THE BOARD MEETING OF THE
555 ESPLANADE CONDOMINIUM OWNERS ASSOCIATION
May 24, 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, May 24, 2010, in the 535 Building Lobby, 535 Esplanade, Redondo Beach, California 90277. A quorum of Board Members was established and Jake Murray called the meeting to order at 6:34 PM.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Jake Murray, Vice President; Betty Schneider, Treasurer; Dianne Merzel, Secretary; Frank Parker, Member-at-Large.
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Joe Engle, President.
MANAGEMENT COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE(S) PRESENT
Ellona Hess of Scott Management Company (SMC)
BALLOT COUNT – Special Assessment Ballot
Sheri Nielsen was appointed Inspector of Elections. A quorum of ballots was confirmed – 42 ballots submitted in total. A final opportunity was given for all present to submit their ballots. The polls were announced to be closed.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA/MEETING MINUTES
Betty Schneider made a motion to approve the April 2010 minutes. Frank Parker made a second to the motion. The motion carried and the minutes were approved. A copy of the approved minutes will be mailed to all Homeowners.
HOMEOWNERS FORUM
· Unit #108 – Sheri Nielsen: Mrs. Nielsen requested a status update on the northwest balcony project.
· Unit #517 – J. Jetsen Tache: Mr. Tache questioned the following: why there were two homeowner votes for the special assessment ballot, what the Board’s process is for hiring a new management company, what Homeowners can do if they are not satisfied with the performance of the Board, what the ratio of absentee Owners to on-site Owners is.
· Unit #109 – Mary Lee Coe: Mrs. Coe expressed her appreciation of the Board and all time/effort put in towards Association business on behalf of all Homeowners.
· Unit #315 – Mark Drale: Mr. Drale requested a status update on the resolution of the water intrusion into his Unit.
· Unit #416 – Douglas Duncan: Mr. Duncan expressed his concerns regarding the proposed special assessment and the general financial situation of the Association. Mr. Duncan recommended that the Board revisit the budget and expenditures and make cuts as/where necessary. Mr. Duncan reported that he has sent written correspondence, along with his payment, several times, regarding a question on his monthly statement, which has not yet been answered.
· Unit #620 – Edna Marinella: Mrs. Marinella stated that she in agreement with Mr. Duncan’s above mentioned comments. Mrs. Marinella reported on behalf of Mrs. Hollis (Unit #619) that the elevator on the 555 side was not working on May 13-15.
· Unit #302 – Dot Lee: Mrs. Lee provided a written memo of her concerns for the Board.
BALLOT RESULTS – Special Assessment Ballot
Sheri Neilsen announced the ballot results as being:
Special Assessment Ballot– 42 ballots received in total: 29 votes for and 13 votes against. Therefore, the ballot did pass. A letter, with notice of the passed special assessment, will be mailed to all Homeowners.
TREASURERS REPORT
· April 2010 Financial Report: Betty Schneider made a motion to accept the April 2010 Financial Report as submitted. Frank Parker made a second to the motion. The motion carried and the report was unanimously accepted.
OLD BUSINESS
· Garage Driveway Entrance/Exit – Repairs: The Board has received multiple bids for this project. The Board requested that an additional bid be collected from Ewell Construction. The bids will be revisited at the next meeting. The specifications prepared by PV Engineering will be forwarded to Ewell Construction for review.
· Handrail Repairs – The Board discussed the need to replace the handrails by the front entryways of each building. The handrails are currently wood. The Board would like bids collected for various replacement options.
· Leak into 6th Floor Hallway – There is a leak by the elevator on the 555 side, 6th floor, east of the elevator shaft. Barnett Roofing advised that the sealant around the gravel roof needs to be re-done. Barnett Roofing will be asked to submit a written quote for proposed repairs and cost to complete.
· Review and Revision of Association CC&Rs – Review Bids/Information: Ms. Merzel made a motion to move forward with the sending out of the CC&R amendment (regarding percentage required to pass any CC&R amendment) approved ballot. Mr. Parker made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor. The ballots will be sent out to all Homeowners for a 30 day minimum voting period.
· Spa – Bring into Compliance with VGB Act: The Board reviewed the three bids submitted to bring the spa into compliance with the VGB Act. Mrs. Schneider made a motion to accept the bid submitted by Browning’s Pool Service. Ms. Merzel made a s second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor. The integrity of the spa surface will be evaluated once the water has been drained from the spa.
