Highlights from the 5/11/17 HOA board meeting

The official minutes from the HOA board meeting on 5/11/17 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, with Building Manager Karen DeGraw out for personal reasons. Approximately 10 additional Esplanade residents were also present.

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:

• Finance Committee:
  Committee Chair Tim O’Donnell gave a lengthy review of the committee's work on transitioning the HOA's reserve funds into laddered CDARS. Per the board's request, the committee has set up a schedule for reinvestment of the HOA's reserves into higher-yielding CDs. The committee recommended a series of 3-year CDARS, "laddered" to mature every May in 3-year cycles. The new investments will ensure no risk, with a significantly higher rate of return than the current investments.
  
  The board voted to proceed with these new investments, and requested that Property Manager Matt Brown work with the Finance Committee on this matter. "It's important for the board to pay attention to its investments," Tim stated, adding that for the future, it is crucial that the HOA's funds are well-managed, systematic, and relatively easy to understand.

• Safety Committee: 
• Committee Chair Pat Pound gave some logistics regarding the "confidence test" scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on June 5. At that time, a building-wide test will be done to make certain that emergency systems all come online when power to the building is cut. All power in the building will be disabled for a short time while the systems are tested. Volunteers are needed to check the emergency lighting on each floor - if you are able to help, please see Pat or Karen. 
• Board member Kelly DeLaat-Maher requested that in 2018, the committee try to schedule a time for the confidence test which will cause less impact on the building's businesses.
• The committee also suggested exploring the possibility of hiring a part-time security service during the upcoming Festival of Sail. Thousands of visitors are expected every day of the festival; residents should expect parking issues, lane closures on Dock Street, and large crowds. The board voted to explore the possibility of hiring a security service for those days to patrol the lobby and lower garage, possibly from noon to midnight. 
• Pat also described a new proposal in the ongoing issue of general building security, setting off a long discussion about security matters. For a newly UPDATED and COMPLETE review of building security issues, please read THIS.

• Social Committee:
  Committee chair Sallie Zimmer had several items to report, including:
• The success of the mimosa table and flower giveaway during the Daffodil Marine Parade, as well as the success of the reception for new board members after the April HOA meeting.
• The committee's next event will be "Thirsty Thursday," on May 25 at 5:30 p.m. The event will feature a happy hour, a potluck, and a movie. The committee is hopeful that "Thirsty Thursdays" can become a monthly event on the fourth Thursday of every month. The movie on 5/25 will be the classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird."
• The Social Committee has now hosted four guest speakers in its series of "Esplanade Speaker Forums,"  and would very much like some suggestions for future guest speakers.
• The committee is also having talks about an alternative to the annual Christmas auction. More information on this will be forthcoming.
• Finally, a suggestion was made to get bids on blinds for the Community Room windows, so that residents can use the TV during the day without a glare; the board voted to move ahead on this.

Building Manager's report:
Below are a few of the projects on which Building Manager Karen DeGraw is currently working. This is not a comprehensive list of all Karen is doing - it is merely a glimpse of a few projects. The report was given by Board President Kathryn Vernon in Karen's absence.

• Thanks to helpers
  Karen wished to express her gratitude for all those who helped with changing the codes for the garage remotes, as well as those who helped to move bikes to the P1 bike storage room. Both processes seemed to go smoothly.

• Deck resurfacing
  Karen reported that she now has five comparable bids for the resurfacing of the elastomeric surface on all concrete decks (not the 2nd/9th floor "Trex" decks). Karen would like all residents to examine their decks for standing water, cracks or coating lifting off. These issues will require extra work. The deck resurfacing will delay this year's window washing, which should not be done until after the deck resurfacing is completed.

• Cleaning of lower garage and decluttering parking spaces
  Karen is currently working on getting bids for a vacuuming and general cleaning of the lower garage. In conjunction with that, some "decluttering" of the garage will be attempted as well: A new kayak rack will be installed on the wall at the north end of the garage, where several kayaks are now hanging. The new rack will accommodate more kayaks, allowing them to be moved out of parking spaces. According to the building rules, residents are generally not allowed to clutter up parking spaces with storage of miscellaneous items, except in cases where special permission has been specifically granted due to unique configuration of the spaces.

• New exercise bike
  The existing exercise bike in the fitness room has experienced many problems and needs to be replaced. A newer model has been ordered and should arrive soon

• Please don't contact Karen about homeless issues
  If you are concerned about litter and/or issues with "individuals experiencing homelessness" in the neighborhood, Karen is not the contact person. Please click HERE for a complete list of contacts.

New business: None

Old business:

• Homeowners requested to vote
  At the April board meeting, Ryan Stewart of the Partners Group presented information on The Esplanade’s insurance policy, including damage coverage, liability, earthquake, etc. Mr. Stewart explained how the HOA's insurance on the building works in conjunction with homeowners' insurance policies on their individual units. He explained that individual condo owners generally do not need any more than $25,000 in damage coverage on their units, as any amount of damage over that is covered by the building's policy. He also recommended that condo owners have $500,000 of liability coverage, and "loss of use" coverage that would provide for owners to live elsewhere for 6 months if their unit is damaged. Personal property coverage would depend on the value of the belongings in the unit.
  
  Mr. Stewart recommended a small language change to the building's CC&Rs in order to more specifically state the responsibility of the HOA's insurance policy. That language change requires a vote of all homeowners. A ballot to vote on this matter will be mailed soon, please vote and return the ballot promptly.

Resident questions and comments:

• A few clarifying questions were asked regarding items above, and that information has been inserted into the notes above where appropriate.
• A couple comments were made about residents' poor driving habits in the upper and lower garages. Apparently there is at least one individual driving much too fast in the lower garage. And there are numerous residents who do not slow down when driving in the door to the upper garage. Please note that when driving into the upper garage from outside, the changing light can be momentarily blinding. Apparently there have been several close calls in this area, including a small child very nearly being hit. Please drive with caution!