555 ESPLANADE CONDOMINIUM OWNERS ASSOCIATION
March 18, 2013
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,
March 18, 2013, 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 6:40 PM.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Joe Engle, President; Dianne Merzel, Secretary; and Betty Schneider,
Treasurer.
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Frank Parker, Vice President; and Joe Jetsyn Tache, Member-at-Large.
MANAGEMENT COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE(S) PRESENT
Ellona Hess of Scott Management Company (SMC).
HOMEOWNER FINANCIAL COMMITTEE – REPORT BY MEMBER OF
COMMITTEE
Mr. St. Rock reported that Scott Management Company forwarded to the HFC a
copy of the renewal fire and liability insurance proposal, presented by LaBarre
Oksnee Insurance (incumbent agent) for review and recommendation. In response,
the HFC Committee is requesting: additional proposals (Ms. Giffords of Unit #320
to be contacted for assistance), clarification on why Sequoia declined to bid,
is there an added expense to include the Management Company as additional
insured in the Fidelity Bond coverage and if so, is this coverage mandatory. The
HFC advised that they have prepared a form for the Board to use to implement the
Association’s Collection Policy for any/all Homeowners delinquent in payment of
assessments, specifically the emergency special assessment. The HFC also
reviewed the status of the G4 project.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
The approval of the February meeting minutes was tabled until the March
meeting.
TREASURERS REPORT
Ms. Schneider reported that the expenses year-to-date so far are under
budget. The G4 project is within budget and on time, and the delinquencies are
quite-low, as of the end of February. Ms. Schneider made a motion to accept the
report as presented. Ms. Merzel made a second to the motion. The motion carried
with all in favor.
HOMEOWNERS FORUM
Unit #315 – Mark Drale: Mr. Drale thanked the Board for replacing two of the missing
exterior vents near his Unit, and requested the Board’s attention to the three
(3) other vents that need to be replaced, near his Unit. Mr. Dale questioned
what was happening with the correction of the fire sprinkler deficiencies.
Unit #302 – Dot Lee: Ms. Lee reported that some herons have nested again across the street. Ms. Lee expressed gratitude for the elevators running smoothly again. Ms. Lee suggested
that #2 on the Assessment Collection Policy be updated to include mention of
electronic delivery of monthly statements. Ms. Lee questioned whether or not the
Jacuzzi over-fill related leak (of last week) was completely addressed yet, or,
should residents expect to see additional leakage into G1, and asked what repair
plan was in place to address the hole in the front entry door for Unit
#205.
Unit #108 – Jane Harris: Ms. Harris suggested that the Board poll
the Membership to survey interest in continuing to maintain the spa or to close
it/fill it up; to be included in this survey would be costs associated with the
Jacuzzi.
Unit #109 – Mary Lee Coe: Ms. Coe suggested that the Board consider cutting out other
expenses, including, earthquake insurance.
Unit #406 – Sandy Bagley: Ms. Bagley stated her opinion FOR continuing to maintain the
earthquake insurance policy.
Unit #602 – Janet Johnson: Ms. Johnson suggested certain recommendations or explanations to be included in a survey to be distributed to the Membership in regards to the earthquake
insurance coverage question.
Unit #418 – Mike Middstoke: Mr. Middstoke questioned whether or not anyone has reviewed the earthquake insurance policy to determine what would be covered, and what wouldn’t be covered, in the event of a loss.
Unit #303 – Alexander Burishkin:
Mr. Burishkin requested that personal opinions be left out of any questionnaire
in relation to the earthquake insurance, and to present the information as
fairly and completely as possible.
Unit #304 – John St. Rock:
Mr. St. Rock clarified that Scott Management Company will work on obtaining
earthquake insurance renewal proposals and, once received, they will be
forwarded to the HFC for review and recommendation.
Unit #503 – Patty Cutten: Ms. Cutten reported that her Unit’s exterior vents were replaced by
Ewell Construction and they look great.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Building Vent Screen Repair Project (where missing): Proposal
Review/Vote; Unit #315 Additional Repairs: Proposal Review/Vote: Ewell
Construction submitted a proposal to replace vents only where missing, four (4)
in total: two (2) at 555 building “between the 5th floor” and at the 535 building “between the
4th and 5th
floors.” The Board requested clarification on vents to be installed, and
locations. Ewell Construction also submitted a proposal to replace three
additional vents at Unit #315 area. Ms. Schneider made a motion to approve the
proposal as submitted by Ewell Construction. Ms. Merzel made a second to the
motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
2. Draining of Fire Sprinkler System: Policy & Procedure: Ms.
Schneider made a motion to accept the Fire Sprinkler System Drain Notice as
written. Ms. Merzel made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in
favor.
