2nd Floor Party Room
Agenda & 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.
OPEN SESSION CALL TO ORDER – Confirm Quorum
The meeting chair, expected to be Board President Michael Parrie, will call the meeting to order and 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, are the most recent reports from the Home Improvement and Social Commissions.
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 August 10, 2026, as submitted by General 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 Monday August 10, 2026.”
Attached to the report for Board member review is the updated 22.1 disclosure through July 2026 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 July 2026.”
Management’s work on a draft of the proposed budget for the 2027/2028 Fiscal Year is underway. Below is our preliminary expected calendar of activities for review and consideration by the Board. (All Meetings expected to be held in the Party Room unless otherwise directed by the Board.)
Thursday October 22, 2026 – Management to present draft of Proposed Budget.
Saturday November 14, 2026 @ 9am to 12pm – Budget Review Meeting #1 – Categories: Expenses – Administrative, Utilities, Building Operating, Contracts, Maintenance, and Recreational.
Saturday November 21, 2026 @ 9am to 12pm – Budget Review Meeting #2 – Categories: Garage Income & Expenses; and Payroll and Legal Expenses during Closed Session at end of Open Meeting.
Monday November 23, 2026 – @ 9am to 12pm – Budget Review Meeting #3 – Categories: Revenue, Capital Reserve, and Final Review and Questions.
Monday December 14, 2026 – Board of Directors Meeting for any final considerations and approval to mail proposed budget for Unit Owner Review.
By Week of December 14, 2026 – Budget to be mailed for Unit Owner Review.
Monday January 11, 2027 – Special Unit Owner Meeting To Review Budget.
Monday January 11, 2027 – Board Meeting to accept and/or amend proposed budget. (If the Board amends the budget in a material way, for example changing the assessment level or contribution to the reserve, it should be mailed to Unit Owners again, and another Special Meeting should be scheduled.)
The Board can of course amend this schedule if needed, as you may see fit.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby accepts the budget activity calendar for the 2027/2028 fiscal year, as presented by Management.”
Attached to the report for the Board (previously distributed for their advance review) is a draft of the Association’s audited 2025/2026 Financial Statements as presented by Picker and Associates. This will need to be formally accepted by the Board so any appropriate adjustments can be made to the Association’s books and records. Ralph Picker has confirmed to attend the October 12th Board Meeting deliver a review of the audit in person and answer any questions.
They’ve reported an operating surplus of $274,329. As budgeting efforts continue for the 2027/2028 fiscal year, we will determine how best to advise the Board to handle the surplus. Given the additional reserve expenses this year including asbestos response and elevator parts replacements, we anticipate recommending a supplementary contribution to the reserve.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association formally accepts the audit of the Association’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending February 28, 2026 as performed and presented by Picker and Associates.”
As previously reported, part of the riser project process is addressing the possible presence of asbestos in drywall compound. This starts with testing, done while our plumber is performing his inspections. Since it fell well within the ‘unknown conditions’ provision already approved, we authorized the team to use EHC Industries to do this again, as they have for the prior two projects this year. For good measure though we did receive 3 proposals (attached for Board review) and wanted to report the results.
EHC Industries $2400
M&O Environmental $4890
Galaxy Environmental $24,780
We are also awaiting proposals from each to do the actual professional abatement. EHC Industries did the first two risers this year, but now that we have better footing and know more what to expect, we sought bids. Because it is more costly and outside the ‘unknowns’ provision, we request the Board authorize a budget not to exceed, so we can move forward. The staff expects the low bidder to fall around $45,000. But just to be sure we are requesting $60,000.
We would like to add that on the 08/09 tier (now in the reconstruction phase) we had to address a complaint made by a unit owner to the city, and a visit by a City inspector. Upon arrival, the inspector was apparently pleased with what he saw. Our team was able to address everything to the inspector’s satisfaction. He confirmed on the spot that he would be closing the case.
The inspector mentioned that concern about handling and abating asbestos is not an unusual complaint and that 99% of reports they receive amount to residents just misjudging the work being done or misinterpreting the law, or even these days relying too heavily on AI to provide guidance for what they should be seeing. Nonetheless, they treat all reports very seriously and any violations get referred to the EPA. The contractor could not only lose their license, but serve jail time for even minor violations. While we were waiting with him, he said EHC Industries was excellent and that they get called out to jobs they handle frequently, and it is very unusual to have any problems. That turned out to be the case here.
This experience really strengthened our relationship with them and our confidence in their efforts, and we hope they continue to be the low bidder.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association sets a budget not to exceed $60,000 for any necessary asbestos abatement for the high zone 09 unit and 10 unit domestic hot water riser replacement project, to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
As previously reported, the Condo Act was amended by the State of Illinois, and all condo associations have until January 1st to come into compliance. This will require the PTCA Rules under “Assessments And Collections” to be formally amended. The Association’s legal counsel with KSN proposed a specific amendment, attached to the report for Board review. A Special Meeting will need to be held, with 10 to 30 days notice, for review and comments by Unit Owners. The rules can be adopted at a Board Meeting following such a meeting, much like the annual budget process.
