Samantha Levine-Finley ...ECA Recording Secretary, On the Record
On
February 26, 2013, in accordance with Section 11.109.1 of the Maryland
Condominium Act, the Board met in executive session to conduct personnel and
legal issues.
Call to Order: Mr. Ariev called the
meeting to order at 7:34 p.m.
Approval of Meeting Minutes:
MOTION Mr. Schattman moved Dr. Robinson seconded
that the amended minutes of the meeting of the Board of directors on February
26, 2013 be approved. The motion passed unanimously (5-0-0).
Mr. Ariev stated that Mr. Schattman would serve as acting
secretary for this meeting.
President’s
Report:
Mr. Ariev reported that the election for the Board of
Directors is approaching. He stated that election officials who will help
oversee the submissions of the statements of candidacy and count the ballots
have been identified: Diana Brosnan, Ellen Cohen and Maurice Trebach.
Mr. Ariev reported that the statements of candidacy have
been mailed and he encouraged all interested owners and residents to consider
running for the Board. He stated that the statements of candidacy are due to
the secretary or the management office by April 5.
Mr. Ariev reported that the name of the Architectural
Control Committee will be renamed the Design Control Committee due to a misunderstanding
of the bylaws regarding the role of an Architectural Design Committee. Such a
committee must be appointed by the Board and act for the Board, which is not
the current status. The Design Control Committee will retain the same members
and tasks.
Mr. Ariev reported that Mr. Schattman and Robin Schattman
have agreed to participate with website supervision for The Elizabeth.
Mr. Ariev reported that the red arcade business sign has
been removed.
Treasurer’s
Report: The following report was provided by Mr. McNerney:
The amounts included herein are rounded to the nearest
$1,000:
As of February 28, the Association had $3,090,000 in cash
and investments, an increase of $88,000 from the prior month.
Expenditures from the reserve fund in January totaled
$41,000. The amount expended from that fund so far this year is $260,000.
Delinquencies through the end of January were $56,000, a
decrease of $7,000 from the prior month. Four accounts are in collections,
including one that is in bankruptcy.
Since the Board moved this month’s meeting up a week, copies
of the balance sheet and statement of income and expenses as of 28 February
will be available next week at the front desk.
There was a Board workshop on the FY2014 budget last week
attended by a number of residents. The budget is close to being finalized.
After tonight’s meeting, the finance committee will review it again and then
copies will be mailed to all owners. Owners will again have an opportunity to
express their opinions, in writing, to either the Board or the finance
committee. The Board’s final vote on the budget will be held at the April 23 Board
meeting.
The finance committee, with management assistance, has begun
work on the capital budget. That budget details the projected expenditures from
the Reserve Fund for Fiscal 2014. A draft of that budget will be presented at
the April Board meeting.
Respectfully submitted:
John C. McNerney
Treasurer
Mr. Santos recommended that Mr. McNerney share information
about the 2012 audit. Mr. McNerney said the auditors from DeLeon and Stang have
sent a draft audit to the finance committee. The committee has reviewed the
draft and found some inconsistencies, but Mr. McNerney said the issues are
being reviewed with the company and he expects them to be quickly resolved.
Mr. McNerney reported that the finance committee and Mr.
Roby are identifying other auditors who could replace DeLeon and Stang. Mr.
McNerney explained that while DeLeon and Stang are doing an adequate job, it is
a best practice to change auditors every 5-6 years. He said a new auditor will
look at all of the details and be very conscientious, while a longer-term
auditor may become less diligent over time and complete the work too quickly.
Mr. McNerney reported that Mr. Roby and the finance committee have each identified
two potential auditors. The committee and Mr. Roby will meet soon to narrow the
list down to two; will interview those auditors; and hope to have a new auditor
in place before the next Board meeting.
Management
Report:
Mr. Santos reported on the following:
a) Current
work-order delinquency totals $1,285.00, of which $933.00 is at or greater than
60 days. Those residents have had their in-unit maintenance privileges
suspended.
Mr. Stekler commented that the building’s only option to obtain
collections is to not allow residents to request additional work orders. Mr. Santos
said that is the first approach. Mr. Stekler asked how many of the delinquencies
are related to renters and owners. Mr. Santos said about 30 percent is renters.
In some cases, he said, the leases require the owners to pay for work orders,
in others, the owners require renters to pay for repairs associated with wear
and tear. Mr. Stekler asked if management could turn off the access key fobs
belonging to residents with delinquencies; Mr. Santos said management cannot restrict
access to residents’ homes. Mr. Stekler said he would like to do something to
further the collections and get the attention of those in delinquency. Mr. Santos
said he does not feel that the delinquencies have reached a level of pursuing
additional sanctions.
b) The
Association has a $150,000 CD maturing on March 25, 2013. M
r. Santos
recommended that the Association keep the funds in a liquid instrument, such as
a money market fund, to pay for upcoming repair projects. Mr. McNerney agreed. Mr.
