Two Issues from August 2018 Board Meeting

After talking to a number of people, I decided that I should add this post to the last one concerning the August meeting of the ECA Board.

There were two items I left out because I felt disappointed by how the Board leadership handled them.

The first concerned Molly Frantz insisting again that we should be using MERV 8 filters in our HVACs. So, the Board president made Frantz chair of a new committee on HVAC filters instead of reviewing the history of this request. Luckily the problem was quickly solved and of course there is no reason to have such a committee.

The second item plays with our financial health and remains tabled for further consideration. Board member Monique Fridell proposed that a cap be placed on ECA debt with a new bylaw amendment. This means that if we had a major expense to fix something that exceeded that debt limit, the Association would have no way of fixing the problem since we cannot impose a special assessment and none of us want to raise our condo fees in any extreme way. A debt limit would affect our ability to take out a loan of an adequate amount to fix something as expensive as replacement of windows and doors.

While Board Vice President Mak Dehejia pointed out that Fridell’s proposal was not realistic, the Board President Z Beca and Board Treasurer Lyle Schwartz lent sympathetic ears to this proposal. Schwartz went so far to suggest (erroneously) that the Board has a limited capacity to impose a special assessment under certain circumstances that might help if we had a debt limit. This limited capacity for special assessment did not apply to replacing windows and doors according to our legal counsel who researched this.

Capping debt is totally wrong headed and speaks to the fact that Fridell doesn’t live in the building and doesn’t care who would suffer if something of major cost breaks without means to fix it.

Fridell’s rule of thumb is to spend as little money as possible no matter the need. All her comments speak to this extreme frugality and doesn’t speak to a balance of quality of life.

In 2007 when folks like me starting lobbying for new windows and balcony doors, Treasurer Fridell and ECA Board President Woody Cunningham subscribed to the rule “run to failure” and they said that those people with water, wind and grit coming in through the failed weathering stripping of the windows and doors were just wanting to spend money unnecessarily. Furthermore, they believed they could control high energy cost by refusing to give people year-round a/c.

So, in the hot days of fall, winter and spring, residents were unable to cool down their apartments. Having a four-pipe system which provides a choice between heat or air-conditioning, such as The Elizabeth has, is a feature of a luxury high-rise building. Some of the owners at The Elizabeth specifically bought here for that option.

The other thing to note is that some people who attended the meeting walked away thinking that Fridell is financially astute and that members of the Board leadership were endorsing her ideas.

Highlihgts of ECA Board Meeting August 28, 2018

Board Present: Zlatan Beca, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Monique Fridell, Al Muller, Lyle Schwartz, Rhonda Taller, Christopher Wemple

Others Present: ECA General Manager MaryAnn Hall, Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton

Highlights of the meeting:

Garage Project: Due to contractor planning error, the repair of the garage will extend into spring (April or May). The error is inconvenient but will not cost us more money or affect the quality of the work. September 4, CPR moves into Phase 2 which includes repair of the driveway on the G-1 side. This too will inconvenience everyone and disrupt the traffic pattern.

Financial Reporting: The Board unanimously approved a new format recommended by the Budge & Finance Committee to improve understandability of some reported categories.

Humidity Problem in East Tower: As the result of a fan coil unit in the common area that had never been cleaned, a humidity problem developed. The fan coil had to be replaced. At the time of this meeting, the new fan coil, an expensive part ($25,500), had been  ordered and expected within a week.

Garage doors: both garage doors have been experiencing problems. Both were repaired but the theory is that the demolition in the garage is causing the problems.

Hall Refurbishment: Committee members, charged with improving the condition of the hallways as an interim meaure while awaiting the start of hallway renovation,  walked all the halls to inventory issues. Biggest problem was the large number of burned out light bulbs. Z Beca called for the bulbs to be replaced as a first improvement step.

MERV Filters for HVACs: Currently, when HVAC filters are replaced during the semi-annual maintenance visits, our staff uses MERV 4 filters.  Molly Frantz raised the issue about using higher-rated MERV filters (i.e., MERV 8 or highter) instead. Sharon Bobb, previous Board President, pointed out that filters with higher ratings than MERV 4 collect more particulates and get dirty faster and, consequently, must be replaced more frequently to prevent the HVAC motors  from burning out. Research after the meeting affirms that Mr. Mendoza advised that if MERV 8 filters are used, they must be checked monthly and replaced as soon as they become dirty to avoid overtaxing the motors.

House Rules: A draft change to the ECA rules was mailed to owners regarding a prohibition of smoking on balconies. Enforcement was not spelled out and would probably be difficult to enact.

Fire & Safety Committee: A new committee has been formed and is headed by Folake Fabunmi.

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Summary of ECA Board Meeting July 31, 2018

Board Present: Zlatan Beca, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Monique Fridell, Al Muller, Lyle Schwartz, Christopher Wemple

Board Absent: Rhonda Taller

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

President’s Report:

President’s Report had two items: the garage project which was covered in the GM report with more detail and that a monthly newsletter will be restarted with a first publication planned for 8/15. Gary Costello, Robin Schattman and Dorothy Marette will work on it but more volunteers were encouraged to contact either Board members or Gary to help.  Gary also provided more detail in his subsequent Committee report.  No legal report was presented. 