While this could be done in time for the October meeting, we would be racing to get a mailing out the door. We would therefore suggest this be considered at the November 9th meeting.
Legal counsel provided an outline of the process from start to finish:
Adoption Process – To properly adopt the policy, please complete the following steps:
Important Next Steps – Once the policy has been adopted, counsel will need to receive:
As management reviewed the collection policy internally as a team, we felt it could be an opportunity to change the late fee structure for better fairness and efficiency. At present, an Owner can be charged an $85 late fee for a $120 balance for an unpaid work ticket, while someone else can be charged $35 for a $172 balance for a late garage license fee. AND, you could have both late fees, totaling $120, on any balance, if part of it is unpaid garage charges. We discussed this with legal counsel, who said having multiple late fees for different charges on an account is not prohibited, but can be confusing for the courts. They suggested now would be a good time to change this. They pointed out that legally we could charge $85 for a .01 cent unpaid balance, so why bother with a separate $35 late fee for anything.
Our suggestion is to simplify this. We suggest a flat $85 late fee that would apply to ANY unpaid balance on an account over $100.
To management, this could be seen as an issue of fairness really. Secondary to that is the amount of time it takes to go through accounts every month to scrutinize balances and whether they warrant either or both of the charges.
Any needed motions can be proposed at the meeting. At a minimum, we suggest: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association instructs management to distribute the proposed collections policy to unit owners with a notice for a Special Meeting of the Owners for review and consideration on _____, after which a regular Board Meeting will be held to consider adoption of the policy.”
Previously approved replacements of the Chiller Room and Heat Exchanger isolation valves are expected to take place with an upcoming HVAC shutdown, beginning September 20th.
Unrelated, replacement of the lobby and mall air handling units (located in the Circle Drive mechanical room) have been underway as budgeted. While this work was being done, our team identified other isolation valves serving this mechanical room. They are old and original to the construction of the building, and all but inoperable. They were somewhat well hidden by the air handling units, hence a bit of a surprise to our team as work was being done in the location.
With the coming HVAC outage to accommodate the Chiller Room and Heat Exchanger valve work, now is the best time to get these done too. Replacement will prevent an unexpected outage in the future should the valve fail, start to leak or flood the mechanical room.
Three bids were sought to replace it at the same time:
Althoff Industries $12,150
Great Lake Plumbing $12,795
WJO Chicago $13,368
We suggest proceeding with Althoff Industries. The team estimated we will also need about $3500 for completing the needed insulation replacement as well.
Altogether, this was not specifically budgeted, however, it is a logical add-on for the Phase 3 Valve Replacements effort.
A sample resolution: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association approves replacement of the circle drive mechanical room isolation valve as proposed by Althoff Industries at an expense of $12,150, and additional $3500 for ancillary insulation work, to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
Heavy rains over the summer led to leaking from the north wall planter on the 2nd floor sundeck.
Here, following repeated heavy downpours, water ponded enough above the perimeter liner to enter the wall and leak into the office space below. (Suite 108) There is not much to be done about severe weather, but after meeting with several masonry vendors, a product was suggested for coating several courses of brick above the liner, to help act as a stop gap during any future such weather. This coating is somewhat similar to the traffic membrane across the deck, but is specifically intended for masonry and brickwork.
For the most part this coating will be hidden behind the landscaping, but a color will be used to match the brick as closely as possible.
We received the following proposals (attached to the report for Board review):
JLJ Contracting $31,250
Monson Nicholas, Inc. $7945
Ward Contracting $9450
We’ve used each of these companies on projects in the past, and see no reason not to go with the low bidder, Monson Nicholas.
A sample resolution: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association approves installing a masonry coating above the 2nd Floor deck north wall planter liner as proposed by Monson Nicholas, Inc. at an expense of $7945, to be funded by the Reserve Fund.”
As reported at a previous Board Meeting, management and the building engineer were working on a formal request for proposal for the annual chiller preventative maintenance agreement (PMA). This is an agreement with a firm for routine maintenance and repairs, as well as a kind of insurance policy for repair work and some part replacements as needed.
