In Attendance 

George Pauley, President; Carlos Vargas, 1st Vice President; Sandra Goldberg, Secretary; Laura Cossa, Treasurer; Steve Hanna, 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

Absent

Phoebe Helm, 2ndVice President; Dan Harvey, Property Supervisor

Call to Order at 7:59 pm

Open Comments and Questions (Individuals not identified; Board and Management responses in italics)
1 – Has the Board considered altering the advertisement prices for the newsletter? George Pauley stated that this is on the agenda for this evening.

2 – Item 4, the security contract states that the Board voted by ballot.  Was this a private ballot, why was this voted by ballot? George Pauley stated that this is ratification because there was an email vote on this.  There was discussion at the last Board meeting about the contract. At that time the Board decided not to vote at the meeting but to table it.  The security contract ends this month so we could not wait until today to vote.

So this was not a private ballot, it wasn’t a secret and everyone knows how everyone voted on it. George Pauley stated that the Board would share their votes during discussion tonight.

On channel 195 the management office is still logging the elevator reservations, originally they did that because there was only one elevator at the time, now that we have both elevators running is it still necessary to have this information on the channel? Christina Epple stated that there were residents who like this information for when they are planning to do laundry during the day.

3 – I have noticed that real-estate brokers have been having open houses in our building and have been putting signs in front of the building.  When they were told that they could not put signs in front of the building they started putting them across the street.  The rules state that in order to have an open house the owner has to hire security to escort the people to the lobby and to the unit.  This is not being done, there are not security people doing it.  People are walking down the street and seeing that there is an open house in our building and being admitted to our building without an escort.  I think that this opens the door to possibilities of crime and liability.  I think that we need to enforce this rule and pay for security to monitor the open houses.  This is happening week after week after week.  I spoke to Carlos Vargas about this. George Pauley asked Christina to send a notice to the door staff that if a sign is being posted on our property or on our parkway that security needs to remove those signs.

Security and the Doorperson told them that the signs were not allowed and they removed them from the property.  I know that we can’t do anything about the signs across the street but this is deliberately circumventing our rules and we can enforce the units to hire a security guard. George Pauley stated that he would like the Doormen made aware that all signs must be removed from our property.

Laura Cossa asked if the resident can hire a guard or if they can go with a guard. The rules state that if an open house is planned than it is necessary for the broker or the owner to hire a security guard to escort the prospects between the unit and the lobby area.  If there is no escort the day of the open house the day will have to be cancelled and the agent will be required to leave the building.  This is what I am asking to have happen.  Carlos Vargas stated that he spoke with Mr. Donnelly and then he went to the office and spoke with Sara.  She stated that the building was aware of it and knew about it.  At the time it was accepted by the office there were supposed to be guards escorting people to the apartment.  The office knew about it and that is the report that I got. George Pauley stated that he would like Christina to address this in how the building should follow the rules in this area.  The board needs to have email discussion on this and needs to find a reasonable way to implement that.

4 – I recently used the stairway and I noticed that some of the fire doors leading to the stairwell don’t close tightly and that is a real fire hazard. George Pauley asked for these reports to be called into the office.

I did call it into the office.  I am on 51 and I noticed that 51 does close well but when I was on 48 I noticed that it does not close right. George Pauley stated that he lives on 48 and he knows that it doesn’t close right.  He has called it in but it has been a problem for a couple of years.  We do have a list that came with the reserve study of doors on the stairwells that are not properly latching and closing.  Chuck Brown has begun addressing this but it is a fire hazard.  We will add 51 if it wasn’t on the reserve study list. It is being taken care of.

5 – We have so many new employees in the garage, are all of these employees bonded and do we investigate them every year and is it the same way with the personnel because we are not supposed to hire anyone who is not bonded to work in our apartments? Christina Epple stated that every new employee has a background check done.  There are different layers of insurance for the building and for the garage that covers employees.

Is there a special policy for employees? Christina stated that there was not a special policy. There are layers for the building insurance that covers fidelity issues for employees.

