THE BOARD MEETING OF THE
555 ESPLANADE CONDOMINIUM OWNERS ASSOCIATION
December 20, 2010
CALL TO ORDER
The following are the Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Casa Bahia Condominium Owners Association, held on Monday, December 20, 2010, in the 535 Building Lobby, 535 Esplanade, Redondo Beach, California 90277. A quorum of Board Members was established and Joe Engle called the meeting to order at 6:42 PM.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Joe Engle, President; Betty Schneider, Treasurer; Frank Parker, Member-at-Large.
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Joe Jetsyn Tache, Vice President; Dianne Merzel, Secretary.
MANAGEMENT COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE(S) PRESENT
Ellona Hess of Scott Management Company (SMC)
OFFICER APPOINTMENT
The appointment of Officers was tabled until a meeting when all Board Members are present.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
Betty Schneider made a motion to approve the October 18, 2010 minutes as presented. Frank Parker made a second to the motion. The motion carried and the minutes were approved. A copy of the approved minutes will be distributed to all Homeowners.
TREASURERS REPORT
Ms. Schneider submitted a list of expenses that need to reclassified as Special Assessment Project, so that the operating budget can balance out. Frank Parker made a motion to accept the list of expenses to be reclassified as submitted. Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor. With these changes, the November 2010 financial report was accepted as presented.
Discussion was held regarding the signing of the Association’s checks, specifically, why only one Board Members signs operating account checks, when the ByLaws require two Board signatures. Research will be conducted as the Davis Sterling Act states otherwise (only one Board Member signature is required for an operating account check, and two Board Member signatures are required for a reserve account check).
HOMEOWNERS FORUM
· Unit #406 – Douglas Duncan: Mr. Duncan expressed his concerns in regards to the financials of the Association and recommended that the Board work on reducing expenses instead of increasing them.
· Unit #602 – Janet Johnson: Ms. Johnson requested that the President enforce the time limit for the Homeowners Forum.
· Unit #109 – Mary Lee Coe: Ms. Coe questioned the absence of the two missing Board Members. Ms. Coe was advised that the other two board members were not able to attend as they are out of town.
· Unit #619 – Harriett Hollis: Ms. Hollis expressed her concern regarding a picture and table that has been placed in the third floor hallway, outside of Unit #320, by a Homeowner. Ms. Hollis questioned the status of the Northwest Balcony Project, specifically, how much longer the scaffolding would be up for, and when the porta-potty at the front of the building would be removed. Ms. Hollis requested a status update on Ewell Construction completing the repairs to address the leaks reported at the beginning of 2010. Ms. Hollis conveyed her disappointment of having stayed home on the day of the scheduled vertical line cleanout for her Unit, only to be advised that because one Unit Owner was not home, the cleaning had to be rescheduled. Ms. Hollis questioned whether or not the Association was charged for the plumbers’ time to come out to the building.
· Unit #302 – Dot Lee: Ms. Lee questioned whether or not the re-pouring of the garage driveway would result in an increase of rain volume in the garage. Ms. Lee questioned when the wall repair work would be completed, in the 535 Northeast stairwell. Ms. Lee reported that there was a minimal amount of dirty water coming up from the G3 drain, observed during the rains of the weekend.
· Unit #117 – George Makhoul: Mr. Makhoul reported that there is smoking going on within the building (individual Units). Mr. Makhoul requested that the Board consider distributing notices to the residents of the complex, reminding them that this is a non-smoking building.
OLD BUSINESS
· 2011 Annual Budget – Status Update/Proposed Special Assessment – Review ballot and Approve for Send Out: The Board of Directors reviewed the draft ballot prepared for the proposed special assessment. Ms. Schneider made a motion to approve the ballot as prepared and mail out to all Homeowners for a 30 day vote period. Mr. Parker made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor. The Board unanimously opted against having the ballot reviewed by the Association’s attorney.
· Garage Driveway Entrance/Exit Repairs – Review Information/Quotes: Proposals have been collected for the garage driveway entrance/exit repairs. The proposals will be reviewed once the Committee has had a chance to submit a recommendation to the Board as to how they believe the Association should proceed.
· Handrail Replacements – Review Quotes: To date one bid has been submitted to replace the front entryway handrail replacements. The proposal recommended replacing the handrails with trex material, instead of wood. Ellona Hess has contacted the company who installed the aluminum railing in the complex in approximately 1986. Their proposal to replace the front entryway handrails with aluminum instead of wood is still pending. Ms. Hess and Ms. Schneider are working on this agenda item.
· Roof Maintenance/Gutter Cleaning – Review Estimate: The Board reviewed the estimate submitted by Barnett Roofing to perform the annual maintenance to the roof and gutter cleaning. Ms. Schneider made a motion to accept the proposal as submitted. Mr. Parker made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
· Sump Pump for Water Intrusion into G-2: At the August 2010 meeting the Board reviewed the two bids submitted to install a sump pump to address the water intrusion into G2/G3. Mr. Schneider recommended at the August 2010 meeting that the Board table moving forward on this project until more research is done. Mr. Schneider volunteered to research this project. Mr. Murray and Mr. St. Rock will assist Mr. Schneider on the research and recommendations for the Board to review. The installation of this sump pump will follow the Driveway Repairs (discussed earlier in the meeting).
· Unit #319 – Plumbing Incident/Repairs to Unit – Status Update: Unit #319 experienced water damage in a recent plumbing back-up. Ms. Schneider and the Homeowner of the Unit did a walkthrough and reviewed the recommendations submitted by ServPro, for further remediational work. The Homeowner advised that he would like to see these recommendations fulfilled. ServPro has submitted a bid for the remediation work. Per the Board’s request, ServPro has submitted a revised estimate, excluding any work to the hardwood floor in the Unit. A proposal from a hardwood floor specialist, who has already been to the Unit, is pending.
· Unit #517 and 619 Deck/Drain/Flashing Repairs; Interior Repairs to Units: Ewell Construction has completed repairs to two out of the three identified problem areas. Ewell Construction is waiting to obtain access from Unit #517, so that they can work on 517’s deck. The Board has requested that Ewell Construction submit an estimate to erect scaffolding on the sun deck, so that access via the Unit is not necessary.
· Special Assessment 2008 Projects - Update: The following updates were given regarding The Entryway Project – Correction of 535 Entryway Door and Intercom System Problem Areas – Status Update:
§ RMS Construction and the subcontractors who installed the entryway doors and entryway door intercoms have visited the property on a number of occasions, to inspect and address the problems reported with the door and intercom systems. RMS last reported that they believed everything was repaired and should be in working order. Today, Ms. Hess observed otherwise, while trying to access the building via the 535 entryway door. Ms. Hess will report the problem observed to RMS right away. Ms. Hess will also report to RMS that the button on the intercom system for the 535 side has still not been replaced.
The following report was given regarding The Northwest Balconies Project:
§ The project is moving forward, now that the replacement of the sliding glass door(s) and door pan(s) for the three Units in the stack have been addressed.
The following report was given regarding The Street-Side Retaining Wall Replacement Project:
§ One bid has been submitted to date for the replacement of the street-side retaining wall. Bids, and more research/information, for the replacement of the street side retaining wall are forthcoming. The replacement of the wall will follow the Driveway and Sump Pump Project (discussed earlier in the Meeting).
NEW BUSINESS
· FHA Approval – Review Information/Status Update: The Board would like to proceed in trying to bring the complex to a “FHA approved” status. Ms. Schneider will send Ms. Hess the list of documents that are needed in order for the review and process to begin.
· Financial Committee – Review List of Member Volunteers/Hold Drawing for Member Volunteers: This agenda item was handled within the Homeowners Forum. The following Homeowners volunteered to be on the Committee: Mary Lee Coe (109), Ed Schneider (110), Lynne Santini (303), John St. Rock (304), Larry Carpenter (406), Ed Ring (518), Janet Johnson (602). As the Committee can only consist of five members, a drawing was held. Mr. Makhoul was called upon to pick the names. The following names were picked: John St. Rock, Mary Lee Coe, Janet Johnson, Lynne Santini, and Ed Schneider. Mr. John Tache questioned whether or not it was a conflict of interest to have Mr. Schneider on the committee, as his wife, Ms. Schneider is the Treasurer on the Board, and therefore, on the committee as well. The Board (Betty did not participate in the discussion/decision) discussed this concern and agreed to exclude Mr. Schneider from being on the Committee and Mr. Makhoul picked another name. Larry Carpenter’s name was selected. Ed Ring will be the “alternate member” in case one of the other five members is not available to participate in a Committee Meeting/Presentation. Mr. St. Rock was selected to be the Chair of the Committee. Mr. St. Rock will therefore facilitate the Committee and its objectives/projects.
· Inspection of Gas Connectors – Review Information/Schedule: Ms. Gifford, of Unit #320, reported the following to the Board: “..the Gas Company out today to look at my fireplace as the pilot light has not been keeping lit. When they came out they said that the gas connector from the gas line to the gas logs is deemed unsatisfactory and that it needs to be replaced…He said that the connector itself becomes faulty over time and although it hasn’t been recalled yet it will be shortly and should be replaced in each Unit. Cost is approx. $65.00 per connector.” Ms. Hess contacted the Gas Company to discuss this matter. Ms. Hess was advised that the Gas Company would agree to come out and inspect all gas connectors from the gas lines to the gas logs, in all Units, at no cost to the HOA or Homeowner. They would most likely be able to perform the complete inspection in one day, assuming that access into all Units was provided. The Board would like for Ms. Hess to arrange a date with the Gas Company to send a technician out to perform the inspections. Once the date has been scheduled, a sign up sheet will be posted in the lobby areas. All Homeowners who would like their Units inspected will need to sign up on the sheet.
· Monthly Project Report – The Board reviewed the sample monthly project report that Ms. Coe submitted. The purpose of the report would be to keep Homeowners and Residents better informed and accurately updated on all big projects. The Board agreed to proceed with preparing and distributing such a report. The project leader for each project will fill in the information related to the project they are overseeing. The report will then be sent out to Homeowners along with a copy of the approved meeting minutes from the month prior. Mr. Engle volunteered to write up the first, initial report, and advised that he would work on having it ready in time for the next meeting.
· Miscellaneous Door Repairs – It was reported that the door latch/knob for the 535 side, G3, is loose. Also, the beach side gates are not latching properly.
NEXT MEETING
Monday, January 17, 2011, 6:30 PM.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:26 PM.
Submitted by: Ellona Hess
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Board of Directors held an executive session to discuss pending violations and a legal matter.
PLEASE NOTE: Any grievance or clarification on issues can be addressed by: (1) Airing the issue at the next scheduled Public Board meeting, or (2) contacting Ellona Hess at Scott Management Company (Phone: 310-370-2696 ext. 211; Email: [email protected]; Mail: Scott Management Company, PO Box 3159, Torrance CA 90510-3159). Calls/correspondence should reference 555 Esplanade/Casa Bahia.