In Attendance 

George Pauley, President; Carlos Vargas, 1st Vice President; Lorraine Meyers, 2nd Vice President; Sandra Goldberg, Secretary; Laura Cossa, Treasurer; Steve Hanna, Property Supervisor; Tim Patricio, Property Manager; Mavis Mather, Assistant Manager Business Operations; Jacquie Kozinski, Assistant Manager Security Operations

Call to Order at 7:40 pm

Unit Owner Comments Regarding Agenda

June Baker – I have three quick questions.  One, is it possible to sell gift certificates for the health club?

George Pauley stated that it was a very good idea.  Does anyone know about selling gift certificates to the health club?

A long time ago we used to.

George Pauley stated that he thought it was a good idea and shouldn’t take anything particular to do.  We don’t have to vote on it or anything, just create something in the office.  We will follow through with this in the office.

Two other things, when you are going down to 2-P in a hurry with recyclables and the service elevators are not available you have to go through the mall.  What do you suggest we do with the recycling?  If you are in a hurry and can’t go back to the other end but have the things with you.

George Pauley stated that you have to use the service elevators when taking garbage out.

That’s true but occasionally they are not available.

George Pauley asked if there was a situation recently in which both service elevators were out.

Tim Patricio stated that there were none in which both elevators were out.  There have been situations in which both elevators were in use such as paramedics being in the building when a move was going on.  There have been some extraordinary situations in the past few weeks in which I would not be surprised if that was an issue.

So can we put another bin back in 2-P?

George Pauley stated that he did not think so, that would require four more bins.

Carlos Vargas stated that he has had this happen and he just takes the time to come back around to the recycling bin and then go back to his car.

There are just some times in which you have no time to go drop the recycling off and continue to your car.

Robert Pierce – Can we move the recycling bins from the laundry room to 2-P?

George Pauley stated that he was not aware that the bins were removed from the laundry room.

There is currently no access to the laundry room.

George Pauley asked if what he meant was temporarily.  That will not solve the problem for longer than 4 days when the laundry room is completed.

June Baker – My third item is that I would like to thank everyone who worked on the party.  It was outstanding and maybe the best that we ever had.  However, many years ago, we used to have a directory out front and in the back with all of our names and apartment numbers listed.  We had to take that down because it was a violation of security and it opened us up to a possible lawsuit.  Now when we have a party you have a directory up front with names and apartment numbers for everyone to look at.

George Pauley stated that the directories were not taken down for the reason stated.  The directories were removed because of the reconfiguration of the building and the entrances to the building.  It used to be that the door by the cleaners was locked and you had to be buzzed in.  When we opened that door than there was no reason to have a directory and telephone system back there.  When the doorman’s desk was removed from by the glass door to over by the counsel people no longer had to ring residents themselves.  The doorman was available to do it.  There was no violation of privacy, there is nothing to that.  Anybody who wants to find out where you live can do so in about 2 minutes on the internet.

Of course but we don’t have to make it that easy.  We don’t want to make it even easier.

George Pauley stated that it was the way that the parties are being done and will not be changed for that reason. If you don’t want to go to the party than you don’t need to sign up.  The names are not preprinted.  If you don’t go to the party or sign up then there is nothing there.

The list asks for names to be written next to the unit numbers.

George Pauley stated that was correct.  If you don’t sign your name then there is no reason to be concerned about that.  The reason that the social committee does it that way is when it is not done that way it becomes impossible for the person at the door to check people off in a reasonable amount of time.  Anybody can go into the office and ask for a list of all the residents of this building and where they live.  This is information that anybody can get by law.  If you are worried that one of your neighbors is out to get you and you don’t want them to know where you live, then there is not much that can be done.  Many buildings publish directories for their residents and this was only for residents and not outsiders.

Don Yuratovic – Is it really necessary to replace the first floor carpeting?  I just walked down there and looked at it.  I don’t think that anything is wrong with it.  I think this can wait a couple more years.  Especially if it will be $12,000 or $7,000.  You all ran for the Board saying we need to keep the assessments down and watch our pennies; this is $12,000 that you could wait to spend.

George Pauley stated that the first floor carpeting and second floor carpeting were scheduled to be replaced a year ago.  We said as a Board that the second floor carpeting did not need to be replaced and that we were going to postpone the first floor carpeting until after the winter.  This was originally scheduled for the fall.

Have you looked at it?  There is nothing wrong with it.

George Pauley stated that the carpet needs to be replaced.  It is dirty and has holes in it.

