Highview Condominium II
Board of Directors Meeting
March 12, 2002, 7:30 p.m.
Meeting Minutes 

The March 12, 2002 meeting of the Board of Directors started promptly at 7:30 p.m. A quorum of five members was not reached until approximately 8:15 p.m., but no official business took place until that time.

In attendance were Board members Vincent Alfano, Victor Bellini, Robert Boynton, Carl DiLorenzo, and Bob Malta. Also in attendance were J.A.L. Diversified Management representatives Jennifer Ogman and Jerry Lemmermann. Absent from the meeting were Board members Stephanie Greenberg, Frank Mattera, and Miriam Montalvo.

Paul Chelsen resigned from the Board on Monday, March 4, 2002 and William Geary was appointed to the Board on Friday, March 8, 2002 by a majority vote of the Board by email. Bill was unable to attend due to a commitment, made prior to his appointment to the Board.

Legal

• • 1) There was a brief discussion of the two cases of delinquent common charges (past 90 days) now with the building’s attorney. Per Bylaws, when such actions are required, the delinquent also becomes responsible for the Highview’s legal expenses. Highview attorney Michael Swaaley is handling both cases.
  • 2) After review of the contract, Highview attorney Michael Swaaley has advised J.A.L. not to pay Jeromi TV Antenna the $3,300 for their incomplete work. Per our attorney, certified mail has been sent to Jeromi outlining their responsibilities and requesting a response. No response has been received and Highview may move to the courts.
  • 3) Coinmach, supplier of the building’s washing machines and dryers, has been notified in writing that they are in breech of their contract with Highview. The new washers and dryers have been experiencing repeated breakdowns. Last weekend, 4 of 5 dryers were out of service. Highview attorney Michael Swaaley has reviewed their contract and is advising J.A.L. on this. There was further discussion of other provisions of the contract that have not been adequately met to date by CoinMach.
  • 4) Several owners have been notified of bathroom repairs that must be performed at their expense to stop continuing damage to apartments below. Jerry Lemmermann indicated that when owners fail to respond and make immediate repairs, the repairs should be authorized by Highview management and then billed to the accounts of offending owners. The Board questioned whether the building has legal standing in such issues, noting that Finnerty Management had indicated in the past that when one owner was at fault for another apartment’s damage, the damaged owner would have to sue the offender -- but that the building’s corporation could not participate in the action. Lemmermann believed that Highview II bylaws provides the corporation with legal standing, but that he would have to reread Highview II bylaws again and discuss with Michael Swaaley to be certain.

Finances

• • 1) As of March 12, 2002, the Highview II operating account balance is $23,574.79. The checks for $15,000 and $3,000 were received from Maxwell-Kates and are included in the balance. Several charges made to the Highview II account by Maxwell-Kates were questioned and have been referred by Jennifer Ogman to Highview’s attorney.
  • 2) J.A.L. has not received a statement from Chase for Highview’s reserve fund, but the balance of that account is in excess of $107,000 ($50,000 operating reserve and $57,000 capital reserve). Board members were reminded that Board officers have signing authorization over the reserve funds, managing agents have no authorization on the reserve account.
  • 3) The accounting firm of DeSantis & Shall has been engaged to perform the fiscal year 2001 audit. In direct discussions with Desantis & Shall, it was learned that they had contacted Maxwell-Kates during the fall to confirm their engagement with Highview II for FY2001, but that there had been no response.
  • 3) At the 2001 General Membership meeting on May 23, 2001, John Shall, CPA, suggested that if Highview II were to amend several past years of tax returns, additional and significant refunds might be obtained. Maxwell-Kates was asked about the status of the situation in August and November with no response. It appears that Maxwell-Kates took no action on this and J.A.L. is currently reviewing this situation with DeSantis & Shall.

Superintendent

• • 1) As approved by a full-majority (5) of the Board on March 2, 2002 through an email vote, GHI health insurance will be purchased for Michael Gonzalez and will begin on April 1^st. Votes in favor were received from: Victor Bellini, Bob Boynton, Carl DiLorenzo, Bob Malta, and Miriam Montalvo. There were no dissenting votes.
  • 2) A part-time assistant (Al) has been hired by J.A.L. to assist Michael with a number of painting projects in the building. He will work on Thursdays. Al is a full-time employee of Reiman’s Hardware.

