The Lauren Condominium Association

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
June 20, 2007 (Updated)

The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m. by President Roger Hirschland. Present were other board members Dwight Clark, John Filice, Elizabeth VanderPutten, and Jeffrey Wertkin; property manager Walter Krolman; and unit owners Roger Berg, Brian Larkin, Ethan Stier, and Claudia Guidi.

READING, MODIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF APRIL 19, 2007

The Board approved the April minutes as a true record of the meeting.

TREASURER'S REPORT FOR MAY 2007

Net cash available at the end of May 2007 was $994,671.75.

For year-to-date operations, through the end of May 2007:

• Total income was $422,864, which is under budget by $15,551.
• Total operating expenses were $323,961, which is under budget by $16,321.
• Capital expenditures were $40,699

Certificate of Deposit activity during May was as follows:

- NONE -

Fund Balances

• Operating fund balance as of the end of May 2007 is $77,977.
• Reserve fund booked balance as of the end of May 2007 is $905,849
• HVAC replacement reserve fund booked balance as of the end of May 2007 is $12,125.

Audit Status

Audits for 2005 are now complete. The audit for 2006 is expected in July. At that time, both audits will be available. If an owner wants a copy of the 2005 report now, the owner can get one from the Manager.

D.C. Tax Status

The manager reported that all disputed tax issues with the city have been resolved except the two previously reported. The Lauren has sent a formal request to waive the payment for the disputed amounts and of any interest or penalties and is still awaiting a response from the city. The president asked the manager to pursue this issue, and offered to provide a name of a different person in the tax office to contact in the event we do not hear soon.

Collection of Condo Fees

The accounting of the fees is not accurate in the current reports. There are several issues. In some 30 cases, previous account manager Koger did not deduct funds from automatic bank paying accounts for the month of December 2006, and some of those payments have yet to be collected. Other issues involve late or lower payments to Simmons based on the current fee schedule. In some cases, payments are just late. Each of these owners has received a letter pointing out the late payments. The Board has asked that resolving these accounts be accorded highest priority.

Certificate of Deposits

The Board reviewed the list of Condominium CDs in nine banks. Several years ago, the Board asked that a "ladder" of CDs be purchased with different due dates. Currently, there are funds at one bank not in a CD. The treasurer will ensure that these funds are moved to a CD. The Treasurer will also move laundry funds from a money market fund to a CD.

Problems with Management Firm

The treasurer reported a litany of problems that the Lauren is experiencing with Simmons, the new management company. One issue is late payment of condominium bills, which results in late fees. As the time between receipt of bills and due dates is shortened, it is hard to make payments on time, especially if these have to be signed and approved by the Board. One solution to this is automatic payment of utility bills. The Board has asked Simmons to implement those procedures. The board agreed to set September as the deadline for Simmons to resolve all of the issues of record keeping and billing.

ACTION ITEMS

Appointment of Smoking Committee

The President discussed some of the issues involved in banning smoking in units. The major issue is smoke from a smoker’s unit entering units of nonsmokers. Forbidding smoking would resolve that issue, but it would also limit the choices use of unit owners or tenants who wanted to smoke. The Lauren attorney has advised that instituting such a rule is possible, but advised that to do so, the condo board should ask the ownership to change the bylaws, which requires an 80-percent vote for passage. This would ensure approval of such a policy by a vast majority of the ownership. It was recognized that the smoking issue involves issues of privacy, rights of owners, enforcement of rules, sale prices, ability to rent units, etc. The board agreed that the rights of current owners and residents to smoke, if they so chose, should probably be grandfathered.

The President appointed Ethan Stier (Chair), Roger Berg, and Claudia Guidi to a committee to look into the issue.

The charge is to review policies and procedures in other condominiums in the district or elsewhere, survey or in other ways get information from the owners and tenants, identify other options for limiting smoking in the building, and preparing recommendations for the Board. A preliminary report is due in September.

Waterproofing Pool Mechanical Room

Seal Engineering has been on site to develop specifications. The Board asked that Seal submit the proposal within ten days.

Boiler Replacement

Jack McNabb submitted a proposal to review current operation of the boiler, develop requirements for replacing the current boiler, and prepare estimates for cost and payback periods. As part of this, he will also develop specifications for moving the position of the exhaust fans, which now blow onto the roof garden. The Board approved the proposal, but asked that the report be submitted in four weeks. This is necessary if the boiler is to be installed by the next heating season.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Decorating Committee

Jeff Wertkin reported for the committee that the goal is to have one more proposal from a decorating firm by mid to late July.

REVIEW AND DISCUSSION ITEMS

Roof garden

The Board discussed the current rules that prohibit glass and alcohol on the roof and decided to endorse them for the current season. In turn, the Board asked management to have new signs made up to replace the old "Rules" postings that were misplaced during the previous roof renovation.

Trash Chute Renovation

Cacho is still investigating various possibilities. No option has been found yet that can be manufactured. The Board did ask that signs be placed reminding tenants not to throw large items down the trash chutes.

NEW BUSINESS

Reserve Studies

The last reserve study was done in 2003. The Board began a preliminary discussion of need for a new study. This was tabled until the next meeting at which time the Board will review the past study.

Board Officers and Members for 2007-2008

The board met in executive session Wednesday, May 21, 2007, and elected the following officers for the coming year.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be July 25 at 7:00 p.m. in unit 908.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

There was no executive session.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED

Elizabeth A. VanderPutten, Secretary

TO SUBSCRIBE

To receive e-mail copies of Board Minutes, send a request to Property Manager Walter Krolman at manager@lauren.org

Minutes and other Lauren information may be found in the Business Section of the Lauren Web site www.lauren.org/lrn_business.htm