Present: Peter Levy, Matthew Pilkington, Mike Hansen, Steve Dembitzer, Steve Bruner and Peter Burgess
Maintenance Items
Jose Perez was invited by the Board to give a run down of maintenance issues. The boiler had various mishaps starting December 24th 2006. Old heating tubes are normally plugged once they have corroded to the extent that they cannot be used any more. This is cheaper than replacing the entire tube. But the plugs blew off due to corrosion at the ends of the old tubes and needed to be replaced completely.
The expansion tank, which is part of the heating system and is at the top of the eastern staircase of 120 Boerum Place, sprang a leak and had to be replaced. The new tank is now in the boiler room and not at the top of the stairs. The old expansion tank was repaired, taken off line, but kept in case of the new tank malfunctioning.
On Jan 21st the flame scanner broke. The scanner monitors the burning of the gas or oil in the furnace. The flow of fuel to the furnace shuts off when the scanner is broken or there is no flame in the furnace. This is a safety feature. The repair company fortunately had a spare, but 2nd hand, scanner and replaced the part late Sunday night. The Board discussed buying a spare scanner in case of emergency.
Jose tested all the emergency lights in the hallways and will be replacing the batteries in some of them that have reached the end of their electrical life.
The basement corridor in 120 Boerum Place is full of debris from the installation of the one-way valves. Jose will ask the contractor to remove it when he returns to complete the job.
Arrears
With exception of 3C, the condo. has less than $1500 in arrears.
Accountant
The accounting firm of Levitch & Kriegsman raised their fees by $300 to $5700. This increase was approved by the Board with a request to keep the amount stable for the next two years.
Exterminator
The current exterminator has had his contract terminated and Peter Burgess is contracting with a new company. Under New York City building code, the condo. has to have a contract with a licensed exterminator.
Budget
The Board examined the budget and the overruns that have occurred this year. Electricity costs were up over $10,000. Con Ed has been charging fuel surcharges year round and prices have nearly doubled over the last few years. Energy costs and other inflationary pressures have caused the building to be in danger of constant arrears without recent assessments. Therefore the Board voted unanimously to increase the Common Charges by 10% this year starting March 1st. The board believes an increase of another 10% is inevitable next year, but the board will re-evaluate the financial condition at that time. In addition, the Board approved subsequent annual increases of at least 3% to keep up with inflation. The budget has to keep up with rising costs and with the continuing maintenance capital expenditure.
The Board approved a $250,000 line of credit to be used for emergencies. The condo. has funds in case of an emergency but not enough to cover extraordinary items such as replacing a boiler. This would give the condo. a cushion in which to raise funds from the owners for a period of time via an assessment without causing a major price spike in condo. fees. The line of credit will last 10 years.
Some condo. owners suggested an interim meeting for the condo. The Board suggested bringing the AGM forward to early May from June instead of an extra general meeting.
Notes to the Owners
Owners do not have the right to give contractors permission to start work on projects that they expect the condo. to pay for without the express approval by Peter Burgess Management. Bills submitted for payment without prior consent will not be reimbursed.
Please do not leave umbrellas, boots, shoes, strollers or any other belongings in the communal hallways. Please bring them inside your apartments.
The next board meeting will be on February 28th.
With no other business to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned.