Highlights from the 6/25 HOA general meeting

The official minutes from the HOA general meeting on 6/25/15 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 all resident board members (Rodger Morris not present), and approximately 45 other residents. Property manager Kevin Ducotey of Condominium Management was also present to answer questions and help facilitate the meeting. Tonight's meeting will go on record as perhaps the shortest HOA meeting ever held at the Esplanade, lasting just under 18 minutes.

Announcements:

Prior to the official opening of the general meeting, Board President Debra Goodrich made two announcements:

• Air conditioning: Building manager Karen DeGraw received numerous messages in the last week when the air conditioning in the building malfunctioned. As the weather heats up and the air conditioning gets more use, there is more stress on the one functioning rooftop chiller, leading to breakdowns. If you are unfamiliar with the history of the malfunctioning rooftop chiller unit, you can find out more by reading past board meeting notes HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
• Tonight's meeting is intended to briefly address two agenda items requiring a vote of the entire HOA. All other pending HOA business will be addressed at the next board meeting, which will be Thursday, July 9 at 6:00 p.m. in the Esplanade community room.

Budget ratification:

Based on work by the building's finance committee, the board recommended a revised budget for 2015, to replace the budget approved by the HOA in December. Briefly, the rationale for the revised budget:

• 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 was not as stable as previously believed.
• Additionally, the HOA was facing an unforeseen $20,000 payment to cover insurance deductibles, in addition to higher insurance premiums due to the increased value of the building.
• Based on the two points above, the revised budget suspends reserve fund contributions for 2015, and instead will use current dues to make up the deficit contributions from 2012-2014. This should keep the operating budget in the black, while keeping the reserve fund balanced at 100% going into 2016, without a special assessment.

According to HOA bylaws, new budgets pass automatically without a majority of HOA members voting it down. As there were not enough HOA members present at the meeting to vote down the budget, it passed automatically without a vote.

Election of new board members:

Due to the resignation of board members Dave Bischof and Karen DeGraw, it was necessary to elect two new board members. Two volunteers stepped up and spoke at the meeting, Dave Rodenbach and Ken McDonald. Both Dave and Ken spoke about their backgrounds in finance and accounting, which should be of considerable use to the board. An offer was made to hear from any other candidates, and when no one spoke up, a show of hands was called for. Dave and Ken were elected by a unanimous show of hands, and roundly thanked for their willingness to serve.