So none of the employees are really bonded, how come we have to have someone bonded when we hire someone to work in our unit? Christina Epple stated that the workers do not have to be bonded, what they need is a certificate of insurance.

Sandra Goldberg asked if the employees were bonded. Steve Hanna stated that the insurance policy bonds all employees the Directors and Officers insurance covers both the Board and all employees.  Technically they do not have a bond on them but they are insured against dishonesty and/ or crime.

Sandra Goldberg asked if money should happen to disappear. Are we covered? Steve Hanna stated that the Building would be covered.

Sandra Goldberg asked if the criminal background check was done every year or only at the time of hire. Christina stated that this was only done when an employee is initially hired. George Pauley stated that he would like to add to the agenda that there be an annual background check of all employees.  Where I work it is my responsibility to do a background check on every single employee when their annual evaluation is done.

6 – Two comments on remodeling, unit 1002 has that the chief engineer states that the phone lines may not be cut but that the new kitchen drain may not drain well due to the proximity of the vent.  If the owner is going to go ahead and do remodeling in that format anyway are we then going to have a problem?  Are we then going to say that as a part of this remodel that anytime one of our employees has to go up to fix the vent that it is their responsibility and not ours?  Secondly the remodeling of 2609 again it talks about parquet flooring but does not mention the carpet overlay. George Pauley stated that to approve the remodel for the parquet, it would be a good idea to remind people that the Rules and Regulations require 80% coverage of the hardwood floor with carpeting.  This would be good to add to the remodeling document and approval letter. 

7 – Two months ago I had a flood in my apartment due to a leak through the air conditioning.  This was not owner accessible; they had to dig into the wall to get to the leak.  Am I responsible for that or does the Association cover that?  It seems to me that this was not owner installed. It was installed by the people who built the building and should not be my responsibility. George Pauley stated that if you are talking about the air conditioning pipes that are in the wall then that is the Association’s responsibility to the primer coat.

I received something from the office telling me that I am responsible. George Pauley stated that if the drain, which is more common and which you do have access to, flooded than that would be your responsibility.  We do not want you checking the pipes in the wall.

Amending the Agenda

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas the Board voted unanimously to amend the agenda to include an item for annual background checks of employees, and to include the parking decal audit.

Motions from Executive Session

A. Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to waive litigation charges.  Sandra Goldberg voted in favor; George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, and Laura Cossa voted against; the motion failed.  B1. Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Laura Cossa, the Board voted unanimously to impose fines for 42 insurance violations.  B2 and B3. Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to table the items.  B4. No action.  C. Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to table the procedures.

Minutes August 13, 2007 Board Meeting

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the August 13, 2007 Board Meeting with a contingency that there be grammatical corrections as submitted by Sandra Goldberg.

Cooling Tower Motor Repairs

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Laura Cossa, the Board voted unanimously to ratify the approval of Belmont-Electro for work preformed on July 24, 2007 to repair the cooling tower variable speed drive in the amount of $6,268.00.

