In Attendance 

George Pauley, President; Carlos Vargas, 1st Vice President; Phoebe Helm, 2ndVice President; Sandra Goldberg, Secretary; Laura Cossa, Treasurer; Dan Harvey, Property Supervisor; Christina Epple, Property Manager; Mavis Mather, Assistant Manager Business Operations; Michael Rupert, Assistant Manager of Security & Operations; Sara Kacheris, Administrative Assistant Resident Services

Call to Order at 7:05 pm

Comments Regarding Agenda (Board and Management responses in italics)

Don Yuratovac – You had a meeting about one month ago to talk about projects. In the meeting Christina mentioned that she put a few things on hold. Who instructed Christina to put the driveway project on hold?  Shouldn’t this decision be discussed at an open Board meeting? George Pauley stated that as president he had exercised his authority to put the project on hold until the Board had the opportunity to move forward on the driveway or not. It is on the agenda to discuss it tonight.  Christina  stated that the next major step in the front circle driveway project was due to start the next day and if the project had not been placed on hold the Association would have incurred at another $28,000 in expenses. It was important to give the architect a time constraint. It was to keep the expenses to a minimum.

Becky Rossof – I am concerned with the continued leakage from the front planter onto the sidewalk.  What options are you considering that might be put in place this year to stop the leakage? George Pauley stated that he believes that work needs to be done on the planter but the Board needs to decide whether that is to rebuild the planter, patch it or go another route.

What is the status of the garage ramps, will they be done this year? George Pauley stated that by delaying the complete front drive project they hope to be able to speed up the garage ramp project. I understood that the current ramps do not meet the ADA compliance, can’t we just enforce the contract and have the vendor change the ramps free of charge? George Pauley stated that at the workshop Christina informed us that the garage ramps meet the minimum requirement for ADA.  The Board will ask Christina to get proposals if the vote is to not proceed with the front drive project.

Gregor Hamilton – In regards to item 7, the carpeting of the garage columns, why was the garage committee not informed?  Also, do other D&K buildings have carpeting and has it proven to be beneficial? Is carpeting more important than lighting? Did we put any of this out to bid?  Would the carpeting be light or dark and was this put out to bid? Michael Rupert stated that in the May garage committee meeting, this was discussed.  Carlos Vargas stated that this was brought up when Standard Parking. He had sent Gregor an email that included this and asked about lighting in the garage as well.  George Pauley stated that there is an ongoing project to add lights to the garage which is being preformed in house.

Miriam Moss – Regarding the garage columns, would a rubber substance do a better job than the rug?  Also what is the difference between the Budget and Finance Committee and the Budget and Finance Investment Committee? Have the meetings for the Budget and Finance Investment Committee been announced? The Budget and Finance Investment committee is a sub committee that was formed specifically for investigating CD rates throughout the year.

The budget committee used to meet throughout the year for this purpose. George Pauley stated that the committee was formed years ago and that meetings were irregular and was only for the CD investments. Phoebe Helm stated that the investments are handled by D& K and a homeowner.

The MAX Safe account at Barrington Bank is very confusing, the sheet states that there is only $170,000 and that the account has a $200,000 minimum.  Do we get penalized for not having the $200,000 minimum? If it is $170,000, how can it be insured when only $100,000 is insurable by FDIC?

Rosalie Sutcher – Last year when we talked to the Auditor she stated that the laws changed such that banks could offer this product that the money would be insured at $100,000 level each one of them and they would be   invested in a portfolio.    You would not be running over that and you would not be violating your responsibilities as a Board member. Phoebe Helm stated that the Barrington bank provides that product so every time it reaches $100,000; they are moving it and spreading it so each account is insured to $100,000. Christina stated that Max Safe is a managing entity that is provided by Barrington Bank. It is a money market account. We need the funds readily available.  Christina stated that we are penalized when we fall below the $200,000 mark. At the period when management knows that they are going to be paying capital improvements, management tries to manage the certificates of deposits so that they are not taking a hit on any one of them. When it shows $170,000 in the account, there could actually be $270,000 because bills have not hit for that accounting period.

Miriam Moss – What is the charge if we do not meet the minimum?  Why are we not considering a treasury account? Do we have cash in the accounts that we do not know about? George Pauley stated that this is a bundled product, bundling several different products. So is a treasury account. George Pauley asked if the account is managed so that we are above the $200,000 so we are getting the maximum interest rate. Christina said yes. Sandra Goldberg asked what the penalty was. Christina stated we never paid a penalty so she did not know but would check into it.

