Dear Elizabethans,

There is a budget meeting today. It will be online:

B&F meeting, Mon. 3/23 at 6:30 pm

 Conference dial-in number: 301-907-2801
 Conference ID: 5
Conference password:   305018





The same call-in info will work for the Monthly Board meeting at 7:30 pm on Wednesday  3/25.


Hopefully, the Management Office will get BuildingLink updated with this info.


Today I saw that there were two trucks working on cleaning our sewers today. At least that is what I am guessing after reading what was written on the truck seen on the right. The other truck was passing a hose down an open manhole.

 Let me know if you have issues you want to discuss, particularly as they concern our well being here at the Elizabeth. Email me at 
karrenalenier  @  gmail.com.
      

Summary of ECA Board Meeting February 26, 2020

Board Present: Lyle Schwartz (president), Zlatan Beca, Elisa Siegel, Christopher Wemple

Absent: :  Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Jimmy Whalen

Others Present: General Manager MaryAnn Hall, Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton, Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer)

Highlights of the meeting:

President’s Report:

—Garage Project: Coating and painting of the garage floor began and initially there were noxious odors escaping up the elevator shaft.

—Corridor Renovation: Hartman Group provided updated estimates which were higher than the original bid (in approximately 2012) but within the expected current day target and our capital reserves can cover the cost. 

—Antennae and receivers for fire and police communication: The cost for this project is $200,000. Once the contract is approved, it will take one to two months to complete.

—Annual Meeting; set for May 6. The Election Committee includes Connie Row, Deb Ryan, Linda Kuzmak, Bhaskaran Balakrishnan, and Jim Jones. The call for nominations will go out March 4. Deadline for board nominations is April 6. Meet the Candidates is April 22.

Legal Report:

—There are two bills pending in the Maryland General Assembly that may increase our personal expenses. The first bill would double unit owner responsibility for the condominium’s insurance deductible when damage to components of the condominium originates from a unit.  Currently owners are responsible for the first $5,000, but this bill will make owners responsible for the first $10,000. The second bill would apply a 5% sales tax to services, e.g., legal, audit, insurance, etc. This tax would be used to pay for Maryland State education expenses.

—Expect a letter detailing what can be held in storage.

Committee Reports:

Storage Committee: The plan is to clear out the storage room in steps. First, hazardous materials.  Next, furniture and carpets will be removed from storage. Layo Fabunmi said, “The Committee appreciates ideas that have been received on various approaches that can move the project forward. Ideas are always welcomed.”

 Financial Report:

Jeremy Powell, our auditor with The Goldklang Group, was expected to make a presentation on the draft audit, but unfortunately fell ill. The Board plans to reschedule his appearance.

The Reserve Study is expected the end of the first week in March.

Management Report:

(You can request a copy from the Management Office to get more details.)

Garage Project:

The next phase has begun, i.e., coating and painting the garage. Cars will have to be moved and each segment of the painting will take two weeks.

FHA Recertification: The Elizabeth is approved for a three-year recertification.

Pool Renovation:

The General Manager reported completion of the pool renovation that included resurfacing and coating of the pool floor, replacement of some ceiling tiles, and the acquisition of new furniture.

Regular users of the pool complained that the area under the steps that project into the shallow end of the pool was not treated at all and appears black. They also said that things collect under these stairs and that the stairs need refurbishing.

Additionally, it is unclear why leaking problems that emanate from the 17^th and 18^th floor washing machines cannot be fixed. Instead the General Manager said she was ordering mold and mildew resistant tiles.

While the new pool furniture looks nice, complaints were stated about the instability of the tables and how the furniture was lightweight and not likely to last long.

In response to questions about the new furniture, Jim Jones said that he and the General Manager selected the new furniture. 

Director Francine Klein has been tapped to represent the Board on the next efforts related to the pool renovation, e.g., selection of a mural and paint colors for the pool area.

Engineering Emergency Services:

The concierge will be provided a monthly schedule of which engineer is on call.  The Association purchased a cell phone for use by the engineer on call.  He will be expected to respond to all resident calls within 15 minutes. 

Crack above G-1 Garage Entrance: Repair of the drywall, stucco and pipe involved in this situation which has been noted months ago will not get repaired until CPR (contractor working on the garage project) removes their equipment that is located in the driveway. Scaffolding is required to make the repair. The crack is getting larger but it was not stated when the CPR equipment will be moved or who has determined whether there is a safety issue in waiting.