Security Contract

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to consider extending Intertech’s contract on a month to month basis until there is clarification of the Admiral bid and for the Board to consider other companies.  George Pauley stated that the vote had already been taken He said we did vote on that and went with Admiral. This is ratification. We discussed this in the last board meeting. We said, I believe, in the last board meeting that we would take a vote before this meeting because of the need to have a security company in place at the end of this month. George Pauley asked if we can make a motion to reverse a vote that was already taken.  We have not yet entered into the Admiral contract but we are pretty far into the procedure for changing companies.  Christina Epple stated that she did not think that the Board could undo a vote since notice has already been given to the other company and there have been employment changes. Laura Cossa stated she wanted to add two things.  If I need the elevator for a half hour to forty minutes I would be really pissed off if I have to pay for four hours. Right now how many hours is the elevator occupied by movers on a weekly basis? George Pauley stated the sheet says two hours.  Laura Cossa said the union contract states four hours. George Pauley asked if the printed document the Board received was in error. Christina said yes. Laura Cossa stated her second point she wanted to make was about the list. Each security guard should have a list so they check for damages because she has seen the elevator damaged. Sandra Goldberg asked if this could be put on hold until there is clarification.  Steve Hanna stated that this would be a question for legal counsel.  Sandra Goldberg stated that she has several concerns with Admiral. She said she did not see how Admiral would secure the building. Sandra Goldberg said that she expressed these concerns at the time we looked at the companies. In their initial contract they said that they were restricted to just having someone at the front desk for around $140,000.  Laura Cossa said that Admiral had agreed to specifications that were discussed.  Sandra Goldberg stated that the bottom line was that they have learned from Intertech and other security companies that there have been good security companies that have secured the building. By that I mean that they have walked the floors and the stairwells during the day and the night; they have walked outside of the building and by the dock.  They have relieved the attendants at the pool and replaced the doorman and walked the garage.  I think that part of the problem is that when you look for the cheapest company you get what you pay for. You get workers at the lower end of the scale who will not be the best workers to provide security.  Going with another company simply because they are the cheapest that really does not secure the building makes no sense. Laura Cossa stated that all four companies offered the same things and asked if there was another company that Sandra Goldberg was considering.  Sandra Goldberg stated that the Board should look at other companies. We should consider a company like Intertech, and ask if they can give us workers that cost a little more but will be better security guards.  Laura Cossa stated that she feels that Christina could explain the problems with Intertech.  George Pauley stated that he had spoken to the president of Intertech on Friday for three hours. There are many different issues with Intertech. However, we have another bid from a company for $21,000 more than Admiral that previously provided security for this building.  We got rid of them because they were not doing a good job.  So this is not necessarily a cost issue. Intertech did not feel that this was necessarily a cost issue in terms of the problems, but there were many different issues as to what the problems were.  We need to check with legal counsel to find out how to proceed on this.  Laura Cossa asked if George Pauley had met with Intertech alone.  George confirmed.  Laura Cossa asked if he had met in his name alone.  George Pauley stated that he met with him as the Board president.  Laura Cossa stated that the Board does not know about this. It appears that George has meetings with Tom Taylor and that things go wrong; George has a meeting with Intertech and surprise it’s a good company and the Board should use it.  George Pauley stated that he did not say that.  Sandra Goldberg stated she did not say that but only that we are getting people at the bottom end of the pay scale. She has been in buildings that have good security and we have had it in this building.  We should not jump the gun and sign a contract when Intertech could give us a little more time.  Carlos Vargas stated that last Friday at 4:30 there was a move and the guard was supposed to be there but he was giving the Doorman a break.  This is part of the things that we should not be dealing with anymore.  Carlos Vargas, Sandra Goldberg, and Laura Cossa voted in favor; George Pauley abstained; the motion passed.

Terrazzo Repairs

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the terrazzo sealant to Peter Galic Terrazzo in the amount of $15,000.00.

Door Replacements

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to install four new doors for the receiving room, trash room, exterior trash room, and circle drive stairwell in the amount of $11,155.00.

Emergency Tuck-pointing Repairs

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve Bruno’s Tuckpointing to perform emergency tuck-pointing repairs as specified in the amount of $15,985.00.

HVAC Maintenance Contract

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Laura Cossa, the Board voted unanimously to approve the proposal from Control Engineering for the annual maintenance contract to provide service to the software/hardware programs that maintain the HVAC automation system in the amount of $6,536.00 per annum.

Electric Purchase

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to approve the electric contract to Midwest Energy at the quote price of $0.0539 per kWh (not including taxes or transportation) for the period of June 2008 through May 2009.  George Pauley, Sandra Goldberg, and Carlos Vargas voted in favor; Laura Cossa voted against; the motion passed.

Newsletter Advertising

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to approve the newsletter rates of $75.00 for a 5” x 4” advertisement, $40.00 for a business card advertisement, and $25.00 for a 2” x 2” advertisement.

Motion to Suspend

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas the Board voted to suspend the meeting at 8:49 pm.