Santos said he has communicated with the building’s Morgan Stanley representative
to help manage cash and investments so there are funds available to take care
of expenses. He said there will be a meeting soon between him and the
representative, along with Mr. McNerney.
c) The
Washington Gas meter was pulled and tested. Mr. Santos received confirmation
that the meter was within the limits of what the device should report. He
stated that the issue is not with the hardware, but with the software used to
calculate consumption. Mr. Santos said he will complete a comparison of past three
years’ usage and share the findings with Washington Gas.
d) Management
is ready to mail the FY2014 budget to owners. Once received, owners will have
30 days to submit comments.
e) The
master insurance policy and all associated coverage will expire in May. Mr.
Santos said Legum & Norman’s insurance expert has reviewed the policies. He
said the Board can bid out the policies or keep the insurance with Greater NY, which
is held by the John Manougian Insurance Agency.
Mr. Schattman asked if there is a downside of bidding it. Mr.
Santos said the Board has bid out the insurance for several years and not
changed companies, so vendors might stop participating. Mr. Roby recommended
that the Board go through Legum & Norman’s office to request a renewal
quote from Greater NY, and possibly also ask for comparisons with the same
underwriter. Mr. Santos said the Board members have a letter from Greater NY regarding
their property inspection. The company recommended that the Board approach
owners to replace the hoses for washers with a braided hose, which is more
reliable. The Board will consider this recommendation.
Committee
Reports:
Design
Control Group: Dr. Robinson reported that the
committee had discussed having the building enhanced with different windows. The
committee met and asked the attorney, Jason Fisher, to provide an
interpretation of the bylaws regarding ownership of drywall in the interior of
units. Mr. Fisher reported that unit owners own the drywall on the inside of
their units, meaning the building cannot change the drywall without the
permission of owner (unless there is an emergency). Dr. Robinson said therefore
the committee will not present the Board with a proposal for floor-to-ceiling
windows for the building. He said the committee will continue to meet with the
designers to make recommendations to the Board regarding window options. Mr.
Stekler asked if it would be possible to renegotiate the contract for the
design work since the scope has changed. Dr. Robinson said the designers are
still going to define what type of windows will be installed. Mr. Ariev said the
design work is a fixed cost.
Website:
Mr. Schattman said he and Robin Schattman would oversee the website. The
website is hosted by the parent company of Legum & Norman. Mr. Schattman
said the website can be customized for the building’s needs. He said 14 people
are currently signed up. He said there is no way to transfer residents’ log-in
accounts to the new site; residents can sign up by putting in their Legum &
Norman account number and creating a password. Mr. Schattman listed
enhancements they may make to the website:
- Begin
to use the calendar feature to post events such as Board meetings and committee
events
- Clarify
the process to enter a work order through the website, including having the
orders go directly to the management offices, sending a confirmation that the
work order was received, and creating a message describing the work order, how
it was addressed, and the date of completion
- Use
the classifieds feature for residents to be able to rent parking spaces, sell furniture,
offer babysitting services, or list other items for sale
- Use
the feature that allows residents to list recommended vendors, contractors or
other service providers
- Make
it easier to access and copy the condominium bylaws and house rules
- Make
the website more attractive and easier to read
- List
the Board of Directors and directors’ contact information, including adding a
link so that residents can write a letter to the Board.
- List
all of the committees and their contact information
- Create
a bulletin board to house the same types of information that is included in the
flyers posted in the elevators
- List
and link to all commercial owners
- Post
minutes of the Board meetings
- Post
issues of the newsletter
- Post
Jim Jones’ photos of the building
Mr. Schattman asked that residents send him ideas for other
improvements and that they sign up for the website.
Fitness
Room: Mr. Schattman reported that all of the equipment is now
functioning properly. He said there was a budget request for corrective maintenance
to address several items: replacing broken and dirty ceiling tiles; removing the
carpet on the wall and painting the facility; replacing the ceiling lights in
the back fitness room with wall lighting, given the low ceiling heights in that
room; containing the cable wiring in boxes off of the floor; and installing
pegs on the walls so residents can hang up clothes and bags.
Making
a Difference: Ms. McNerney said the committee had a successful drive on
March 12 to collect clothing for A Wider Circle’s new professional development
center. The committee will continue the project by sending out notices and using
the bulletin board to tell residents where they may bring professional clothing
for future donations. Ms. McNerney said they would like to change the signage
over the bins on G-1 to keep it cleaner and make it easier for residents to
donate. The committee does not have any other large projects planned until the
box party in December. She said yarn and needles are available if anyone wants
to knit scarves for the boxes.