Motions: The following motions were approved with unanimous votes.

—Prepayment of $150,000 on loan

—3-year pool contract renewal for $50,496 per year

—Metal maintenance with Odyssey Restoration for 8,580 yearly

—Stone maintenance with Odyssey Restoration for 10.920 yearly

Note: Odyssey Restoration was the contractor who originally maintained our floors and kept them in beautiful shape. They will do marble maintenance monthly, including honing and polishing, and will restore the grout? as well as train our cleaners for how to effectively clean the floors on a regular basis.

Community Report:

There is some kind of parcel redevelopment project brewing where Brooks Brothers and the Marriott are located.

Comments from the Floor:

Ann Kasprzyk, a resident who uses the pool daily, provided a list of concerns about the recent pool renovation and furniture acquisition. She had contacted the Board president and the General Manager and stated that her questions were not answered. Also, she expressed that her concerns about the cleanliness of the pool (given the deplorable state of the steps and the lack of attention to floor under these steps) and the safety issues regarding the lightweight furniture were not adequately addressed. (Some of these issues were addressed above in the management report.)

An addendum to the pool staircase: Ann & Daniel Kasprzyk have filed this maintenance request:

Request Description: The top step in the pool, (step not the ladders) is loose. It is dangerous. Going down the steps the left side (water side) is not attached to anything. It is dangerous, because only the other side is attached. The plank somehow has shifted and it is about an inch away from the bolts The plank moves when someone steps on it. It has been this way since the pool was worked on but this morning the plank moves more. Someone can fall, or the plank could come off completely (I guess) when someone steps on it. I spoke to the life guard to warn swimmers as well as call the concierge’s desk to report it.

Submitted by: Daniel Kasprzyk - Kasprzyk on 3/7/20 12:44 PM

The Pool Renovation

The Elizabeth indoor pool is one of the assets that makes this condominium unique and, for some, why they buy here. We just had renovations done there and everything should be now up to standards.

It’s time to have a look for yourself.

The new pool furniture is lightweight construction—both frame and mesh covering—and will not last. Is there any kind of warranty? Did the purchase of this furniture go through the Design Committee for quality control? Does the Board understand the value of having a Design Committee investigate such purchases? Did the entire Board approve this purchase? How much did it cost?

Some ceiling tiles have been replaced but the new tiles do not match the old tiles. This is nothing more than an unacceptable patch job. Some of the lattice-work that hold the tiles looks mangled. What about the rusted pipe that isn’t covered over and the holes in the wall near the pipe? In order to replace all the ceiling tiles, the pool needs to be drained.

Once the pool resurfacing occurred, the pool had to be filled immediately to cure the job. This goes hand-in-glove with the first announcement that the pool would reopen February 10. Management should have known that once the pool was resurfaced, it would require a curing period which is why the pool didn’t open until February 15.

The view from the front windows of the pool also reveals the driveway overhang is in sad need of repair and painting. While this area that needs fixing is not part of the pool renovation project, someone coming in to look over the property for purchase would see this area from the pool deck and certainly think that the property is run down. 

Prices for our units continue to decline. This is a crisis. We need the Board to act to ensure the aesthetics and maintenance of the building are a priority.

Summary of ECA Board Meeting January 22, 2020

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

Absent: :  Jimmy Whalen

Others Present: General Manager MaryAnn Hall, Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton, Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer)

Highlights of the meeting:

President’s Report:

—Garage Project: Latest projection is that jackhammering ends February 7 but painting will go through the summer and cars will have to be moved. There was an incident with unauthorized painting in the garage, which damaged several cars. CPR is taking full responsibility.

—Corridor Renovation: Hartman Group has put the project back on track since it was interrupted in 2012. The Board is waiting for additional information from the Hartman Group. Further discussion will occur at the February meeting. It was announced that the project cannot go forward until CPR (of garage project) leaves the building.  

—Roof resurfacing: Last time this was done was over 16 years ago and now needs to be undertaken.

—Elevators: Are ok as is until 2022.

—Next Five Years: There is a need to update FEA Reserve Study.

—Annual Meeting; set for May 6. The Nomination Committee will be announced in February. People should start thinking about running for the Board.

Management Report:

(You can request a copy from the Management Office to get more details.)

Garage Project: Three dates to note:

2/7    Jackhammering ends

2/10  Painting begins

7/22  Projected completion of total project

FHA Recertification: The Elizabeth is up for its three-year recertification. The rules have changed and additional information is required including our legally filed Amendment on No Smoking.