RCN Report – Carlos Vargas

I pushed for a meeting with the representatives of RCN to discuss the current technology, why not a bulk rate, review of sub charges, and the RCN customer service specifically about getting a dedicated line for Park Tower.  Right now RCN has a model in which all cable, internet, and TV goes through a box.  Currently they are advertising these at a lower price if you get all three.  We are getting no benefit from these since we have a bulk cable agreement.  We told RCN that they need to keep the captive market and that we would like a bulk rate for us.  RCN has submitted a letter about the complaints that they are looking into the problems.  RCN cannot provide a dedicated help line right now but they are looking into creating a dedicated line for all bulk accounts in the near future.  Since we have had the initial meetings it is now time for RCN to come and talk to us about our issues.  We need to have an open meeting for residents and RCN representatives.  We don’t have many choices at the moment for cable companies but technology should change in the near future and AT&T will be offering cable in 2008.  RCN cannot change the offered cable channels because there are channels that are designated by the city of Chicago and by the Federal government that RCN must provide.  The meeting was productive and RCN has promised to take care of the Park Tower Account.  We will set up a meeting with RCN soon and will continue to take our concerns to RCN.

George Pauley stated that we do have a very good rate in terms of our bulk cable but what Carlos is concerned about is that we should get a better rate on our internet and phone services because we are a big account of theirs on the cable side.  We are trying to encourage them that if they wish to keep the cable account they need to do better on the internet and phone services.

An unitowner asked why RCN is able to decide that there will be no more Hallmark station.

Carlos Vargas stated that they were forced to do it.

George Pauley stated that RCN does not have control over which channels are put into each package.  Hallmark is owned by a larger company that is forcing RCN to buy several other channels which raises the cost and then RCN cannot afford to keep it in the basic package.  This change was by Hallmark and not RCN.  There are certain agreements between the cable companies and the companies that own the channels that force the cable companies to only put the channels into the packages that the channel company wishes.

The unitowner stated that she called the RCN help line six times and each time received the message that the line is busy and then it rings but doesn’t get you a person.  Finally the call was answered by someone in the Philippines that told her she had to drive and take her remote to the RCN company to switch her remotes.

George Pauley stated that the Midwest is one of the few areas in the country that offers bulk cable rates.  The RCN call center was switched to Pennsylvania and they are taking calls throughout the whole country.  When we explain that we have a bulk rate to people who don’t understand.  RCN has assured us that in the next 2-3 months they will have a dedicated call center for bulk customers only.  RCN hopes that then we will get intelligent answers.  We have also brought up the long wait times.

Carlos Vargas stated that the RCN does not have a marketing approach for their calls.  RCN sent out a letter to people who have their phone service that it will be disconnected.  When I called they stated that they will have someone come out and install the new modem for the phones and that they would do it for free.  Please call if that concerns you because they will give you a good deal.

Laura Cossa asked what we should be doing with people who don’t have cable with RCN; can they have cable with someone else?

Carlos Vargas stated that they could not; the cable in the building is proprietary to RCN.

An unitowner stated that he used to have Comcast and believes that RCN is much better.  Also when I called RCN I was told that I would no longer have my individual phone line.

George Pauley stated that RCN was discontinuing their landlines but that they would be offering the voice over internet phone service.  I have had it over a year and it has been problem free.

An unitowner asked why RCN moved 95 and 96 to 195 and 196.

Carlos Vargas explained that they had to change the channels when they changed to the new digital box, and that channels 95 and 96 still work if you do not have a cable box.  However, the digital box is free.

An unitowner stated that he did have the voice over IP and he has had excellent service with it but would like to know if you can have more than one phone line over the modem.  I would also like to put on record that my experiences with SBC were the worst in my life.  I am not real thrilled with going to AT&T.  Also when our building was wired for cable the mall suites were not wired at that time.  If we are going to be negotiating with RCN I would like to see if they could get cable down into the mall area.

George Pauley stated that the more than one line question would need to be asked to RCN as a customer.  The second part of this is that RCN is discontinuing the landlines.  There is cable in the office but not throughout the mall.  RCN just replaced the existing wiring, which was not in the mall originally.  We are in a contract until 2010 but we can give cancellation within 60 days.