Vince DiFruscio – Two quick things, first of all do you have any count of how many people were at the party?

George Pauley stated that the social committee knew how many people were there but that he did not.

The other question was about the circle drive planter.  Last month we were talking about how there had been too much dirt and that it was causing a problem.  It looks like the dirt is again up to the level that it was before.  Why is it so high?

George Pauley stated that the original solution to that was to put in a row of bricks.  The Board voted against it so that in order to work the way it is more dirt had to be put in to fill it back to what it was.

Can’t they just slope the grass down?

George Pauley stated that it was sloped down.  The grass is actually higher than the edge of the planter.

The grass is also looking very dried out.  What happened?

Tim Patricio stated that the grass was being replaced and that the new sod was ordered.  We are not sure what happened.  It looks like it dried out but I know that during the project we were watering the grass every day.  It is a little baffling but it is being replaced.

George Pauley stated that it had been discussed with Tim and that they cannot figure out why it is dying with all the rain and the water that we have been getting.

Tim Patricio stated that the flowers were flourishing.  We are watching the drainage too to make sure that the level does not get above the bottom of the coping.  When they come out to do the sod, they will check the areas that have not settled in the way that was expected.

Sandy Massel – The noise on Saturday night on the party room was unbearable.  Why do we allow it to get so loud?  There were youngsters and they were screaming and yelling and the volume was horrible.  It was about 7:30 and they go outside and yell and swear.

Susan Pestine – Neither the doorman nor the security guards know what to do.  The party is supposed to end at 11PM but at 11:30 I am still calling.  At 12:00 I was calling again and at 12:30 I was coming down in the elevator.  What they do is they come out and you can hear all the kids and the pounding and laughing.  This was on a Monday night and what I get from the Doorman is that they don’t know.  I know and I am not a doorman.  I can understand that from security because they are new but they act like they are afraid.  It so annoying when you have to get up at 5:00AM.

George Pauley asked Tim Patricio to please address this with security and the doormen during the training that is scheduled.  This is not the first time that this issue has come up.

But when you have a doorman who has been here along time and is not a year or two but they say ‘I don’t know’.

George Pauley asked if she reported this with the time and date to management.

I didn’t call the office because I thought I would mention it when I saw Tim.

George Pauley stated that was what he was asking.  If you report it to Tim then he can find out the time and who was on duty to help solve the problem and follow up with the residents and the employees.  This is an ongoing problem with the doorman not wanting to enforce the rules with the residents.

Laura Cossa asked if security was present for the party.

They sit outside the door but otherwise do nothing.

Tim Patricio stated that if there was alcohol at the party then a security guard is hired to watch the party.  Otherwise the only security is the guard on duty during that shift.  If there is a security guard hired then they know when the party is supposed to end because that is when their scheduled for.  If there was a party going on until 5:30 then those people need to be charged.

I didn’t say it was going on until 5:30.  I said that it was 12:30 that I came down.

Tim Patricio stated that the party was supposed to end at 11PM.

George Pauley stated that the security guard that may be posted at the door may not be as aware of things as our regular security guard that was assigned to the building.

The security guard on duty was new and I didn’t know if there was liquor or anything else I didn’t make it to the second floor.

Beverly Storemont – RCN came and they were very nice and checked everything.  They also put in new plugs but I am worried about our charges going up.

George Pauley stated that from what he knew there were no increases in the bulk rate charges.  What they said in the meeting was that the premium packages have gone up in price and it is confusing to figure it out.  What was in the package before is different than what they are currently selling.  Whatever is in your packages that you have right now will remain and will remain at the same price.  However, if you make any changes in your packages then you will loose the grandfathering of the old rates and move you into the new rates.

Can’t they just keep everything the way it is now?

George Pauley stated that if you do not do anything then you should not get a price increase.  If you decide to make changes and add things or deleting things than you can end up paying more.  Ask a lot of questions as to what your bill would be if you made changes.  The amendment that we are approving tonight will allow everyone to get two standard boxes at no additional charge, and two cable cards at no additional charge.

Don Yuratovic – What is a cable card?

Carlos Vargas stated that when you buy TV’s now they come with a card in the back.  If you buy that then you don’t have to use either the remote or the box from RCN. If anyone wants the information I bought two brand new 50” TV’s for $50.00.  So that is what the cable card is.  It is the latest technology and you can use the TV remote rather than the RCN stuff.

George Pauley stated that you get the cards from RCN and you are entitled to two boxes and two cards but nothing more.  You cannot exchange one for the other but you can’t exchange or trade.  The cards are about the size of a credit card but if you have the cards you cannot get on demand.

