BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
May 23, 2023
BOARD MEMBER ATTENDANCE
Present: Joe Engle, President; Victor Blanc, Vice-President; Betty Schneider, Treasurer; Sandy Bagley; Secretary; Steve Chipman, Member-at-Large
MANAGEMENT COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE(S) PRESENT
Ellona Hess of Scott Management Company (SMC)
CALL TO ORDER
These are the minutes of the 555 Esplanade Condominium Owners Association Board of Directors open session meeting, held on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, via Zoom. A quorum of Board Members was established, and Mr. Engle called the meeting to order at 10:01 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
MOTION Ms. Schneider made a motion to approve the April 18, 2023 meeting minutes. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT
The April financial report was reviewed.
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion to accept the April financial report as submitted. Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
- Sundeck Resurface – Project Update Pacific Construction Associates (PCA) are serving as project managers. PCA reported on March 17, 2023 that the permit for the project was pulled. The project will have to start within 180 days and be completed within 2 years. The Board accepted and signed the updated WICR contract, reflecting the revised scope of work per plans and the price adjustment. There is a 90 day allowance for project completion. Once the counter-executed contract is issued by WICR, their payment and project schedules will closely follow.
- Structural Integrity Analysis of the Building, Garages (3 Phase Effort) The Board commenced a 3 phase project to have the structural integrity of the building analyzed. The first focused on the structural integrity of the 4 garage concrete and steel levels. The second was for the analyzing of the settling of the building, i.e., manometer surveying. The second phase is complete. The third is for inspecting the elevated structures, i.e., balconies, in compliance with Senate Bill 326 (SB326).
a) FWC also recommended the structural investigation and analysis of the G1 level slab. These further examinations were performed. FWC’s report, for their “top of slab structural assessment” was published on April 12, 2022. FWC prepared repair plans based on their findings for that assessment. The Board accepted the proposal issued by Structural Preservation Systems, LLC (“structural”) for this project. Ms. Schneider is representing the Board for project oversight and gave a progress report. It is expected that the work will be completed by June 1.
b) FWC also issued concrete repair plans for the garage slab damage observed through invasive testing on October 22. A to Z Construction (A to Z) was engaged to perform these repairs. They were performed May 25 – June 3, 2022. Repairs to the (superficial) cracks on the concrete floor were assigned to ProTec. Ms. Schneider reported that these repairs are still in progress.
Phase III The Board accepted the proposal by Balcony1. The first round of inspections took place on May 17 and May 18. They are due to return to perform destructive testing for certain balconies.
3. 404/504 Balcony Repairs FWC and Ewell Construction (Ewell) met on-site April 5, 2022, for an initial inspection of these decks that were showing signs of distress. Based on that visit, Ewell presented a proposal for an invasive inspection. The invasive testing, which included the removal of stucco along the bottom and sides of the balconies to expose the underlying framing, was performed on May 31, 2022. FWC was onsite that day to evaluate the exposed conditions. Based on what was found, proposals for the repair work were issued by Ewell. They were presented to FWC for feedback. Considering that feedback, Ewell had to return for another visit, to take a closer look at the flashing and doors on both Units to narrow down what the needs are for each. That visit was performed on October 13. The Board considered the supplementary proposal Ewell issued, based on the findings from that follow-up visit. The Board accepted Unit 404’s updated submissions concerning the replacement of their windows/sliding glass door. The Board also accepted A to Z’s proposal for balcony repairs (excluding waterproofing, which is the Owner’s responsibility). The submission for slider repairs by the Owner of Unit 504 is pending.
4. 2024 Reserve Study Update with Site Visit The preparation of the 2024 reserve study update by Association Reserves is in progress. The site visit was performed.
5. Door Alarms (with Remote Monitoring Capabilities) The door alarms were turned off, in response to repeated instances of the alarms being activated. The Board is researching/pursuing the installation of a new type of alarm that could be remotely monitored/attended to.
6. G4 N Wall Water Intrusion (Proposal Review & Vote) Ms. Schneider reported evidence of water intrusion at the north wall of G4 below Unit 105, adjacent to the planter between the Unit’s 2 patios. The water is coming through the wall and onto the floor. Ms. Schneider reviewed the conditions/project with Morales Waterproofing. As he will not go down beyond 4 feet, a proposal(s) will be pursued from another company(s).
7. Entryway Light Fixtures The effort to locate replacement fixtures for the entryways remains in progress.
8. Electric Vehicle Charging Stations – Edison’s “Charge Ready” Program The Committee is continuing to work on investigating options, including connecting with Southern California Edison’s “Charge Ready” program, which offers in part, funded installation of electrical service infrastructure upgrades. The Association is in the queue for funding (once it becomes available again, which will likely not be until next year).
9. Repair, Paint Building’s Exterior Wood Surfaces When reviewing the 2023 reserve study update, the Board found that component “Building Exterior Wood Repair/Repaint (#1116) is due. Dunn Edwards (DE) prepared paint specifications for the project. DE prepared color scheme ideas/renderings and performed a job walk with companies that were invited to bid on the job. At the October 2022 meeting the Board voted to proceed with the project, to include painting the wood and stucco surfaces. The Board is in the process of reviewing the proposals and color ideas. The intention is to line up the start of the project with the completion of the sundeck project.
NEW BUSINESS
- Chimney Cap – Evaluation and Repairs Ms. Schneider reported that Griffin Pest Control was on-site yesterday to investigate the “bird sounds” reported by the Owner of 420. While the technician could not get right up to the chimney caps because they are on a tiled portion of the roof, he did go up to the flat roof to check them. He found that some of the chimney caps were damaged, but there were no nests there. A to Z was asked to look at the chimney caps to see if this is a project they are interested/ available to take on. If not, a roofer will be contacted.
- Earthquake Insurance Policy – Renewal; Financing The Board conducted an emergency meeting by email to vote on accepting a proposal presented by LaBarre/Oksnee Insurance Agency for the May 14 renewal of the earthquake policy. The Board unanimously concluded in favor of purchasing a policy with a loss limit of $10MM and a premium of $77,746.13.
ADJOURNMENT | CONFIRM NEXT MEETING DATE
The meeting was adjourned at 11:10 AM. The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, 10 AM via Zoom.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
An executive session was called to order at 11:11 AM to review the executive session meeting minutes, the aging report, and governing document enforcement matter(s). The meeting was adjourned at 11:25 AM.