Pursuant to the Article V. Section 5.9 of the By-Laws of Queensberry Condominium Trust, a monthly meeting of the Trustees was held on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, at 6:30PM at the offices of Boston Choice Properties,
Those Present: Bill Gentz, Ning Hernandez and Jeff Schwarz, Sheryl Kelly, and David Sherf via telephone
David Modica and Pamela Pendias , Modica Associates
The meeting was called to order at 6:40 PM.
OLD BUSINESS
An electronic version of the monthly financial report for September had been e-mailed to the trustees along with a “draft” budget for fiscal year 2012. The balance sheet at the end of September reflected $1,242 in the operating account and $110,352 in reserves. Assessment revenues are being deposited into the reserve account. There is one more month (October) to collect the balance of the $130,000 assessment.
The first item of business was the status of the roof replacement project. Everyone agreed that the work has taken an inordinate amount of time to complete. Despite the contractors difficulty obtaining permits, and having electrical wires moved, the project started in June and it is now October. Several owners are not pleased with the finish of the skylights in their units and have requested that the white vinyl be removed and replaced with a wood trim. A unit owner has contended that the roof is not pitched properly as there is some standing water that can be seen after heavy rain. David Modica explained that the board opted not to seek bids for a fully tapered roof due to the higher cost. The board opted instead to level and taper the roof down to 4’ of the gutters. There are dips, low spots on the roof where water will accumulate after a rain. The engineer has stated that as long as the water evaporates within 72 hours it should not jeopardize the integrity of the roof. The board opted for a fully adhered rubber membrane roof in lieu of a vinyl roof, again due to cost constraints There is an area of standing water outside of the penthouse at 111 Jersey and the engineer called for the application of a secondary cover strip over the top of the seam to add another layer of protection to this location. David Sherf offered to speak with the contractor about liquidated damages for untimely job completion. Once Modica compiles a final punch list, Eagle Rivet will be given a specified period of time to complete and if necessary another contractor will be called in to complete and the costs will be deducted from monies owned Eagle. It should be noted that Eagle was initially paid the sum of $14,000 in July to mobilize, and is owed the sum of $55,575.
The magnetic doors leading to the roof have been installed and are working properly. David stated that Modica would put a simple handle on the inside of each roof door to aid in pulling the door shut.
The gate on the alley side was replaced a few months ago as a security measure. It had been working satisfactorily until a resident reported that the gate would not latch. The company that installed the gate was called and found that the latch was filled with metal shards that prevented the mechanism from retracting so in fact it would not lock. A new latch was installed the following day at no charge to the building. .
The ceilings on the 4th floor of both buildings have been repaired and painted. The contractor will also be re-finishing the wood doors and frames on the exterior of the building as well as touching up the paint in the common areas. Once the painting is finished the carpets will be steam cleaned.
The exterior front door at building 107 has a new “roton” hinge that picked up the door enough so that it would open
without binding on the tile. This has exacerbated the gap under the door. The vendor is looking into options for a door sweep that would insulate the door as well as allow the door to open and close without binding.
The trustees will not renew (extend) the laundry contract in exchange for new laundry equipment for building 107.
Residents were notified that any bicycle parked in the courtyard is required to have a bicycle sticker. Stickers were distributed and any bicycle found without a sticker was removed.
The association paid $5,496 to the gas company to install a new gas line into the building so the association could convert from oil to gas heat as a cost saving measure. Currently, oil costs approx $1.00 more per gallon than it did last year. The gas company will be providing (2) new gas burners at no charge to the building. Other costs associated with the conversion include having the chimney flue re-lined $5,900 and new piping for the boilers $12,500. The revenues from the assessment will cover the costs associated with the conversion.
Modica distributed a memo informing building residents that air conditioners need to be removed from the windows to conserve energy and as required by the City of
The trustees signed an access agreement with RCN. Residents will now have a choice between using Comcast or RCN for cable and internet service. David Modica is also talking with Comcast about a lump sum payment.
Pam furnished the trustees with proposals from two other pest control companies. Both were within dollars of one another for the service they would provide. Pam to get clarification and report back to the trustees to make a decision to change vendors.
NEW BUSINESS
The next item on the agenda was to review the “draft” operating budget for fiscal year 2012 that Pam had furnished the board to review. Pam noted that the only outstanding item of which she was aware the trustees were entertaining was creating a planter on either side of the stairs at the front entrances to discourage vagrants from loitering in the front of the buildings. David Modica stated that due to the monolithic construction of these stairs that the board may wish to entertain installing metal urns to hold plants that could be embedded on either side of the stairs. Modica to obtain proposals for this as well as repairing and painting the iron railings out front.
The proposed operating budget provided for no increase in condo fees. Pam will review the proposed budget after the month of October closes and up-date the figures and send it to the board for final approval next month.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:55 PM.
Respectfully submitted by:
Pamela Pendias
Modica Associates
For the Recording Secretary
Queensberry Condominium Trust
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