Betty Terry-Lundy – I wanted to go back to that party.  We came in at 10:30 or 10:00 and there were two girls in the elevator sitting on the floor because they had too much to drink.  I also noticed that in the circle drive around the planter people are sitting and taking a break there.

George Pauley stated that this would be another issue to bring up with security and the doormen.  Is this throughout the day or at night?

It happens at both times.

Robert Pierce – Two things, for those concerned at the parties have the security guard make a formal report and we can have those people brought before the Rules and Regulations Committee and fined.  You need a formal complaint so that the process can begin.  There is nothing that the rules committee can do unless we have something in writing.  The second thing is can we get a sign to put on the door when people have a party that says that this party must end at 11:00?  Then the guests know the rules as well as the person who has sponsored the party.  That gives the host more leverage to shoo his guests out and say that he has to shut down the party.  If we had a preprinted sign that said welcome to Park Tower you have to leave at 11:00 it might help.  It gives the owners some leverage to kick people out.

Carlos Vargas – By the same token, two weeks ago there was a party here.  I was on the 30th floor and when the elevator opened up there were a bunch of kids with a lady and a bunch of carts.  I came down and told Robert about it but the security guards who see that these carts are on the elevator should do something about it.  Going along with Roberts suggestion, when they rent the room we should tell them you need to tell your invitees that you cannot carry carts on the main elevators.   The lobby in our building looks like a hotel lobby with those carts in the front.  The carts should be put in the back and if someone wants to use them they can sign for them and get them from the back.  Those need to be removed.

George Pauley stated that he wished that the lobby looked as good as the hotel lobby but it looks more like a motel 6.  We did have that system for a long time where they were chained in the back and you had to sign them out.  There are a number of things at the front desk that are not well kept up.

Robert Pierce – I just wanted to say my second thing, as I am on the Rules Committee.  We can deal with these issues but we have to have it in writing.  Also, there were only two residents at the energy workshop.  I wanted to thank the Board for having that.

George Pauley stated that he would like to thank Robert for being one of the two.

Carlos Vargas stated that he didn’t count Robert; there was only 1 resident here.  I don’t count Robert because he was on the Board and has an interest in the energy in the building.  That thing made me not want to have anymore meetings here.  There were four guys who came here, took their time to come here without getting paid, to give us an opinion about energy.  This is a critical thing in Park Tower and our country and there were only two people here.  How can we schedule things if people don’t come down?  We did the RCN thing and there were only 14 people here and most of them complained.  We have to do something to get you people involved.  I don’t want to schedule more meetings here.  If you want to say that the Board gets together in private sessions say it I don’t care anymore.

The point that I wanted to make is that there was useful information that was given.  I did write an article for the newsletter and I want everyone to know that.  One thing that was not really appropriate to discuss at that meeting is that we are still facing a deficit of about $100,000 with gas prices where they are.  I think that we need to plan for what to do this winter because they are not going to come down if oil stays at $40.00 a barrel.  I would like the Board to come up with a plan for how we are going to prepare for this whole in the budget rather than reacting after it happens.

Hershey Chalmers – I see a problem with that beautiful new pamphlet that we got from RCN.  It talks about grand fathering the old system in but it looks like they deleted some of the channels and changed them around.  That grandfather clause means ditty.

George Pauley stated that most of what was there is what the association pays for in the bulk package.  That is the $17.92 charge that is on your assessments every month.  When you get into the premium packages that is where it gets confusing.  Premium packages that used to just be one package are broken out into three packages or separate packages with separate prices.  We have been trying to get this clarified for many months and we have not been successful.  That brochure is difficult to figure out.  I think we will be continuing to work on this.  The postponement until September was on our initiative because we did not feel that they would be ready by July 8th.  They came here and met with the residents and decided that they would need to schedule more work in the tiers.  I at least know that there has been some improvement they will be back in the building for further meetings with residents as that time gets sooner.  The list of the apartments is posted on all the bulletin boards.

Sandra Goldberg stated that she didn’t know when RCN was to be coming.  Is it possible to put the schedule back up on every floor?

George Pauley stated that he would not like to post this back on every floor and would not like to get in the habit of posting paper in the service areas.

Tim Patricio stated that what is happening is that there is a notice posted on all the bulletin boards with the schedule and that a week before when RCN is to arrive you will receive a notice at your door.  The reason why we didn’t issue that notice to everybody is because it changes.  If they miss a tier or something happens that they need to address and have to cancel a couple tiers.  It is easier to change 8 copies and then issue individual notices.

