BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Joe Engle, President; Victor Blanc, Vice-President (left at 12:01 PM, rejoined at 12:38 PM); Betty Schneider, Treasurer; Sandy Bagley, Secretary; Steve Chipman, Member-at-Large (left at 12:01 PM)
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
None
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, November 16, 2021 via Zoom. A quorum of Board Members was established, and Mr. Engle called the meeting to order at 10:02 AM. (The annual meeting concluded at 10:22 AM.)
APPOINTMENT OF OFFICER POSITIONS
MOTION Mr. Chipman made a motion to maintain the current Board structure. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
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 (10.19.21)
MOTION Ms. Schneider made a motion to approve the October 19, 2021 meeting minutes as prepared. Mr. Chipman made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT(S)
As of October 31, the Association had $6,326.72 in operating funds and $1,138,896.05 in reserves. There were no accounts in collections as of October 31, and ($4,321.83) in receivables. The Association is current with the monthly reserve contributions, each in the amount of $9,400. The Association currently holds the following CD maturities: 2022 maturities, $800,000, 5 CDs.
MOTION Ms. Schneider made a motion to accept the October ’21 Financial Report as prepared. Mr. Engle made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
- Exterior Retaining Wall Project – Railing Installations Mr. Blanc reported on project progress, which is now in its final stages. The new wall (at the front of the building and the northeast side) is cinderblock. Landscape was restored. The final component of the project is the installation of railings. A to Z Construction (A to Z) has not yet been able to produce the requested sample of the proposed new railing. The Board agreed to keep the contract with A to Z, and to pursue additional information (as opposed to a hard sample) directly from Gabi Zaarour via discussion and photos.
- Sundeck Resurfacing Mr. Engle reviewed the background of this project and advised 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 ninety (90) days to complete, barring delays due to weather or unforeseen conditions. Next steps include: 1) presenting the contract – which has met the satisfaction of the Committee - to legal for review, 2) receive permits from Redondo City planning department, 3) obtain final approval to sign contract from the Board, 4) purchase of materials by WICR (to avoid inflation) and arrange for storage on-site, and 5) start the project construction around April 1 (to avoid the “rainy season”).
- 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. Twenty-one (21) Units in total responded. Of the twenty-one (21), seventeen (17) Units reported bicycles. Thirty-nine (39) bicycles were reported by the seventeen (17) Units, with six (6) more to come noted, for a total need of forty-five (45). This compares with the current manual count of bikes in cages, eighty-one (81). The new tags, to be attached to the claimed bicycles, are in hand (with the Bagleys). The procedure that will be taken to relocate and/or remove bicycles will be announced.
- Structural Integrity Analysis of the Building, Garage (3 Phase Effort) The Board commenced a three (3) phase project to have the structural integrity of the building analyzed. The first relates to the structural integrity of the four (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 The report by Hamilton Engineering (Hamilton) for the G4 manometer surveying is pending submission. The Board reviewed the proposals received to perform additional manometer surveying.
MOTION Ms. Schneider made a motion to accept FWC’s proposal for the manometer survey, for the lower three (3) levels along the westside of the building, for an estimated amount of $7,600. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
Phase III The Board reviewed the proposal put forth by FWC for the SB326 inspections. Ms. Schneider will connect with FWC to discuss scheduling their SB326 inspections alongside the three (3) year railing replacement project. Ms. Schneider will report back to the Board with the results of her conversation with FWC.
- Unit 115 West, Oceanfront Facing Slider & Plumbing Repairs Unit 115 West Slider Ewell Construction (Ewell) inspected the sagging of the sliding door frame. They found that the door must be removed, and the opening square leveled and plumbed. When Ewell removes the door, they will inspect further into the header steel framing and steel corner post. The pre-summary is that the door was incorrectly installed, causing the door problem.
Unit 115 Plumbing The master shower drain backs up, very shortly following snaking services. As such, the Association investigated the replacement of the drain. JR Plumbing consulted with Bert Meli Plumbing. They concluded that the best option is to re-route the pipe.
MOTION Ms. Bagley made a motion to accept the Jose Rodriguez Plumbing proposal to replace and re-route the drainpipes for $9,475. Mr. Chipman made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor. The work will commence on/after December 30.
- 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 proposal received from A to Z to install new cooper screen vents in six (6) different locations. A proposal is pending from Ewell, as well as an alternate proposal from A to Z for a different installation method proposed by Ms. Schneider.
- Shopping Cart Repairs The Board had approved the proposal by West Coast Shopping Cart Service to perform the following for all eleven (11) shopping carts: replace four (4) wheels/casters, nuts, bolts and power-wash. Service was postponed until the eleven (11) carts are located. The Board is ready to proceed with servicing the seven (7) carts that were found.
- Rules & Regulations, Proposed Changes (Balconies & Decks; Gym Use; Moving In & Out) Mr. Engle prepared an update to Rule XIV Hallways, Balconies, Patios and Decks, to include the cleaning of the west side deck and restrictions on the types of furniture that can be used on balconies, patio and decks. It also covers the size of plants that can be placed on the balconies. rubber or plastic to prevent rust or staining or scratching on the deck. Ms. Darcy Roberts (Unit 115) and Ms. Schneider added a few changes to the proposal.
Ms. Bagley prepared updates to Rules III Moving In and Out, XVIII Fire Safety and XIX Other and the Short List of Do’s and Don’ts.
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion to present the (final) proposed changes on these Rules for the advisory comment period. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
- Entryway Repairs: Deck & Light Fixtures A proposal to clean, repair and reseal the entryway floors is pending from Ewell. Ms. Schneider will send the Board a link to a proposed LED replacement fixture for the entryway lights. A final decision is due to be made at the December meeting.
- Electric Vehicle Charging Stations The Board received information by ChargePoint, “the world’s largest and most open electric vehicle (EV) charging network,” on charging options they offer to Community Associations. A Committee is working together with the Board on this. Ms. Schneider is overseeing this effort. Mr. Pabst and Ms. Schneider have collected information on the subject and are planning to get together next week to review it all, to prepare a recommendation to the Board.
- Relocation of Beach-Side Fence While the landscaping repairs/improvements on the Ocean/Westside of the building were being discussed with Rancho, Mr. Ed Schneider asked if the Board would consider the possibility of relocating/moving the existing aluminum fence to the edge of the property, to run parallel with the existing pedestrian path. Mr. Schneider prepared and put forth a Statement of Work for this project of consideration. This item will remain on the agenda and will be up for discussion at a future meeting.
- Stucco Crack Repairs (Monthly Report) The Board reviewed the proposal by A to Z to stucco the wall they constructed on the N side near the 535 entryway. The Board would like it to match the building stucco, since it is adjacent/an extension of the building. The Board discussed adding this to the scope of work for when the building is repainted.
- CPA Engagement for YE Services | Proposal Review & Vote The Board reviewed the proposal put forth by Michael E. Klein, CPA, to prepare the annual review and tax returns for the fiscal year which will end December 31, 2021.
ADJOURNMENT | CONFIRM NEXT MEETING DATE
The meeting was adjourned at 12:45 PM. The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, 10 AM via Zoom.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
An executive session was called to order at 12:26 PM to review the executive session meeting minutes, the aging report, governing document enforcement matter(s) and a legal matter. The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 PM.