Vince DiFruscio – What is the interest rate on the new CD?  Is the committee using an online service, Bankrate. Com, to review interest rates? George Pauley stated that the sub committee has used internet tools in the past to research investment rates.

Harriet Dominique – The front revolving doors are an obstacle to anyone who has a handicap has to get through. George Pauley stated that the revolving doors are not handicap accessible and that is what the side doors are for off of the courtyard, which open automatically. The courtyard is not practical in bad weather. George Pauley stated that they would make a note to review this but that the doors were considered by the previous Board as a separate project and were not included in the front drive project.

Lorraine Meyers – When the wind is blowing the door will not open. The doorman has to physically open the door. George Pauley stated that this is not on tonight’s agenda.

Ron Moss – To put to rest the idea of the FDIC insurance can’t we request that they get a statement in writing from FDIC stating that they will honor the new law?  When Katrina hit the states were decimated and people could not get to the bank.  FDIC would not insure the bank on the emergency basis.  FDIC is not a sovereign entity whereas treasury notes are.  Can we get something in writing not a verbal statement from the CPA explaining this? George Pauley stated that this should be referred to the Budget and Finance committee to review.

ASCO Update (Lorraine Meyers)

There was no ASCO meeting in July but there were three meetings regarding the proposed TIF for the 48th ward.  The planning and zoning committee met June 22nd with only 2 items on the agenda.  A proposal to build 2 six-flat condos on a double lot with alley access and the TIF approval.  The TIF proposal was brought up first.  There were four motions to change, amend, or modify the TIF.  The total amount of the TIF would bring in approximately $28 million.  $8million of this is designated for the Hollywood House for purchase of the house; $11 million is the asking price for the property and it will cost $25million to rehabilitate it.  Harland House is looking to purchase and upgrade the place into low income housing for seniors.  There was a motion to remove the Hollywood house from the TIF but this motion was defeated on a vote with 9 in favor, 31 opposed, and 4 abstaining.   Shelly from ASCO moved that an oversight committee be appointed by the alderman for all TIFs to make recommendations to the 48th ward planning and zoning committee on all expenditures of the TIF and all map and plan changes.   This brought about much discussion.  The goal of the TIF is to preserve the Hollywood house, Argyle streetscape/repairs to the infrastructure, Granville streetscape/repairs to the infrastructure, the section of Sheridan Road where it is three lanes above Hollywood, and improvements to Foster avenue to improve public safety and community intersections, to improve small business scales at Broadway, Granville, Argyle and Sheridan, the building and housing initiatives for CHA, improvements to the schools in Edgewater, and improvements to the Edgewater library.  The last Board meeting the Board authorized me to vote against the TIF.  Shelly from ASCO’s motion for the committee was approved on a vote of 38 in favor, 8 opposed, and 4 abstaining.  The TIF will be in Edgewater.

Motions from Executive Session

Upon due motion by Phoebe Helm and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to deny the request for waiving a fine.  Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas the motion was amended to reduce the fine to $50.00.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas and Sandra Goldberg voted in favor; Phoebe Helm and Laura Cossa voted against; the motion passed.

Upon due motion by Laura Cossa and seconded by Phoebe Helm, the Board voted unanimously to approve waiving a late fee.  No action on items C, D, E, and F.

Minutes June 11, 2007 Board Meeting

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Phoebe Helm, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the June 11, 2007 Board Meeting.

Front Drive Project

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to cancel the front drive renovation and to issue JLA a seven day written notice of cancellation.  Upon due motion by Phoebe Helm and seconded by Carlos Vargas the motion was amended to negotiate ownership of the work that has been preformed thus far at no additional cost to the Association.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, Sandra Goldberg, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; Phoebe Helm voted against; the motion passed.

Health Club Blinds

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Phoebe Helm, the Board voted to ratify the purchase and installation of the blinds for the health club in the amount of $800.00 from Regent Shades.  Carlos Vargas, Phoebe Helm, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; Sandra Goldberg voted against; George Pauley abstained; the motion passed.

George Pauley stated that committee members, committee chairpersons and Board liaisons cannot authorize purchases. Spending of association funds need to be voted upon by the entire Board. Up to $5,000.00 can be spent by management without prior approval by the Board for emergency and routine operating items only. Because funds have been approved in the budget, it does not obligate the Board to spend those funds.