Sandra Goldberg stated that the schedule used to be on every floor.

George Pauley stated that they are trying to get away from posting things on walls because it looks bad and is a lot of paper.  The laundry room should not have been posted on every floor.

Tim Patricio stated that the reason that was posted on every floor is that they wanted to make sure that people knew that they would not be able to do laundry.

Sandra Goldberg asked when channel 195 was going to be fixed.

Don Yuratovic stated that it was back up and running.  He watched it earlier today.

Approval of Board Positions

A. Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted to approve George Pauley as the Board President.  Carlos Vargas, Lorraine Meyers, Sandra Goldberg, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; George Pauley abstained; the motion passed.  B. Upon due motion by George Pauley and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted to approve Carlos Vargas as the 1st Vice President.  George Pauley, Lorraine Meyers, Sandra Goldberg, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; Carlos Vargas abstained; the motion passed.  C. Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to approve Lorraine Meyers as the 2nd Vice President.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, Sandra Goldberg, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; Lorraine Meyers abstained; the motion passed.  D. Upon due motion by Laura Cossa and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to approve Sandra Goldberg as the Secretary.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, Lorraine Meyers, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; Sandra Goldberg abstained; the motion passed.  E.  Upon due motion by Lorraine Meyers and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted to approve Laura Cossa as the Treasurer.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, Lorraine Meyers, and Sandra Goldberg voted in favor; Laura Cossa abstained; the motion passed.

Approval of Motions from Closed Session

A1.  Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve $100.00 fines for units violating the insurance rule. A2.  Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to approve a $250.00 fine for a smoking violation.  A3.  Upon due motion by George Pauley and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to approve a $370.00 fine for a moving violation.  B.  Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to not approve waiving a late fee.  C.  Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to direct management to write a letter to an owner.  D.  Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve management to handle the health and safety matter.  E.  No Action.

Minutes June 9, 2008 Board Meeting

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by George Pauley, the Board voted to approve the minutes of the June 9, 2008 Board Meeting with corrections by the secretary.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, Sandra Goldberg, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; Lorraine Meyers abstained; the motion passed.

Board Meeting Schedule

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Board Meeting schedule to be Wednesday August 5, 2008, Monday September 8, 2008, Monday October 20, 2008, Monday, November 10, 2008, Monday, December 8, 2008, Monday, January 12, 2009, Monday, February 9, 2009, Monday March 9, 2009, Monday, April 13, 2009, Monday May 11, 2009, and Monday June 8, 2009.

Terrazzo Wash and Seal

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to award the terrazzo sealing contract to Peter Galic Terrazzo, as submitted, in the amount of $7,500.00.

Resident Comments Regarding Entry Repairs Concrete

Vince DiFruscio stated that back when the original plan was to remodel the entire front drive, we sealed up the two oil tanks that were in the drive so that we could cover those metal doors up.  Is that part of the plan?

Tim Patricio stated that was not part of the specifications.

Vince DiFruscio asked if it could be added on.

George Pauley stated that they could get some bids on that.

Lorraine Meyers asked if next year they could add it when they finish everything else.

George Pauley stated that the only thing budgeted for next year for the front drive was the replacement of the terrazzo.  The concrete is not planned to be replaced as it will be hundreds of thousands of dollars more.  That is a good idea to see what the cost would be.

Robert Pierce stated that when the preliminary work was done in the front drive they did core samples in the concrete and that information should be in the file in the office.  One of the things that they told us was that where the ramp goes down in the railings the concrete is only about an inch or two thick.  This is one of the reasons that it is cracking so badly.  The structural concrete underneath is only two inches thick below that.  I don’t know that you can continue to have a ramp there and get sufficient thickness so that it won’t crack.  That was a design flaw that they found through the coring.  Maybe you can cut somewhere else for the concrete.  The core samples should give you an idea as to the thickness at different points.

Tim Patricio asked if that was done by JLA?

Robert Pierce stated that he could not remember the name of the contractor but that it was separate.  It was an engineering study not part of the preliminary drafts.

Tim Patricio stated that he thought he knew what Robert was talking about.  I think that I read that information in the file.

Marian Shaw asked what spaulling was and why they were asking for an additional $5,000 to repair it.

Robert Pierce stated that it was where the concrete cracks and breaks away from the reinforcing bars.  When it flaks off in layers.

Tim Patricio stated that what was under the traffic cone was an area that has spaulled.

George Pauley stated it is when the concrete crumbles apart like a cookie.  The cut was made after the original work.

