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CORCORAN MEWS CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION
Attending:
Board Members Present:
Andrea Higginbotham - President
Andrew Keller - Vice-President
Jeffrey Hackett - Secretary
Jeff Hertrick - Treasurer
Gregg Sheiowitz - At-Large
Owners:
Cooper Drangmeister
Kathleen Lynch
Property Management - Tilton Bernstein Management:
Cheng Sithole - Property Manager
Pierce Robbins - Assistant Property Manager
Contractor:
Ben Landis Design & Construction
President Higginbotham called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm in 1748 Corcoran Street, #52A, Washington, DC 20009 (President's residence)
Management Report
- Proposal to repair and remodel roof deck for 1752 - 3B
Cheng introduced Ben Landis of Landis Design and Construction who presented plans on behalf of Matthew Olmstead, owner of 1752 - 3B. The plan calls for removing the decking on the roof deck and replacing it with new decking, repairing the roof, and installing a fiberglass mesh screening material on the roof and sides of the deck over the existing steel frame. Teak benches and planters would also be installed along the east side of the deck. Mr. Landis distributed a set of plans for the work to be done. Mr. Landis said that the entire project would be paid for by Matt Olmstead and would not cost the CMCA anything. Mr. Landis said that the existing roof would be replaced by a new roof. There was some discussion regarding lighting and views impacting adjacent units, and maintenance issues with the deck screening. It was decided that the plans need to be modified to give better access to the deck for maintenance purposes, including the ability to remove the decking so that the roof itself can be easily cleaned or repaired. Mr. Landis said that there was a similar covered deck, using copper mesh, in the alley off of Church Street, if any Board Member wanted to go look at that. After some discussion, the Board decided to hold off on voting on the proposed plans until a revised set of plans was presented as a result of their suggestions.
- Unit Repairs
At this point, various repair projects were discussed, including repairs to the floor of the entryway at 1752 and the stairs of 1756. It was decided that, in the future, Cheng will provide change order information to the Board for their approval. Pierce Robbins said he would develop a spreadsheet showing all open repair items, by unit, to be posted on Google Docs for the Board's review.
- Gutters
Pierce also said that he would have the gutters cleaned before Thanksgiving.
- Fire pit Parking Space
Several unit owners addressed the Board regarding the misuse of the common elements reporting that two Corcoran Mews Residents set up and operated a fire pit in their parking space on October 25, 2011 in violation of the D.C. fire code and the Bylaws which specify that the parking spaces are for the purpose of parking automobiles only. Following a general discussion the Board made a decision to send an email to owners emphasizing the general rules about the use of common areas, including no fires or grills. The discussion of fines in the future for the breaking of these rules was discussed but no fine amount was decided upon. Cheng will send an email to the residents, to be followed by a letter.
At this point, Cheng left the meeting.
Cooper reported that he has spent considerable time helping renters learn and understand the rules and policies of the condo and suggested that a handbook be developed for renters, since many of the landlords are overseas and hard to reach. Jeffrey Hackett suggested that a list of renters' emails be set up so that Tilton Bernstein Management can communicate directly with renters. Pierce said that Tilton Bernstein's policy is to not keep renters' emails because of the effort involved. Jeffrey asked him to consider making an exception since CMCA is a relatively small condo. Pierce said he would check into it.
- Pruning of Trees in Alley
Pierce reported that Tilton Bernstein is arranging for tree pruning in the alley. Kathleen Lynch suggested that John Keaton be contacted. Mr. Keaton owns the property adjacent to Corcoran Mews to the west and usually pays a part of trimming the Jackson Elm tree. Kathleen said Keaton is moving to Taiwan in the near future.
- 2010 Audit
Pierce said that the 2010 Final audit was completed, reviewed, signed and distributed to the Board prior to the meeting.
At this point, Kathleen and Cooper left the meeting.
Treasurer's Report
Jeff Hertrick reviewed the Budget for 2012 and discussed the variances from the 2011 Budget. He said that General Repairs has been well over budget the past two years so he was tempted to increase it more. He is only increasing it by $5,000, from $15,000 to $20,000. He said he hopes some of the general repairs will be less this year as a result of the pointing project. He said that the 2012 Budget anticipates a 5% increase in condo fees. He mentioned that if we have excess funds left from the pointing project, we could possibly not increase condo fees for the 2013 budget, but without such excess, we need the 5% increase to cover budgeted expenses for 2012. After some discussion, the Board decided it was best to increase condo fees for the coming year by 5%. A Motion to increase condo fees 5% on January 1, 2012, was made by Andrea, seconded by Gregg, and passed unanimously.
Andrew left the meeting.
New Business
Reimbursement for Repair Costs to 1748 - 3B
Andrea said that Kathleen Lynch was requesting reimbursement for spending $3,604.55 to clean and repair damage to her apartment that Kathleen attributes to piping and carpentry repairs. The Board decided to defer a decision on this pending additional information.
1756 - 3B HVAC System and Convector
Andrea said that there was damage to this unit relating to the odd convection configuration in the unit and those repairs were needed. The Board decided to defer this decision until it received more information regarding the expected costs.
Meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm
Submitted by:
Jeffrey Hackett,
CMCA Secretary
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