Highlights from the 10/13 HOA board meeting

The official minutes from the HOA board meeting on 10/13/16 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 all five current board members. Property Manager Matt Brown was also present, while Building Manager Karen DeGraw is out of town. Approximately 18 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 two variances in the HOA's finances: current expenditures for sewer/storm control and HVAC are in excess of the budgeted amounts for 2016, although not in exceptional amounts.

Committee reports:

• Social Committee:
  Committee chair Sallie Zimmer detailed numerous upcoming social events, including:
• A "Safe and Secure Saturday" is being planned in conjunction with the Safety Committee for Saturday, October 22. The schedule and tentative offerings:
• 9:00 "Coffee and Conversation" (free donuts)
• 9:30 Vendor Fair, with home improvement, utilities, and safety experts on hand to answer resident questions (free mimosas)
• 10:30 Fire drill, evacuation, and fire extinguisher demonstration
• 11:00 Esplanade community cookout (free hot dogs)
• The Social Committee can use a few volunteers to help with the "Safe and Secure Saturday" event; if interested, contact Sallie Zimmer at SallieNHerb85@comcast.net.
• The Social Committee is starting a series of "Esplanade Speaker Forums." These are not decision-making forums, but invited guest speakers. 
• 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."
• The second guest speaker will be on Tuesday, 11/9 at 7:00 p.m. Speaker: Kevin Glackin-Coley from St. Leo's Food Bank.
• 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, 10/19 at 7:00 p.m. in the Club Room.
• Finally, Sallie noted that the Social Committee is exploring options for an espresso or coffee machine in the Community Room.

• Safety Committee: 
  
• The Safety Committee requested funding from the board to purchase food for the "Safe and Secure Saturday" event on Saturday, October 22. The board approved this request, although it was noted that in the future funding of this sort should probably come from the Social Committee's accounts.
• The board posed a question to the Safety Committee regarding securing access from P1 to the residential floors. This set off a lengthy review of this issue, which has a very long and very colorful history in the building. It is an issue which has been discussed and debated ad nauseam over the years. The salient points of the issue are as follows:
• Some Esplanade owners would like to see more security restricting access to the residential floors. However, not all are in agreement on this; others believe that increased security will cause headaches when residents have guests to the building.
• Making the residential floors (2-9) more secure would require two components: 
• First, a gate would have to be installed in the SE stairwell between floors 1 and 2. A gate is necessary because fire codes require egress from P1 to the stairwell, via the door next to the elevator foyer on P1. In other words, if there is a fire in the lower garage, people must be able to get outside via the SE stairwell, so the stairwell door on P1 cannot be locked. Since that door cannot be locked, any other measures to secure the residential floors are moot without a gate restricting access to floors 2-9 in the SE stairwell. Installing such a gate, however, is not a simple matter. Fire officials have suggested that such a gate may require an ADA compliant landing at the location of the gate, which could require an entire rebuild of the stairwell in that area, possibly including knocking down and rebuilding concrete walls. Even merely getting a bid for such a job would require architectural plans at significant cost. 
• Second, even if such a gate were constructed in the stairwell, the elevators would also need to be secured. This could be done by locking the elevator foyer doors on P1, although some residents would consider this an annoyance. Another option for securing the elevators would be to activate the fob-readers in the elevators, and issue fobs to all residents. However, two electricians have searched for the control panel for these fob readers, and it cannot be found. Speculation is that during the construction of the building, the wiring terminus was inadvertently sheet rocked where the panel should be. Additionally, some residents have pointed out that if the fob readers were activated in the elevators, then guests who enter through the lobby will be stuck there until a resident with a fob comes and activates the elevator for them.
• Finally, there are also those who are fond of pointing out that even if the above measures are taken (at great expense), the building is still only as secure as residents make it. The lobby video cameras show residents frequently letting non-residents walk in the front door, without stopping to question them. Presumably, even if the elevators were fob-activated, some residents would do the same and allow non-residents onto the elevator with them. On the other hand, it should be noted that making the building more secure might be a good thing, even if it cannot be made 100% secure.

• Finance Committee:
  Committee Chair Tim O’Donnell raised a few items of note regarding HOA finances:
• Tim explained that the Finance Committee has now reviewed the proposed 2017 budget, as requested. Tim asked a question about the budgeted amount for the building's insurance premiums, which was explained by Matt Brown.
• Tim also asked a question regarding unit owners whose HOA accounts are delinquent. The board indicated that there is a process in place for placing liens on those properties.
• 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 again asked the committee to recommend an institution where those funds might be reinvested, to earn a higher interest rate than they have been earning. Tim asked if Matt Brown could make certain that these funds are not automatically reinvested in their current CDs, so that they will be available for transfer. 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 (as reported in Karen's absence by Board President Debra Goodrich). This is not a comprehensive list of all Karen is working on - it is merely a glimpse of a few projects.

• Generator bolted to foundation 
  It was found that the building's emergency generator was not bolted down, which could be problematic in the event of an earthquake and subsequent loss of power. Situation has been fixed and generator is now bolted.

• Water coming into SE corner of P1
  Water was discovered leaking into the SE corner of P1, the problem is being investigated.

• New deck coating needed
  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 water and/or UV exposure.

• Front door lock repaired
  Once again the lock on the building's front door was sticking. Residents are reminded not to pull the front door open with their key. Unlock the door with your key, then use the handle to pull the door open.  Pulling the door with your key degrades the lock and eventually causes it to fail. The board discussed ideas such as a small sign on the door to remind residents of this, or possibly giving residents a code to use on the call-box which would unlock the door, so they don't have to use a key. Concerns were raised, however, about keeping a door code secure.

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.

New business:

• Building Manager salary
  The board voted to approve a salary increase for the Building Manager, from $54,000 to $58,500.
• 2017 Budget
  The board has had a chance to review the proposed 2017 HOA budget. It was noted that for the second year in a row, there will be no HOA dues increase for residential owners. Kelly DeLaat-Maher asked a few questions regarding budget items that commercial units have been charged for, but should perhaps be exempt from; for example, charges for HVAC in the residential lobby and cleaning of the residential common areas. Matt Brown agreed to make those alterations, and once they are made, the board will approve the budget proposal and it will be mailed out to condo owners.

Resident questions and comments:

• A few clarifying questions were asked regarding items above.
• A question was asked regarding the tax abatement on the building. Although the HOA board has absolutely no bearing on this matter, it was established that the tax abatement ends in 2018. This means that at some point in 2018, property taxes on all units will rise dramatically, in most cases by thousands of dollars per unit, per year. Condo owners need to be aware and prepared for this added expense.
• A suggestion was made to use DNA sampling in order to identify and fine pet owners who do not clean up after their pet. [Editor's note: Although this may sound extreme, a bit of research reveals that the practice is actually becoming widespread in condo buildings, thanks to numerous commercial services such as THIS ONE.] A suggestion was also made that additional cameras in the building may help with the problem.
• A suggestion was made to forbid contractors and vendors working in the building from using the HOA's utility carts. Residents are reminded, once again, to return the carts to P1 as quickly as possible.