may_2011_minutes.pdf |
THE BOARD MEETING OF THE
555 ESPLANADE CONDOMINIUM OWNERS ASSOCIATION
May 16, 2011
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 16, 2011, 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 6:36 PM.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Joe Engle, President; Frank Parker, Vice President, Betty
Schneider, Treasurer; Dianne Merzel, Secretary; Joe Jetsyn Tache,
Member-at-Large.
MANAGEMENT COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE(S) PRESENT
Ellona Hess of Scott Management Company (SMC)
HOMEOWNERS FORUM
Unit #302 – Dot
Lee:
Ms. Lee thanked Ellona for sending out copies of the March 2011 minutes in a
larger font. Ms. Lee stated that she has questions regarding the driveway
project and the insurance policy renewal. She will bring these up during the
discussions that will take place under Old and New Business.
Unit #503 – Patty
Cutten: Ms. Cutten stated that she had two of her Unit’s toilets replaced
with the more water efficient ones and they work great.
Unit #619 –
Harriett Hollis: Ms. Hollis thanked the Board for having the scaffolding on the
Northwest side of the property removed, as well as the porta-potty previously
located at the entrance of the 535 building.
Unit #304 – John
St. Rock:
Mr. St. Rock advised that he read through the hand-out regarding the hallway
renovation project after the April 2011 meeting. Mr. St. Rock expressed his
opinion regarding the importance of only using high quality products and on not
replacing things that do not really need replacing, such as door hardware and
doors. Mr. St. Rock reported that the North Side, 555 Beach Door, needs repairs.
HOMEOWNER FINANCIAL COMMITTEE – REPORT BY MEMBER OF
COMMITTEE
On behalf of the Financial Committee, Mr. John St. Rock, Co-Chair, reported
on the progress of the Financial Committee by summarizing the minutes of the
Committee’s recent meetings, held on April 11, April 25 and May 09, 2011. Please
see the attached copy of the minutes for these meetings, prepared and submitted
by the HFC.
Mr. St. Rock noted that the fifth member of the Committee, Mr. Larry
Carpenter, is not an active member, leaving one spot for any interested
Homeowner. It was noted that Mr. Ed Ring might still be interested in
participating. Mr. John Tache will check with Mr. Ring to confirm if he would
still like to volunteer his time and services.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
Ms. Merzel made a motion to approve the April 11, 2011 minutes as presented.
Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion. The motion carried with all in favor.
Copies of the approved minutes will be distributed to all Homeowners.
TREASURERS REPORT
Ms. Schneider reported the new format for the Association’s accounts,
expenditures, etc. was included in the April 2011 Financial Report and it looks
really good. No problems were identified. There are some things that should be
reallocated for the Reserve Account. Ms. Schneider made a motion to accept the
April 2011 Financial Report as presented. Ms. Merzel made a second to the
motion. Mr. Engle questioned what charges were categorized to Office
Expense/Supplies, as that line item’s budget to date is over the budgeted
amount. Ms. Hess will send this information to the Board. Ms. Schneider noted
that the Association’s expenditures are within the budget, slightly under at
this time. The delinquencies are close to nothing. The motion carried with all
in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
Building FHA
Approval – Status Update: The Board reviewed the list of “Outstanding Conditions
for FHA Approval.” The Board would like to have a better idea/more clear
explanation on the items mentioned in this list. The Board approved a total
spending amount of $200.00 towards fulfilling this list. Ms. Hess is to contact
the Board if the expenses will exceed the $200.00 budgeted amount.
Cost Saving Pilot
Program, Letter to Homeowners re Email Address – Review Proposed
Letter: The Board reviewed the revised draft letter, edited most recently
by the HFC Committee. Ms. Schneider noted some grammatical and margin changes to
the presented document. The Board appointed Ms. Schneider to represent the Board
in dealing with the HFC Committee Chair and Ms. Hess regarding this letter. The
Board would like the letter mailed out as insert with the July statements.
