BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

Monday September 11, 2023 7:30PM

2nd Floor Party Room

Agenda and 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 – Board Meeting 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

Commission chairs or members so designated will be invited to update the Board and Owners on business and activities.

Attached to the report for Board review are the most recent reports from the Home Improvement Commission and the Cable/Internet Taskforce.

Board Report

The meeting chair may give a report on current Association business and activities of interest.

Action Items 

1. Closed Session Business

This agenda item is provided for any resolutions proposed resulting from Closed Session discussion.

2. Minutes – Board Meeting August 14, 2023

Attached to the meeting report for Board Member review, are the proposed minutes for the Board of Directors Meeting held on Monday August 14, 2023, as submitted by Property Manager Timothy Patricio.

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 14, 2023.” 

3. Updated 22.1 Disclosure

Attached to the report for Board Member review is the updated 22.1 disclosure as of September 2023 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:

• A copy of the Declaration, by-laws, other condominium instruments and any rules and
• A statement of any liens, including a statement of the account of the unit setting forth the amounts of unpaid assessments and other charges due and owing as authorized and limited by the provisions of Section 9 of this Act or the condominium
• A statement of any capital expenditures anticipated by the unit owner’s association within the current or succeeding two fiscal
• A statement of the status and amount of any reserve for replacement fund and any portion of such fund earmarked for any specified project by the Board of
• A copy of the statement of financial condition of the unit owner’s association for the last fiscal year for which such statement is
• A statement of the status of any pending suits or judgments in which the unit owner’s association is a party.
• A statement setting forth what insurance coverage is provided for all unit owners by the unit owner’s association.
• A statement that any improvements or alterations made to the unit, or the limited common elements assigned thereto, by the prior unit owner are in good faith believed to be in compliance with the condominium
• The identity and mailing address of the principal officer of the unit owner’s association or of the other officer or agent as is specifically designated to receive

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 hereby approves the 22.1 disclosure as drafted with the best available information as of September 2023.” 

4. Budget Calendar 2024/2025

Management’s work on a draft of the proposed budget for the 2024/2025 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.)

Friday October 27, 2023 – Management to present draft of Proposed Budget.

Saturday November 4, 2023 @ 9am to 12pm – Budget Review Meeting #1 – Categories: Expenses – Administrative, Utilities, Building Operating, Contracts, Maintenance, and Recreational.

Saturday November 11, 2023 @ 9am to 12pm – Budget Review Meeting #2 – Categories: Garage Income & Expenses; and Payroll and Legal Expenses during Closed Session at end of Open Meeting.

Saturday November 18, 2023 – @ 9am to 12pm – Budget Review Meeting #3 – Categories: Revenue, Capital Reserve, and Final Review and Questions.

Monday December 11, 2023 – Board of Directors Meeting for final considerations and approval to mail proposed budget for Unit Owner Review.

Week of December 18, 2023 – Budget to be mailed for Unit Owner Review.

Monday January 8, 2024 – Special Unit Owner Meeting To Review Budget.

Monday January 8, 2024 – 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 how they 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 2024/2025 fiscal year, as presented by Management.” 

5. Cable/Internet Bulk Contract Renewal

Consistent with the report from the Cable/Internet Taskforce, attached for Board review, the Commission recommends the Board consider renewal with ASTOUND, and believes the terms negotiated negate the need to devote resources to an RFP. Surprisingly, a relatively substantial decrease in pricing was agreed to, as well as locking future annual bulk rate increases to a maximum of 3.5%. In addition to the renewal, the Commission also presents an offer from to upgrade to a homerun fiber network, at no cost to the Association.

The proposal and proposed contract addendum is attached for Board review. The key points are as follows, reported by the Taskforce:

1. The new base bulk rate is lowered to $41.79 from $45.22. (This is before taxes and ancillary fees.) This number is actually last year’s bulk rate minus the coming $1.75 increase in the Surcharge (over which they have no control).
2. Increase download speed to 1 Gig and upload to 25 Mbps (with fiber both downloads and uploads will be 1 Gig).
3. Provide new equipment, TiVo T6 HD/DVR and 2 TiVo minis with interactive voice remote, or three Cloud-Based (IPTV) DVR Platform with interactive remote.
4. Enhanced Mesh WiFi – Eero Pro 6, to improve coverage throughout units. Technicians will do “heat mapping” to maximize signals within units.
5. Install fiber at no cost, ideally in the “chase” of the air-conditioning/heating system or by following AT&T’s fiber lines.
6. At year three, the Board will have the option of going to internet only.

