MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
NOVEMBER 13, 2008

The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by Roger Hirschland. Present were other board members Dwight Clark, Elizabeth VanderPutten, John Filice, and Jeffrey Wertkin, and property manager Walter Krolman. 

READING, MODIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF OCTOBER 21, 2008

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

BUDGET MEETING

The Board conducted a thorough review of the 2008 financials and prepared the budget for fiscal year 2009. In order to keep the fee increase as small as possible, the Board cut costs in a number of areas and increased rental fees for parking spaces and the condo-owned unit. To keep pace with increasing costs associated with the laundry, the board raised the cost of laundry machines by 25 cents. The new budget includes an increase in condo fees of 5.86 percent.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

Status of Insurance Claim for Damage to Unit from Roof Leak & Related Repairs

The Association’s insurance company has yet to act on our claim for the damage to unit 1003 caused by a leak from the roof. In a related matter, the resident of Unit 1003 informed the Board that the contractor hired to repair the leak-related damage in his apartment caused additional minor damage to his furniture. The Board decided it would ask Mr. Tulchinsky for a detailed list of any damaged items and then determine the best way to proceed. 

Fence for Lawn Area

Roger Hirschland passed along a complaint that neighborhood pets were causing damage to the small lawn areas on condominium’s property by urinating. The Board discussed the pros and cons of installing a fence to discourage this practice, but ultimately determined that the cost of erecting a fence would far outweigh the cost of repairing the damaged lawn. The Board discussed the possibility of putting up signs kindly asking owners to keep their pets off the grass. 

HVAC Servicing 

Our maintenance chief recently completed routine maintenance of HVAC filters in each unit. Cacho reported to Manager Walter Krolman that several residents did not heed the property manager’s request to remove all furniture blocking access to the HVAC filter. This caused significant delays because Cacho was forced to waste time by moving the furniture himself. The Board discussed actually charging residents and tenants for that portion of Cacho’s time that is wasted because the HVAC filters are inaccessible. 

Smoke Alarms in Residential Units 

As part of his routine maintenance activities in each unit (along with changing the HVAC filters), Cacho also checks the smoke detectors in each unit. Cacho reported to Walter Krolman that a number of residents have either disabled or failed to properly maintain their smoke alarms. 

The Board would like to remind all residents to keep their smoke detectors functional. The governing condominium documents (as incorporated in all condo leases) require that smoke detectors be adequately maintained. Moreover, an individual’s failure to maintain his or her smoke detector puts the safety of everyone in the building at risk. 

The Board instructed Walter Krolman to work with Cacho to keep track of those units that do not have functioning smoke detectors. Repeat offenders could be subject to fines for violation of the condominium bylaws and governing documents.

No Electric Cars Without Prior Approval

In light of news reports that electric cars may be coming on the market in the near term, the Board unanimously voted to ban any use of electrical outlets in common areas to charge electric cars. The ban will remain in effect until such time as the Board develops a policy regarding the use of common area outlets to charge electric cars. 

NEXT BOARD MEETING

The next monthly Board meeting is scheduled for December 16, 2008.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m. for Executive Session. 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED

Jeffrey Wertkin, Second Vice-President, for Elizabeth A. VanderPutten, Secretary.