by Sheldon Atovsky – Park Tower Condominium is a complex operation that runs smoothly by virtue of two essential teams. Draper & Kramer provides the superb management and operational team, while we owners provide governance and oversight with our own team, the Board of Directors.

With three Board positions to be filled on June 12, it is worth remembering that Board members  have real responsibilities: to listen to and occasionally prod management .. to choose between a myriad of projects, all of them worthwhile .. to remember that  focus, labor and dollars are finite resources .. to plan ahead in the interests of owners who must provide those resources .. to respect both tenants and owners, whose views sometimes differ .. and sometimes to compromise in order to reach consensus.

Following is a list of important actions these two teams have accomplished together during the past two years, the period for which Board members are elected.

• ACTHA certification (all current Board members — see the ShoutOuts! column)
• Banking (Bridgeview Bank ATM in mall)
• Chiller tear-down (completed maintenance to air conditioning year earlier than planned)
• Communications (initiated subscriber-based texting service)
• Declaration & By-laws amendments (created ad hoc committee which first reviewed those documents, then recommended the six  amendment proposals now  before owners — first time owners have ever had a voice in considering changes to our Declaration)
• Fiber optic network (negotiated with AT&T for installation, at no cost to Park Tower, of fiber optic cable that might one day replace the current ethernet)
• Garage fire doors (approved proposal for replacement)
• Health Club (initiated remodeling of strength-building and aerobics rooms, initiated replacement of pool liner and  remodeling of nearby locker/public restrooms; membership is now at an all-time high with an increase of 30% as of the end of April)
• Hot water exchange bundles (initiated process for replacement)
• Hot water heaters (developed design specs for upcoming replacement of “high zone” heaters)
• Laundry room (remodeled facilities and updated washers and dryers)
• Lobby ceiling (replaced horizontal riser lines)
• Lobby north door (installed windbreak enclosure)
• Natural gas and electricity (extended current agreement  to hedge and purchase natural gas and electricity  through 2021, routinely saving us money and eliminating any threat of special assessments that could otherwise result)
• Package delivery (began exploring UPS and FedEx delivery options)
• Plumbing (emergency repairs to the kitchen drain line catch basin)
• Reserve Fund (increased 43%. to $2,211,100 from $1,550.001, the goal being to address anticipated capital expenses without the need for special assessments)
• Reserve Study (updated)
• Security system (approved proposal for multi-faceted overhaul)
• Sidewalk (shared cost with City to replace sections of sidewalk in front of building)
• Ventilation (approved  repair  to main air handler serving  our hallways — a $100,000 project originally planned for next fiscal year but moved up  for efficiency and to benefit from savings occurring elsewhere in the budget)