Highlights from the 9/15 HOA board meeting

The official minutes from the HOA board meeting on 9/15/16 should be available HERE in the next couple weeks or so. In advance of the official minutes, below are a few highlights from the meeting, attended by four current board members, with the absence of Kelly DeLaat-Maher. Building Manager Karen DeGraw and Property Manager Matt Brown were also present. Approximately 12 additional Esplanade residents were also on hand.


Treasurer's report:

• Board Treasurer Pat O’Donnell provided the balances in both the operating fund and the reserve fund. She also noted some of this month's bills and payments that were made.

Committee reports:

• Social Committee:
  Numerous upcoming social events were explained, including:
• Another "Coffee and Conversation" social event to be held this Saturday, 9/17, in the community room at 9:30 a.m. Approximately 25 people attended the last coffee social, and a similar crowd is expected Saturday. Residents may bring a breakfast item to share, and may also bring their own coffee mug if they are adverse to disposable cups.
• A "Safe and Secure Saturday" is being planned in conjunction with the Safety Committee for Saturday, October 22. A tentative schedule:
• 9:00 "Coffee and Conversation"
• 9:30 Vendor Fair (Contractors on hand to discuss home improvement)
• 10:30 Fire drill, evacuation, and fire extinguisher demonstration
• 11:00 Esplanade community cookout
• The Social Committee is starting a series of "Esplanade Speaker Forums." The first guest speaker will be on Tuesday, 10/25 at 7:00 p.m. Speaker: Allyson Griffith from Community Based Services. Topic: "Homelessness in Tacoma."
• In the upcoming months, the Social Committee will sponsor its usual holiday gatherings and events, including a food drive in October and November, "Toys for Tots" in November and December, decorating of the lobby and community room on 12/3, and the annual holiday party and auction on the evening of 12/10.
• Anyone who would like to help with the Social Committee is welcome to attend the next committee meeting on Wednesday, 9/21 at 7:00 p.m. in the lobby area.

• Safety Committee: 
  Committee chair Pat Pound described several items of note regarding building safety issues:
• The AED unit (portable defibrillator) has been installed on the first floor near the elevators, at a cost of approximately $1,200. To watch a brief video on the use of the AED, click HERE.
• Pat reported that the Safety Committee has received requests for a defibrillator on every floor. The committee had no recommendation on this idea. In light of questions regarding costs and maintenance of these units, the board tabled the discussion of additional defibrillators for now, but promised to revisit the question at a later date.
• Some additional information was provided regarding the "Safe and Secure Saturday" event (see above).
• The committee wished to remind the board of a request made some months ago - that the building's emergency generator be fully tested. This would involve cutting power to the entire building for 10-20 minutes, and making certain that the generator goes on and all building emergency systems are powered and functioning. Building Manager Karen DeGraw explained that the generator is test-fired every Monday, but this is not a complete test with the building powered down. Board members discussed the difficulty with the timing of such a test, so as to provide the least impact on residents and businesses.

• Finance Committee:
  Committee Chair Tim O’Donnell raised a few items of note regarding HOA finances:
• Tim pointed out that to avoid a late adoption of next year's budget, the board and the committee should begin work on the 2017 budget soon; board members concurred. Property Manager Matt Brown stated that a draft of the budget is in the works.
• Because a sizable amount of the HOA's reserve funds, currently held in CDs, are coming to maturity in the next couple months and will be available for reinvestment, the board asked the committee to recommend an institution where those funds might be reinvested, to earn a higher interest rate than they have been earning. The transfer of the funds will be facilitated by Condominium Management.

Building Manager's report:
Below are a few of the projects that Building Manager Karen DeGraw is currently working on. This is not a comprehensive list of all she is working on - it is merely a glimpse of a few projects.

• Change to LED lights 
  Karen has been getting bids to change all of the lights in all common areas over to LED bulbs. A representative from the city estimated that the cost of the change-over would be made up in lower energy bills within two years. The board voted to move ahead with the change-over.

• New building cleaning service
  The building's cleaning employee has submitted her resignation; a new cleaning service will begin next week.

• Reserve study completed - new deck coating needed
  The annual inspection and update to the building's reserve study was completed last week. A major maintenance task necessary in the next year or two will be the resurfacing of the elastomeric surface on all concrete decks (not the 2nd floor "Trex" decks). Even though the surfaces may not appear worn, it is necessary to recoat the surfaces to prevent degradation of the decks from UV exposure.

• Carpet replacement and cleaning
  Karen reported that she is still waiting to receive acceptable bids on replacing carpet near the elevators on some floors - the bids are coming in very high, and she is looking for a more reasonable bid. In addition, Karen is getting bids for possible regular cleaning of the carpets on all floors. This task was previously performed by the building's on-site cleaning employee, however the job is very time intensive and takes time away from other cleaning tasks.

• Miscellaneous projects
• Some gaps in the building's exterior siding have been sealed this week, to prevent water intrusion.
• The large, concrete planters in front of the building have been moved. The new locations are safer, as they do not provide a hiding place near the front of the building; they are more aesthetic; and plants will grow better in the new locations. 

Old business:

• Changes to Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions (CC&Rs)
  Board President Debra Goodrich revisited the drafting of an amendment to the building's Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions (CC&Rs), and then submitting the changes to the HOA membership for approval. The primary change would be to include additional language regarding the building's insurance coverage. Condominium Management has recommended increasing the HOA's insurance deductible from $10,000 to $25,000, as a way of decreasing the HOA's premiums and preventing the cancellation of the policy, which reportedly can happen if the deductible is too low. This change may also benefit condo owners by allowing them to decrease the premiums on their own personal homeowner policies; however, there were some questions about this. Property Manager Matt Brown agreed to bring another representative from Condominium Management to a future meeting, in order to better explain the rationale for this adjustment.

• 2017 Budget
  To avoid a late adoption of next year's budget, the board would like to begin work on the 2017 budget soon. Property Manager Matt Brown stated that a draft of the budget is in the works. The goal is to mail a budget proposal to HOA members by the end of October, and schedule a general HOA meeting in November to approve the budget.

New business: none

Resident questions:

• A few clarifying questions were asked regarding items above.
• A comment was made regarding the timing of repairs/maintenance as suggested in the reserve study. It was pointed out that such repairs/maintenance should be made sooner rather than later, because the longer they are put off, the more expensive they become. There was some discussion on this point, and it was clarified that the reserve study dates are very general and not meant to be exact.
• A question was asked regarding noxious fumes from certain deck barbeques. Some discussion on the scope and range of the board's authoritative power, and when such regulation becomes micromanagement. The board did ask Building Manager Karen DeGraw to help facilitate a solution to this particular issue. However, the board reminded those present that they cannot solve every issue, and sometimes residents (particularly deck-mates) do need to manage their own concerns with one another in a respectful, calm, and neighborly manner.