3. Fan/Ventilation System Repairs: The repairs to the fan/ventilation
system were completed.
4. Five Year Fire Sprinkler Certification: Status Update: The
proposal(s) for correction of common area deficiencies and Unit interior
deficiencies from the secondary contractor will be submitted next week.
5. G4 Ceiling Issue: Status Update on Repair Project: Mr. Schneider
reported that the G4 project is going along great. On Friday, the re-bar
installation in the new ceiling beam was completed and the six (6) post tension
cables were installed. The work was approved by the City inspector today
(Monday). The beam can now be closed up with the plywood forms, which will be
underway through Thursday. The big pour will take place on Friday: first, the
new column will be filled and the three existing (adjacent) columns will be
widened. The overall project is within budgeted cost and is on schedule. The
contractors and sub-contractors are doing an excellent job. Mr. Engle advised
that the Board has been notified of three unanticipated situations. The first
project is the repair and waterproofing of the west side patio area. It was
discovered during the G4 Project, that some of the cracks in the unit floors
extended out into the patio and that there were hollow areas under the patio
surface that extended 2-4 feet out from the sliding glass doors in front of
units 105-115. The repair will include breaking up these areas and repouring the
concrete. The entire patio will then be waterproofed to prevent water intrusion
into the newly repaired G4 ceiling. The estimated cost for this project is
$47,000.Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all
in favor. The second situation relates to the rest of the G4 columns. Units 105,
113, and 114 were inspected and the same star, cracking pattern (which is
indicative of a possible, pending punch shear) prevalent in Units 108, 109, 110,
111 was found. The structural engineer came out, took pictures, looked at it,
did a stress analysis and submitted a findings report. At this time the
Committee recommends the Board approving FWC (structural engineer) to complete a
repair plan to address this situation. Ms. Schneider made a motion to have FWC
proceed with the repair plan for supporting the (existing) additional six (6)
columns in G4. Ms. Merzel made a second to the motion. The motion carried with
all in favor. It was mentioned that an emergency special assessment may be
imposed in order to pay for the costs related to this repair project. Mr.
Schneider reported that the third situation relates to the sundeck and
3rd floor Units. When the engineer looked at
the building plans, he noticed that the lightweight concrete used on the G4 slab
was also used on the sundeck slab. Vince is therefore recommending that some of
the 3rd floor Units (which sit atop the G1
columns) be inspected for the same star cracking pattern. The Board will
consider investigating this concern further after the G4 project is complete,
the west side patio repair is complete, and the repair plan is drafted for the
other six (6) remaining G4 columns.
6. TABLED PROJECTS: a) Earthquake Preparedness Plans, b) Hallway
Renovation Project (August), c) Maintenance Responsibility Matrix, d) Rules and
Regulations re Renters, Proposed Changes, e) Siding Repairs, f) Street Side
Retaining Wall Replacement, g) Sump Pump for Water Intrusion into G-2, and h)
Water Intrusion into G-4, N. Side Trenching Project.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Insurance Policy (Master, Umbrella) Renewal Proposal: Review/Vote:
LaBarre Oksnee Insurance, incumbent agent, presented a proposal for the Board’s
consideration for the renewal policies. A copy of the proposal was forwarded to
the HFC for review and recommendation. The HFC is requesting that an additional
proposal be collected, before a decision is made, and is also asking for
clarification on why Sequoia did not participate in the bidding process.
2. 2012 Annual Review by CPA: Review/Vote: Ms. Merzel made a motion to
accept the CPA’s review as written. Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion.
The motion carried with all in favor.
NEXT MEETING
Monday, April 15, 2013, 6:30 PM.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 7:25 PM.
Submitted by: Ellona Hess
EXECUTIVE SESSION
An Executive Session was held to discuss a pending legal,
Homeowner discipline matter and a delinquent account.
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. 205; Email:
[email protected]; Mail: Scott Management Company, PO Box 3159, Torrance CA
90510-3159). Calls/correspondence should reference 555 Esplanade/Casa
Bahia.