An unitowner stated that she had RCN with cable internet and telephone.  I was pleased until something went wrong and then when you call you are on hold forever.  I was on hold for 6 hours one week and then I canceled all of my service.

George Pauley reiterated that RCN has said that there will be a dedicated call center in 2-3 months, which will clear up the time on hold.  The contract states that we own the cable so if they pull out they cannot take the cable with them.

The meeting reconvened.

RCN Billing

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve creating a separate line item on the assessment bills for cable with each unit paying $17.38 starting in the next fiscal year.

Fine Amounts

Carlos Vargas motioned that all late fee fines should be at 8% of the assessment amount due as directed by the Bylaws and was seconded by Sandra Goldberg.

Owner Comments Regarding Fine Amounts

An unitowner stated that she did not think that anyone should be fined more than 10%.  I questioned this a year ago because the $50.00 late fee was not legal.

An unitowner stated that he had a problem with making the late fee a percentage because in addition to it being a logistics nightmare, it is creating an extra burden that is not needed.  If you look at a history in a legal case you will have to try to figure out what the late fees were assessed at.  This is busy work that in the long run will cost us more for their time that they should be concerned with the aesthetics of the building, the actual workings of the building and contracts rather than the nightmare of determining how much in fines they owe and how much in late fees that they owe.  Then you have to determine what the payments are applied to.  It’s not just an accounting nightmare; it’s also a practical nightmare.

Sandra Goldberg asked what solution the unitowner would recommend.

The unitowner stated that he would recommend a flat fee.

Sandra Goldberg stated that for someone in a studio and has a smaller percentage of ownership would be paying more.

The unitowner stated that he believes that the Board is throwing too much emphasis on the difference in the apartment.  If you transgress, you transgress period whether in a studio one-bedroom or two-bedroom.  If you break a door it doesn’t cost any more or any less to repair it depending on the size of the apartment.

George Pauley stated that the Boards concerns are that the fines are too high, what they are looking for is a system to lower the fines. This was one suggestion because it reflects the Declarations.  Our attorney has suggested that we can level a flat fee rather than a percentage.

The unitowner stated that when he was on the Board this was brought up but the attorney suggested that courts don’t like it when Associations play with late fees.  Even though you think that ours are high I can give you examples of buildings that are higher.

An unitowner I agree with Paul but I also want to say that I think that we raised our late fees because too many people were paying late.  The goal of the late fee is to get people to pay on time.  I think that we need to keep the rate high enough that people pay their assessments on time.  I do agree that the parking fine is too high for the parking price.

Carlos Vargas stated that the parking fees are 65.5%, and that is ridiculous.

George Pauley stated that the attorney has suggested that if someone took us to court on the parking late fee that we would probably not win.  We can take a look and see what type of fee structure would work best.

An unitowner It’s entirely reasonable to go by the bylaws and assess 8%, and it’s entirely reasonable to have a flat fee and not have the accounting problem.  Why can’t we just take 8% and figure out what that is and make a flat fee at the 8%?  As assessments increase so would the late fee.
Sandra Goldberg stated that everyone’s assessment is a different amount.

An unitowner stated that he was referring to parking.

George Pauley stated that the discussion was for assessments, parking and lockouts.

Fine Amounts

Carlos Vargas amended his motion to establish a flat fee of $25.00 for each late payment, both assessments, lockout and parking, Sandra Goldberg seconded.

Owner Comments Regarding Fine Amounts

An unitowner stated that she agrees that there should be a flat fee; lockouts should be a graduated scale. I don’t park any longer so I won’t comment on that one.  However to have a late fee for assessments lower than $50 is less than crazy.  How much of my assessment goes to bad debt, at lease 1-2% this will cause it to go up to 3-4%.

George Pauley stated that the bad debt is a separate issue from late fees; late fees are not connected to bad debt.

An unitowner stated that she didn’t understand why you would lower the fee for assessments, that the garage and lockouts were a different issue but that assessments should not be lower.