Mall Signage/ Advertising

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Laura Cossa, the Board voted to authorize management to enforce the Rules and Regulations, section exterior appearance pg 20, with regards to the commercial units in the mall.  If a commercial space is found in violation they will be sent to the Rules and Regulations Committee.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, Phoebe Helm, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; Sandra Goldberg voted against; the motion passed.  The Board recommended that the issue of signage in the mall be referred to the Rules and Regulations committee for review and recommendations.

Garage Billing

Upon due motion by Phoebe Helm and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted to allow residents the option of receiving multiple bills for the garage charges and to assign a committee to review the process of billing and inform owners that the Board is considering changing the statement process to only bill owners for all parking charges.  Phoebe Helm and Sandra Goldberg voted in favor; George Pauley, Carlos Vargas and Laura Cossa voted against; the motion failed.

Carpet for Garage Columns

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas the Board voted to approve the carpeting of the 42 pillars in the valet section of the garage for a cost not to exceed $4,062.00.  Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Phoebe Helm, the motion was amended to include an additional requirement of ½” thick carpeting.  Carlos Vargas and Phoebe Helm voted in favor; George Pauley, Sandra Goldberg, and Laura Cossa voted against; the motion failed.

Amendments to Bylaws, Declarations
Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to close all issues and to not continue to collect ballots and proxies.  George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, and Sandra Goldberg voted in favor; Phoebe Helm and Laura Cossa voted against; the motion passed.

Ad-hoc Committee

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Laura Cossa, the Board voted unanimously to approve the creation of an ad-hoc committee to research the proposed development on Foster and Sheridan.

Committee Structures

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Phoebe Helm, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following Board members as board Liaisons to the following committees: Budget and Finance Committee – Laura Cossa, Budget and Finance Investment Committee – Phoebe Helm, Garage Committee – Carlos Vargas, Health Club Committee – Sandra Goldberg, Home Improvement Committee – Laura Cossa, Rules and Regulations Committee – Sandra Goldberg, Security Committee – Carlos Vargas, Social Committee -George Pauley.

Seasonal Cleaning of Boilers

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Laura Cossa, the Board voted unanimously to approve Mega-Therm to perform the seasonal cleaning of the boilers for a price of $1,900 per boiler.

D&K Statements

Upon due motion by Phoebe Helm and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted to approve the inclusion of the Draper and Kramer address and phone number on the monthly statements.  Upon due motion by Phoebe Helm and seconded by Laura Cossa, the motion was amended to remove the phone number for Draper and Kramer.  The Board voted unanimously to approve the amended motion.

Construction Requests

Upon due motion by Phoebe Helm and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the remodeling of units: 808, 1614, 2001, 4106/07, and 4809 as submitted by the 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.

Board Meeting Schedule

Upon due motion by Phoebe Helm and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following schedule for the Board of Directors Meetings: August 13, 2007 – 7:00PM, September 10, 2007 – 7:00PM, October 8, 2007 – 7:00PM, November 12, 2007 – 7:00P, December 10, 2007 – 7:00PM, January 14, 2008 – 7:00PM, February 11, 2008 – 7:00PM, March 10, 2008 – 7:00PM, April 14, 2008 – 7:00PM, May 12, 2008 – 7:00PM, June 9, 2008 – 6:30PM (annual meeting).

Budget Schedule

Upon due motion by Phoebe Helm and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the following schedule for the 2008/09 Budget Meetings: October 24, 2007 – Submit draft of the proposed budget to Finance Committee; October 29, 2007 – Monday Meeting #1: Overview & Revenue/ Garage Budget; November 5, 2007 – Monday Meeting #2: Revenue and Expenses; November 19, 2007 – Monday Meeting #3: Expenses; November 26, 2007 – Monday Meeting #4: Reserves; December 3, 2007 – Monday Meeting #5: Final Budget Review; December 10, 2007 – Board Meeting, B&F Committee recommends proposed draft budget for distribution to owners; January 14, 2008 – Board of Directors adopts 2008-09 budget.

Signatories of Bridgeview Bank Account

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to approve the signatory change on the Bridgeview Bank accounts from Herbert Hellauer to Laura Cossa.

Amend the Agenda

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Phoebe Helm, the Board voted unanimously to amend the agenda to include the proposal by Brickman Landscaping.