Pool Renovation: Note these dates:

1/27   Pool closes for substantial repairs.

2/6     Pool reopens at usual Thursday schedule

Condo Checks:

The Elizabeth’s Union Bank has been experiencing processing issues and that has delayed condo fee payments from some owners. Contact Management Office if you are charged a late fee erroneously and the GM will reverse the fee.

Movement of Management Box:

Without  approval of the Board or the Design Committee, the General Manager unilaterally decided to move the Management box from the Business Center (where house copier is located) to the wall outside the Management Office. Apparently, people were leaving cash and checks at the concierge desk, and the rationale was that relocating the box was the appropriate solution to that problem. The purpose as stated by the GM is to better accommodate checks that have been dropped at the Concierge desk and then misfiled. 

The question then arises: why was the location of the box identified as the cause of the problem? The problem could have been solved simply and without cost to the Association by taking two steps:  (1) telling the concierge not to accept checks or cash, but rather to refer people to the box in the Business Center or the management office; (2) for management to send a communication on BuildingLink and by memorandum to all owners/residents not to leave cash or checks at concierge but instead to either mail checks in; take cash and checks to the management office; or leave them in the box in the Business Center.

Acquisition of Radio Antenna:

The Fire Marshal has cited the Elizabeth for poor emergency responder radio coverage within the building. The problem relates to new high-rise buildings causing signal interference according to the Fire Marshall. The cost of equipment and installation which affects every floor of both towers and the garage is between $188,000-$250,000. The problem is serious. Nonetheless, management or the Board should check with other Friendship Heights buildings to see if they are experiencing the same problems.

Engineering Emergency Services:

The General Manager reported: there has always been a list at the concierge desk limiting after hours emergency services, saying that the list was at the desk when she arrived.  She claimed to be following Elizabeth policy and that it was standard practice at all the condos.

All of the GM’s claims were refuted either immediately or during the open comment period from the floor. Sharon Bobb, a past president of the Board, offered background on what materials and training MaryAnn Hall was given when she arrived here, including instructions that all after-hours emergency calls are immediately passed through to the on-call engineer. This has always been the policy and practice at the Elizabeth.  Other residents who spoke confirmed her comments. The bottom line is that if the GM found such a list at the concierge desk when she arrived, she should have immediately alerted the Board and pulled the list.  Only the Board makes policy, and all House Rules must be circulated among the residents for a 30-day comment period, after which time they are discussed at an open Board meeting and voted on by the Board.

Committee Reports:

Fitness Center: Joe Bucherer provided a detailed report on what changes and suggestions are being made in the Fitness Center to improve the use of the space and the equipment. Painting within the Center will be done at the same time as the pool painting is done.

Storage Committee: Layo Fabunmi stated that the committee has been frustrated in their attempts to make progress. The Committee had a meeting with the General Manager five months ago.  Action required of the GM was to obtain legal approval of a letter she was to  send out to the owners/ residents on actions the Committee would be taking. The first of such action was to remove all flammable material from the storage. If the GM sent such a letter to the attorney, why didn’t she follow up with him when there was no response? In the meeting, our legal counsel said he received no such letter. The Committee was also angry that the GM took credit in the Action Item List for work done by the Committee.

Community Report:

Al Muller provided an unofficial update on the closing of our Giant Store and the possibility that Amazon might open some kind of lower cost grocery store other than Whole Foods. He said there is still in effect a 40-year agreement with Chevy Chase Land Development Company that requires a grocery store in that location and that some kind of transportation to such a grocery store in the interim is their obligation as was done in the late 1990s when that entire shopping center was undergoing renovation. We might need to check with the Friendship Heights Village Center to find out if there is transportation, possibly on the weekends, available now.

Comments from the Floor:

Engineering Emergency Services: (Highlights)

—Peg Downey clarified that she was specific about her emergency contact with the concierge that involved sewage coming up in three locations in her bathroom, only to be told by the concierge that she could either call for a plumber herself or wait (since she had more than one bathroom) until the next business day. This is not to blame the concierge who was only following orders from the GM. However, the concierge appeared to have watered down the information passed to the on-call engineer, who initially thought it was a problem that could wait.

—Pat Peyser shared some information that she gathered from our neighboring buildings, regarding after-hours emergency services. Two buildings, the Willoughby and 4620, had live-in maintenance staff. Two did not, the Carlton uses contract services, the resident contacts these services after hours. 4615 has two non-resident staff on call; all calls are put through to the engineer by the concierge.