Treasurer’s Report:

ECA Treasurer Lyle Schwartz on the shift to having the B&F committee, with the members’ financial expertise, vet financial issues and provide their recommendations to the Board for possible action.  Jimmy Whalen’s report was the outcome of their first project to streamline the financial reports.  The next project would be making recommendations on investment of excess funds since the Board has to make decisions quarterly on paying down the loan principal.  To facilitate that process, ECA’s investment advisor from Morgan Stanley would attend the 8/27 B&F meeting to provide some general education and background on investment management in condos. The Board must make a decision on payout amount in October.

Budget and Finance Committee:

Jimmy Whalen reported on the Committee’s successful effort to re-organize the financial reports to make them more understandable, tying together various related accounts so the Committee and owners could, among other things, gauge cash flows and reserve levels more easily.  The committee unanimously approved the changes and asked Gates Hudson to produce the financials in the new format for the B&F August meeting to ensure the accounting system could capture all of the necessary detail.  If the committee was satisfied the report was accurate, the Board could vote on the changes at their September 25 meeting.

Management Report:

Garage Project: An update from written report is that Phase 1B of the garage project would start on 8/2. 

Window washing—The window cleaners return was delayed to the week of August 13 because of bad weather

Humidity Problems—High humidity in hallways and units seem to be at the top of the complaint list for residents. West Tower had a cooling coil replaced and same has been ordered for East Tower. Nonetheless humidity seems to be causing sweating in various ways.

More information may be seen in the July 31, 2018 Management Report which may be obtained in the office.

Committee Reports: 

Newsletter Committee:  Gary Costello described his experience in managing newsletters for other organizations and that Robin Schattman who had  professional experience in graphics and layout was his partner.  With a goal of producing a monthly edition to be distributed electronically with some printed copies available at the desk, he had contacted various committee chairs to provided regular updates on building activities.  Contacted were: B&F- Jimmy Whalen; Library- Stephanie Olshan; Social – Celesta Jurkovich; Fire & Safety – Folake & Monique Fridell; Short term Refurbishment of Halls – Judy Gann, Tobi Esler, Suzan Stafford; Ad hoc Task Force on Communications & Party Room rules – Celesta Jurkovich, Judy Gann & Connie Row, Making a Difference Committee – Molly Frantz. 

An email account now exists ElizCondoNewsletter@Gmail.com  to allow any Elizabeth resident to communicate about the newsletter.

Old Business: 

1.     Fire & Safety would be working to let residents with mobility issues about what to do if a fire alarm sounds.

2.     Al Muller described renewed effort to address smoking in the building.  ECA’s attorney drafted changes to the ECA rules to prohibit smoking in common areas and semi-common areas which includes balconies.  Such rules can be implemented by a vote of the Board.  The draft rule would impose a $250 penalty if balcony smoking was reported after a unit owner had received a warning for a first infraction.  Repeated offenses would also impose additional $250 penalties.  The amount was intended to create both a penalty and a deterrent for violations. The Board voted to distribute the proposed rule to owners per Bylaw requirements, so it can be considered at the September 25 Board meeting.  Owners can comment on the draft rule both before and at the Board meeting.

A draft Bylaw amendment was also produced that would prohibit smoking in individual units.  An effort was previously made to amend the Bylaws, a process which requires a vote by owners, a more time-consuming process.

3.     Response to recommendations for minimally refurbishing the halls made at the last Board meeting:  President Beca reported that no additional hall wallpaper exists to do any patching.  However, ceiling tile replacements could be made as a maintenance project and cords holding furniture in place removed by in-house staff as time permits.  He thought experimenting with brighter and consistent bulbs in the sconces was a good idea since they could be purchased at a minimal cost and replaced by in-house staff as part of regular maintenance.  He asked the committee to pursue the lighting issue.  A former Board member provided information that ECA’s lobby designer recommended using CREE brand 2700 Kelvin (which determines color) bulbs in the sconces to achieve the appropriate level of hallway lighting.  Another resident also identified some repairs that were needed in the lobby areas.  Residents can make these suggestions for additional maintenance needs using BuildingLink’s work order system to alert the Management Office to the problems.   

Resident comment session:

·       Board minutes should be posted on BuildingLink and on the  bulletin Board.  Chris Wemple is working on ensuring that past and future documents will be posted. 

·       Regarding issues related to evacuating during a fire alarm, the office maintains a list of residents for Fire Department use who are unable to evacuate, BuildingLink has a capability for issuing notices to users about such emergencies and early September dates are being arranged for the County Fire Marshall to do both a daytime and an evening town hall-type meeting to educate residents about best procedures for responding to a fire alarm.

·       It was suggested that ECA management shift to using organic cleaners (especially for marble and brass cleaning which affect residents with pulmonary issues) and for weed control, both for environmental and health reasons.  Contractors who do this are available.