Landscaping

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Phoebe Helm, the Board voted to approve the proposals from Brickman Landscaping for additional plantings in the sun deck, installing soil, and removing ivy for a total cost of $1,429.00.  George Pauley, Sandra Goldberg, Laura Cossa and Phoebe Helm voted in favor; Carlos Vargas voted against; the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report (Laura Cossa)

According to the May 31, 2007 Financial Statements the total operating funds were $104,682.28.   The total of the Max Safe account at Barrington Bank was $170,342.97.  The total of the CD investments were $1,156,746.61.  The total of the replacement reserve funds was $1,327,089.58.   The total of all cash and investments was $1,431,771.86.  I would also like to request an electronic copy of the schedule of cash and investments.  Dan Harvey stated that CDs are rolled over unless D&K is instructed not to.

Board Report (George Pauley)

The Board would like to extend their thanks to Herbert Hellauer and Robert Pierce for their years of service to the Association and service on the Board of directors. I would like this acknowledged in writing to each of them.  The Board would also like to thank the social committee for their work on the 4th of July Party.  The members of the social committee who volunteered were Ruth Posternak, Beatrice Steiber, Harriet Domonique, Georgi Nowak, Lorraine Meyers, Marian Shaw, Scott Schmidtke, and Amira Diaz. The Board held a successful workshop with management the purpose of which was to bring the new Board members up to date with all of the projects in the building.  The Board would like to thank management for providing material on all projects on short notice.

Management Report (Christina Epple)

The Standard Parking financials for the month of April were received today and forwarded to our Auditor so that she can complete the garage audit.  Brickman Landscaping installed the perennial plantings in the 2-deck planters.  Upon inspection by the Board and the landscape committee, the plantings appeared to be poorly selected and inadequately planted.  A meeting was held with Brickman representatives, Scott Schmidtke, and management on Tuesday July 10th.  Brickman has agreed to replant the deck planters and install more dirt and rearrange the plantings in a more desirable approach.  If the plantings fail to fill in and provide color that is appropriate for the garden effect, Brickman has agreed to replace the plant choices with recommendations from the Landscape committee.  All parties agreed to work together early this fall to begin a landscape plan and expenses that will be recommended to the Board The committee wishes to provide a reasonable expense plan to the Board for the 2008/2009 budget season. The committee wishes to decide on a landscape plan earlier enough to get all the plantings done in early spring.  Brickman is to fertilize all plant material on the sun deck by July 17th.  Brickman is also to arrange for a crew to remove all of the ivy from the curtain wall brick.  There will be a small fee to perform this work because they will need to bring in a lift.  This should be done no later than July 24th.  Management received the preliminary copy of the reserve study on July 9th.  This financial portion of the study was done by Reserve Advisors.  Chuck and I have begun reviewing the study for accuracy.  Full Circle Architects continues to finalize their portion of the mechanical elements of the building.  When the reports are completed and accepted by the Board, a review and discussion meeting will be scheduled.  Management met with Full Circle and we conducted a walk through of the garage, pool area, sundeck and 2nd floor health club facility.  Full Circle will have their preliminary report available by the end of July.  Management has made several calls to Streets and Sanitation, 311 and the alderman’s office to report the sinking sewer manhole in the front of the building.  Ernie Constantino of the Alderman’s office reported to us that Streets and Sanitation inspected the sinking manhole and determined that the cause is the sewer line that runs from the building into the street and that this is the responsibility of the Association.  We are expecting to meet with a supervisor of Streets and Sanitation to discuss this matter.  Management is prepared to ask Jesperson Plumbers to run a camera and film the sewer line.  The building paid for similar repairs approximately 9 years ago at a cost of $8,000.  An owner in the building has agreed to speak with the Alderman’s office about consideration of shared expense.

