Highlights from the 4/16 HOA board meeting

The official minutes from the HOA board meeting on 4/16/15 should be available on this blog in the next couple weeks or so. In advance of the official minutes, below are a few highlights from the meeting, attended by four board members (Rodger Morris present via speaker phone), and 17 other residents. Property manager Claire Scott of Condominium Management was also present to answer questions and help facilitate the meeting.

New officers:

• Prior to the open portion of the meeting, the newly-elected board members and the returning board members met to select board officer positions, which can be seen HERE.

Treasurer's report:

• The treasurer relayed findings and recommendations from the board's finance committee, most notably that in the years 2012-2014, the HOA used a portion of its funds intended for reserve to pay for various building operating costs; thus, the reserve fund is not as stable as previously believed.
• Additionally, the HOA is facing an unforeseen $20,000 payment to cover the insurance deductible for a recent water leak. [Later in the meeting, it was acknowledged that information about this leak should have been better communicated to all building residents, instead of just those residents impacted.]
• Based on the two points above, the board voted to suspend reserve fund contributions for 2015, and instead use current dues to make up the deficit contributions from 2012-2014. This should keep the reserve fund balanced at 100% going into 2016, without a special assessment. The vote to approve this action was suspended until the board receives confirmation that moving funds in this manner is allowed under state laws governing HOA finances.

Sale of commercial unit #1 and architectural requests:

• The commercial unit on the southwest corner of The Esplanade has been sold to Carino & Associates, a business which owns and manages properties, including the Thea's Landing building, and The Henry (currently under construction at the south end of the esplanade).
• Carino & Associates has requested approval to run utility lines (plumbing, electrical, etc.) through certain common walls and ceilings on the building's ground floor, as part of their office build-out. There was some discussion about the exact placement and materials of these utility lines, and eventually the board approved the request.
• Property Manager Claire Scott suggested that the board form an "Architectural Control Committee" to handle future requests from commercial and residential owners regarding architectural changes to units. The board is seeking volunteers to serve on the Architectural Control Committee. Please contact the board if interested.

Committee reports:

• Landscape and Grounds: The Landscape and Grounds committee is in need of additional members. The board is also seeking volunteers to serve on the Landscape and Grounds Committee. Please contact the board if interested.

• Safety Committee: The Safety Committee did not meet this month, but a committee member present did offer two observations:
• In the ongoing search for a solution to the extreme temperature swings in the hallways, it is important to remember that any solution must be compatible with proper pressurization of the building's stairwells and elevator shafts during a fire.
• The handles on the building's ground floor stairwell doors should be replaced. The round knobs previously on the doors are not ADA-compliant, while the levers currently on the doors are not secure. Push bars on the inside and U-shaped handles on the outside are recommended.

Old business:

• Rooftop chiller unit: The chiller unit on the building's rooftop is still in need of repair or replacement, and the warmer months when air conditioners will be in use are approaching. The board has received a report from Richmond Engineering suggesting a $70,000 - $90,000 repair. However, the board would like additional information before contracting the work, and thus approved a budget of $6000 to contract with a different company to investigate the problem and submit a second report.

• Extreme temperature swings in hallways: The board voted to authorize Richmond Engineering to follow through on their previous recommendation, which would involve deactivating small rooftop units which continuously pump outside air into the hallways. The result would be more stable hallway temperatures, and a potential $30,000 per year savings by not having to heat and cool air pumped in from outside. This work would be contingent upon the hallways passing an air pressure test compliant with current codes, per the Safety Committee's recommendation above.

New business:

• Building manager: The previous building manager, Jonathan Chaffin, is no longer employed at The Esplanade. The HOA board "decided to go a different direction." A search for a new building manager is underway, although the board acknowledged several complications with the building manager position:
• Ideally, the building manager would be someone who is skilled in the management and financial portion of the job, and also can perform some day-to-day maintenance and janitorial duties. Individuals with these dual skill sets are not easy to come by, particularly at the salary level being offered by our HOA.
• Board President Debby Goodrich noted that it would also be nice to find an individual who has some level of care for, or vested interest in the building.
• Property Manager Claire Scott noted the importance of daily maintenance. As just one example, some residents still do not follow rules for proper garbage disposal, necessitating maintenance of the trash room and trash chute almost every day. Better compliance by residents would make the job of the building manager that much easier.

• Utility carts: It seems as though the five utility carts purchased by the HOA and stored in the P1 elevator foyer are at times being hoarded by residents. Sometimes at odd hours of the night there are only 1-2 carts available, indicating that residents are keeping them overnight. The carts are intended to be used for brief periods (10-20 minutes) and then returned for others to use. The board indicated that while the cart-hoarding is appalling, they have no intention of policing carts or purchasing additional carts. Board Vice-President Dave Bischof touted the merits of his new, personal folding wagon that he purchased at Costco.

• Window washing: Spring window washing is tentatively scheduled for May 18 - June 3. For those who are new to the building, window washing typically lasts several days, and you should expect to see workers hanging from ropes outside you windows at any time, without notice. The workers will clean all of your exterior windows (including the ones on your deck) in addition to the exterior of the deck's glass railing. Some residents schedule other tasks to coincide with window washing, such as deck cleaning or interior window washing. 

Resident questions:

• Building security: Some questions and discussion regarding building security. 
• Apparently some residents have been propping open exterior doors. The board seemed inclined to review security camera footage, identify people responsible for this, and give out warnings and, if necessary, fines.
• One resident pointed out that at past HOA general meetings, owners have voted in favor of securing the elevators with magnetic fobs that would make them inoperable without a fob. Others pointed out that securing the elevators in this manner would be pointless without also retrofitting the southeast stairwell with a security gate, and this would be a very costly endeavor. 
• The board did agree that building security is a concern, they indicated that it is an ongoing endeavor, and they would continue to work toward making improvements in security.

• Communication: Some questions and discussion regarding HOA communication. 
• Apparently, not all Esplanade residents are regular readers of this blog, and/or find this blog insufficient for their informational needs.
• There were various suggestions floated at the meeting for improving building communication, including, but not limited to: 
• Putting glass cases in the elevators to display notices
• More emails from the board and/or the building manager
• More notices from the board via USPS, or even slipping paper notices under residents' doors
• Improving the Condominium Management website
• A quarterly paper HOA newsletter
• It became clear that different residents have wildly different preferences regarding how the board and building management should disseminate information. The board acknowledged this, but prudently did not make any promises to cater to all whims in this regard.