We invited five firms to bid on the PMA. One did not respond after reviewing the RFP (Oak Brook Mechanical) and Hayes Mechanical was disqualified for not substantially completing the RFP. By substantial, there were key parts of the RFP that were not filled out. The remaining three responses are attached to the report for Board Member review, and the key numbers are as follows:
Great Lakes Plumbing
$44,796 yr 1 $44,796 yr 2 4% inc Yr 3 3% Yrs 4, 5 & 6
Billable Hourly Rates Straight: $175, OT: $262.50, Double T: $350
Johnson Controls
$33,000 yr 1 $94,848 yr 2* 6% inc Yrs 3, 4 , 5 & 6
Billable Hourly Rates Straight: $307, OT: $460.50, Double T: $614
*Every other year, $61,848 + 6% for subsequent years, for Eddy Current Testing work. (This is included by other bidders in their annual numbers).
MZI Group
$47,600 yr 1 $47,600 yr 2 Did not bid past 2 years
Billable Hourly Rates Straight: $190, OT: $285, Double T: $380
With the Chillers now entering what will likely be their Golden Years, these numbers do represent a pretty significant escalation from the present budget of $20,900 annually. This despite the teardown completed last year. They are in good condition overall, but tentatively scheduled by the Reserve Study for replacement in 2036, at about $2.6Million. As we move forward, we will be watching their performance closely and the PMA is an important part of that process.
We recommend proceeding with Great Lakes for 6 years.
A sample resolution: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association approves entering a preventative maintenance agreement for the main chillers as proposed by Great Lakes Plumbing & Heating, at base annual contract rate of $44,796 for years one and two, a 4% increase for year 3, and a 3% increase for years 4, 5 and 6.”
As previously reported to the Board, management proceeded on an emergency basis with a proposal by OTIS Elevator to replace the main drive sheave on service elevator #6. This after hiring Blackstone Elevator Consulting, and a discussion with the Board President in advance of the Board Meeting.
We propose discussing more specifically what led to this action at the Board Meeting, as well as any updates on the status of the repair. However, to summarize, OTIS reported that the Drive Sheave (which is the device that turns with the machine motor and moves the cables up and done) had failed, and is obsolete. Because it is supposedly obsolete, it is allegedly not covered by the maintenance contract and would need to be replaced at the Association’s expense. We disagree that it is obsolete but recognizing we can’t afford any unnecessary down time, we proceeded from a position that the priority is to get the elevator running and deal with the expense down the road. We were able to negotiate a reduction from an initial bid of $71,400, to $49,400. Then, after involving the professional elevator consultant, we were able to negotiate it down further to $45,000.
The consultant was brought on board to review the drive sheave and ancillary components, give us an opinion about it’s disposition in the OTIS maintenance contract, and ultimately make sure the work is done as it should be. Their total fee will be $4000, and as such essentially paid for themselves in a single phone call with OTIS following their site visit and inspection of car 6, by getting the additional cost reduction.
It remains our interpretation that this part is not obsolete, and should be covered by contract. We can discuss this further at the meeting, but request the Board ratify management’s decision to move forward with the work.
A sample resolution: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association ratifies and approves the action by management to proceed with the main drive sheave replacement for service elevator #6, as proposed by OTIS Elevator Company, at an expense of $45,000, and hiring of Blackstone Elevator Consulting to review the proposal and help manage the project at an expense of $4000, 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:
609 – Bathroom Remodel & Electrical
1210 – Unit Remodel with Washer/Dryer
2108 – Kitchen Remodel with Hard Flooring
2109 – Kitchen Remodel
3014 – Hard Flooring
3915 – Bath Vanity, Washer/Dryer & Electrical
5305 – Hard Flooring
A sample motion follows: “I move the Board of Directors approves the remodeling plans for units 609, 1210, 2108, 2109, 3014, 3915, 5305 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
Treasurer’s Report
The most recent financial reports, for the period of July 2026, are attached to the report for Board review.
Fund Balances End of July 2026
Operating assets totaled $2,131,046 and the Reserve cash and investments were $5,062,824 for a total of cash and investments of $8,193,870.
July 2026 Revenue and Expenses
Total Operating Revenue: $716,928
Total Operating Expenses: $583,806
Income (Loss) From Garage: $45,439
Contribution To Reserve: $188,258
Total Surplus/(Deficit): ($9697)
Action On Investments
After consultation with the Board President and Treasurer an expiring Ally Bank CD in August was reinvested with Poppy Bank, $250,000 for a period of 60 months at 4.4%.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association approves the reinvestment of funds from an expiring Ally Bank CD into a CD with Poppy Bank, totaling $250,000 at an interest rate of 4.4% for a period of 60 months, and reaffirms that management continue consulting with the Board Treasurer and President between Board Meetings when making any new investments or future adjustments to such investments.”
Management Report
Attached to the report for Board review are the Sales and Lease Reports. We expect to forward the Monthly Activity Report to Board Members in time for the meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the Board will consider adjourning the meeting.
A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors adjourns the September 14, 2026, 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 September 28th and October 12th at 7:30pm. All such meetings are held in the 2nd Floor Party Room unless otherwise posted.
