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Good evening, and welcome to the 32nd annual meeting of the Lauren Condominium Homeowners Association. Thanks for coming. [Introduce other Board Members Elizabeth VanderPutten, Amy Bertha, Dwight Clark, John Filice.] One of the primary purposes of this meeting is to elect the board of directors for the 2012-2013 year. But the meeting also serves the important purpose of getting many of us together to see each other, talk, and discuss condo issues that you may have on your mind. It's also a chance for you to learn about what's happened in the past year and what's expected in the coming months. Let's start with the past year. Many of these things affect our comfort and security on a daily basis. We have a fourth new water heater in the boiler room, ensuring that we have plenty of hot water during the morning rush during the coldest of winter days. The green canopy over the front entrance, which functioned last year as a sieve and was replaced, will now keep you dry in the hardest downpours. Cacho and his crew have just completed planting or replanting many new bushes around our perimeter, really enhancing our elegant look. Through the cooperation of all our parkers out back, we have a new mural, "The Toy Theatre," by New Zealand-born artist Peter Waddell, for those facing east. We have an updated reserve study to guide the board of directors in planning preventive maintenance. And, in the financial department, we are on track in putting aside funds for the eventual replacement of our heating and air-conditioning system, and we recently got a clean audit, thanks to our treasurer and manager, as well as the Simmons Management Group. We also have no owners in arrears, for which we can all be thankful and appreciative. As a board, we listen to those who make suggestions. Thanks to owner Valerie Madamba and to a renter who made the suggestion, we now have an extra recycling bin to handle the cardboard that we used to throw out. Thanks to that same renter, Jocelyn Zemian, we will have a large-capacity washer in the laundry room. And, with gratitude to Brian Larkin, our longtime webmaster, we will soon have, on a trial basis, WiFi available in the lobby and the roof garden. If we take a look forward, there are some sound improvements we can expect. It's been long in the planning - more than a year - but we will soon have an automatic sliding door at the front entrance, facilitating our comings and goings, particularly when we're burdened with packages or luggage. And you'll use a key fob for entering, no longer a key, which will increase both our ease of entrance as well as our security. By the end of this week, the laundry room will be full of brand-new washers and dryers, all of which will operate only by value cards, and coins will no longer be used. If you visit the roof garden, you'll soon be resting on attractive new cushions on the recliners. The black build-outs around our elevators, which have not withstood the rigors of move-ins and move-outs, will be re-covered with paint that we hope will be both attractive and more durable. Over the summer, you will notice scaffolding outside, which will facilitate the repointing, resealing, and strengthening of our brick façade. To ensure the efficiency of our air-conditioning, our cooling tower will be cleaned an extra time this summer. I've been asked about the long-term future of the Lauren, and I think it's something that we need to keep in mind. Thousands of new condo units are becoming available around the city and across the river in Arlington. Less than a block away, the latest of the stone-to-glass conversions is about to begin when our post-office building is converted to an office building with an all-glass facade. That has already occurred at 19th and M Streets, at Connecticut and N, and a block and a half south of us on 20th, to pinpoint just a few. Where do we stand in the development of our surrounding community? Well, I don't think we either need or want to think about such a conversion. But we do need to think about our long-term welfare. Along with the brand-new competition, there are plenty of grand old buildings - some up Connecticut Avenue just before crossing Rock Creek Park. There's the Westchester Apartments up near the Cathedral, with wonderful Gothic architecture and grand atmosphere inside, recently renovated. In my mind, we have to keep our building not only structurally sound, but also aesthetically attractive. Maintenance, repairs, and preventive maintenance are essential. But so might be new ideas for enhancement down the line. Do we make a move to pioneer a smoke-free building? Should we take the initiative to take a pleasant but plain lobby and dress it up with at least plants, if not also artwork? Are there other things we might or should do to ensure that we are a viable home in a competitive community? One thing that no one can take away from us is a stellar location near Dupont Circle, shops, the Metro, and other public transportation. The next and future boards should keep these considerations on the table and seek input from all of you as we, and our building, grow a little older each year. I'd like to thank my board colleagues for a year of thoughtful, responsible, and congenial service. Each brings special skills and insights that have contributed to a productive year. From the board, I'd like to extend appreciation to Walter Krolman for his management and to the full staff for their loyalty and hard work on our behalf. Larry Simmons and his staff at Simmons Management Group helped us earn a completely clean audit for the past year; our thanks to them. Our gratitude to Joe Douglass, of Whiteford Taylor for his continuing expert support as our legal counselor, and to Joe Morris, for once again preparing our financial graphs for your review. And many thanks to Brian Larkin for maintaining a dynamic, informative website on behalf of all of us. That's the story from the board of directors. The board always welcomes your participation at board meetings during the year, as well as your questions and suggestions. Now, some of my fellow board members may wish to make comments, and then we'll move on to elections. Thank you. |
