BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

Monday November 25, 2024  7:30PM

2nd Floor Party Room

Management Report 

6:10PM – CLOSED SESSION

The Board is scheduled to meet to discuss rule violations, pending litigation, Unit Owner account issues and personnel matters. 

7:30PM – OWNER FORUM

The Board of Directors and Management may welcome and address feedback and questions from Unit Owners. 

CALL TO ORDER – Board Meeting Open Session

The meeting chair, expected to be Board President Michael Parrie will call the meeting to order. 

Confirm Quorum

The meeting chair will confirm a quorum of Board Members is present. Board Members and representatives from Management will be introduced. 

Commission Reports

Commission chairs or members so designated will be invited to update the Board and Owners on business and activities.

Attached to the report for Board review are the most recent reports from the Home Improvement Commission.

Board Report

The meeting chair may give a report on current Association business and activities of interest.

Action Items

1. Closed Session Business

This agenda item is provided for any resolutions proposed resulting from Closed Session discussion.

2. Minutes – Board Meeting October 14, 2024

Attached to the meeting report for Board Member review are the proposed minutes for the Board of Directors Meeting held on Monday October 14, 2024, as submitted by Community Manager Tim Patricio, for Board consideration.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the minutes from the Board Meeting held on October 14, 2024.” 

3. Minutes – Board Meeting November 16, 2024

Attached to the meeting report for Board Member review are the proposed minutes for the Board of Directors Meeting held on Saturday November 16, 2024, as submitted by Community Manager Tim Patricio, for Board consideration.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the minutes from the Board Meeting held on November 16, 2024.” 

4. Updated 22.1 Disclosure

Attached to the report for Board Member review is the updated 22.1 disclosure through October 2024 for formal Board approval.

The 22.1 Disclosure, is a standard document we provide upon request in the event of any sale and make available for inspection to the prospective purchaser. This incorporates:

• A copy of the Declaration, by-laws, other condominium instruments and any rules and
• A statement of any liens, including a statement of the account of the unit setting forth the amounts of unpaid assessments and other charges due and owing as authorized and limited by the provisions of Section 9 of this Act or the condominium
• A statement of any capital expenditures anticipated by the unit owner’s association within the current or succeeding two fiscal
• A statement of the status and amount of any reserve for replacement fund and any portion of such fund earmarked for any specified project by the Board of
• A copy of the statement of financial condition of the unit owner’s association for the last fiscal year for which such statement is
• A statement of the status of any pending suits or judgments in which the unit owner’s association is a party.
• A statement setting forth what insurance coverage is provided for all unit owners by the unit owner’s association.
• A statement that any improvements or alterations made to the unit, or the limited common elements assigned thereto, by the prior unit owner are in good faith believed to be in compliance with the condominium
• The identity and mailing address of the principal officer of the unit owner’s association or of the other officer or agent as is specifically designated to receive

As a matter of routine, we continue to update this regularly and will present it periodically for Board review and formal approval.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association approves the 22.1 disclosure as drafted with the best available information through October 2024.” 

5. 2023/2024 Audited Surplus Transfer

The audit of the 2023/2024 Financial Statements reported an operating surplus of income over expenses in the amount of $557,797, as reported at the last Board Meeting. We’ve identified the potential for bad debt from three particular Unit Owner accounts from last year totaling $39,314.17. Also we confirmed with our auditor that a “true-up” adjustment of the monthly reserve contribution in early 2024/2025 needs to be subtracted, totaling $15,408. The total suggested adjustment is $54,722.17. Considering the most recent Reserve Study results emphasizing the impact of inflation over the past two years on current and future projects, we recommend that the balance, $503,074.83, be contributed to the reserve fund.

A sample motion: “I move that WHEREAS, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Park Tower Condominium Association (the “Association”) is the governing body of said Association and is charged with the direction and administration of the Property subject to that certain Declaration of Condominium for Park Tower Condominium, as from time to time amended (the “Property”); and

WHEREAS, the Declaration provides that the Association is obligated to maintain, repair, and replace the common elements located in the Property; and

WHEREAS, an accounting for the 2023/2024 fiscal year revealed that there is an accumulated amount of income in excess of the amount required for actual expenses (“excess”) in the amount of $557,797; and

WHEREAS, the Board has identified $54,722.17 in prior year expenses which should be deducted, resulting in an adjusted surplus of $503,074.83; and

WHEREAS, the Board has reviewed the status of the Association’s capital reserve account; and

