2nd Floor Party Room
Management Report
6:30PM – CLOSED SESSION
The Board is scheduled to meet to discuss rule violations, pending litigation, Unit Owner account issues and personnel matters.
7:30PM – Owner Forum
The Board of Directors and management will welcome and address feedback and questions from Unit Owners.
CALL TO ORDER – Open Session
The meeting chair, expected to be Board President Michael Parrie will call the meeting to order.
Confirm Quorum
The meeting chair will confirm a quorum of Board Members is present. Board Members and representatives from Management will be introduced.
Commission Reports
The meeting chair will invite commission representatives for any news, updates and reports. Attached to the report for Board review is the most recent report from the Home Improvement Commission.
Board Report
The meeting chair may give a report on current Association business and activities of interest.
Action Items
This agenda item is provided for any resolutions proposed resulting from Closed Session discussion.
Attached to the meeting report for Board Member review are the proposed minutes for the Board of Directors Meeting held on Monday March 10, 2025, as submitted by Community Manager Tim Patricio, for Board consideration.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the minutes from the Board Meeting held on March 10, 2025.”
Attached to the report for Board Member review is the updated 22.1 disclosure through March 2025 for formal Board approval.
The 22.1 Disclosure, is a standard document we provide upon request in the event of any sale and make available for inspection to the prospective purchaser. This incorporates:
As a matter of routine, we continue to update this regularly and will present it periodically for Board review and formal approval.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association approves the 22.1 disclosure as drafted with the best available information through March 2025.”
Below for Board Member consideration is the proposed schedule for the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Unit Owners:
Attached to the report for Board review is a draft of the notice, election rules and candidate information form to be distributed following approval of the schedule.
A sample motion: “I move the Park Tower Condo Board of Directors hereby approve formal scheduling of the 2025 PTCA Annual Meeting of Unit Owners for Monday June 9th, 2025, at 7:30pm, as well as Meet the Candidates Night on Wednesday June 4th at 7pm, and directs the necessary notices and mailings be drafted and distributed by Management as proposed.”
Consistent with the budget and as discussed, attached to the report for Board review is a proposal from Picker and Associates to conduct the year end audit of the financials statements. As discussed at the November 2024 budget meetings, they proposed an annual fee of $6100 for the 2024/2025 fiscal year. We since asked them for a multi-year proposal, and they were willing to lock that rate for a second year, which amortized represents about a 2.5% annual increase. For that reason, we did not feel it was necessary to seek a competitive proposal at this time.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves renewing the auditing service contract as proposed with Picker and Associates for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 fiscal year end audits of the association’s financial statements, for an annual fee of $6100.”
As previously reported, the vendor supplying the upper wall panels for the project, Cosentino, became unresponsive following the approval of the remodeling contract. So, at their most recent meeting the Home Improvement Commission considered alternatives from ICG Italia, who already supplied the flooring for the project. Out of several samples they reviewed, they chose several that were shipped to the office and members had an opportunity to stop by and then e-mail their choice. They unanimously chose a replacement option, “Iris – Bernini Classico”. This instead of the “Dekton – Lucid Onirika” which Cosentino was originally to supply.
We will bring the samples to the meeting for the Board to consider in person.
Originally OTIS was coordinating the upper wall material for ordering and delivery, and it was a part of their project total. For the upper walls they proposed $52,832 for the materials. Part of that presumably being for the paneling. Since we will now be ordering and coordinating delivery of the panels, we are awaiting a figure for adjustment. I’ve asked to have their math in time for the Board Meeting.
ICG Italia bid $12,147.51, (proposal attached to the report for Board review) to produce and ship the needed panels.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the purchase of upper wall paneling for the elevator remodeling project, as proposed by ICG Italia, and recommended by the Home Improvement Commission, for an expense of $12,147.51 to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
Attached to the report for Board Member review are proposals for the budgeted replacement of the pool area jacuzzi jet bodies. Parts are becoming harder to find for the existing jet bodies, and being original, as they age they are becoming more brittle and difficult to repair without causing additional problems. The engineer and plumber recommend full replacement with new jets for which repair and replacement parts are available. The proposals are as follows:
All Seasons Pools & Spas $5900
Fettes Love & Sieben $8750
Jo-co Pools $7800
The budget for this project is $10,000. We see no reason not to go with the low bidder, as we have an excellent relationship with them. They typically perform routine maintenance for the pool area fixtures and mechanicals.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the replacement of the pool area jacuzzi jet bodies, as proposed by All Seasons Pools & Spas, at an expense of $5900, to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
As discussed at the budget meetings and planned with the Reserve Study, updating of the building automation system (BAS System) is becoming increasingly necessary. The BAS System is basically the central nervous system of our HVAC network. It provides manual interface for the staff to communicate and observe dozens of sensors throughout the tower, pumps, motors, valves, air handlers and vents, giving them air and water temperatures, activity levels and other information all in one location. They are able to monitor conditions, make adjustments and troubleshoot problems without always having to be in 10 places at once.