Maintenance

• • 1) The Board approved an estimate for $3,500 by Star Industrial Service for replacement of the boiler’s leaking hot water coil. Three estimates were received by J.A.L. All in the same price range.
  • 2) The Board approved an estimate by Dyna-Dry for cleaning of all hallway carpets and pressure washing of the driveway. The Board agreed to consider purchase of pressure washing equipment for future driveway and garage floor maintenance by the building super. J.A.L. will present the Board with an estimate and recommendation for purchase of pressure washing equipment.
  • 3) The Board expressed concern for the incomplete log of resident reported problems and repairs. Jennifer Ogman responded that maintenance log reporting will improve over the next couple months as J.A.L.’s procedures become more settled with Highview and the building’s super.

Pending repairs:

• • 1) Contractor proposals are being accepted for repair of foundation cracks in the parking garage (water infiltration eroding the building foundation). Current proposals for the Martha Street side involve epoxy injection. Proposals for the Howard Avenue side will require excavation.
  • 2) Contractor proposals are being accepted for a motion sensor for the parking garage‘s exhaust fan. (Building code requires a fan to be operating as cars come and go from the garage to prevent carbon monoxide, etc. from building up in the garage.)
  • 3) Contractor proposals are being accepted for full replacement of the garage entranceway drain/grating. Complaints continue from residents about the noise from cars running over the broken grating.
  • 4) Flag pole light needs to be moved from the ground to the wall of the building to avoid vandalism.
  • 5) Repair of sewer access plates on the garage floor (which continue to slip off and offer trip hazards of large open holes in the floor) are being reviewed.
  • 6) J.A.L. will be distributing a memo to all residents indicating that the building super needs to inspect above all unit windows for any signs of water infiltration. Jerry Lemmermann indicated that the inspection will be completed by the end of the month. Proposals for whatever exterior repairs are necessary will be taking place in April and repairs scheduled for late Spring with Board approval.
  • 7) Several apartments with water damage were discussed (see legal, above). Jerry Lemmermann will be discussing with the condominium’s attorney.
  • 8) Three residents reported mice in their apartments. Jennifer Ogman indicated that the exterminator comes to the building twice a month and that residents should report these problems. It was noted that only about 10 (of the 68 apartments) typically let the exterminator into their apartments. Jennifer would distribute a notice within the building reminding residents of the exterminator’s schedule (1^st Saturday morning and 3^rd Wednesday evening every month).
  • 9) Per board approval last spring, a special refuse container for dog droppings has been purchased. It will be installed as soon as the attaching post arrives. The exact location of the container is still "to be determined" with Jennifer before it is installed.

Repairs performed:

• • 1) Jennifer Ogman reported that screening work on the Martha Street garbage enclosure is almost completed. The side facing the building still requires work to even a section of the fence and completely hide the enclosure’s contents from building residents. Jennifer noted concerns expressed by residents whose apartments face the enclosure and that she is in contact with the contractor.
  • 2) Baseboard and chair rails were repainted in the lobby. This paint work was performed as a maintenance item only and was to be performed in the original beige color. Although the change to a darker brown was acceptable to some, no member of the Board approved the color change in advance and it was agreed that no interior decorating changes should take place without the Board’s formal approval. Jennifer indicated that the color would be repainted back to the original beige next week. This paint work made it clear that there is no accurate record of the exact paint colors used in the building. The Board requested that J.A.L. determine the exact color of all other paints used in the building’s common areas so that maintenance can be performed as needed without incident. (Several residents have requested permission to repaint their own doors and were reminded not to do so -- as the doors are part of the common areas, not private property.)
  • 3) The 2-month old front entrance area mats are being returned (not wearing well) and new mats are on order.
  • 4) Several exhaust fans on the roof (servicing hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms throughout the building) have been repaired or replaced. Other fans are still out of commission, but in the process of being repaired and rebuilt. All exhaust fans will be operational shortly. Judging by the nature of some of the repairs, much of the system (a building code requirement) had been out of service for years.

