BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Joe Engle, President; Betty Schneider, Treasurer; Sandy Bagley, Secretary; Steve Chipman, Member-at-Large
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Victor Blanc, Vice-President
MANAGEMENT COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE(S) PRESENT
Ellona Hess of Scott Management Company (SMC
CALL TO ORDER
The following are the minutes of the 555 Esplanade Condominium Owners Association Board of Directors open session meeting, held on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 via Zoom. A quorum of Board Members was established, and Mr. Engle called the meeting to order at 10:07 AM.
HOMEOWNERS FORUM
Homeowners were provided with the opportunity to address the Board regarding items of interest or concern, in accordance with the open meeting act, CA Civil Code 4925(b).
APPROVAL OF BOD MEETING MINUTES (01.18.22)
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion to approve the January 18, 2022 meeting minutes as prepared. Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT(S)
As of January 31, the Association had $34,927.73 in operating funds and $1,090,815.10 in reserves. There were no accounts in collections as of January 31 and ($14,108.86) in receivables. The January reserve contribution was made, in the amount of $13,648.75. The Association currently holds the following CD maturities: 2022 maturities, $750k, 6 CDs.
MOTION Ms. Schneider made a motion to accept the January financial report. Mr. Engle made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion to allow the President, Vice-President and Treasurer to make a decision on the number of CDS to purchase, and which, working with Merrill Lynch for this particular month, so as to ensure FDIC coverage for all reserve funds. Mr. Chipman made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
- Exterior Retaining Wall Project – Railing Installations The final component of the project is the installation of new railings, by A to Z Construction (A to Z). Installation is in progress.
- Sundeck Resurfacing – Contract Review & Vote Mr. Engle reported that the contract negotiation phase remains in progress. The Committee anticipates that the project will end up costing about $450,000. It is expected that the project will take 90 days to complete, barring delays due to weather or unforeseen conditions. Next steps include: 1) finalizing the contract, 2) applying for permits from the Redondo City planning department, 3) purchase of materials by WICR and arrange for storage on-site, and 4) starting the project construction around April 1.
- Bicycle Room Clean-Out Letters were sent out asking all Units to identify and respond with their bicycle storage needs. The response deadline was August 6. 21 Units in total responded. Of the 21, 17 Units reported bicycles. 39 bicycles were reported by the 17 Units, with 6 more to come noted, for a total need of 45. This compares with the current manual count of bikes in cages, 81. The new tags, to be attached to the claimed bicycles, are in hand. They were made available to be claimed from Board Member Sandy Bagley on February 5. New tags were to be attached by February 12. If you did not respond to the initial letter and want to be issued a tag(s), please contact the management company and provide the following information: unit number, name of occupant, number of bicycles to be registered, and current (or requested) storage location (G1, G2, G3, G4 south (near the 555 door), or G4 center (near parking space 88).
- Structural Integrity Analysis of the Building, Garage (3 Phase Effort) The Board commenced a 3 phase project to have the structural integrity of the building analyzed. The first relates to the structural integrity of the 4 garage concrete and steel levels. The second is for the analyzing of the settling of the building, i.e. manometer surveying. The third will be inspecting the elevated structures, i.e. balconies, in compliance with Senate Bill 326 (SB326).
Phase II Hamilton & Associates performed the manometer survey of G4 and the first-floor hallway. They also reviewed the building plans. Hamilton concluded there was little movement of the structure since 1998. As there is little change in the building conditions over the past 23 years due to soil or geotechnical engineering issue, Hamilton did not make any repair recommendations. FWC also performed manometer surveys, reviewed the 1998 survey, and reviewed Hamilton’s 2021 report. They concluded that the floors along most of the hallways have not moved significantly since 1998. In addition, the distress to the interior building finishes is minor, which is another good indicator that significant building movement has likely not occurred recently. However, downward movements, on the order of 05. inch, may have occurred along the south west end of the hallways at levels 2 through 4, and the east end of the north and south hallways at levels 4, 5 and 6. No structural repairs are commended at this time. However, additional manometer surveys should be performed within the next 2 years in the areas noted above that appear to be experiencing downward movement.
