Highview Condominium II
Board of Directors - Meeting Minutes
August 12, 2003, 7:30 p.m.

The fifth regular meeting of the 2002-2003 Highview II Board of Directors was called to order at approximately 8:30 p.m. In attendance were Board members Victor Bellini, Robert Boynton, Marjorie Cannon, Stephanie Greenberg, and Frank Mattera. Tamara Keshecki, Sanchie Bobrow, and Christopher Manginelli were absent. Jennifer Ogman attended from J.A.L. Diversified Management.

1) As a first order of business, Anthony Mandracchia was appointed to fill the vacancy created by Robert Miele's resignation per Bylaws Article II, Section 6.

2) Minutes from the June 23, 2003 meeting were approved.

4) Building repairs:

a) Abassi Construction has finished the exterior brick repairs. Funds must be taken from reserve to pay the final installment of the bill.

b) Chrystie Garage Door has completed the garage door's motor replacement and safety upgrades. Red and green lights now indicate whether it is safe to enter and the door now closes automatically after one minute.

The Board questioned whether the door needs to stay up for a full 1 ½ minutes. This time is measured only after the door reaches a fully open position and the timer re-sets to 1 ½ minutes when the electric eye on the doorway senses an actual entrance. Typically, residents are parked (or departed) and long gone before the door closes and this presents an opportunity for trespassers to enter. Late at night, some residents close the door right behind their entrance and now that the door does not respond to any manual closing signal, there is plenty of time for someone to walk in. Thirty seconds was suggested and Ogman will investigate whether City code allows.

c) Ogman reported that the super has completed painting about 90% of the hallways trim and doors. Residents have complained about how quickly the newly painted doors are getting dirty. As at the last meeting, the Board questioned whether semi-gloss was being used on the doors as specified. Ogman indicated that semi-gloss was specified and being used. Although the trim work has been done in semi-gloss, it now appears that the doors were done in flat paint. Ogman will have the super re-paint the doors as specified. In the meantime, it was noted that it is part of the super's normal maintenance duties to keep the stairwell doors clean. Ogman indicated that the super is supposed to be replacing smoke detector batteries for residents as they offer access to the super to paint the doors. This does not seem to have happened and Ogman indicated that residents will need to sign a slip indicating that the super has performed the work.

d) Affordable Masonry indicated to Ogman that they would be at the building the last week of July to review garage wall water leaks. However, they did not show up. Ogman was asked to contact them again.

e) The Board approved RSK Plumbing's proposal for replacement of the building's two water main shut-off valves located in the garage at a cost of $6,307.

f) There was discussion of a proposal by Abassi Construction to repair the parapet walls. The Board requested that Mill Basin Roofing examine the situation - either agreeing that it is a warranty claim for their prior work or providing a competing estimate for the repair.

g) Repair of the front awning's frame was approved. The damage was caused by a snow removal contractor and the completed repair will turn into a claim against the snow removal contractor.

h) Bleach was dropped on a hall carpet and the resident has taken responsibility. The Board agreed to get estimates on repair, but also asked Ogman to get estimates on more comprehensive work as there are major stains on several other floors.

i) Ogman reported on bathroom leaks causing damage to apartments' bathrooms below and air conditioner leaks causing damage to apartments' living rooms and bedrooms below.

j) The proposal for re-sealing the outdoor parking lot was discussed. Stefanie Greenberg was getting a second proposal, but it was not available at this meeting. The Board reaffirmed with Ogman that the work needs to be completed before the end of August (while the sun is still at its warmest).

k) There was continued discussion of the exhaust fans operating, but not exhausting adequately. Ben Christener of Becht said he told the super that the problem was with the blades being covered with dirt and grease. If they can't be cleaned, they should be replaced. This was the first the Board or JAL was hearing of the Becht comments. Ogman will discus with Ben Christener and report back at the next meeting.

7) Legal Reporting.

a) Jennifer Ogman presented a letter from Highview's attorney Michael Swaaley concerning the CoinMach contract. The Contract had been tentatively approved at the June meeting with the stipulation that it be reviewed/approved by Swaaley before signing and formal approval. Swaaley's expressed five concerns in his letter and they were reviewed by the board.

Item #1 concerned lease term - and the Board approved the conditions of the extended term. Item #2 concerned cost per load - and the Board approved the increased cost per load after one year. Item #3 concerned 6 minute increments after 30 minutes on the dryers - and the Board agreed with Swaaley that the condition must be included. Item #4 confirmed the $675 monthly rental income throughout the term of the agreement. Item #5 confirmed the request for a guarantee of repair service within a prescribed amount of hours. Ogman will discuss with CoinMach and report back to the Board if any of these conditions cannot be met by CoinMach. At the moment, the contract as it stands is still not approved by the Board.

b) The Board once again discussed the Epstein Engineering bid for the required Local Law 11 inspection. Ogman will ask Becht Engineering whether they are licensed in NYS to perform the inspection and report back from Ben Christener of Becht at the next Board meeting.

c) Three apartments are in "collection" status with the building's attorney.

d) The building is being sued by a unit owner. There was discussion of the case which has been turned over to Swaaley.