WHEREAS, the Condominium Property Act requires, pursuant to section 9 (c) (2), the Association to maintain reasonable reserves for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance for repair or replacement of the common elements located in the Property; and

WHEREAS, the Board has considered the following factors relative to the reasonableness of the Association’s reserves:

1) The repair and replacement cost, and the estimated useful life, of the property which the Association is obligated to maintain, including but not limited to structural and mechanical components, surfaces of the buildings and common elements, and energy systems and equipment;

2) The current and anticipated return on investment of the Association’s reserve funds;

3) The amount that the Association’s most recent capital reserve study provides should be on deposit in the capital reserve account;

4) The financial impact on the unit owners in the market value of the condominium units of an immediate assessment increase to fund the reserves and

5) The ability of the Association to obtain financing or refinancing as a supplement to the capital reserve account; and

WHEREAS, after due consideration of the foregoing factors, the Board contends that their fiduciary duty demands that the excess funds be transferred into the capital reserve account.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Park Tower Condominium Association Board of Directors approves the transfer of $503,074.83, the identified year-end operating fund surplus cash for 2023/2024, to the Association’s reserve account, after taking into consideration the criteria for establishing a reasonable reserve set forth in Section 9(c)(2) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act, in order to more properly fund said reserve account.”

6. Package Room – Oversized Package Policy

It has been suggested that a policy is needed to address the delivery of oversized packages in the package room. The Rules and Regulations policy for large/oversized deliveries is that they can only be held for three days.

The package room volunteers suggest a process giving the residents a grace period and notifying the office if an oversized package remains after five days.  The residents will then get a notice to pick up the package within three days or maintenance will move the package to storage. It is suggested that they will then be charged a storage fee, to be determined by the Board.

Management suggests perhaps including deliveries of multiple packages to one unit that take up more than the oversized package space as well – though we have not discussed this with volunteers.

The total time the oversized package (or multiple packages to one unit taking up the same or more space as an oversized package) would be in the package room under this process would be 8 days.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves a package room storage policy for oversized packages (or multiple packages for one unit taking up the same amount of space or as an oversized package) requiring that they be picked up within three days of delivery, after which residents will have a grace period of five days if they remain, after which the resident will get a notice from the management office to pick up the package within three days or maintenance will move the package to storage, and a storage fee of $____ per day will be charged to the Unit Owner.” 

7. Home Improvement Commission Membership

The purpose of this action item is to consider the appointment of a new member to the Home Improvement Commission, Unit Owner William Oren, Unit 5314.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association appoints William Oren of Unit 5314 to the Home Improvement Commission.”

8. Boiler Maintenance Agreement

Attached to the report for Board review are proposals for the seasonal maintenance contract for the main heating boilers. The incumbent, who our maintenance team would like to continue with, bid NO INCREASE for three more years. While we felt that was good enough to continue, we sought one more proposal to ensure they remain competitive. The bids are as follows:

Hayes Mechanical            $11,880 per year for 3 years (incumbent)

WJO Chicago                      $11,864 per year for 4 years

As they are certainly remaining competitive, and our maintenance team is happy with their service, we suggest renewal with Hayes Mechanical.

A sample motion: “I move the Park Tower Condo Board of Directors approves renewal of the contract with Hayes Mechanical for the Main Boilers Maintenance Agreement, for three years at an expense of $11,880 annually.” 

9.   Chiller Project Insulation

In September 2024, the Board approved the budgeted 10 year chiller teardown project. It was explained at the time that bids to do the re-insulation of the chillers would follow. At the time, we estimated that would cost around $25,000.

Attached to the report for Board review, are the following proposals for this effort:

Dettman Industries         $29,470

Fluid Technologies           $34,000

WJO Chicago                      $42,180

We are comfortable with the low bidder, Dettman. They are typically the low bidder for insulation efforts on most projects (including risers and other plumbing work) and we have always been pleased with their work.

A sample motion: “I move the Park Tower Condo Board of Directors approves the chiller teardown project insulation work as proposed by Dettman Industries, Inc., at expense of $29,470 to be funded by the reserve fund.” 

10.   1P Garage Fan Damper

Maintenance reported that the damper serving the main 1p garage air handler fan unit is failing. The dampers on 1P are original, but the 2P dampers were replaced relatively recently for similar reasons. The team was optimistic we would get several more years out of the 1P dampers but they’ve become problematic. It is allowing outside air in at times. This causes some energy loss, contributes to doors having difficulty closing on the lower levels of the building, and contributes to the wind tunnel effect which impacts the elevators.