·       All notices of building meetings should list the date, time & location of the event.  This is especially important to encourage new residents to attend.

Summary of ECA Board Meeting June 26, 2018

Board Present: Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Monique Fridell, Al Muller, Lyle Schwartz, Rhonda Taller, Christopher Wemple

Board Absent: Zlatan Beca

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

This summation will focus on highlights of the meeting. Mac Dehejia chaired this Board meeting.

Legal Report:

Legal counsel provided new information on building-wide non-smoking policies as is happening in other comparable Montgomery County, MD condominiums and co-ops (Grovesnor Park 2 & 3 and Promenade). The Board has directed him to draft new ECA rules to eliminate smoking in all common elements which include balconies and a new bylaw proposal to eliminate smoking in all units. The bylaw proposal was considered previously by the owners but did not pass. The rule proposal will be sent to all owners who will have 15 days to submit comments before the potential Board vote which is binding on the rule change. 

He will also draft the bylaw change which will be put to a vote by all owners.  It will include a grandfathering provision, which will likely have a town hall meeting about it before going to a positive vote of 60% of the total ownership in good standing to be approved. Another bylaw change be drafted for ownership consideration requiring owners to have insurance to cover damages not covered by the ECA master insurance policy as well as covering any required deductible if the damage starts in an individual unit. New Montgomery County law emphasizing that owners have adequate home-owners insurance to cover claims requires only a positive vote of 50% of the total ownership percentage. He said a new bylaw will be written to conform with new Montgomery County law emphasizing that owners have adequate home-owners insurance to cover claims.

Treasurer’s Report:

ECA Treasurer Lyle Schwartz reported that the Elizabeth is back on the desirable list regarding real estate sales and accessing mortgages and insurance. The Budget & Finance Committee has new leadership in Jimmy Whalen. The Committee is working on improving financial information packages to eliminate redundancy, improve clarity, and provide useful information to the Board for better decision-making. The Treasurer’s report, which is more detailed, will be accessible on BuildingLink.

Management Report:

Garage Project:

Step one (chain dragging, to find cement weakness that needs repair) will be completed June 28, 2018. Results show more work needed than expected on G-1 & G-4 but less work needed for G2 & G-3.

Step two (concrete repair) is expected to begin July 9. So far, our contractor CPR does not have the work permit needed from Montgomery County. CPR will use week of July 2 to bring in equipment and supplies.

Landscaping—Legend Landscaping will replace certain shrubs on the pool patio next week.

HVAC filters—Despite recent efforts to educate attendees in other monthly board meetings, the question continues to surface as to whether a suitable grade of HVAC filter is being supplied by the Association. The MERV 4 filters used by our maintenance staff is ideal for our purpose as long as they are changed every six months. Those wishing other MERV graded filter may choose to buy themselves and can get help from our staff in replacing the old filter at no charge.

Window washing—The window cleaners will return July 2-6 to correct any windows not properly washed this spring. The Fall window washing will take place November 1-2, 2018.

Fire Marshall Inspection—June 18 inspection was completed and passed. However, the Fire Marshall asked for: a door closer put on the Diving School door in the Arcade, trash chute door locks replacement on three different floors. Our GM is arranging meetings for Elizabeth residents to review what they should do when the fire alarm sounds and to ask questions.

More information may be seen in the June 26, 2018 Management Report which may be obtained in the office.

Communications Committee:

Celesta Jurkovich and Judy Gann are working on a review of existing Elizabeth rules on building-wide communications and use of public spaces in the building.  As a first step, they are surveying the policies of three other FH condos (4620, Carleton and Willoughby) to gather information about their experiences/rules on these topics.  The Carleton is also has begun reviewing their communication rules and their Board lead person on the project is interested in having ongoing contact.  They also use Building Link for communications.   

Gary Costello and Chris Wemple have also volunteered to get involved in the building communication issues, including restarting a regular newsletter for owners/residents.  However, to develop consensus concepts on each of these reviews and identify what is possible and practical for new initiatives, more Building owners and residents’ participation is needed.  It is likely these two projects will be split up as they move forward so volunteers can participate in whichever issue is of interest to them.   Anyone interested in participating in either of these reviews and research should contact Celesta Jurkovich, #1211 who is available at cjurkovich@verizon.net or 301-657-8134. 

Refurbishing Committee:

This group (Tobi Esler, Judy Gann, and Suzan Stafford) met to recommend immediate measures to spruce up the hallways. Five recommendations were made: replace chairs with benches (if there is a budget for a temporary fix), use uniform light bulbs throughout the property, repair wallpaper as needed, remove notices from tables, and procurement inexpensive centerpieces for these tables.

Other Items:

Car Charging Stations: The Board is again exploring the installation of electric car charging stations in the garage.  Information on the concept which was considered previously will be reviewed and costs involved will be determined as well how to charge those who would use such facilities

Owner Maintenance Requirements for HVAC Units: The Board also discussed distributing general information to all owners on appropriate unit owner maintenance requirements for HVAC units to avoid leak problems.