Social
Committee: Mrs. Ariev - reported that Brian Murphy, a legal expert and
justice advisor for Afghanistan, will speak on May 5 at 7 p.m. She encouraged
residents to send her ideas or questions for Mr. Murphy. On May 19 at 5pm, Nino
Mkheidze will give a piano recital in the library. She noted a time change;
the recital was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. The pianist will play Chopin, Schumann
and Schubert. Mrs. Ariev reminded those who participated in the Food Fest those
recipes are being collected to create a cookbook from the event; residents are encouraged
to email their recipes to Mrs. Ariev or leave them at the front desk.
Storage
Issues: Jim Jones said the storage areas in the building that are in
a state of disarray. He reported that on or about April 1, the management
office will issue a directive to all residents telling them to look at what
they have in storage and make sure it is in compliance with the house rules. He
added that he or the management office can provide residents with the relevant
sections of the rules. Mr. Jones said residents may have been given a card
indicating the location of their stored items. Management personnel will be available
to assist residents in locating and taking down any items in storage. Items not
in compliance will be placed in a temporary location before they are discarded.
Old
Business:
There was no old business.
New
Business:
1.
Contract
Approval for Sump/Sewage Ejector Pumps
The
G-4 garage level is where the sump pumps which evacuate ground water are
controlled, as well as the pit where sewage ejection pumps are located for the
commercial condominiums. These devices are beyond their expected life and the
sewage pumps have cracks in the piping/casing and are not evacuating waste as
designed. Mr. Santos recommends approving the bid from Shapiro & Duncan,
Inc., to replace G-4 sump pumps and sewage ejection pumps for $67,380.00.
Mr.
Santos said half of the project—the replacement of one sump pump and one sewage
ejection pump—was scheduled for this year and the other half for 2022. However,
the negotiated price to do everything now represents a significant savings
versus budget, which had been $134,600 for all four pumps.
MOTION Mr. Schattman moved Mr. McNerney
seconded to accept the recommendation of the Maintenance and Repair Committee
and Engineer (Mendoza, Ribas and Farinas) to award the project for replacement
of the existing sump pumps and sewage ejector pumps to Shapiro & Duncan in
the amount of $67,380. The motion passed unanimously (5-0-0).
2.
Chiller
Replacement Project: This project addresses the
replacement of the failing York chiller
(approaching 20 years old and the
oldest of the two), associated condenser and supply pumps/motors, and the
expired refrigerant evacuation system. Mr. Santos said the current proposal
offers a more efficient chiller than originally budgeted and a greater rebate
from electric utility company. The project budget is $476,016 (with a rebate of
$44,400), resulting in an over-budget variance of $36,134. Mr. Santos said the
energy cost analysis determined that the variance may be paid off in 1.35 years
through utility savings.
Mr. Stekler said the bid sheets show a possible savings of
$100,000 with a different chiller. Mr. Santos explained the process by which it
was possible to reach a final bid of $554,600 with Densel Co., which represents
a savings and includes a Carrier chiller. He noted that the chiller
manufacturer is part of the United Technologies family, which is used for the
building’s energy management, elevator software and chiller software.
MOTION Dr. Robinson moved Mr. McNerney seconded
to accept the recommendation of the Maintenance and Repair Committee and
Engineer (Mendoza, Ribas and Farinas) to award the project for the replacement
of the York chiller, associated pumps/motors (with backup) and refrigerant evacuation
system to Densel Co. in the amount of $554,600. The motion passed unanimously
(5-0-0).
3.
FY2014
Operating Budget Draft-Mailing: Mr. Santos said the FY2014 Operating
Budget draft is ready to mail to owners for comment.
MOTION Mr. Stekler moved, Dr. Robinson seconded
to accept the recommendation of the Treasurer and Finance Committee to mail to
all owners the last draft (draft 7, March 17, 2013) of the FY2014 Operating
Budget. A cover letter will request that owners review the budget and return
comments within 30 days. The motion passed unanimously (5-0-0).
Mr. Stekler requested a new business item regarding the four-pipe
central plant discussion. He said there are certain months of the year when it
is not necessary to have all four pipes in operation; for instance, residents
do not need air conditioning in December and January and do not need heat from
July to September. He recommended that management consider running the four-pipe
system only in months when residents might need both cool and warm air. He said
he understands the need for a closed system to benefit residents with
allergies, but if the building is trying to save money, then the chillers
should not be run in December and January.
Mr. Santos said the equipment operates with outside air
temperature sensors, so when the demand for air conditioning is non-existent,
the chillers will not turn on. He added that as old equipment is replaced it
will have even better controls and be more efficient than the current system.
