Highview Condominium II
Board of Directors - Meeting Minutes
February 22, 2011  7:30 p.m.

The second meeting of the 2010-2011 Highview Condominium II, Inc. Board of Directors was called to order at approximately 7:30 p.m. by Marjorie Cannon, Vice President.  Board members in attendance:  Robert Boynton, Joseph Cann, Marjorie Cannon, Nora Colford, David Cutler, and Joseph Skonieczny.  Stacey Cohen, Michael D’Angelo, and Natalie Hendrix were absent.  Linda Romolo attended from Wentworth Property Management.  

1)   Minutes:  Minutes of the February 2011 meeting were approved.  

2)   Board appointment:  It was noted that the majority of Board members had not responded to the email of appointment for Joseph Skonieczny and at this meeting the board affirmed a unanimous vote in his favor.  His appointment will be valid until the next annual meeting.  

3)   Vice President:  On account of commitments that keep her from fulfilling the responsibilities of Vice President and acting as President-in-Training, Marjorie Cannon resigned as Vice President.  She will remain on the Board, but felt that she does not have the time to work closely with President Stacey Cohen as a member of the Executive Committee this time.  David Cutler was nominated by Boynton to fill the vacancy.  By unanimous 6/0 vote, Cutler was elected as Vice President pending his acceptance.  Cutler requested a week to consider.  

4)   Maintenance update from super:  Chris Brighina joined the meeting to report on building maintenance items and concerns.  

5)   Financial Report:  

      a)    There was no review of 01/31/11 financials.  Romolo indicated that she no longer has access to Highview financial reports and only Michael D’Angelo receives reports from Wentworth’s NYC accounting office.  

      b)   Boynton reported receiving a copy of the monthly financial report from D’Angelo.  D’Angelo had indicated that he thought that the report had been distributed by Wentworth to the entire board and only Boynton had somehow not received it.  D’Angelo indicated to Boynton that the transition to New York City is completed and yielding the desired accrual based accounting reports.  Board agreed that Romolo should at least be receiving a copy by email from Wentworth and that if she is the building’s Wentworth representative she should be fully prepared to discuss building financial on management’s behalf.  Discussion tabled pending update from D’Angelo.  

      c)    FY2010 Audit:  Romolo reported that she has no knowledge of the audit’s progress.  Romolo indicated that Board would have to ask D’Angelo for any information.  Concern was expressed by board for Romolo’s apparent disconnect from the building’s finances and whether this means that the NYC office needs to send representative to Highview’s monthly meetings.  Discussion tabled pending update from D’Angelo.  

6)   Legal Report:  

      a)    Local Law 11 façade inspection (cycle 6):  Cycle-6 preliminary report has been submitted to the City.  No update from Romolo as to when the City will perform their follow-up/final inspection.  Concern expressed once again as to whether City will require any repairs in their final inspection which require completion prior to Cycle-7 inspection.  

      b)   Local Law 11 façade inspection (cycle 7):  No report from Romolo on when Cycle-7 engineering will be performed.  

      c)    Sidewalk flag replacements:  Bids received from four contractors and estimates were equal.  Per request of Board, Romolo has contacted City and they will come to building within 30 days and evaluate which if any flag problems are caused by tree roots in which case she will clarify situations for which City pays for repairs.  Board voted to authorize Boynton to determine whether Abasi or Tony gets the contract based on follow-up discussion concerning additional work and process for completing garage floor repairs noted with concern by Becht Engineering in 2010 and garage entrance apron which shows serious deterioration.  Boynton will include Cann and/or Skonieczny, along with Brighina.  

      d)   Damaged awning:  There was discussion of the claim against FedEx for front awning damage by their truck.  Romolo had no update.  Board asked Romolo about letter that she was to request attorney Swaaley send to FedEx.  Romolo indicated that she was not aware that she had been asked to have Swaaley sent letter to FedEx.  

      e)    Lease rule violations:  Romolo indicated that all leases are up-to-date.  Boynton said that 4-5 units were still in violation and reminded Romolo that according to last meeting she had issued $500 fines for units in violation.  Romolo had no record at this meeting of the leasing units and Boynton indicated that he would send her a list by email.  Situation tabled for report at next meeting.  

      f)    Insurance rule violations:  Units that have not complied in providing proof of insurance have been issued $50/month fines.  Noted by Board that Rule became effective February 23, 2010 and several notices sent to unit owners with final notice of impending fine sent in September 2010. Romolo had no update at this meeting.  Boynton indicated that he had not received any further notice of compliances from Wentworth since last meeting.  

      g)   It was noted at 02/02/11 meeting that the violation for improper ventilation of fumes from floor refinishing reviewed by the board at 10/26/10 meeting has not appeared in any financial reports since that date as $500 fine.  Romolo was to confirm that it was added to unit owner’s account.  As no financial report was available at this meeting there was no update.  

      h)   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.  Board members indicated personal items still in hallways.  Romolo indicated that she does not inspect hallways and was unaware of any current violations.  She suggested that the board members should do the inspections and issue fines.  Board members disagreed.  

      i)    During the meeting, Romolo indicated that to the Board that they could not take any votes that evening on account of the Board President’s absence.  If the board insisted otherwise she would have to call Stacey and request her permission to allow a vote.  The Board unanimously objected to this claim and corrected Romolo.  Per bylaws, as long as a quorum of the board members are present at a regular board meeting, votes and all other regular business may proceed.  Beyond the bylaws, the board has historically sought five votes representing a majority of the full 9-member board for significant decisions such as hirings, firings, and other major decisions while recording dissenting votes and opinions as available.  

7)   Building Repair & Maintenance Report:  

a)    HVAC:  Brighina reported that the two new exhaust fan motors have been received and will be installed as soon as it’s warm enough to work outdoors on the roof.  

      b)   Fuel oil tank: Romolo was asked at the 02/02/11 meeting to get estimates for ground leak testing of underground fuel oil tank per concern expressed in Becht Engineering’s Capital Reserve Study of 2010.  Romolo reported no progress on this request.  

c)    Emergency Hallway Lighting:  In a recent 02/02/11 local area power outage that lasted several hours, about half of the emergency lighting units did not come on at all while others stayed on for only a short period of time.  Age of batteries was discussed, but it was noted that one failure involved a unit that had just had the battery replaced.  It was also noted 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 which had been noted as noted in the Capital Reserve Study, and Brighina agreed to investigate cost of replacements with possibility of upgrade to LED units.  

         d)   Elevator:  Recent elevator repairs and mandated upgrades were discussed.  Emergency call-box has been installed, but the Verizon emergency line not operating.  Noted that Verizon had not been paid by management for four months, notice had been received that the line was being turned off for non-payment and that a service charge would be required to re-establish service.  Board questioned how this had been resolved by Wentworth.  Romolo will investigate status and report at next meeting.  

         e)    Sprinkler System Inspections:  At last meeting Brighina reported that a flow test of the garage sprinkler system had been performed by the Fire Department and questions had been raised about inspection of the compactor and laundry room sprinkler systems.  At this meeting Romolo reported that she continues to investigate.  

         f)    Boiler pump replacement: Brighina reported that Buttermark Plumbing installed the new condensate pump approved at last board meeting.  

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:00 p.m.  

Minutes submitted by Robert Boynton, Secretary.