Entry Repairs Concrete
Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to award the entry concrete repairs contract to JLJ, as submitted, in the amount of $9,460.00, with an allowance not to exceed $5,000 to perform repairs of other cracks and spalling throughout the drive and walkways.

Garage Drain
Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted to approve the installation of the new drain on 1-P by Ashland Plumbing, as submitted, in the amount of $3,404.00.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, Lorraine Meyers, and Sandra Goldberg voted in favor; Laura Cossa abstained; the motion passed.

Garage Power Washing

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to the annual power washing contract to United Facilities Services, Inc., contingent upon management getting references.  If the references are not suitable that the contract goes to Skyline Building Services not to exceed $4,500.00.  Sandra Goldberg and Laura Cossa voted in favor; George Pauley voted against, Carlos Vargas, and Lorraine Meyers abstained; the motion failed.

Garage Fire Door Covers

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to award the garage fire door cover replacement contract to Industrial Mechanical, as submitted, in the amount of $6,828.00.

Resident Comments Regarding 1st Floor Carpet Replacement

Marian Shaw stated that consideration should be made to which will show less dirt when it gets dirty.

George Pauley stated that was the Home Improvement Committees major consideration.  Both patterns will conceal dirt and will be an improvement as to what we already have down there.

John Curlo asked if there was a quality difference between the two samples.

George Pauley stated that the quality was about the same.

Vince DiFruscio asked if there was a justification on the difference in the prices between the two.

George Pauley stated that there were different manufacturers, there were many different price points but they tried to keep them all within similar quality.  The thing is that basically what is down there hasn’t worn out so much as you just can’t get it clean any more.  We are probably not going to wear it through.

Becky Rossof asked if they were going to be replacing the rug around the elevator with similar carpeting?

George Pauley stated that in the past when they have ordered the carpeting they have ordered three sets of carpeting for each elevator made out of the same color.  I think that we should do that again.  What is in the elevator now doesn’t match what is downstairs because our three sets wore out before the carpeting did.  We would like to bring it back to matching.

Becky Rossof stated that as we replaced both the first and second floor as well as the elevators, is this forcing us into replacing the carpeting on the residential floors? Is there a design that might match what is going to be done on the residential floors?  Is there one pattern that people can live with that will change when the residential are done?

George Pauley stated that was why the committee chose to stay in the brown category.  So that it does not conflict with what is there now.  The reserve study calls for us to be replacing the residential floors this year or next year.  We are going to have to take a look at how we do that.  I think that the Board needs to take a look at replacing the carpeting on 55 before the other floors.  55 was badly damaged during the elevator modernization.  Somehow the people who pay the highest assessments get the worn out carpeting and dirty floors.  As I recall Christina and a former Board promised that when those elevators were done 55 would have their carpeting and tile replaced.  We may want to take a look at doing this exact same thing on 55 as it would be the most dirt resistant.  We may decide to change the other floors to something else.

Vince DiFruscio stated that the top one would be in the elevators and would match the current hallway carpeting.

George Pauley stated that the solid would be in the elevators to match the hallway.

Nancy Ledvina stated that of all the samples that the committee saw these were the least ugly.  It’s not like going into a carpet store and choosing based on your taste.  These are industrial carpets and are all various shades of vomit.  It was tough coming up with these because it’s not our own taste.  When you see a sample of what that will look like in a room it looks a lot better.  It is really not as bad as the others that we looked at.

Laura Cossa stated that if you are looking at spending $10,000 they should have the decency to send a bigger sample of the carpet.

Nancy Ledvina stated that it was incredible but one good thing about it is that the pieces are removable and can be changed out to the choice in the residential floors.  I appreciate your assessment of the 55th floor but I would greatly resist having that put into the 55th floor.  I have seen other floors that are bad and don’t think that we are worse off than the other floors.

George Pauley stated that we are only looking at the first floor prices and not the pricing for both the first and second floor.

Lorraine Meyers stated that anything that dark will show all the threads and Kleenex and any bits of paper that are dropped on the floor.

Tim Patricio stated that the carpet can be picked up but that you would want something dark to hide the dirt that is brought in.  It is the difference between vacuuming and shampooing the carpet.

Vince DiFruscio stated that dark carpeting was chosen when the interiors of the elevators were remodeled so that it would not show so much dirt.

George Pauley stated that it was a good point that what was in the elevators now is in similar color to these and they do stay nice looking.

Don Yuratovic stated that he didn’t like any of the choices.

Carlos Vargas stated that the 55th floor should be considered first.

