Present: Peter Levy, president, Katharine Flanders Mukherji, vice president; Steve Bruner; treasurer; Matthew Pilkington, Peter Burgess, management agent
The meeting was called to order when a quorum (4 members) was reached.
Maintenance: Superintendent Jose Perez reported that the roof repairs over the A and B lines in 120 Boerum Place, begun after the early August flooding, are finished and the track replaced. The window pit has been waterproofed and outer window ledges resurfaced. Still pending are remaining repairs to 15 Bergen Street. Also remaining to be repaired are the ceilings of #3B and 3A which were damaged in the same rain storm. The Super’s apartment floor and those of 1B and 1O have been redone. These were damaged in the 2006 flooding. There was a discussion about how to abate flooding in the courtyards. One of the major causes of urban flooding is the paving of entire neighborhoods, which creates more run-off and no soil absorption of rainwater. Encouraging owners to find pervious material to replace the concrete under their courtyard decks was one possible solution that was discussed. Because rainwater from the roof of 15 Bergen contributes to the courtyard flooding, an effort will be made to mitigate that problem. We have also instructed Jose to see that our plumber snakes out the courtyard drains.
Matthew Pilkington, gardening liaison, will instruct our gardeners and Jose to see to it that the hedges are trimmed evenly and that gaps are filled in. Mulching and soil amendments have been done by Urban Arborists. We discussed the state of the plant barrels and will see to it that the broken ones are repaired, if not replaced.
Steve Bruner reported on his work with a decorator who will do a walk-through and write up her ideas. If they are satisfactory, we will hire her to design and supervise the renovation of the 2nd and 3rd floor hallways of 120 Boerum Place and installation of chair rail, painting of those halls, carpet, and refurbishing of the Dean Street side stairwells and trash hallways as part of a comprehensive plan. We will also plan on sprucing up 15 Bergen St. common areas. Board members have neither the time nor the expertise to work out a comprehensive plan and act as project managers in implementing it.
Financials: There was a discussion about the format and coding on the monthly financial reports provided by management. An effort will be made to make budget comparisons easier to read, so that we can tell into which categories our expenses are falling, and that the Common Charge income is accurately reflected. Financials were reviewed and found to be in order. Owners are reminded that the 10% Common Charge increase, announced several months ago, will come into effect on January 1st.
The next Board meeting will be held November 28th.