Mr. Santos said there are transitional months when some residents cannot expose
themselves to the exterior climate.
No Board action was taken on this issue.
4.
Insurance
Issues: Mr. Santos asked whether the Board wants to go through the
exercise of bidding out the insurance policies or allowing the Legum &
Norman insurance expert to negotiate with the company. The policies expire May
15. Mr. Roby said if the Board does not want to take action, his recommendation
is to go straight to the insurance agent. He added that it is almost too late
to begin the bidding process, and noted that the Board bid out the insurance
for the past three years but never accepted proposals from any competitor.
Resident
Comments:
- Karren
Alenier, 301, wanted to know whether the annual meeting will include a vote on changing
the bylaw percentage. Mr. Ariev said the Board is not planning to proceed with
that now, but added that the Board does not have to wait for another annual
meeting to address this issue and can work on bylaw revisions over the coming
year.
- Jim
Rich, 301, said that when the four-pipe system went back online a few years ago
a mysterious noise in his apartment, related to water moving through the pipes,
subsided completely.
- Rita
Miller, 607, said the Board at 8101 Connecticut Avenue banned smoking on residents’
balconies. She said she hoped that the condos in this area will follow suit and
that the Elizabeth’s Board would reconsider its vote.
- Pam
Dillon, 718, asked whether the $150,000 CD is related to the operating or
reserve fund. Mr. Santos said it is an operating reserve CD. Ms. Dillon asked
why the building had a $100,000 overage in expenditures for utilities. Mr. Santos
said he registered online with Pepco to get online data directly from the
company. He will perform a comparison of consumption for past three years and
will have an answer in the near future. Ms. Dillon noted that the extra expense
would affect the new operating budget; Mr. Santos said he already added
additional consumption into the 2014 budget.
- Ms.
Dillon said that residents on the east side of the building have a problem with
an owner on the 5th floor who has hygiene problems. Ms. Dillon said residents
are asking whether the Board or management will do anything about it. Mr. Santos
said has been trying to work with that resident for some time. The estate of
that person’s parents was turned over to a county organization that provides
assistance to residents in need. Mr. Santos has been working with that
organization and a social worker for the past 18 months to get that person
additional help and assistance. The county entity (PLAN) has partially
renovated the resident’s apartment and provided him with soap and a hygiene
schedule. However, regarding the hygiene issues, management will be sending the
resident a letter stated that the resident is in violation of the building’s
bylaws and house rules and will get help from the social worker to ensure he
does not enter public areas in unacceptable condition. Mr. Santos said there
was an incident regarding a person who visits the resident and the police were
called. Mr. Santos authorized a no-trespass order for this visitor and has
instructed the security guard and staff that this person is not allowed on the
property for a period of one year. The resident is not permitted to escort the
person on the building’s property. If this is seen, management can call the police
immediately to remove the visitor. Ms. Rudenko, 512, said she feels that both the
resident and his visitor are a threat to others. She is concerned that the
visitor will be snuck into the building. She said the resident is unable to
care for himself and that many other residents are afraid of him. Ms. Rudenko
said her floor representative suggested placing an additional camera on the
floor or adding security doors.
- Ruby
Tang, 06, asked whether there is a standard response time for open work
projects. Mr. Santos said the response time depends on the work order, but that
management prefers to have orders taken care of within 24 hours. He asked Ms.
Tang to let him know whether she has any outstanding work orders so that he can
look into it.
- Judy
Gann, 711, said that when she was on the Board the building had problems with
the resident mentioned above. She said the resident had an attorney who worked
with the Board and suggested that management see whether that attorney was
still involved. Mr. Santos said he has communicated with that attorney, who was
the trustee of the estate before it was handed over to the county agency. Mr.
Santos said he is also communicating with one of the resident’s relatives to
provide updates and attempt to get assistance with influencing his habits.
- Sharon
Bobb, 911, asked why residents in fear don’t contact the Montgomery County
police. A resident responded that many people don’t want to argue with a
mentally unstable person. The resident also said she was told by police that
they cannot do anything until the visitor hurts someone. Mr. Santos said he
feels confident that the no-trespass order will be effective. If the visitor is
found coming onto the property, the resident will receive another cease and
desist letter. The county organization will also take matters into its own
hands if the person cannot comport themselves appropriately and follow the
building’s rules. Mr. Ariev encouraged owners to bring issues forward to the Board
and reminded residents that they can make a formal complaint to the Board or
management.
Adjournment:
The President adjourned the meeting at 9:07 p.m. The next meeting will be held
on April 23, 2013.
The initial draft of the minutes, upon which these minutes
are based, was prepared by Samantha Levine-Finley of On the Record.
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________________
Steven Schattman, Acting Board Secretary