The ‘Andover’ software being used pre-dates my tenure with Park Tower, and many of the controllers and relays are original and have become antiquated and will soon no longer be able to be serviced. Before we run into a brick wall trying to maintain and potentially lose it as a resource, updating is needed. This also gives us an opportunity to install state of the art software we understand will improve response time, capabilities and more advanced troubleshooting.
Attached to the report for Board review, you will find three initial proposals our team sought. The present system is managed by Kroeschell Engineering. They presently hold the maintenance contract and there are three years remaining, so we asked them for a proposal based on what they feel would be best for our mechanicals. We sought a couple names from Elara Engineering, who have assisted with engineering projects in the past such as boiler upgrades, chiller replacement and cooling tower replacement. Elara is very familiar with our mechanical plant and HVAC system. (Elara has been to our HVAC and mechanicals, as Wiss Janney Elstner has been to our structural projects like the garage, driveway and exterior sealants.) The bids were as follows:
Intelli-building Controls $88,000
Everest & Control Technologies $250,000
Kroeschell Engineering $154,490
The budget for this project is $260,000.
Besides the range in numbers, the proposals highlight technical disparities that are difficult for even our engineers to differentiate. After discussing this with the engineer, we believe it would be wise to have more professional guidance. Therefore, we recommend hiring Elara Engineering to help us consider these proposals, make sure we are spec’ing the best systems possible for our needs, and most importantly, ensuring we are not overlooking something that could cause problems down the road.
For standard engineering fees on an HVAC project, we usually expect somewhere around 10-20% of the project cost. Averaging these initial proposals together and assuming 15%, we get about $24,000. That should be more than enough and given the budget and the two low bidders, it should allow us flexibility to do this work and afford the professional oversight.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves hiring Elara Engineering to assist with specifications and proposals for the Building Automation System upgrade project, and hereby establishes a budget for fees of $24,000 to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
The mechanical device where steam from the heating boilers runs through to heat water in the HVAC risers which circulate through unit Heating & Cooling convectors, developed a leak. It is very minor and has been manageable, but needs to be repaired as soon as we have a break in the weather. The timing allowed us to get multiple bids, attached for Board reviews, rather than do this as an emergency project. The proposals are as follows:
Hayes Mechanical $23,000
Kroeschell Engineering $11,550
WJO Chicago $46,412
We believe WJO is so high because the are far overcalculating the amount of labor this job will take, and Kroeschell has proven to be very efficient on jobs like this. For example, they were the low bidder on the pool heat exchanger (done in 2023). Their familiarity with our heating system is working to our advantage.
This was not anticipated by the budget, but given the size of the expense, it is reasonable to fund from the Reserve.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the repair of the main loop heat exchanger as proposed by Kroeschell Engineering at an expense of $11,550 to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
As a part of our 3 year, 3 phase plan to proactively replace main water valves throughout the building, as planned through the Reserve study, attached to the report for Board review are proposals to replace the 3 main gate valves for water serving the mall area and health club. The proposals are as follows:
Biedron Heating & Cooling $12,975
Fluid Technologies, Inc. $13,038
WJO Chicago $10,600
We see no reason not to go with the low bidder, WJO Chicago.
Phase 2 was budgeted for $60,000 in 2025, and the first round of replacements was approved at the February Board meeting, totaling $47,614. So we remain within the budget for this phase.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the repair of the main gate valves serving the mall area and 2nd Floor as proposed by WJO Chicago at an expense of $10,600 to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
Previously the Board approved funding for the bulk plumbing materials for the next 3 Domestic Water Riser Projects in 2022, and our team confirms we have most of what we need in stock. However, we’ve moved the timing of some risers we expect to complete due to observations and problems we’ve experienced. As previously reported for 2025, we are planning for replacement of the risers in the High Zone ’01 kitchens, the Low Zone ’10 kitchens and ’11 Guest Baths, and Low Zone ’11 kitchens. These were approved to be completed already, but placed on hold for the Hallway Project.