On top of these favorable terms, the Commission felt the survey responses strongly support renewal. About 75% of respondents report they are satisfied and/or happy with their present service. The biggest concern reported, seemed to be issues with wifi coverage, which in negotiations with ASTOUND resulted in their offer to make their “mesh wifi” and “heat mapping” accessible as a part of the contract. 

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves entering a renewal contract for bulk cable and internet service as proposed by ASTOUND Broadband, for a base rate of $41.79 per unit (before taxes and ancillary fees) as negotiated and recommended by the Ad Hoc Cable/Internet Commission, for a period of 5 years, and annual rate increases to the base rate capped at 3.5% after year 1.” 

6. Waste Removal Contract Renewal

Attached to the report for Board review is a proposal for renewal of our waste removal and recycling contract with Republic Services.

We sat down with our account rep and discussed the upcoming contract expiration in December. We’ve had no substantial problems with their service and recycling program and suggested an advantageous renewal proposal might be received well. Through this process, they proposed no increase for year one, and 4% increases for year two and three. This averages 2.6% annually over the life of the contract.

We believe this is an ideal arrangement, maintaining budget stability and therefore suggest it is unnecessary to go through the full RFP process again. Three years ago, Republic was the lowest bidder by a substantial margin, and we don’t see that changing. More importantly though, the proposed increase so favorable to inflation, demonstrates the type of relationship we want to foster and maintain. By agreeing to renewal, we send an equally positive message to them as a business partner.

However, we initiated this effort and discussions with Republic early enough to have ample time to pursue an RFP if the Board would prefer.

So, the Board can either direct Management to put out an RFP, or renew as proposed. A sample motion for renewal follows: “I move the Board of Directors approves renewal of the waste removal and recycling service contract as proposed by Republic Services for a period of three years, with no increase for year 1, and a 4% increase for years 2 and 3.” 

7. Commercial Heat Exchanger Project

At the April 11, 2023 Board Meeting, the Heat Exchanger Project was approved at a cost of $86,500, as proposed by WJO Chicago, with a provision of $8000 to address possible unknown conditions. This effort was budgeted for $107,000.

When the project started, the shop the exchanger bundle was sent to suspected asbestos was present on the insulation encasement. As previously reported to the Board, this was confirmed by testing coordinated by the contractor. The project was halted so independent testing could be done to the ancillary plumbing insulation in the boiler room. This being a red flag for the possibility of asbestos being present on other mechanical fixtures – including the pending storage tank replacement also approved this year – and because heating season is upon us – we had formal asbestos testing done throughout our entire mechanical plant. Both in the lower level and roof level mechanical rooms.

Most importantly, none was found! The results are attached to the report for Board review.

Obviously, this resulted in some additional expenses. First, we were able to coordinate with Fluid Technologies almost immediately to determine and schedule appropriate testing – and they would also formally tag all the fixtures tested, consistent with Illinois Department of Health Codes. The total for this effort (proposal attached for Board review) was $7110.

Also, because the encasement to the heat exchanger was found by WJO to have asbestos, it had to be abated, and new insulation was needed. WJO reported that would be a change order of $22,813, but our team was unhappy with that number. We were able to get an almost immediate quote from Dettmann Industries, who works on the Risers and other pump and motor insulation work, for $4,040. (Both proposals attached to the report for Board Review.) We believe there is a couple reasons for this difference. First, Dettmann specializes in insulation work. Second, WJO was not expecting all this to be necessary, and they do not specialize in insulation. Their number probably reflects an attempt to make up some dollars due to additional time spent after discovering the asbestos, and the added cost to subcontract the work out.

We need the heat exchanger to be able to provide heat in the mall and garage, so due to the timing we already coordinated with Dettmann. However, this brings the total of unknown conditions we’ve acted on to $11,150. So we would respectfully request the Board ratify our decision to proceed with this additional work. It fortunately still falls well within the budget.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the add-ons to the Commercial Heat Exchanger Project, for general mechanical area asbestos testing coordinated with Fluid Technologies Pumps and Controls, Inc., at an expense of $7110, and replacement of the insulation encasement of the heat exchanger bundle as proposed by Dettmann Industries, Inc., at an expense of $4,040, to be funded by the reserve.” 

8. Condenser Motors Bulk Purchase

Condenser Motors are those sold to unit owners for their HVAC Convectors. We are down to 5 in stock, and our team typically purchases these in bulk to get the best deal possible. At present, we charge $290 for this part, as our previous bulk order came to about $290 after tax and delivery. However, our team found some advantageous pricing:

AMAZON Prime                $266.83 per unit

Clark Devon Hardware    $267.30 (quantity 40)

Grainger                             $400.75 per unit

Porter Pipe & Supply       $261.81 (quantity 40)

South Side Control Sup.  $242.05 (quantity 40)

The more detailed proposals are attached to the report for Board review. After tax, the Southside Control total will be $10,674.58, or about $270 per unit. This will bring the cost down for Owners after the last 5 units presently in stock are sold.

Because of the size of this purchase for stock, we request the Board formally approve a one time expenditure.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the purchase of 40 HVAC convector condenser motors for stock, as proposed by South Side Control Supply Co., at an expense of $242.05 per motor plus tax, to be sold back to Unit Owners as needed for replacements.” 

9. Security System Server Replacement

Unexpectedly, the server which records and stores camera footage for our security network failed. Our operator, Chicago Building Services, was able to install temporary drives which save about 3 to 4 days of footage. That is a critically low window of time, so we approved for them to order and install a new server, on an emergency basis. The replacement and labor was $7,788.94 after tax – the accepted proposal is attached to the report for Board review.

Fortunately, capital improvements to our security system were budgeted for this year, at $39,300. While the failure of the server was unexpected, it was not entirely a surprise as it was at the end of its useful life. Funds were budgeted in anticipation of making a few updates to the system, including the server. New computers, a few additional cameras, and camera replacements may also be considered later this year.

For now, we respectfully request the Board ratify our decision to pursue replacement of the server on an emergency basis.

A sample motion: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association hereby approves the replacement of the security system server, as agreed to by Management and as proposed by Chicago Building Services, Inc., at an expense of $7788.94, to be funded by the reserve.” 

10. Construction Requests

Attached to the report for Board Member review are remodeling packets for the following Unit Owners’ construction projects:

Unit 609              Hard Surface Flooring

Unit 1108            Kitchen & Bath Remodel

Unit 3201            Bath remodel and Washer & Dryer

Unit 3808            Cabinet Replacement and Hard Surface Flooring

A sample motion follows: “I move the Board of Directors of the Park Tower Condo Association approves the remodeling plans for units 609, 1108, 3201 and 3808 as submitted by the unit owners, following the recommendations of the chief engineer as outlined in their written specifications and in accordance with the Rules and Regulations and remodeling guidelines of the Park Tower Condo Association.” 

Business Reports 

Treasurer’s Report

Attached to the Report for Board Review is the July 2023 Balance Sheet and Statement of Income & Expenses as reported by the Habitat Company.

Fund Balances End of July 2023

Operating assets totaled $1,794,560 and the Reserve cash and investments were $4,660,032 for a total of cash and investments of $6,454,592.

July 2023 Revenue and Expenses

Total Operating Revenue: $625,945

Total Operating Expenses: $464,430

Income (Loss) From Garage: $21,644

Contribution To Reserve: $164,975

Total Surplus: $18,184

Management Report

Attached to the report for Board review is the most recent Monthly Activity Report and Sales & Lease Reports. Property Manager Tim Patricio is expected to review current business and activity of interest and the latest sales.

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 11, 2023 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 expected to be scheduled for September 25th and October 9th at 7:30PM. All such meetings are expected to be held in the 2nd Floor Party Room unless otherwise posted.