Laura Cossa asked how much late assessments cost us, would it be more than $50 or less than $50.

Christina Epple stated that if we don’t pay a $118,000 gas bill in January because you have less than 10 days to pay the bill and you don’t have the money, you are paying $4,000 for a late fee.  It’s about 3-4% of the total bills.

Laura Cossa stated that there are specific reasons why people do not pay but I think that the amount should be high and no less than $50.  I own units in different buildings and none of them have late fees less than $50.

Laura Carl stated that when you take on a responsibility of owning you know that there is an assessment.  You should always have something to fall back on.  Just like a credit company there are no exceptions unless you sit and talk with them.

Fine Amounts

Carlos Vargas amended his motion for assessments to have a $50.00 charge, lockouts to have a $30.00 charge and Parking to have a $30.00 charge, Sandra Goldberg seconded.  The Board approved the amended motion unanimously.

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted to waive one late fee per year.  Carlos Vargas and Sandra Goldberg voted in favor; George Pauley and Laura Cossa voted against; the motion failed.

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted to assess late fees on multiple unit billing such that the additional units are only charged $15.00 a piece.  Carlos Vargas and Sandra Goldberg voted in favor; George Pauley and Laura Cossa voted against; the motion failed.

Home Owner Survey

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted to approve mailing a resident survey to be compiled by Property Systems, Inc. in the amount of $750.00.  Laura Cossa voted in favor; George Pauley, Carlos Vargas, and Sandra Goldberg voted against; the motion failed.

CD Procedures

Upon due motion by Laura Cossa and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to approve the current CD procedures as follows: when a CD comes up for renewal the Vice President & Treasurer of Draper and Kramer sends an email as a reminder and if she has any relevant information on better rates at other banks she provides it.  The email is sent to the property manager, Board Treasurer, and anyone else designated by the Board of Directors to act on the Budget and Finance Investment Committee.  Draper and Kramer acts upon the investment recommendation of the Treasurer and or the investment committee.

Construction Requests

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to approve the remodeling of units: 503, 1002, 2401, and 2609 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 provided that the units comply with the 80% carpet coverage and that the insurance certificates are correct.

Background Checks

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to approve annual background checks of all employees at the time of their review, for union employees it would be contingent upon approval of the union and for non union employees it will be done on an annual basis.

Parking Decal Audit

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to extend the parking decal registration deadline by 30 days (October 15th), to put notices on the bulletin Boards and on the windshields of the cars.  If by October 15th the residents still have not complied they will be sent to the rules and regulations committee for violation and will loose their parking privileges.

Boiler Smoke Stack Repairs

Upon due motion by Sandra Goldberg and seconded by Carlos Vargas, the Board voted unanimously to approve Hemmingway to perform repairs to the main boiler stack as specified in the amount of $16,895.

Treasurer’s Report (Laura Cossa)

According to the July 31, 2007 Financial Statements the total operating funds were $188,588.   The MAX SAFE account at Barrington Bank totaled $112,207.   The total replacement reserves fund was $1,266,501.  The total of all cash and investments was $1,455,000.

Upon due motion by Laura Cossa and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the Board voted unanimously to approve the transfer of the CD at Park National Bank to IndyMac Bank for 12 months in the amount of $95,000 at a rate of 5.36% with the proceeds of $4,865 deposited into the MAX SAFE account at Barrington Bank.

Laura Cossa asked if the Association is able to invest in something that would be a little riskier but would give us more money.

George Pauley stated that the Attorney has stated that to invest the Association’s funds into anything with some risk is not meeting the Boards fiduciary responsibility.

Board Report (George Pauley)

The Board has moved to a focus on maintenance issues such as the terrazzo.  We are looking into what needs to be done to the windows and we are also looking to vote on a replacement for the front planter.  Our focus at this point is on maintaining the building and making repairs and keeping things in good shape.

