5 June 2012
ON THE SIDELINES
Observations from the 4 June 2012 Board Meeting
by ed schneider
Last night's board meeting was a marathon affair lasting over 3 1/2 hours. The board package, containing information on each issue to be discussed, was over 100 pages long for this meeting. I'll have to admit right off the bat; I couldn't make the 3 1/2 hours. After two hours I was done, but yet the board slogged on. If ever there was a thankless job (i.e. taking tons of abuse and receiving no compensation for it), being a board member is it. But I digress. I wanted to provide you with some of the information from the board meeting that I found interesting.
During the homeowners form, several homeowners complained about the lack of respect and consideration that some of our residents are displaying towards our building and other
homeowners/residents. Trash is being left around the building, residents are leaving a mess on the floor in the trash room and they are not breaking down their boxes before depositing them in the dumpster. It was felt that we had somehow lost our community spirit, pride and
neighborliness.
The treasurer reported that we are $15,000 over our budget this month, which makes us $17,000 over budget for the year so far. As has been noted in prior articles, editorials and in
prior board minutes, the reason for our over budget situation, this year and last year, is water damage repair involving eight homeowner’s units. The source of this water damage is varied and has resulted from roof leaks, flashing leaks, broken common area pipes and backups in common area pipes to name a few. By the time you get done with water remediation, asbestos remediation and the repair of the unit, you're talking thousands of dollars of unbudgeted HOA funds expended in each unit. Our board president mentioned later in the meeting, that because of our over budget situation, it was likely that the board would have to raise the Association dues for 2013 in order to balance our budget.
The board avoided a $100,000- $150,000 expenditure by voting to have our building electrical panels inspected rather than replaced. Our insurance company (last year) initially recommended that the panels be replaced because of possible failure, but later when questioned about it, said it would be sufficient if they were inspected.
The Redondo Beach Fire Department has notified us that it is time to conduct our five year fire sprinkler inspection. Each unit must be individually inspected. Tuesday, 10 July 2012 was selected as the inspection date. A letter will be sent to each homeowner/resident informing them of their responsibilities for accomplishing the inspection.
After months of delay, the board voted to approve the hallway renovation project, contingent upon the contractor accepting additional work. The hallways will be painted, the individual unit doors will be painted (this will require homeowner participation) and the hallway carpet will be replaced. Homeowners will have the choice of changing their unit door hardware to board approved hardware, at their expense if they so desire. The project will begin in the near future and the homeowner/residents will be informed prior to the initiation of the
project. It was estimated the project will take 6 to 8 weeks and will cost in the $40,000 range.