This has been a good year in most ways

Thanks to All Who Helped

Once again, it is a pleasure to thank those who have worked so hard to maintain our home and investments. First the Board. This has been a most pleasant, caring and hardworking group. My thanks of course to my long-time colleague and Board Treasurer, Joe Morris. We did have some changes and we were so pleased to be able to appoint Deborah Becker and Dwight Clark to the Board.

Our staff continues to be excellent. As usual, Walter Krolman has done an excellent job. I am particularly pleased to note that he has gotten the pool open today - the earliest that I know of - and just in time for tonight's meeting. Now if only it would get warm (not really). And our gardens, thanks to Cacho, continue to delight us.

Committees

Several committees have done an excellent job. Last year, we announced that we had finally signed a contract with StarPower, thanks to the Technology Committee headed by Waldemar Wajszczuk. I think this adds to both the value and enjoyment of our units.

Thanks to the Noise Abatement Committee, we really do seem to have few buses revving up their engines. Roger Hirschland continues to fight DC bureaucracy for the very needed traffic light at 20th and N streets. This will be the year.

Where We Are Now

Accomplishments

Several outstanding issues were resolved this year. Perhaps most important, the lawsuit involving the use of units at businesses was settled. You each received the notice of the settlement with The Lauren. I believe that all individual suits have also been settled.

We finished the lobby which I think really does look elegant. It has taken longer than anyone expected but it is certainly worth it. The addition of the lamp in the corner added just exactly the right touch, I thought. I know the Board and front desk staff get a lot of compliments.

We conducted a necessary Reserve Study. As reported in the January minutes:

"The study indicated that The Lauren building is in good condition. Major highlights of recommended expenditures include Renovations to the roof, deck and railing (2001), a study of The Lauren's electrical systems (2001), brick tuck pointing (2003), repairs to the garage (2003), and a new boiler and convector pans (2004)." We are more or less on track to having the appropriate level of reserves.

This has been a particularly good year for sales and rentals. Over 27 units sold last year, almost all at higher prices than ever before and some, Walter reports, for more than double what they were selling for last year. Rents have reached $2,400 per month for some units.

Of course this is reflected in our new tax assessments. As John Chester wrote,

 "...we've requested the 'data worksheets' for our units in preparation for possible appeals. Looking at the comparable sales on the DC Chief Financial Officer's web site, however, it looks like the market for condos has fully recovered and so the proposed assessments might not be unreasonable."

A Few Snags to be Worked Out

There have been some changes that may work out okay but were not necessarily anticipated.

At the last meeting we mentioned the change in the management firm to Zalco. The transition was rocky but I think most issues were settled. Last month, Zalco wrote and said that they could not longer provide services to us at the agreed upon amount and chose to exercise a 60 day option of cancellation unless we agreed to a higher price. Because the Board did not want precipitously make the change and because change in the middle of the year would involve expenses, we agreed to the change. However, we are definitely reviewing options and have appointed a committee to develop a statement of work for a firm

We also heard that our auditing firm no longer wanted to do our audit, in part because of the change to Zalco but also because of larger contracts. We conducted a competition.

The Future or What I Think Will Happen Next year

Energy prices will continue to increase

Last year we were on a variable rate electrical billing. In August when we realized that energy prices would rise, we asked Walter Krolman to arrange with Washington Gas to lock in the price for heating gas for next winter. Although our price is higher than it was last year, it is significantly lower than what it would have been had we waited.

I am afraid prices will continue to rise and that will undoubtedly mean higher energy prices.

Replacement Windows

We have gotten bids on various replacement windows, which could at least marginally reduce heating and cooling costs. Windows are the property of unit owners so the Board is exploring with our attorney the possibility of providing some sort of incentives. Owners have a significant reason to replace the old single pane windows with new, double pane-insulated windows. They eliminate drafts thereby making the unit more comfortable. They significantly reduce street noise making the unit quieter. And they increase the value of the unit.

Roof Replacement

This year the Board will replace the roof. This will be a big-ticket item with an estimated cost of $225,000, which includes railings. We have long known this was coming and have set aside the funds for it.

Handicapped Access

The Lauren was built long before the laws requiring handicapped access to public building were enacted. We have recently had a request to make the Lauren accessible to persons with disabilities. The Board has asked Vice President Dwight Clark to head up a committee to develop ways of doing this. This could be quite an expensive and disruptive, but is necessary. Space is a major problem.

Various options are being considered including the purchase of a first floor unit, either adjacent to the lobby or elsewhere on the 20th Street side that might be converted. Also under consideration are chair lifts and other mechanical devices.

Air conditioning

The heating and air conditioning system in The Lauren is over a quarter century old. It was not the best system in the world 27years ago and it is less so today. In order to maintain comfort for residents and control costs, the Board continues to try to optimize the system. I do not believe we have been totally successful. We will continue to investigate these problems.

Conclusion