—Karren Alenier provided the Board (and others assembled for the meeting) a statement from a past Board member who had also been involved in training MaryAnn Hall about how to handle after-hours emergencies. Ms. Alenier suggested that the solution to this problem was simple. Just go to the Concierge desk and tear up the list regarding after-hours emergencies.  Because we never had a list and the owners and residents do NOT want a list.  They want access to the engineers, i.e., the concierge gets in touch with the engineer when an owner/resident calls with an emergency and the engineer immediately calls the resident/owner.

—General comments came from others as well on this topic and the consensus was that if a resident called for emergency help, help should be provided to ensure the safety, health and quality of life for everyone. After all some problems may affect more than the apartment of the caller.

Building Maintenance:

Judy Gann who was a member of original Design Committee pointed out that the building has deteriorated over the past 3 years. There are various eyesores and problems in the building that are happening under our current GM’s tenure.

—Movement of the Suggestion Box from the Business Center (house copier room) to the wall outside the Management Office was done without approval of the Design Committee. It’s an eyesore that needs to be restored to the Business Center. It’s also unfortunate because it will deplete our stock of expensive wallpaper purchased for emergencies.

—Recent signage around the building has been done on the cheap and, in addition to inaccuracies in fire exit maps, does not meet our overall design standards. Ms. Gann hopes that the “No Smoking” signs will be more tasteful.

— Our beautiful marble floors that the Hartman Group told us to keep when our lobby renovation was done, have been given inadequate care by the unsatisfactory contractor who was hired three years ago. Yet, this same contractor has been asked to provide a bid for restoring them. We need to go back to the original contractor who kept our floors in like-new condition.

—Furniture in our lobby needs regular maintenance by a qualified contractor. Our lobby is looking shabby as we are moving into the Hallway Renovation project.

— Overly large dogs are being allowed into our building as well as owners with more than one dog, in violation of our bylaws. What has happened with enforcing our bylaws and house rules, which is an obligation of the GM?

Fire Communications within the Elizabeth:

Pam Dillon, a past Board President, asked if the Board has spoken with the Friendship Heights Village Counsel and other condominiums around us about the Fire Marshall’s demand that we install a roof radio antenna and repeaters throughout the towers and garage. She feels we may learn something like the problem may be with the equipment the fire department is using. What the fire department is asking for is very costly and may not be the only solution.

ECA Action Item List:

The addition of an action list to the Manager’s Report is helpful. It is recommended that it include a dates due.  The list should be closely monitored by the Board to ensure that the actions reflect the priorities of the Board and the condominium.

Emergency Engineering Services

WHEN DID THE ELIZABETH STOP HAVING WEEKEND & AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY ENGINEERING SERVICES?

Several residents have reported that they have been unable to get assistance in the evening after normal work hours or on the weekend when they have had problems in their units.  They have been told by the Concierge that there is no engineer available.  Alternatively the Concierge has said that he or she does not know who is on call and cannot get in touch with the engineer, or that the engineer said he was not to be called, or that a stopped-up toilet or sink is not an emergency if the complaining caller has a second bathroom. I have also heard about and experienced instances when malfunctioning elevators are not dealt with during after hours and weekends,  but must wait until the next business day!

Recently an older resident who had weekend guests was told to call an outside contractor when her toilet, tub, and shower spewed fecal waste!  Not only does this pose a health issue, but it could be a symptom of a plumbing blockage in the tier all the way down to the street level and thus have the potential of damaging many apartments and the common areas. 

Since its inception, The Elizabeth has provided emergency after-hours services whenever they have been  needed. It has been standard practice when a resident called the Concierge to have the engineer call them back within 10 minutes, and if necessary, go to the apartment and determine if the service needed is immediate or could wait until the next business day. 

As a condition of their employment, our engineers are required to live on site so that they are available to address all emergencies that arise after the regular hours of work. This has always been one of the benefits of living at the Elizabeth (as opposed to many other condos) and certainly makes it a more desirable place to live. 

To support this practice, we provide each engineer with a two-bedroom two-bath unit and  a parking space. This benefit alone is worth about $30,000 per year to them and is not taxable.

