the boxes.

Dec 6 – wrap and stuff boxes for contribution to homeless.

New Business:

Hartman Design requested an addendum to the contract. No extra money. Muller and Bobb urge proceeding since we have good oversight with Peg Downeys head of the Design Committee. Jim Santos praises Phyllis Hartman and that certainly she will keep to the budget she is handed. She is a professional. Motion passes with 5 in favor, 1 opposed, 1 abstention.

Keylink system for Key Control—

Need better key control. This motion was defeated earlier. Schattman not convinced this is best answer. Batey says she has looked at other system and others are more expensive and do the same the thing. Schattman worried that keylink does not track who goes into an apartment. Muller says this is not in the budget. It is $13K. Muller says this is out of order according to Robert’s Rules. Motion passes 6 to 1.

Assistant Engineer to live in house.

Controversial – many association members want the assistant engineer to be an ECA hire. Santos says we need a 21^st century approach where info is shared. We do not want a Jimmy Keating who had institutional memory. Motion passes 4 to 3.

Summary of ECA Board Meeting September 23, 2014

Board Present: Steven Schattman, Patricia Batey, Sharon Bobb, Jim Jones, McNerney, Dr. Alfred Muller, John McNerney, Jim Vuko

Others Present: ECA General Manager Terrence Lee, Legum & Norman Regional Manager James Santos, ECA legal counsel Jason Fisher, Wiss-Janey Ken Kosteva

These are high-level items that were addressed. 

Front Desk Shakeup

ECA lawyer Jason Fisher was on hand to help answer questions about the recent replacement of ECA staff who worked at the front desk with a concierge service. ECA president Steve Schattman took responsibility for a poorly worded letter that went out to ECA residents in what seemed to be a sudden shakeup. Comments from Association members indicated that the ECA front desk staff had been primed as early as last spring when the last ECA board was considering such a change. Mostly Association members were upset about how the ECA front desk staff were handled. Fisher assured those present that the action was within the scope of the law. The change came about for primarily two reasons—an opportunity for cost savings and a way to get better service, especially continuous coverage, at the front desk.

Ongoing Building Refurbishment

Window replacement has advanced to the 08 tier. The 07 tier experienced a large learning curve and some of the upper floor apartments had issues with how the windows fit. Measure have been undertaken to correct problems. One of the problems noted is that prep advice in advance of window replacement is not always given enough time.

Water Pump Noise

Despite Washington Suburban Sanitary Company's completion of water main replacement/upgrade, the new ECA water pumps are still causing noise and water pressure problems for a couple of ECA units.

Accounting Firm

The same firm that delivered late reports was rehired for the new ECA fiscal year.

New ECA Chief Engineer

Keith Huey, the new ECA Chief Engineer, was introduced and said a few words.