George Pauley stated that there were two residents from the 55th floor that stated that they were happy waiting for the residential project.

Carlos Vargas stated that when they were elected to the Board they tabled this item and I agree that we should not vote to replace the 1st floor and the 2nd floor.  I inspected the carpeting today and it can go on for another winter and I am opposed to replacing the carpeting at this moment.  We need to look at the budgetary constrictions and be more realistic about what is going on.

Don Yuratovic stated that he agreed with Carlos.

Betty Terry Lundy stated that $7,000 was a lot of money, but when you think about the fact that this is the first thing that people see when they walk in this is not such a huge amount.  This brings down the value of our building and if we want our prices to go up then we need to do projects like this.

George Pauley stated that we were very lucky that in this building we have a lobby that requires no decoration compared to building that you have wallpaper and carpet and all of those things.  We have a very low maintenance lobby.

Nancy Ledvina stated that there were a lot of people that were very angry because there was previous discussion about doing big remodels of the lobby and part of the thinking here is that we should make some effort due to the anger from certain people.  We should do what we can with a moderate face-lift.  I think that the carpeting is starting to go and it is the least we can do for the lobby.  As a member of the committee we are comfortable with waiting until next year.

Carlos Vargas stated that the carpet was not part of the lobby as far as he was concerned.

Robert Pierce stated that the one argument is that it is the one place that you get the most bang for the buck.  It will affect the appearance of all 700 units rather than just doing 55, which would only affect 14 units.  We need to prioritize and I think that it would change the first impressions.

George Pauley stated that it was budgeted for last year and it was for both floors, we did cut it down to less than half by only choosing to do one floor.  To do both floors is almost $21,000 and we are talking about just doing the first floor for $7,000.  We have postponed this by almost one year.  I do agree that we either do it now or wait a full year because it does not make sense to buy new carpeting in the middle of winter.
Vince DiFruscio stated that if we do the 1st floor now and the second floor later will we end up with a different carpet on each floor?  I am not saying for sure that we should be doing them both together but we should think about it.

Tim Patricio stated that was one thing to consider.  The other thing is the cost of petroleum.  This is a factor on the cost of the carpet.

George Pauley stated that there was the option of looking at doing both floors at the same time.  We should be able to buy this carpet for a few more years but it is never a certainty.  We were able to buy the carpeting that we have in the building now for quite a few years after we purchased it before it was discontinued.  There might be slight differences in different lots but being as it is a whole floor apart I don’t think that it matters.  That was one of the ways that we were trying to cut expenses to just the main floor.

Lorraine Meyers asked what was in the budget and whether it was for one floor or both floors.

Tim Patricio stated that $13,000 was to just replace one floor this year.  Last year it was budgeted for two floors but it was changed to this year.

Vince DiFruscio asked how long this carpet has been out in the market.  If it was out for twenty years I would be more concerned about replacing both carpets soon.

Tim Patricio stated that the biggest concern that was mentioned to him was the cost of petroleum.  The representative said that those should be around for a few more years safely but with the changes in the construction and housing markets there is no guarantee.  The more floors you do the lower the price pre floor will be.

Don Yuratovic asked when the Board planned to recarpet the whole building.

George Pauley stated that that was up to the Budget and Finance Committee.

Nancy Ledvina stated that she agreed with George’s point that it might not be critical that the 1st and 2nd floor matched because this was a recreational floor and was separate from the lobby.  You might get a better price for doing both but I don’t think that it is necessary.

George Pauley stated that there was a time when this floor was in mauve and green which was separate from every other floor in the building.

Tim Patricio stated that he would also argue that you wanted separate flooring in the weight room.  The cost of the second floor includes the weight room as well.  The bid is for everything that was carpeted.

Carlos Vargas stated that he had already given his position on this.  However, I agree that it might look a little bit better if the entrance, which is a different color, was replaced.

Laura Cossa stated that if no one is jumping and saying yes we need to do it than maybe it can wait.

Sandra Goldberg stated that it did need to be replaced.  But that no one liked the carpet.

George Pauley stated that they could send the choices back to the committee and ask them to look for lighter or different colors.

Nancy Ledvina stated that she was under the impression that the Board had narrowed it down to a select group of samples.

Sandra Goldberg stated that this was the first time that they had seen it.

George Pauley stated that the committee had a lot of different patterns that you picked down there.

Tim Patricio stated that there was a Home Improvement Committee meeting that Nancy had a prior obligation and the rest of the committee chose those samples.

George Pauley stated that of all the samples down there these were the best of the samples that the committee chose.