Attached to the report for Board review are the relevant updated proposals. The previously approved carpenters, Green Tech Decorating, have disclosed a small increase in their pricing; $55 per unit for the ’01 and ’11 kitchens, and $100 per unit for the ’10 Kitchens/’11 Guest baths. Fettes Love & Sieben (the plumbing contractor) has increased their rates just over 2.5% annually and Dettman Industries (the insulator) have agreed to hold their pricing. Below is a summary of the anticipated expenses:
’01 Kitchens
Green Tech Decorating $26,650 (In 2022 $25,220)
Fettes Love & Sieben $46,540 (In 2022 $43,100)
Dettman Industries $28,270 (No change)
’10 Kitchens/’11 Guest Baths
Green Tech Decorating $68,250 (In 2022 $63,700 est.)
Fettes Love & Sieben $57,250 (In 2022 $52,250)
Dettman Industries $39,590 (No change)
’11 Kitchens
Green Tech Decorating $26,650 (In 2022 $25,220)
Fettes Love & Sieben $49,900 (In 2022 $43,100)
Dettman Industries $28,270 (No Change)
Considering the average rate of inflation over the past 3 years, we believe these updated proposals are more than reasonable. As proposed, the total for contracting is $371,370. Maintenance has advised to plan for a budget of $12,000 for ancillary materials such as drywall, primer, paint and other reconstruction materials, and we suggest a provision for unknowns of 20% of the total, of about $75,000. This brings the total expected expense to $458,3700.
The total budget for this effort is $678,000. Some of the savings though is timing, as we’ve pushed the kitchen projects forward due to problems, and they are less costly since we are not taking kitchens and bathrooms apart. Also, we took advantage of buying copper materials in bulk in 2022 at much lower prices than our long term budgeting has planned for. This has worked extraordinarily in our favor.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association approves a budget of $458,370 for the planned 2025 domestic riser replacement projects, including the High Zone ’01 kitchens, the Low Zone ’10 kitchens and ’11 Guest Baths, and Low Zone ’11 kitchens, the funding of which includes a provision for the bulk purchase of materials of $12,000, $371,370 for plumbing as proposed by Fettes, Love & Sieben, carpentry as proposed by Green Tech Decorating, and insulation and fire-stopping as proposed by Dettmann Industries, Inc., and provision of $75,000 (approximately 20%) to address unknown condition as they arise, to be funded by the Reserve Fund”
Attached to the report for Board review are proposals for the budgeted replacement of the East fence bordering the park. The bids are as follows:
Green Tech Decorating $44,000
JLJ Contracting $85,955
Skyline Metal $45,200
American Veterans (expecting in time for meeting)
The budget for this project is $50,000. We appreciate Green Tech for bidding the project, but we are going to be keeping them busy with the Riser Projects, and our team would like to go with a firm that has more experience with metal and fencing, so we are suggesting Skyline Metal.
Phase 2 was budgeted for $60,000 in 2025, and the first round of replacements was approved at the February Board meeting, totaling $47,614. So we remain within the budget for this phase.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the replacement of the east fence with the park as proposed by Skyline Metal Fabrication at an expense of $45,200, to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
Attached to the report for Board review are proposals for the budgeted replacement of Condenser Pump #4 which serves to circulate chilled water between cooling tower and chillers. The bids are as follows:
Hayes Mechanical $79,400
Fluid Technologies, Inc. $114,618
WJO Chicago $96,681
This project was budgeted for $80,000. After being advised by multiple vendors that the price of the pump itself was extremely variable due to possible pending tariffs (by as much as 25 to 30%), and speaking to the Board President about this situation, we acted and already locked in the low bidder, Hayes Mechanical.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the replacement of condenser pump #4 as proposed by Hayes Mechanical at an expense of $79,400, to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
Considering what happened to the Garage Exit door following a recent accident at the exit ramp, the question was raised about potentially storing spare slats. This are the horizontal pieces fitting along the frame of the doors. They are custom made for each door; our doors are not necessarily of standard size and design. So, these slats are not kept on a shelf in a warehouse somewhere. So if any are compromised, they have to be special ordered.
If we had enough of these in storage, we could reduce the amount of time in half or more it would take if something like this happened again. We do not want to get too many, as space is limited. We also have to consider that after they are manufactured, even stored, they are already aging. However, having some on hand could reduce the inconvenience of such events.