Phase III FWC proposed, concerning SB326 inspections, “The strategy that seems most efficient is to have FWC conduct the balcony inspections prior to the railing replacement.” The Board agrees with this strategy and will intend to embark on the effort following the completion of the sundeck project.
- Replacement of Rusted/Rusting Screens Under Balconies There are balconies with screens on the bottom surface to allow for the release of moisture. Some of the screens are rusted; some are eligible for repairs while some will need to be replaced. The Board reviewed the proposals received from A to Z to install new screen vents in 6 different locations; 1 proposal was for copper replacements and the other for aluminum. Mr. Schneider is still researching a different installation method that will entail less damage/repair work for the surrounding stucco.
- Rules & Regulations, Proposed Changes (Balconies & Decks, Gym Use, Moving In & Out) The proposed changes/additions to the Rules were distributed to the Membership on January 11 for an advisory comment period. Comments were received. The Board will need additional time to consider Owner input. Discussion on comments made, and revising the proposed Rules in response, will take place at the March meeting. A new Rule the Board would like to add is limiting food/take-out deliveries to be left in the lobbies for limited time period, i.e. food left in the lobby(s) for longer than 6 hours will be disposed of.
- Entry Areas Surface Coating – Repair and Replace The Board reviewed the proposals by Ewell Construction and Tuff Kote to repair and replace the entry area surface coating. Both vendors answered questions the Board has asked.
- Electric Vehicle Charging Stations - Update The Committee is working on connecting the Association with Southern California Edison’s “Charge Ready” programs. The program offers, in part, funded installation of electrical service infrastructure upgrades.
- Dryer Duct Cleaning It was recently clarified that the cleaning of dryer ducts is the responsibility of the Association.
Ms. Schneider and Ms. Bagley will spearhead this effort.
- 404/504 Balcony Repairs ProTec reported on observed conditions at the balconies for Units 404 and 504. They are showing signs of distress. Ms. Schneider will lead this project, starting with contacting FWC and Ewell Construction to arrange for an initial inspection and invasive testing (at the edge and possibly up against the building wall) to determine the scope of work for repairs/rebuild.
- Stucco Crack Repairs (Monthly Report) Ms. Schneider reported that ProTec is attending to stucco repairs as a part of their routine maintenance work around the building. They will photograph and report on any stucco work that is too high for them to work on, or any areas that appear to require more than surface repairs.
- Building Termite Inspection Andy’s Termite will be performing an inspection of the building, based on termite activity or damage observed or recently uncovered in a couple of Units.
- Gym Wall Waterproofing Project Plan The gym was renovated in 2020. The south wall of the gym, and in particular the southwest corner of the wall, at the time showed indications of water intrusion. Part of the renovation was to coat the inside of this wall with a waterproofing compound along with an anti-peeling and flaking compound to prevent continued intrusion. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem. Recent rains produced evidence of intrusion along this wall, including bubbling of paint. Mr. Schneider reported that there are 2 ways to address the problem; waterproof the outside of the wall or cement over the enclosed area outside the wall. The 1st is the preferred approach but may be more expensive if shoring is required. The Board approves moving forward with the project. The next step will be determining whether shoring is required.
- Board Review & Approval Procedure for HOA Communications The Board would like to have a Board Member review/approve communications posted to the HOA’s website that are representative of the Board/Association. Mr. Chipman will do this, and will generally monitor the website.
- Lobby “Guest” Wi-Fi Activation The Board confirmed authorization for Mr. Blanc to activate Wi-Fi for use in the lobbies. A sign will be posted in the lobby, announcing this WiFi availability for residents/guests/service vendors and delivery providers, etc.
ADJOURNMENT | CONFIRM NEXT MEETING DATE
The meeting was adjourned at 11:39 AM. The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, 10 AM via Zoom.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
An executive session was called to order at 11:40 AM to review the executive session meeting minutes, the aging report, governing document enforcement matter(s) and a legal matter. The meeting was adjourned at 11:53 AM.