7) Financial Reporting.

a) A revised draft of the Becht Engineering capital reserve study was discussed. All of the necessary corrections were made and the corrected version will be distributed to the full Board for approval. With approval, the reserve study can be incorporated in the FY2002 financial audit as required.

b) The FY2002 audit should be completed once the Becht report is approved and included - probably several weeks. There was discussion as to how Desantis & Shall is required to include a Capital Reserve Study as a Supplement to the audit as long as one exists. Otherwise, they must indicate in the audit that a current Reserve Study does not exist.

c) There was discussion and review of the 4-month Special Assessment of $30,000 approved for September -December. An email vote was called for on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 by Marjorie Cannon as Vice President of the Board. The vote was requested after the Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, 2003 was cancelled. There was discussion as to why the meeting had been cancelled and the two reasons suggested - incomplete FY2002 audit and/or no one able to attend were discussed. As the FY2002 audit would not affect replacing by 12/31/03 the unbudgeted $75,000 removed from reserve and eight of nine Board members had been present in the lobby (either in person or by proxy) on the evening of the cancelled meeting.

The email vote of July 16, 2003 was reviewed and it was noted that email votes are the only means the Board has formally agreed to for a Board-vote between scheduled meetings. Text of the July 16th email vote-request is attached to these Minutes. The final vote reflected eight votes for a $30,000 assessment to be completed in December (Bellini, Bobrow, Boynton, Cannon, Keshecki, Manginelli, Mattera, and Miele. This vote represented a compromise with Boynton suggesting $75,000 to replace all funds taken from the reserve since January 1st, Bellini suggesting $60,000 to replace only the full cost of the exterior repair work, and Bobrow and Keshecki suggesting only the $30,000 necessary to replace Operating Reserves to the 25% of prior year's budget necessary to meet audit guidelines. After December 31st, with the audit completed, the FY2003 budget reviewed, and with the Becht Capital Reserve Study figures in hand, the Board will then decide whether additional action is required.

d) There was discussion of setting a date for the annual General Meeting date. Per Bylaws the meeting was to take place around March. This year, the authorization documents for the audit which should have been initiated in December were not signed by the Board until May. Delays in completing the Capital Reserve Study further delayed completion of the audit. Since the annual meeting is a financial status report, this year's meeting cannot be scheduled until 1) the Capital Reserve Study is completed and accepted by the Board, 2) the FY 2002 audit is then completed and accepted by the Board, and 3) the FY 2003 current-year budget is accepted by the Board and 4) the Board distributes the FY 2002 audit and approved FY 2003 budget to the general membership. It was suggested that the Board would be unable to determine a date for the 2003 annual meeting until the regular Board meeting in September to review/approve the required financial information and authorize its distribution to the general membership.

The next Board meeting will take place at the regularly scheduled 2nd Tuesday of the month on September 9, 2003.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.

Attachment

Summary of the vote for $30,000 Special Assessment

Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 23:25:44 -0400
To: VBellin@nycboe.net, rab37@cornell.edu, SIman52@aol.com, wojin@aol.com, jcmamma@aol.com, FrankMar180@aol.com, SanchieB@aol.com, CAMangi37@aol.com, Keshecki@aol.com;
Subject: Highview -- EMAIL VOTE

BOARD MEMBERS. PLEASE REVIEW,COMMENT,CORRECT AS NECESSARY. AS SOON AS EVERYONE RESPONDS AND AGREEMENT IS AFFIRMED, THIS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED.

Although our formal Board meeting this evening was cancelled by JAL, the majority of Board members gathered in the lobby for an informal meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve the issue of a special assessment for FY2003.

The group agreed that since this was an informal meeting,any binding vote of a resolution should take place by email in order to include the full Board. (Email voting is the only means the Board has formally approved by resolution to legally conduct decision making between Board meetings.)

As Vice President, Marg Cannon has requested that I conduct a formal email vote to assure all Board members inclusion in a binding Board resolution. Robert Miele is resigning after this decision is made, but in the meantime has authorized me to decide for him. Although not in writing, it is understood that Bobrow holds proxy for Greenberg unless Greenberg wishes to vote otherwise.

After an hour of discussion, the group in attendance agreed (STAGE #1)to a Special Assessment of $30,000 to commence on August 1, 2003 and conclude on December 1, 2003. Each unit owner would be assessed a proportional based on his/her unit point percentage of the corporation, split into five equal payments. As in the past, late fees assessed for any unpaid balances on accounts due to the condominium after the 20th of the month.

(STAGE #2): It was further agreed that operating costs must be cut and a thorough understanding of all expenditures must be achieved by the Board on or before November 1st in order to deal with the remaining shortfall and determine whatever measures must follow.

This "thorough understanding" will include receipts from JAL for all expenditures made on behalf of Highview, satisfactory and complete Capital Reserve Study information, a review of approaching repairs (a listing maintained by JAL) and a plan of saving for both future Capital repair/replacement events and adequate operating reserve.

Bellini votes in favor
Bobrow votes in favor
Boynton votes in favor
Boynton holds the proxy for Miele and voted in favor
Bobrow holds proxy for Greenberg and votes in favor
Keshecki votes in favor
Mattera votes in favor
Cannon votes in favor
Chris Manginelli will need to confirm his intentions

If I have misstated any portion of our tentative resolution, please forward your comments and/or thoughts to the FULL Board.