As a matter of policy, the Elizabeth requires that our engineers hold a third-class license. Using the concierge service to determine whether an engineer can be called, or to refuse to call or identify who is on standby is foolhardy, especially in an old building like ours with multiple problems. It should not matter whether your problem is lack of heat or air conditioning, an electrical issue, an elevator malfunction, a structural problem, odor of smoke, or the like, and it should never be a  matter of how many toilets or sinks a resident has. All calls for engineering services should be responded to within 10 minutes. 

In 2014, significant damage to six apartments on two floors as well as the common area corridors (costing the Association approximately $220,000), was caused by a sewage backup in a toilet.   It cost The Elizabeth a great deal more since we almost lost our insurance after a second large claim and had to go to the secondary market to get insurance.

Elizabeth policies can only be established by the Board, through a process that includes discussion at open board meetings, and a 30-day comment period for owners, followed by a vote by the Board of Directors.  Elizabeth policy cannot be arbitrarily  changed. 

If you are concerned by this arbitrary change in policy, please come to the next Board meeting on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, at 7:30 pm and let your concerns be heard. 

Summary of ECA Board Meeting November 20, 2019

Board Present: Lyle Schwartz (president), Zlatan Beca, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Elisa Siegel, Jimmy Whalen

Absent: :  Christopher Wemple

Others Present: Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton, Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer), Dan Watkins of FEA, Bill Martel of CPR

Highlights of the meeting:

The primary focus of this meeting was the ongoing garage project.

It began with a discussion of repair problems illustrated with extensive slides of concrete problems and repair procedures.

The cost has increased dramatically from the original estimate due to:

1.     Prior repairs were failing, and this was not appreciated during the estimate. Prior repair procedures not documented. But all old work was done from the bottom. Old patches used cement that was less strong than original concrete, did not bond to rebar and did not bond to original concrete. Thickness was 2 to 4 inches whereas CPR does not believe any more than 2 inches of patch material should be used. Old patches failed when concrete was hammered.

2.     Original estimates based on mostly “half depth” repairs which expose the rebar by drilling from above and refills with fresh concrete. However, old patches fell out of bottom requiring full depth repair. Concrete also delaminated from vibration of nearby work.

3.     Rebar was more corroded than anticipated. [Rebar are metal rods used to strengthen the concrete.]

4.     G4 floor proved to be in very poor condition.

Current estimate is that concrete repairs will be done by end of January 2020 and corrosion and coating treatment completed by July 2020.

Comments:

From audience: On G4, the floor gets covered with water from sump pump that spills out water. East corner by ramp shows fine cracks. Apparently, these issues are not being addressed by the CPR contract.

Lyle Schwartz: There are numerous maintenance issues that were not addressed in the past. The current board will setup a schedule for routine maintenance and try to keep up with maintenance to prevent deterioration. Sump pump needs to be investigated. Send issue to management.

Al Muller: Original time estimate was 6 months for everything. Now it is 1.5 years for concrete repairs and 6 months for coating. Obviously, something was wrong with original estimates.

Various audience members gave passionate speeches: failure to estimate is criminal, CPR and FEA should be liable. Jeremey Tucker explained that this type of work involves unknowns and the contracts specify rates for fixing problems as sound – not fixed price bid. Lyle Schwartz acknowledged the original estimates were inaccurate but added that one problem was that no one could anticipate the lack of cooperation with moving cars and the delay this would cause. Elizabeth has had to pay for towing. Owners are not reimbursing us. Also, the original estimate did not include the corrosion treatment that the Board has approved and feels necessary due to the degree of rebar corrosion found during the work.

CPR: concrete must be thoroughly cured before surface treatment so once concrete repairs are done, we move all the cars again to do the topside treatment.

8:45pm – representatives from CPR and FEA depart and Schwartz and Tucker explained decision to negotiate contract adjustment. CPR is taking losses due to the difficulties they have encountered plus an inflationary increase in costs over the unanticipated long performance period. CPR threatened to walk off the job if the Board not approve increased payment. Board members were inclined to sue for breach of contract rather than pay. However, Tucker and Chris Wemple did a careful estimate of costs which include these factors: legal costs and cost of hiring a new contractor at what would be today’s fully inflated rates. Lastly, it was not clear what kind of warranty we would have if splitting the work between contractors. Tucker and Wemple consulted the original bidders to obtain their current rates for repairs. With these prices in mind, the Board entered into negotiation with CPR. CPR compromised at a lower amount. The amount makes it about a wash whether we pay or sue. Considering the uncertainties of legal action and the protracted delays that finding, evaluating, and scheduling a different contractor would entail, the Board agreed to pay. The payment will amount to about 3.6% increase over contract cost. Exact amount is uncertain because we pay for each unit of work as it is done at the negotiated rate. Nobody is happy about it but it is what it is.