Management Report (Christina Epple)

Included in the monthly activity report you will find a section on the garage operations.  The painting of the ceiling and columns continues in the garage at the 1P valet section.  The new lighting in the garage is being installed by the maintenance department as time warrants.  Standard Parking continued to use a deposit fund that they established years ago in May 2007 after the contract was canceled.  Please see the letter from the Association’s attorney to Standard Parking requesting a full accounting of the account and a demand to Standard Parking that they settle all financial obligations to Bridgeview Bank.  The garage audit is still not completed.  Nyborg and Associates hopes to have a preliminary draft available by the end of September.  In building repairs, the repairs, cleaning, and sealant has been completed to the entire exterior surface of the terrazzo.  Maintenance will now address inspecting the drainage pipes that have been covered in plastic to ensure that leakage is not related to the terrazzo.  We have received a priority expense list from Full Circle Architects per the Boards request.  Full Circle is anxious to attend a final analysis with the owners as soon as possible. Please advise management of the date within 20 days.  Full Circle per the contract is anxious to report their study findings to the owners.  Management has overseen the following projects, tuck-pointing repairs to the area outside of suite 116 are complete, Bruno’s Tuckpointing finished the work and it was inspected by management.  The metal refinishing work on the front drive exterior columns has been completed.  Management continues to work on obtaining bids to inspect the caulk on the exterior windows.  Management plans to introduce the bids at the October Board meeting.  Management is waiting for a formal bid from JLA architects to provide the Association with a bid spec package to redo the front circle driveway planter.  Lastly, Streets and Sanitation along with the Water department have completed the sewer repairs at Sheridan Road and the entrance to the driveway.  Park Tower did not share in the cost of this repair. In the event that future repairs are needed it is likely due to the weight of city busses in the area and the Association should not be held financially responsibly.

At the time that this was put together we did not receive any settlement statements for the month of August.  Year to date there have been 34 leases for studios with an average price of $826; there have been 43 leases of one-bedrooms for an average price of $1,057; there have been 5 two –bedrooms for an average price of $1,548.

Garage Report (Michael Rupert)

In July we collected $55,742 in revenue for a positive variance of $1,179.  We spent $36,498 which was $865 under budget for a positive variance of $19,144 year to date.  Year to date we are $490 under budget.

ASCO Report (Lorraine Meyers)

The biggest subject is about the church parking lot, the builders were at the ASCO meeting.  There will be an open meeting October 2nd to discuss the proposed building.  The first 8 floors of the building will be parking, and then there will be 270 units in the building.  The 9th floor will have the swimming pool and all of the social activities and laundry.  The building will be within 6 ft of the Statesman.  The foundation will be safe and will be quiet because it will be screwed in rather than pounded in.  The church needs 300 parking spots, and then 200 will be for the community to use.  The builders anticipate using TIF funds around $12million.  The money will be given back through the tax money of the building.  The traffic of Sheridan Road and the entrances and exits to Lake Shore Drive will be affected.  The Statesman will be jammed.  If you have an opinion on this building the Alderman would like you to write her.

Committee Reports

Scott Schmidke reported on behalf of the Home Improvement Committee.  The committee met to discuss landscaping with Adam from Brickman Group to start planning the spring plantings.  The fall plantings will be going in this month and the cost was included in the maintenance agreement.  We discussed the carpet for the first floor elevator lobbies.  We were provided with two books of carpet to choose from and we will forward the recommendations for the Board.  We have one choice for the pie shape when you walk in and then two choices for the areas in front of the elevators.  We discussed the 2nd floor area also.  There are two ways of looking at this area, one: it doesn’t need it, two: later on when it needs to be done you wont be able to match it.  The committee would like to see bigger samples of the choices.  Nancy brought up the spiders on the roof and would like the Board to consider exterminating the roof.  The committee discussed changing the rules in regards to the cork underlayment, not relaxing the rules but offering another option.  Also we talked about the lights on the deck but we will wait until spring to replace them.  There was a spot light under the columns around the steps on the deck that had gone out.  The timers should be changed now that the sun is setting earlier.

Adjournment

Upon due motion by Carlos Vargas and seconded by Sandra Goldberg, the meeting adjourned at 10:29 PM.

George Pauley, President

Sandra Goldberg, Secretary