New Business:

• • 1) Marian Abruzzo (not present) requested that the Board consider holding a "Coffee" Hour" in April (possibly Wednesday, the 3^rd). Marian and other residents will help organize. The Board approved.
  • 2) Marian also suggested that the building consider a newsletter and expressed a willingness to help organize this as well. The Board approved the concept, but needed more details about expense and method of distribution.
  • 3) Driveway parking rules were discussed. On Friday evening, a car was parked in front of the entrance for more than two hours without being towed. J.A.L. affirmed that any car parked in the driveway for 15 minutes is to be towed. In addition, Rules & Regulations indicate a $25 fine should be levied if it can be determined which unit the car is affiliated with. Jennifer Ogman pointed out that any resident can report a parked car in the driveway to J.A.L. and that the car will be towed in 15 minutes.
  • The issue of liability was briefly discussed. No one should be backing out of the driveway. For any car forced to back out of the Highview driveway because of an illegally parked car ahead, Howard Avenue traffic is dangerous (and somewhat a blind corner). In case of a serious accident, the building could find itself being sued by an injured party for not enforcing its own parking rules and thereby at least contributing to the accident. The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to consider in this situation. Not rigorously enforcing the parking rule places the building in jeopardy.
  • 4) There have been complaints of garbage being left on the floor of the chute rooms on upper floors of the building. Jennifer is following up by written notice with residents of floors having this problem. According to Jennifer, residents should be disposing of their garbage by using these chutes and not walking bags down to the recycling area. A drizzle from leaking garbage bags has been found in the stairwells, elevator, and lobby area on numerous occasions. The considerable accumulation of garbage in the recycling area on weekends is another indication that guidelines are not being followed.
  • Board members agreed that the chutes require residents to use small garbage bags and wondered if the chutes could be enlarged to accommodate larger bags. Jerry Lemmermann said he would investigate the possibility of enlarging the chute openings. However, he said that the opening size may be dictated by building code (possibly to keep children from entering them).
  • J.A.L. noted that by not going down the chutes, the garbage is not being compacted, forcing the super to throw it in the compactor manually. Processing the garbage from the garbage cans to the compactor takes up the super’s time and prevents other maintenance projects from moving ahead. Jennifer will be sending a memo to residents reviewing garbage disposal guidelines.
  • 5) Complaints were received concerning resident storage outside of unit doors (hallways). Rules & Regulations indicate that no obstruction or storage is allowed in common areas (hallways). A fine exists for the violation, although residents are typically first warned by management and fined the second time. The offense is a violation of NYC fire code and the building has been warned of fines in the past. UPS has stated that they will not leave large packages in front of unit doors for this reason as well. Jennifer Ogman will distribute a notice about this problem to floors where the problem has been reported.
  • 6) Jerry Lemmermann stated his intention that the Board should not need to be involved in Rules & Regulation enforcement issues. J.A.L. will insure that the Rules are followed, written notices are offered for violations, and that fines are imposed without favoritism according to the Rules. Presuming that the Rules & Regulations of the building are clear, fair and equal enforcement/fines is a responsibility of the managing agent. The Board should only find itself involved when situations suggest that the Board may wish to legally amend the Rules and Regulations as provided for by the Bylaws.
  • 7) There have been a number of resident letters to the Board concerning the Board’s failure to assure Rule compliance. J.A.L. has suggested that if Rules are regularly broken, fines should be increased. Constant violations create a lower "quality of life" for all residents. J.A.L. notes that Highview’s fine schedule is much lower than many of the buildings they currently manage. At the same time, they noted that if an owner or resident believes that they have been unfairly fined, they should appeal to J.A.L. in writing. Their appeal would be discussed by J.A.L. with the full Board at their next meeting.
  • 8) An entrance intercom problem was reported by one resident. The telephone company made a service call, but was unable to correct the problem.
  • The telephone company has often been responsible for inadvertently disconnecting intercom wires when servicing their own lines in the building. Whenever this problem occurs, Alarmingly Affordable must be called here at the same time as the telephone company to resolve the problem. Therefore, residents with intercom problems should contact J.A.L. with these problems as a maintenance issue rather than contacting Verizon directly, and being billed for a service call without the problem solved.
  • 9) There was discussion of interior decorating and landscaping issues. The drainage/ water infiltration problem with the foundation may require exterior excavation and removal of landscaping bushes in the front of the building. Replacement of some of the front bushes (recommended by the landscaper last year) is being held off until the drainage problem is corrected this spring.
  • 10) Jerry Lemmermann suggested that the Board subscribe to Habitat for continuing discussion of condominium management issues. $45/yr provides four copies of the magazine. The Board approved.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:45 p.m.