The actual Board meeting began around 9 pm.

1.     GM Mary Ann Hall’s financial report first: she read some bottom line figures from the available written report

2.     No legal report – Tucker passes

3.     GM’s management report – filter changes in progress, moving cars for phase 12A

4.     Treasurer’s report prepared by Wemple but read by Schwartz – main point: we will make a discretionary payment on the loan as planned.

5.     Committee reports: Social- Dec. 14  holiday party, Knitting group – planning a sale of knitted items, fitness group – no report today but the committee will meet with board members in December. Newsletter – deadline for content for next issue is las week of November.

No old business

No new business

Consult the Management Report ECA Action Item List for status/progress on things requiring action.

ECA Town Hall on Residential Hallway Renovation—November 14, 2019

My goal in this brief summary is to provide some highlights of the Elizabeth Condominium Association Town Hall meeting held November 14, 2019. For additional information, refer to the six-page document that went out to all residents prior to the meeting and which was used during the event which essentially was an opportunity for residents to express their comments and for the ECA Board to collect information of which they were not previously aware.

The meeting was led by ECA president Lyle Schwartz with several Board members in attendance including Zlatan Beca, Mak Dehijia, Francine Klein, and Chris Wemple. Schwartz followed the document prepared by the Hartman Design Group dated October 15, 2019, during which time the Hartman Group, the Elizabeth Condominium design committee and the ECA Board of Directors discussed the key design issues. Aspects of the project discussed included: carpet, baseboards, door thresholds, hardware for new doors, lighting fixtures, walls, crown molding, and special ceilings on designated floors that require special treatment.

In 2012, this project was budgeted at $1.5 million. It is not known at this time what labor and materials will cost. However, the baseline established in 2012 indicates that hallway renovation is a big-ticket item. It should be noted that we no longer have the original story boards that displayed sample colors and fabrics. These displays were destroyed during the flood in the West Lobby.

An unexpected cost element surfaced with sobering effect when we learned that fire and police officers cannot communicate in our building now because the signal has been blocked by recently constructed tall buildings in Bethesda. We are obligated to install an antennae on the roof and transmitters in our hallways.

The Town Hall gathering may have been the best meeting this community has ever held. The community members provided useful information in the spirit of genuine concern to make this project successful. For example, one aspect of the project which is controversial addresses whether the renovation should address hallway walls with wall covering or paint. Resident comments included the observation that what is under our current wall covering are walls with uneven surfaces that are labor intensive to repair. This means remediation will be extensive if the solution is to paint the walls.

Painted walls require constant repair and touch up given the large number of move-ins and move-outs as well as deliveries and contractors with bulky equipment. One possible method is to use a combination of wall covering and painted walls. One of our issues affecting this decision is that we are an older building with large pipes that could fail. There is no easy solution. In the long run, painted walls are expensive to keep up. Commercial grade wallpaper is more forgiving to things knocking against it. However, we need to keep a supply of such wall coverings when repairs become necessary. This is what we did with the current wall covering. The last wall coverings lasted 20 years, which is in keeping with when the next renovation should start.

The discussion about carpet surfaced a knowledgeable advisor who lives among us. A.J. Young stated that the Axminster carpet chosen for the lobby as well as the residential halls is 80% wool and will last many decades. Made mostly of wool, this carpet withstands fire better than other fibers. Given the bad flood experienced in the West Lobby, the carpet has already proven to be very durable.

Replacement of our units’ hallway doors created a little stir regarding metal versus wooden doors. One worry was about fire safety. Apparently wooden doors are made with fire safety in mind. Our current metal doors have often been made unsafe for fire protection by such actions as being adjusted for carpet and additions of other locks and hardware.

What was surprising about the Hartman list of elements was no inclusion of furniture as part of the design element. Apparently, Phyllis Hartman has indicated to the Board that she needs to determine which selections from 2016 are still available. Then alternative selections need to be priced. The Hartman Group has purchasing power that will negotiate a best price.

Schwartz said the color scheme for the hallways will be similar to the color scheme in the lobby and can be best seen in the renovated hallway adjacent to the elevators in the West Lobby. He also said selections for lighting have improved since 2016 and we will be able to take advantage of the new LED options.