Garage Driveway
Entrance/Exit Repairs – Status Update: Mr. Schneider reported he received a call today from
Simich Construction. Simich Construction is concerned about the rain in the
forecast and the liability that has now surfaced for his crew to be working the
project. The contractor does not want to take the risk and therefore has delayed
the start date of the project by one week. Clarifications were made regarding
the notices that were posted in the building, mainly, that the driveway will
never be shut down entirely. Access is allowed from 3 PM – 9 AM the next morning
every day, as well as from 12 PM – 1 PM every day, except for four pour days.
New signs and new notices will be made up regarding the new project dates. Mr.
Tache will arrange for the notices to be posted and for the notices to be
hand-delivered to all residents. Mr. Tache will do the same if the dates change
once again. Mr. Tache will notify the Fire and Police departments regarding this
project. Mr. Tache will go down to the Elk’s Club to review the project with
them and find out if their parking lot can be used by Casa Bahia residents on
the 4 days that the 12 PM – 1 PM will not be available. Mr. Tache will also
confirm with a Parking Officer that the red spaces outside the building can be
used by Casa Bahia residents during the 4 pour days. Mr. Schneider will keep the
HOA’s website updated with the project schedule. Ms. Hess is to contact the
Association’s regular service vendors and notify them about this project. Ms.
Marinella’s parking space will be used for staging purposes by the work crew.
Gas Connectors –
Replacement Of – Status Update: As mentioned at the April 2011
meeting, Bert Meli Plumbing submitted an estimate to replace the gas connectors
for fireplaces where necessary. The proposal listed the following
specifications: Remove imitation ashes, remove cement fire logs, remove cover
plates, replace flexible gas connectors and code rotor (shut off), soap test gas
connections, reassemble fireplace and test for proper operation. The cost to do
this job would be $320.64. Two additional estimates are pending. Ms. Coe, of
Unit #109, volunteered her Unit for the estimators to come by and inspect her
fireplace for the purpose of submitting this proposal.
Handrail
Replacements – Review Information/Quotes: Mr. St. Rock reported that the Committee has obtained a
couple of quotes for the handrail replacements at the front of the building
(East side) but that the Committee at this time has decided to table the project
until the retaining wall is placed, as the handrails might need to come out
during the retaining wall replacement project. Mr. St. Rock and Ms. Hess are
working together on obtaining quotes to install railings for the West side of
the property, for the stairs that leads from the backside of the property to the
beach. The contractor that recently replaced City railings has been contacted as
well. Estimates should be ready in time for Board review and consideration at
the June meeting.
Hallway Renovation
Project – Update from Committee: Ms. Merzel, member of this Committee,
reported that the Committee members held two separate walkthroughs, and
altogether met with about 6 qualified contractors. During the walkthrough, the
Committee and attending representatives reviewed the list of items that they
would like to possibly include in this project. The contractors will submit an
“a la carte” style proposal so that items can easily be included/not included in
the project, based on the budget set aside for this.
Maintenance
Responsibility Matrix – Review Ideas: This project is in progress.
Roof Access Doors
and Emergency Doors- Review Estimate(s) for Replacements:
Proposals have been requested to replace the roof access door on
each side of the building. To date, two proposals have been submitted. Quotes to
replace emergency exit doors are in the process of being obtained. Also included
in this request is replacement of lock and frame and/or door, for the beach side
doors.
Sump Pump for
Water Intrusion into G2 – Review Information/Quotes/Recommendation by Committee:
The
project has been tabled at this time but will continue to remain on the
agenda.
Unit #319 –
Plumbing Incident/Repairs – Status Update: At the April 2011 meeting, Ms. Schneider reported that on
Thursday, April 07, 2011, Ms. Hess, Ms. Schneider, two representatives from PW
Stephens (the sub-contractor performing the asbestos abatement), two
representatives from ServPro (the Association hired contractor performing the
water damage remediation from the plumbing backup in/around September of 2010),
a representative from RR Restoration (the contractor called out by PW Stephens
after the flood accident took place to perform immediate dry-down services), and
the Homeowner of the Unit met together to review what repairs needed to take
place, who would be taking responsibility for the various repairs, and an
estimated time-frame for the repairs to be completed. At the close of the
meeting, PW Stephens offered to pay the difference between replacing the
hardwood flooring throughout the Unit – which needs to take place as a result of
the second loss, and just replacing the flooring in the front part of the Unit
(including entryway and kitchen) and refinishing the rest of the Unit – which
would have had to have taken place because of the first loss, in their
professional opinion. This offer was discussed by the Board. At the time of the
April meeting, one quote had been submitted to do the above mentioned two
different projects, by a contractor suggested by PW Stephens. Two other flooring
contractors were since contacted on behalf of the Association and those
estimates were submitted and presented to the Board for review. The Board
reviewed the proposals. Ms. Schneider made a motion to accept the proposal
submitted by Assured Quality Woodcraft. Ms. Merzel made a second to the motion.
