Summary of ECA Board Meeting July 26, 2017

Board Present: Zlatan Beca, Patricia Batey (on telephone), Mark Day, Makarand (Mac) Dehejia, Monique Fridell, Al Muller, Connie Row

Others Present: ECA General Manager MaryAnn Hall, Jeremy Tucker (ECA legal counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer, Chtd.)

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MEETING

President’s Report

President Beca discussed selection process that resulted in appointment of Makarand (Mac) Dehejia. The Board Mac Dehejia chose from among six qualified candidates.

Beca said his Pound Table event was successful but the next event will impose a 3 minute time limit for those wishing to speak.

There will be no Board meeting in August but there will be a strategic budget planning meeting August 9. This is part of the ongoing budget outreach programs to help owners understand the financial needs of maintaining an aging building.

  

New Board Vacancy

Mark Day announced he and his wife are selling their apartment and moving to Charlottesville, VA. He said they came to the Elizabeth from a college town and they realize that small town living is what they prefer.

Beca said anyone wishing to be considered for this Board opening can submit their name to the Board. He also said he still has willing candidates from the last call.

Legal Counsel’s Report

A No Trespass order has been put in place against a constant visitor to a particular resident. This visitor has proved to be a risk to resident safety.

Financial Report

The budget meeting proceeding the July Board meeting raised questions about actual versus projected deposits to the  Operating Contingency Reserve Fund. A written explanation was provided by auditor Jeremy Powell saying that our finances are lawfully being carried out.

General Manager’s Report

Fire and elevator inspections were carried out successfully such that these systems are operating well within the mandates of County codes.

The new cleaning contractor after three months has awarded raises to our onsite staff. The General Manager reminded the Board and Association attendees that the Association saved over $50,000 by hiring the Milenkos Cleaning.

Security cameras have been installed in the pool area with no reports of problems there so far.

Garage floor cleaning was completed.

The exercise bike which has been sporadically working in our exercise facility cannot be repaired because there are no available replacement parts.

New Business

The General Manager asked for approval to spend $5000 on new furniture for the management office. The furniture would better serve staff (getting files off the floor and off the top of file cabinets as well as make the office look more professional. There are a lot of prospective buyers coming to the management office since there are over 16 apartments for sale in the building. The Board unanimously approved this expenditure but not without questioning whether the expenditure could wait.

Comments from the Floor

Noise problem in detailed in one residential unit. Beca requested being called at any hour to access the noise level which hasn’t been acted on by unit owner.

Pound the Table: ECA President Lends an Ear

On July 23, 2017, ECA Board President Zlatan Beca invited members of the Association to a free-for-all gripe session.  He had hoped by naming the event “Pound the Table” that he would attract some younger and newer residents living at the Elizabeth.

Nope. Same folks who attend such events, including the monthly board meetings, showed up and, without any rules stated, proceeded to beat dead horses by mindlessly repeating their complaints as if no one else had not already discussed their topics of choice. Additionally, some people used the time as if it were a therapy session wandering aimlessly from one thought to the next.

After running out of patience, I left after 45 minutes. Others, including a couple of Board directors, had already started slipping away. Among the topics addressed:

—Discontent with the neighborhood developer's briefing and how they are offering nothing of interest to Friendship Heights.

—Cigarette smoke has been detected wafting into the pool area through the open doors.

—Motorists continue to park in the circular driveway.

[Z said action is being taken soon to paint the curb yellow and to line up towing.]

—EPipe put us in debt.

[No one mentioned that the Association was going to lose our insurance if such an action had not been taken.]

—The Association needs options for income to erase debt and continue to build our reserve fund. Coupled with this were gripes about the large condo fee increases. Some people said they prefer an assessment but no one said they would work on the bylaws that keep us from successfully imposing an assessment.

—The community at the Elizabeth needs an attitude adjustment.

[Note: while I was present, most people were polite and appropriately behaved.]

—People are leaving carts that belong at the front door of the lobby on their floors without regard to returning them to their proper station.

—Owners are failing to clean up after their dogs.

—Hallways are a disgrace and are keeping our property values down.

[There are 16 apartments currently on the market and about 1/3, according to Z, maybe people who can’t stand the bad behavior of our community members.]

—The swimming pool has seen better days.

TIME TO REPLACE YOUR OLD HVACs

The reason I came to the meeting (but I never had a chance to speak) was to urge owners who have not updated their HVAC systems to give D&A their business. After twice rejecting contracts with Quality Air for replacement of my heating and cooling units, I was pleased by D&A’s service and price.

I also wanted to commend our Engineering team—Chief Engineer Ricardo Castro, Hollis Alleyne and Marcel Straker. For over 6 weeks, I had a leak in my apartment during the high humidity periods we have been getting this summer. This problem also happened in my apartment about two years ago and was never resolved. This time Marcel suggested trying dye to trace the water’s path. The dye helped Hollis find broken water run off lines under an old HVAC system two floors above me.

Ricardo said if folks would replace their old HVAC systems, we would suffer fewer problems with leaking related to condensate lines and the old water pans and hoses under those old HVACs.