BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
February 21, 2023
BOARD MEMBER ATTENDANCE
Present: Joe Engle, President; Betty Schneider, Treasurer; Sandy Bagley; Secretary
Absent: Victor Blanc, Vice-President; Steve Chipman, Member-at-Large
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, February 21, 2023, via Zoom. A quorum of Board Members was established, and Mr. Engle called the meeting to order at 10:02 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 Mr. Engle made a motion to approve the January 17, 2023, meeting minutes. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT(S) & CD RECOMMENDATION(S)
The January financial report was reviewed.
The Association’s experts and/or general counsel will be asked to comment on whether asbestos testing remains a requirement each time or is it possible to instead just assume that asbestos is present and abate accordingly.
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion work with Mr. Turkzadeh at RBC to proceed with investing reserve funds in US Treasuries as they determine is best fit, considering the Association’s upcoming cash flow needs. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion to accept the January financial report as submitted. Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
- 03 Stack Rain Water Intrusion – Roof Repairs Antis Roofing (Antis) recommended replacing the elevator tower flat roof, in relation to their inspection for water intrusion experienced by the 03 stack.
2.Unit 620 Plans for Interior Alterations The Board reviewed the (most updated) plans presented by the Owner’s architect. The Board has follow-up questions and concerns on use, movement and/or installation of plumbing supply and drain lines. A Zoom session will be coordinated with 620’s Owner, architect, and general contractor, and 2 Board Members.
3.Sundeck Resurface Project Pacific Construction Associates (PCA) are serving as project managers. PCA reported on January 11 that the City of Redondo Beach approved their plans. PCA presented the updated WICR proposal to the Board on February 10. PCA commented that the city allows up to 1 year from the original date of submission of plans to pull the permit. The city will allow PCA to pull the permit even though the 1-year mark from original submission past, with the caveat that they do so within a month. After the permit is pulled, the project will have to start within 180 days, and be completed within 2 years. MOTION Ms. Bagley made a motion to 1) proceed with pursuing/paying for the permit, 2) continue to work with PCA to have them identify the new sliders and pursue express/written agreement from the 4 Owners who will be responsible for the replacements, and 3) continue pursuing the refined/final WICR contract. Ms. Schneider made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
4.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 Board will plan on having additional manometer surveys performed within the next 2 years in the areas that appear to be experiencing downward movement. The third will be 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. Mr. Schneider and Mr. Bagley will assist with the project. Ms. Schneider will represent the Board, for project oversight, with Mr. Chipman as the alternate Board representative. The contract was executed and the project is due to start March 6. Ms. Schneider will work with SMC on issuing notices to the Owners of the parking spaces that need to be vacated for the duration of the project, along with publishing a general notice to the Community.
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 will inquire as to their status.
Phase III Proposals for SB326 inspections were received from 4 different firms. Mr. Pabst volunteered to assist Ms. Schneider with reviewing/comparing the proposals. An “interview” will be set up with A7 Group, Inc. who advertises a non-invasive inspection process.
5. 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. Proposals for the repair work that are HOA responsibility were received from a couple of additional companies. They are under review. Letters were issued to the Owners of Units 404, 504 with notice of work they must perform to their slider(s). By March 9, 2023, the Owners are (respectively) due to present the Board with a copy of the contract they’d like to move forward with.
6. Entryway Light Fixtures The effort to locate replacement fixtures for the entryways remains in progress.
7. Fire Sprinklers Repairs in Units Fire sprinkler repairs are now only pending in 517.
8. 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) should be performed this year. 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. Updated proposals were issued by the contractors, to exclude railing/wrought iron 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.
9. Electric Vehicle Charging Stations – Edison’s “Charge Ready” Program The Committee is continuing to work on investigating options, including connecting the Association with Southern California Edison’s “Charge Ready” program, which offers in part, funded installation of electrical service infrastructure upgrades.
10. 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. Considering the other projects in progress or coming up, the Board concluded to remove the item from the agenda, and to put it back on for the September meeting.
11. Balcony Maintenance Proposal Mr. Schneider presented a proposal on balcony maintenance for the Board’s consideration. The proposal was divided into 2 parts, which included financial incentives for the program. The Board (along with Owner volunteer Mr. Bagley) is taking time to examine the proposal in detail, to be followed by a conversation on implementation. This proposal will be connected to the Association’s SB326 efforts (see above).
NEW BUSINESS
- Annual Fire Alarm Inspection The Board reviewed the proposal by Southland Fire Alarm/Southland Security (Southland) to perform the yearly fire alarm inspection. MOTION Mr. Engle made a motion to accept Southland estimate for $2,500. Ms. Bagley made a second to the motion, which carried unanimously.
- 2024 Reserve Study Update The Board reviewed the proposal by Association Reserves to prepare the 2024 update, along with an option for a 3-year plan.
ADJOURNMENT | CONFIRM NEXT MEETING DATE
The meeting was adjourned at 11:56 AM. The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 10 AM via Zoom.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
An executive session was called to order at 11:57 AM to review the executive session meeting minutes, the aging report, and governing document enforcement matter(s). The meeting was adjourned at 12:08 PM.