BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
June 20, 2023
BOARD MEMBER ATTENDANCE
Present: Joe Engle, President; Betty Schneider, Treasurer; Sandy Bagley; Secretary; Steve Chipman, Member-at-Large (joined at 12 PM). Absent: Victor Blanc, Vice-President.
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, June 20, 2023, via Zoom. A quorum of Board Members was established, and Mr. Engle called the meeting to order at 11:26 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 May 23, 2023 meeting minutes. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT
The May financial report was reviewed.
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion not to re-invest any reserve funds at this time, due to the Association’s upcoming, anticipated cash flow needs. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion to accept the May financial report as submitted. Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS1. 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. WICR counter executed. The project is due to start July 10. There is a 90 day allowance for project completion. The sun deck will be closed for the entire duration of the project. The project schedule is forthcoming, and once available, will be shared with the Community.
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion to accept the change order by PCA for phase II construction management as stated. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
2. 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).
Phase I On August 25, 2021, Ficcadenti Waggoner and Castle (FWC) conducted a site visit to view the concrete and masonry parking structure. Some damage to the concrete and masonry within the parking structure was observed; most was relatively minor or already being addressed by the HOA. FWC recommended assessing/repairing 4 different areas.
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.
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. They are about 50% complete.
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 on July 7 to inspect a couple of Units that were missed, and to perform borehole inspections at the balconies flagged for possible damage.
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 2024 reserve study published by Association Reserves on June 12 is in the process of being reviewed. The target date for the completion of the review is August 1.
5. Door Alarms (with Remote Monitoring Capabilities) The door alarms were turned off, in response to repeated instances of the alarms being activated. Mr. Schneider presented hardware to alarm the doors with sensors that will notify the Board on the phone when 1 or more of the doors is opened. The information is being reviewed.
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. The Board reviewed the proposal presented by American Restore. A 2nd proposal is expected from Structural.
7. Chimney Cap(s) Evaluation and Repairs Griffin Pest Control was on-site in May 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. Antis Roofing (“Antis”) was asked to look at the chimney caps. Their proposal for maintenance/repairs is forthcoming.
8. Entryway Light Fixtures The effort to locate replacement fixtures for the entryways remains in progress. This item will be removed from the agenda for now and revisited in December ‘23.
9. 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). This item will be removed from the agenda and revisited in January ’24.
10. 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. This item will be removed from the agenda and revisited in October ’23.
NEW BUSINESS
- Boiler System Replacement At the May meeting the Board addressed the fact that the Association’s year-to-date expense on gas was $8,200 over budget. The gas company’s (extreme) rate spike was noted, but higher usage was noted as well. The Board agreed to explore replacing the boiler(s) with a more efficient system.
2. Lobby Floors – Clean and Seal The Board reviewed the proposal received by J Marble Restoration to clean and apply an impregnator sealer to the lobby floors. The Board agreed to ask Offshore Maintenance to deep clean the floors, and to then pursue a proposal to resurface the floors.
3. King Palm Trees – Annual Trimming Service The Board reviewed the proposal by Rancho California Landscaping (“Rancho”) for the trimming of the King Palm trees.
MOTION Ms. Bagley made a motion to accept the proposal, but to hold on releasing it until Ms. Schneider and/or Ms. Bagley have the opportunity to perform a visual inspection of the trees. Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT | CONFIRM NEXT MEETING DATE
The meeting was adjourned at 12:47 PM. The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 10 AM via Zoom.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
An executive session was called to order at 12:48 PM to review the executive session meeting minutes, the aging report, and governing document enforcement matter(s). The meeting was adjourned at 12:57 PM.