Nancy Ledvina stated that the industrial carpets are more expensive and don’t come in as many patters.  You could carpet a whole house for the price of one floor.

1st Floor Carpet Replacement

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by George Pauley, the Board voted unanimously to approve the recommendation by the Home Improvement Committee to approve the 1st floor carpet choice as Designweave in Modern Appeal, as submitted, in the amount of $7,262.00.

Deck Furniture Purchase

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by George Pauley, the Board voted to approve the purchase of the deck furniture from Dominick’s in the amount of $600.86.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, Lorraine Meyers, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; Sandra Goldberg voted against; the motion passed.

Laura Cossa left the meeting at 9:27 pm.

RCN Amendment

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to approve the RCN amendment.

Construction Requests

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to approve the remodeling of units 1001, 1410, 3701, and 4606 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.

Treasurers Report (Tim Patricio)

As of May 31, 2008 the total operating funds were $194,229.50.  The security deposit for the engineers unit that the Association rents is $1,506.26.  The MAX SAFE money market at Barrington Bank totaled $362,060.81.  The total replacement reserve funds were $1,129,580.36.  The total of all cash and investments was $1,325,316.12.

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Lorraine Meyers, the Board voted unanimously to approve the transfer of the CD at Intervest National Bank to Bank First for 12 months in the amount of $95,000.00 at a rate of 3.59% with proceeds of $5,246.05 deposited into the MAX SAFE money market account at Barrington Bank.

Board Report (George Pauley)

The only thing that I want to say on the Board report is to say thank you to all of the people who worked on the July 4th party.  They did a wonderful job.  Nancy, Don, Sheldon, Ruth, Harriet Bea, Margarita, Lorraine, Scott, Mrs. Shaw, you all did a wonderful job.

Carlos Vargas stated that he would like to write a letter to the Cycle and Saddle Club to thank them for the firework show.

Tim Patricio stated that he was waiting for the address and the name of the person to deliver it to.

Carlos Vargas stated that he had the name and would be willing to deliver it on his way to work.  A thank you has never been done, but that these people do a wonderful job for all of us.  It is a PR situation and you never know when we will be able to help them with something.

I would also like to thank Tim for being our volunteer DJ for the party.  Many people said that you were the best DJ that we had yet.

Management Report (Tim Patricio)

Channel 195 is up and running, please feel free to make suggestions to the office for things that you would like to see on there that currently are not.  We do have a preliminary announcement that it is running.

I would like to officially welcome Jacquie Kozinski as an official member of the management team.  We have offered the position of Assistant Manager of Security and Operations.  Draper and Kramer will be getting her the official offer letter very shortly but she has accepted.

I would like to talk to the Board and owners about one of the issues that we have.  You may be aware of it if you live on one of the floors being affected by the trash chute.  There are problems in the chute from the 6th floor to the 18th floor.  In some places there are damages to the wall and flooring.  We are aware and are working on a repair program for that right now.  We don’t know of any one incident that caused this or if it was an accumulation of incidents that caused the problems in the chute.  Very recently there have been some leaking problems when they wash the chute that is causing the damages.  We are sorting through a number of ways to approach the repair and a program for doing the repair.  We do expect to be submitting something to the Board to vote on very soon.  We are hoping to be able to proceed with the repairs very soon.  This may require a number of vendors because there is a number of problems that one vendor may not be able to handle.  It may take some time to get appropriate bids for the Board’s consideration.

Sandra Goldberg asked what homeowners are throwing down the chute that is causing the damage.

Recently we had an incident where we intercepted some construction materials that went down the chute.  Often times we are unable to locate where it came from but in this incident we were successful and are referring the matter to the Rules and Regulations committee.  The number one culprit would be construction material, but it could be bottles or glass.  Anything very heavy that someone doesn’t want to carry down.  If it is that difficult to bring down call the staff to carry it down to the garbage.  We are looking at tens of thousands of dollars to deal with this problem.

Marian Shaw stated that the tiles are still broken in the chute room on the 11th floor.  I have called about this twice.

I don’t know if it is related to this problem or not but it will be taken care of.  The flooring has been impacted on a number of floors as the leaking causes the tiles to separate underneath.  That may be related to this but without checking I cannot say for sure.  This leaking is affecting the flooring, walls, and ceilings.  The cinder blocks behind it and the sheet metal within the chute.  There is a whole host of things to address due to this.  We will keep the Board updated.  We want to be able to wash the chute without it leaking.  Once Chuck and I are organized on a reasonable approach we will submit the information to the Board for a vote.