· Unit #517 Deck (Drain); Interior Repair to Damaged Units: The water test scheduled to take place on the deck of Unit #517 was scheduled for today, but did not take place. The Board will further discuss this matter in Executive Session. To date, multiple contractors have been requested to submit bids for the asbestos removal in the Units that were affected by water intrusion in January/February 2010. One bid has been received so far. Mrs. Hess will continue to try and obtain additional estimates.
· Vertical Drain Cleaning by Bert Meli – Update: The hydro-jetting of the kitchen and lavatory lines continues as scheduled.
· Special Assessment Projects - Update: The following updates were given regarding The Garage Area – Power-wash/Re-stripe/Replace Trash Room Doors:
§ Bids to power wash and re-stripe the garage areas have been collected. The project was on hold until the special assessment passed. The bids will be reviewed by the Board and a determination will be made on how the Board would like to proceed.
§ The Board reviewed the idea/recommendation suggested by a representative of Commercial Door of Los Angeles, Inc. on a way to possibly protect the trash room doors from being so badly damaged from the trash bins being brought in and out of the rooms. A bid was submitted to “furnish and install two pair of 48” high steel angle ‘Door Track Guards’ painted safety yellow.” After installing these guards, the doors would be painted so that the effectiveness or non-effectiveness of the frames would be obvious. Mr. Schneider volunteered to contact the company and see if they can provide a warranty of some sort which would go into effect if the frames did not prove to be a success in protecting the doors.
The following report was given regarding The Northwest Balconies Project:
§ CMS will be finished with the framing on Wednesday/Thursday of this week.
The following report was given regarding The Security Equipment Project:
§ The Board reviewed the bids submitted for security equipment, and installation of the equipment. Mrs. Schneider made a motion to accept the bid submitted by Surveil Aware. Mr. Parker made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor. Moffitt Electric will be the company who will run the cables for the equipment.
§ The Board reviewed the report submitted by the Chair of the Neighborhood Watch Committee, Mr. Ed Schneider. The report included a summation of the walkthrough with Mr. Schneider, Mrs. Schneider, Mrs. Darzentas of Scott Management, and Officer Miesen of the Redondo Beach Police Department. The Board reviewed the recommendations by the Officer and the Committee for areas of improvement in the security of the building. Mrs. Hess will move forward on acting on the proposed recommendations, per the Board’s approval.
The following report was given regarding The Street-Side Retaining Wall Replacement Project:
§ The Board would like bids to be collected for this project. Mr. Schneider will write up a “bid statement” to be forwarded to all bidding contractors.
NEW BUSINESS
· Annual Fire Alarm Test: Mrs. Schneider made a motion to accept the proposal submitted by Southland Fire Alarm to complete the annual fire alarm test. Mr. Murray made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor. A notice will be posted in the lobby areas notifying all Residents of when the test will be held.
· Annual Flow Test of Area Drains: Mrs. Schneider advised the Board of Bert Meli Plumbing’s recommendation on how to perform a flow test of the area drains, in the common areas and on individual patios. The idea suggested was to pour water down the drain to ensure that the water flows as it should. If the water does not flow, then the cover would be removed and the drain would need to be cleaned out. Mrs. Hess will obtain an estimate on Bert Meli’s exacts specifications for this test project and the cost to do so.
· Shopping Cart Rack in Garage: A Homeowner reported to the Board that the shopping carts stored on G1 come too close to the cars – there is not enough clearance. Mr. Schneider and Mr. Murray volunteered to correct the problem. The offer was accepted by the Board.
· Sump Pump for Water Intrusion into G-2: The Board would like at least three bids to be collected for the installation of the sump pump – the proposed resolution to resolve the water intrusion into G-2. The specifications for this project written up by PV Engineering will be forwarded to the bidding contractors.
NEXT MEETING
Monday, June 21, 2010, 6:30 P.M.
(Two insurance agents will be attending the next Board Meeting to make a brief presentation to the Board Members and Homeowners present regarding the upcoming Earthquake Insurance renewal policy.)
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM.
Submitted by: Ellona Hess
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. 21; Email: [email protected]; Mail: Scott Management Company, PO Box 3159, Torrance CA 90510-3159). Calls/correspondence should reference 555 Esplanade/Casa Bahia.