Attached to the report for Board review, are the following proposals for this effort:

Biedron Heating & Cooling           $25,003

JLJ Contracting                                  $25,745

WJO Chicago                                      $21,255

We suggest the low bidder, WJO. Also, our BAS system maintenance contractor Kroeschell Engineering will need to tie the new damper into our network, which will cost $1400. That will bring the total replacement cost to $22,655.

Our team reports that repair is not a reasonable option. They estimate it would be over half the cost of replacement and there would be no guarantee of success.

Work on the garage air handling system for both 1P and 2P is not planned in the Reserve Study for about 5 years, including damper work, so the cost of this project plus inflation can be ‘borrowed’ from that future effort. We will work this out as a part of the ongoing effort to make adjustments to our 5 year budget projection and 10 year outlook (as discussed at the November 16^th meeting).

A sample motion: “I move the Park Tower Condo Board of Directors approves the replacement of the 1P Parking Garage Fan Damper as proposed by WJO Chicago, and the BAS system tie in as proposed by Kroeschell Engineering, at total project expense of $22,655 to be funded by the reserve fund.” 

11.   Garbage Elevator Doors

Attached to the report for Board review are bids for the planned replacement of the Garbage Elevator Doors. This was budgeted as an operating effort for this year, for $8500.

The proposals are as follows:

Door Systems                    $8651

Industrial Door Co.          $8155

Tee Jay Service                  $15,809

We are comfortable with the low bidder, Industrial Door.

A sample motion: “I move the Park Tower Condo Board of Directors approves the replacement of the Garbage Elevator Doors as proposed by Industrial Door Co., at an expense of $8155 to be funded by the operating fund.” 

12.   Garbage Chute Spray Wash

Attached to the report for Board review are bids for the annual spray wash of the interior of the garbage chute.

The proposals are as follows:

Aqua Blasting Corp          $6404.10

Airways Systems              $5400 year 1, $5560 year 2, $5730 year 3

ServPro                                $6235

We are comfortable with the low bidder, Airways Systems, and suggest we agree to their proposal to lock them in for three years.

A sample motion: “I move the Park Tower Condo Board of Directors approves the Garbage Chute Spray Wash as proposed by Airways Systems, Inc., at an expense of $5400 for year 1, $5560 for year 2, $5730 for year 3.” 

13. Construction Requests

Attached to the report for Board Member review are remodeling packets for the following Unit Owners’ construction projects:

Unit 914  – Hard Surface Flooring

Unit 915 – Unit Remodel, Washer Dryer, Hard Surface Flooring

Unit 1606 – Unit Remodel, Washer Dryer, Hard Surface Flooring

Unit 1908  – Hard Surface Flooring

Unit 4811 – Double Pane Window Install

A sample motion follows: “I move the Board of Directors approves the remodeling plans for Units 914, 915, 1606, 1908 and 4811 as submitted by the unit owners, following the recommendations of the chief engineer as outlined in their written specifications and in accordance with the Rules and Regulations and remodeling guidelines of the Park Tower Condo Association.” 

Business Reports 

1. Treasurer’s Report

Attached to the Report for Board Review is the October 2024 Balance Sheet and Statement of Income & Expenses as reported by the Habitat Company.

Fund Balances End of October 2024

Operating assets totaled $2,254,988 and the Reserve cash and investments were $4,230,284 for a total of cash and investments of $6,485,272.

October 2024 Revenue and Expenses

Total Operating Revenue: $635,068

Total Operating Expenses: $480,398

Income (Loss) From Garage: $29,220

Contribution To Reserve: $172,233

Total Surplus/(Deficit): $11,857

2. Management Report

Attached to the report for Board Review is the Sales and Lease Reports. The Monthly Activity Report is still being completed and will be forwarded to members in time for the meeting.

1. Business and Activities – Property Manager Tim Patricio will review current business and activities of
2. Engineer’s Report – Property Manager Tim Patricio will review activity of interest from the Maintenance team.
3. Recent Sales Activity – Property Manager Tim Patricio will review the most recent Sales.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, the Board will consider adjourning the meeting.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors adjourns the November 25, 2024 Board Meeting at ____PM.”

OWNER FORUM

The Board of Directors and Management will welcome and address feedback and questions from Unit Owners.

The next regular Board Meetings are scheduled for Monday December 9th and January 13th at 7:30PM, and the next Resident Forum is scheduled for Saturday January 25th at 11am, all to be held in the 2nd Floor Party Room unless otherwise posted.