Highview Condominium II
Board of Directors - Meeting Minutes
February 2, 2011 7:30 p.m.
The first meeting of the 2010-2011
Highview Condominium II, Inc. Board of Directors was called to order at
approximately 7:30 p.m. by Stacey Cohen, President. Board
members in attendance: Robert
Boynton, Joseph Cann, Marjorie Cannon, Stacey Cohen,
Nora Colford, and Natalie Hendrix. David
Cutler, Michael D’Angelo, and newly appointed Board member Joseph
Skonieczny were absent.
Linda Romolo attended from Wentworth Property Management.
1)
Minutes: Minutes of
the October 26, 2010 meeting were approved.
2)
Board appointment: It
was reviewed that following the resignation of Angelo Morelli in November, Joseph Skonieczny was appointed to
the Board. His appointment will be
valid until the next annual meeting.
3)
Maintenance update from super:
Chris Brighina joined the meeting to report on building maintenance items
and concerns.
4)
Financial Report:
a) There was no
review of 12/31/10 financials.
b) Status
of Highview’s accounting move to Wentworth’s NYC office on January 1st
was discussed. Will be reflected in
January 31st report available at the next Board meeting.
5)
Legal Report:
a) Local Law 11 façade inspection (cycle 6):
Cycle-6 preliminary report has been submitted to the City.
No update as to when the City will perform their follow-up/final
inspection.
b) Local Law 11 façade inspection (cycle 7):
No report on when Cycle-7 engineering will be performed.
c) Sidewalk flag replacements:
The building has received a warning from the City for sidewalk cracks.
The building has 90 days to replace these sections/flags otherwise the
City will make the repairs and bill the Highview for the work.
Romolo reported with bids and was asked to get additional bid from Abasi.
Board requested bids for additional concrete work including garage door
repairs and garage entrance apron.
d) Damaged awning:
There was discussion of the claim against FedEx for front awning damage
by their truck. Romolo was asked by
Cohen to have attorney Swaaley send a letter to FedEx.
e) Lease rule violations:
Five units in violation by not maintaining copies of current leases on
file have each been issued $500/month fines.
f) Insurance rule violations:
Units that have not complied in providing proof of insurance have been
issued $50/month fines. Noted that
Rule became effective February 23, 2010 and several notices sent to unit owners
with final notice of impending fine sent in September 2010.
g) Review of fine amounts:
Per repeated disruptions, police calls, and noise violations in the
building involving the same parties, it was reviewed that the board had
previously increased a second violation within six months from $100 to $250.
Following the police being called for another violation, the board
considered the recommendation of several units unit owners to increase the fine
for a third offense to $500 or $1,000. The
board decided not to increase the fine for each additional offense beyond $250
for now, but will strictly enforce the current fines and if this does not have
the desired result reconsider the situation.
h) Parking in the driveway:
Several unit owners complained about the building not enforcing the
towing rule for cars parked in the driveway, noting cars parked for 10 minutes,
30 minutes, and 1 hour. Management
confirmed that whenever a car is parked in the driveway, the tow service listed
on the sign should immediately be called and will not require the caller’s
name as they have a contract to tow from the driveway on sight of a parked car.
i) It was noted that the violation for improper
ventilation of fumes reviewed by the board in October has not appeared in the
financials as a fine. Romolo will
confirm that it was added to unit owner’s account.
j) Hallways and common areas:
The board reviewed complaint of hallway clutter, noting unit doors and
hallways are common property and are no be kept free and clear for regular
vacuuming and painting. Although the
current complaint was about a neighbor’s umbrella and another’s boots, the
board could only address the complaint by equal enforcement of the rules and all
unit owners in violation with any items in the hallway will be notified.
Notice was distributed to all units warning that any personal belongings
left in hallway will result in a fine.
k) Collection of past-due common charges:
Foreclosure sale of unit 1-B resulted in collection of approximately
$14,000 in back common charges and late fees.
6) Building Repair & Maintenance Report:
a)
HVAC: Brighina
reported that two new exhaust fans have been ordered.
b) Capital
Replacement Recommendations: Per
the updated Capital Reserve Study performed in October 2010, it was reviewed by
the board that Becht Engineering recommended that the underground oil tank
should be tested for signs of ground leaks and that an area of the garage floor
was failing with reinforcing rod exposed. Romolo will get estimates for tank
testing and add the garage concrete work to estimates being obtained for
sidewalk replacement.
c)
Laundry room: New
television has been installed.
d)
Emergency Hallway Lighting: In
a recent 02/02/11 power outage, about half of the emergency lighting units did
not come on. Age of batteries was
discussed, but it was noted that one failure involved a unit that had just had
the battery replaced. It was noted
that some units came on, but that the emergency lighting is designed for
immediate evacuation and not for an all day power outage.
There was discussion of the age of the units, as noted in the Capital
Reserve Study, and Brighina agreed to investigate cost of replacements with
possibility of upgrade to LED units.
e) Garage door:
Adjustments have been made to the new garage door.
f) Elevator:
Recent elevator repairs and mandated upgrades were discussed.
Emergency call-box has been installed, but Verizon line not operating.
Noted that Verizon had not been paid by management and line was turned
off. Romolo will investigate status.
g) Sprinkler System
Inspections: Brighina reported
that a flow test of the garage sprinkler system was performed by the Fire
Department. Questions were raised
about inspection of the compactor and laundry room sprinkler systems.
Romolo will investigate.
h) Boiler pump
replacement: The Board approved $1,300 for new boiler pump.
i) Entrance
system: Boynton was asked to
investigate whether a stronger proximity key reader is available.