One thing talked about in the past and we are getting closer to devising a solution is the repairs to the deck membrane over the roof above the mall.  The black strips were temporary repairs to leaking over the winter.  The condition is not isolated to those strips and there are cracks causing leaking all over the membrane.  We have had some opinions that were a little lower on the panic level.  Originally we reported that we had a couple of vendors who looked at it panic over the condition before the leak repairs.  The repairs are successful but only in the short term.  We have a meeting this week with our maintenance provider to devise a specification to do a permanent repair to the condition that we are observing.  The concern is that the cracking that we are experiencing right now isn’t leading to any leaks in the mall area but will do the same thing as happened by the patches.  If leaking happens in other locations then we could have numerous leaks into the mall areas on the 1st floor.  We are looking at having the leaking areas routed and sealed.  There is leaking under the membrane that is causing shifting and cracking, which will result in leaking.  We believe that we can route and seal and then do an overlayment over the existing membrane.  That should be more than enough to solve the problem for the long term.  On a side note the roof maintenance contract was negotiated to an additional savings of $14,000 for this year.

The energy strategy workshop was successful in its educational value.  Two consultants and two vendors spoke to the Board.  Each vendor suggested that the Board take no real action at this time but to continue to monitor closely.  It is the Boards choice at this time to consider the status quos or to hire a consultant.  That is something to consider in the future to take this off the table and help manage the turbulence of the energy markets.

One point that was raised at the last meeting, the outages in the AC system that were occurring randomly at odd hours and overnight was from two problems in the control system.  These were programming problems that the company that manages that system were able to isolate and resolve.  Hopefully the system will now be running at all times and not stopping.

In the month of June we had 58 chargeable work orders in the amount of $2,445.  There were 131 non-chargeable work orders.  Health club income was $8,667, there were 6 memberships added for a total membership of 236.  We did receive a scavenger rebate in the amount of $30,091 for 2005 summer.  There were $630 of garage late fees in June.  There were 9 leases for an average monthly lease of $950.00.  The number of late fees in June were 30 for a total collection of $1,500.  There were 49 units exterminated in June.  There is no change in the sales report; we had three sales that we are waiting to receive the closing documents in order to update this report.  There have been 12 studios leased averaging $837.  So far this year 14 1-Bedrooms were leased for an average of $1,080.  There were 2 2-bedrooms for an average of $1,737.

Garage Report (Jacquie Kozinski)

For the month of May the income was $1,600 over budget.  The year to date is $3,300 over budget.  The expenses for May were $8,400 over budget of which $2,000 was for injecting concrete for leaks, $4,000 for door repairs that will be reclassified to the previous fiscal year, and $2,000 for paint that will also be reclassified to the previous fiscal year. Year to date we are overbudget but the numbers will change when the reclassifications take place after the audit is approved.

There are 22 people on the valet wait list and there are 74 people on the self park wait list.

Also in the month of May management preformed an unscheduled audit inspection and will continue to do so as needed in order to insure the proper running of the garage.

George Pauley stated that he did want to thank Jacquie and Tim for the unscheduled audit.  It was at 4:00AM and that was dedication to the job.  Thank both of you for spending the middle of the night in our garage.

ASCO Report (Lorraine Meyers)

Planning and Zoning meeting was held last week and there is very little building being done in the ward right now.  The only thing on the agenda was the bank on Foster and Clark making a parking lot.  They have approved it and that was the only thing on the agenda.  ASCO is concerned about islands in the lake.  They are afraid that if they fill in they will fill in along their buildings and that the drive will be extended and will no longer have access to the lake.  That is what ASCO is concerned with right now.  They complain about the traffic on Sheridan but will not consider the alternative.

Nancy Ledvina asked what was going on with the proposed building in the Saint Andrews parking lot.

The Admiral cannot get the financing for it so it will probably be a dead deal.  It is very slow in the ward there is nothing that we have had to approve in the way of building.

George Pauley stated that if you go on the website for friends of the park they have the 4-5 proposals for the extension of the park north of Hollywood.  I thought they were attractive plans some of which were for islands in the lake and some were for extending beaches from some of these buildings that were put into the lake.  I don’t know why they want to preserve their sea walls as opposed to beaches.  There are very attractive plans on the website.  None of the plans are for extending the drive.  They are all for parks and beaches and bicycle paths.

Adjournment

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the meeting adjourned at 10:04 pm.

Signed (as seen on pdf, clickable at upper right corner of these minutes)

George Pauley, President

Sandra Goldberg, Secretary