Attached to the report for Board review as an example, is a proposal from Door Systems for $5,930 to produce 10 slats for each door – the entry and exit door. Just under $300 each. We thought that was a reasonable number to consider for an effort such as this. Patrik pointed out, for accidents like this and assuming its not a total loss, considering the average size of a bumper and front end of a vehicle, 10 makes sense.
We suggest paying for this as a Garage Repairs operating expense.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the purchase of 20 garage door replacement slats (10 each for the exit and entry doors) as proposed by Door Systems at an expense of $5,930.”
WJO Chicago reported (as a part of the chiller rebuild effort) that Chiller #2 is low on refrigerant by about 600 pounds and they recommend filling it for the best performance. The good news is, as a part of the rebuild, Chiller #1’s level appears to be in good shape. Attached to the report for Board review are proposals to fill Chiller #2. The bids are as follows:
Johnson Controls $19,500
Kroeschell Engineering $11,392
WJO Chicago $10,613
There is bad news. WJO reported that the refrigerant we use will no longer be manufactured at the end of 2025, and will become more difficult to secure after that time. We reached out to the Operations team at Habitat, and they confirmed this is the case. Though, they said they believe it will be available for sometime after that, it will become more and more expensive and they suggested we purchase some to store in our chiller room for use as needed.
We expect to replace the Chillers in about 10 years, when they are 30 years old. We looked at the past 10 or so years and all together we’ve purchased about 1400 pounds of refrigerant (including the 600 pounds referenced here). Considering they are aging, we felt 1500 pounds makes sense. We were able to get bids as follows:
Biedron Heating & Colling $33,975
Johnson Controls $47,000
Kroeschell Engineering $26,050
WJO Chicago $25,967
This is not budgeted, but it should be funded by the reserve. Savings on other projects gives us some breathing room for these unexpected expenses. It makes the most sense to use WJO Chicago, not only because they are the low bidder, but as the contractor completing the rebuild.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the purchase of 600 pounds of refrigerant for Chiller #2 and 1500 pounds for stock, as proposed by WJO Chicago at a total combined expense of $36,580, to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
Attached to the report for Board review are proposals for the budgeted repairs to the exterior Pool Area Glass and Frames. This is the ornamental barrier at the east parapet by the pool structure, pictured below:
As discussed at the budget meetings, the metal requires maintenance to keep it healthy for the long term, but we discovered that 5 panels are glass and should be replaced with plexiglass. These may have been mistakenly replaced in the past when damage occurred. For safety reasons, with maintenance to the frames the timing is ideal to replace them with plexiglass. The bids are as follows:
Green Tech Decorating $8000
Monson Nicholas, Inc. $9243
American Veteran Solutions $11,300
This project was budgeted for $10,000. We are comfortable suggesting to proceed with the low bidder, Green Tech.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the repairs to the pool area exterior framed glass barrier as proposed by Green Tech Decorating at an expense of $8000, to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
Attached to the report for Board Member review are remodeling packets for the following Unit Owners’ construction projects:
905/906 – Kitchen Remodel & Hard Flooring
1603 – Hard Flooring Install
3911 – Washer/Dryer Install
4104 – Bathroom Remodel
5001 – Kitchen HVAC and Bathroom Remodel
A sample motion follows: “I move the Board of Directors approves the remodeling plans for units 905/906, 1603, 3911, 4104 and 5001, as submitted by the unit owner, following the recommendations of the chief engineer as outlined in their written specifications and in accordance with the Rules and Regulations and remodeling guidelines of the Park Tower Condo Association.”
Business Reports
1. Treasurer’s Report
The most recent financial reports, for the period February 2025, are attached to the report for Board review.
Fund Balances End of February 2025
Operating assets totaled $1,826,769 and the Reserve cash and investments were $5,067,184 for a total of cash and investments of $6,893,953.
February 2025 Revenue and Expenses
Total Operating Revenue: $633,059
Total Operating Expenses: $468,893
Income (Loss) From Garage: $51,913
Contribution To Reserve: $172,233
Total Surplus/(Deficit): $43,846
2. Management Report
Our team is still working on the Monthly Reports.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the Board will consider adjourning the meeting.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors adjourns the April 14, 2025 Board Meeting at ____PM.”
OWNER FORUM
The Board of Directors and Management will welcome and address feedback and questions from Unit Owners.
The next regular Board Meetings are scheduled for Monday April 28th and May 12th at 7:30PM. Also, the next Resident Forum is scheduled for Tuesday April 22nd at 7pm, all to be held in the 2nd Floor Party Room unless otherwise posted.
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