Garage Report (Michael Rupert)

The projected goal for the month of May 2007 was $54,563 in revenue.  The actual amount collected was $55,000 or a positive variance of $437.  Our budgeted expenses were $44,367 and the actual amount spent was $28,859 or a savings of $15,508.  For the month of May Park Tower made a profit of $15,945.  The garage power washing was completed by Power Cleaning inc. during the week of June 18th.  The following maintenance projects were preformed in the month of May: maintenance has started painting the ceiling of the valet section white and has begun improving the lighting in these areas. They have lowered the lights without going below the pipes in the garage to give a greater illuminating effect.  We will be replacing them with fluorescent lights to save expenses.  The garage office and surrounding areas were painted; maintenance also painted the locker rooms and touched up the bathroom; the fire safety door was repaired on June 28th by Door Systems to come into compliance with the City of Chicago Fire Code.  There was a staff training meeting on June 22nd to discuss the customer service and expectation of the duties of the garage hikers. We are going to continue to have training. I have been hearing about their speeding and lack of respect for the owners and we are addressing these issues.   In June we assigned five single stalls, and four tandem stalls on 2P which were not being rented out.  The stalls were P2, 3single, 40 single, 44 single, 74 single, 101 single. The tandem stalls were 6, 18, 19 and 22. There are seventy people on 2P who have not complied with the new decal. 63 valet people, 14 self parkers on 1P and 5 commercial spaces have not complied with the new decal.

Open Comments and Questions

Mary Ann Kinney –
Lorraine Meyers had to leave the meeting but asked that I tell you that she would like to volunteer for the Ad-hoc committee to research the proposed development on Foster and Sheridan.  Also last Wednesday someone rapped on my door to say that there was a fire. The hallway was filled with smoke, but none of the smoke alarms went off. Christina stated that Mary Ann should have called the management office the next day. Management looks for reports but this was the first time that she was hearing of this fire.

Betty Terry Lundy – In reference to the mall signage, there appear to be two sets of rules for mall owners, one for the mall patrons and one for the Market.  The same rules need to be applied to everyone.  Changing the market lease does not supersede the Dec. George Pauley stated that any allowances for the Market would need to be made for the other commercial spaces. No other owner in the mall has the same right. You are adding something in the lease that for the store that supersedes the Dec.  The rules should be applied evenly, if you are allowing the easel for the store the same consideration should be taken with the other commercial spaces. George Pauley stated that the rules need to be applied evenly. The rules for signage in the mall is from the Rules and Regulations and not the Dec. The market is not allowed signage on their windows.

Laura Carl – Can there be a sheet on how to announce guests left with the Doormen?  I had a guest and had to ring back to see if they were being let up or if I had to go down and meet them.  I was expecting someone but they never announced the name of who was waiting for me. We will create a procedure sheet for the Doormen and Security.  We have also been doing ongoing training with both departments.

Vince DiFruscio – I thought that the allowance of alcohol at the July 4th party was a good thing and wanted to thank the Board and Committee for that.  Also can the Board officially form the Newsletter committee and assign a liaison? This item will be placed on the August Board meeting agenda. Also when you contemplate remodeling the lobby could you look into removing the glass partition on the low-rise to match with the high-rise? The Board will consider it when it looks into remodeling the lobby.

Don Yuratovac – How many boilers does the Building have? The building has two boilers.

Paul Groeninger – Are the electrical rates for the building still listed as commercial? George Pauley stated that the rates for our building have always been commercial; we were not affected by the change.

With respect to the signage in the mall area, if the businesses are allowed to have signs we would have to allow residents to have signs, otherwise you would be allowing 2 classes of ownership.

Becky Rossof – In regards to the aging report that is distributed to the finance committee how are we handling garage late payers?  With Standard Parking it was assessed through a separate statement and easy to track, but with getting assessments and parking on one bill what is happening? Garage patrons who are late on both their assessments and their parking are receiving two late fees, one for assessments and one for parking.

Gregor Hamilton – I would like to see garage management use common sense.  Specifically regarding two issues: the first there was a parker who left for a long weekend and did not report any damage until they returned, it is obvious that we should not pay for the damage; second there are two people who share cars and would like to switch the spaces as one is on 1P and the other on 2P, common sense indicates that the two people are willing and we should do away with the nonsense and let them switch. George Pauley stated that the residents should be allowed to switch spots and end this discussion.  Management needs to be more customer service oriented with regards to the owners, renters, and guests of the building.  Management should not be making things more difficult than they need to be.  Both parties should agree in writing and switch the spots.

Laura Carl – I would like to formally request a hearing to get another fob for my sister.  The previous Board would not allow it. George Pauley stated that they would need to address this at the next meeting.  The fob distribution was approved by a previous Board and will require a Board resolution to change.

Adjournment

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas the meeting adjourned at 10:21 pm.

George Pauley, President

Sandra Goldberg, Secretary