The motion carried with all in favor. At the April 2011 meeting it was further
noted that the Homeowner of Unit offered to take care of the replacement of the
cabinet boxes, at his sole cost.
Unit #517 and 619
Deck/Drain/Flashing Repairs; Interior Repairs to Units – Status
Update: To date, 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. Mr. Jetsyn Tache,
Homeowner of the Unit, previously stated that he made contact with Ewell and is
working on scheduling the repairs to take place. The Homeowners of Unit #517
requested that this be further discussed in the Executive Session.
Water Intrusion
into G4 – Review Information/Recommendations and
Proposals:
Mr. Schneider advised that the scope of work approved by the Board, to be
completed by Morales Waterproofing, is in the process of being scheduled, now
that the scaffolding for the Northwest Balcony Project has been removed. The
contractor has been contacted with a request for a revised contract because the
60 day time period for it has since expired. The contractor will provide Mr.
Schneider with all information needed in order to prepare the technical
specifications for the project, to be submitted to the City of Redondo Beach for
approval and a permit.
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:
Ms.
Hess contacted the Owner of RMS regarding the continued problems reported with
the 535 entryway directory intercom system and door. The Owner advised that Mr.
Mahoney, previously an employee of RMS, has been to the property approximately
40 times in the last month or so and has not experienced any difficulty using
the entry system. The Owner stated that the entry system and/or front door
system may need maintenance every so often. He suggested that the subcontractors
who installed the entry system and front doors be contacted for any maintenance,
but that the Association should expect to be billed for such service calls.
The following report was given regarding The Northwest
Balconies Project:
The project is complete and has been signed off. The scaffolding has been
removed. A discussion took place regarding a problem pointed out to a Board Member and
Chair of the HFC Committee regarding the need to replace sliding glass doors and
door pans, to prevent water intrusion and resulting damage to the structure of
the building. The Board would like Ms. Hess to contact the Owner of CMS to see
if he is available to attend the next Board Meeting to discuss this topic.
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 the Water Intrusion Projects (discussed earlier in the
Meeting).
NEW BUSINESS
General Liability Insurance Policy Renewal – Status
Update: Ms. Schneider made a motion to ratify the vote that was taken
outside of a Board Meeting, via unanimous written consent, in regards to the
general liability insurance renewal (purchase of a policy with Sequoia Insurance
through LaBarre/Oksnee Insurance). Dr. Parker made a second to the motion. The
motion carried with all in favor.
Earthquake
Insurance Policy Renewal – Review Information/Recommendation Submitted by the
HFC: A
lengthy discussion was held regarding this subject. The HFC requested that all
requests for additional information and questions on the report prepared by the
HFC from the Board be submitted as soon as possible, in writing, so that the HFC
can work on obtaining answers and the additional information. The HFC is
suggesting that a ballot be sent out to all Homeowners with a vote on whether or
not the Association should continue to carry this policy. A suggestion was made
to hold a Special Meeting when this topic can be openly discussed by all
interested Homeowners, before any ballot/survey is sent out. In the meantime,
the Board requested that Ms. Hess find out what, if any, the penalty would be
should the Association decide to renew the policy and cancel it before its term
is over.
NEXT MEETING
Monday, June 20, 2011, 6:30 PM.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:32 PM.
Submitted by: Ellona Hess
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Board of Directors held an executive session to discuss
pending violations, a legal matter, and the outstanding repair work at Unit #517
deck.
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.