NEWSLETTER - JUNE
June was an interesting month. First, we didn't have enough business to justify a Board meeting since none of the Committees had need for meetings. However, there was a lot of activity to keep us busy. Twenty-four inches of rain, in five days, kept us all busy with window and wall leaks and the FPL conduit from the street flooded into the main power room with about six inches of water in the room and then flooded into the work-tool room and garage.
Tim and Tom Roam refined the information B&G had collected on the patios – floors, balustrades, and caps – including our needs for painting, coatings, and wall repairs. Tim took the information provided, prepared bid specs and contacted possible contractors. Over the past several weeks contractors have been visiting the building to “see” what needs to be done. Various contractors will be visiting for several more weeks. Several important decisions have been made 1.- we, will ask for labor only bids and the Towers will order materials as needed, this permits the manager and Board know, exactly, that material specifications are as we require and quantity used will be known and watched closely; 2.- all work will be done from the outside, no entry through the units; 3.- white will be the overall building color with trim (green) to be decided (let us know your opinion) 4.- the east end of the building will be first sealed and painted since during the heavy rains this month we had many leaks through windows and walls. Plaster repair (stucco) will be accomplished first exposing cracks, sealed, waterproofed, and painted. Window frames will be exposed, sealed, waterproofed, and painted. Our goal is to have all bids returned by mid-July, analyzed, and ready for a final decision at the August Board meeting, with the rationale for selecting that contractor. We may end up selecting two contractors, one for wall work and one for patio work, they have an option to bid one or both and we will have to do our analysis to compare bids. DURING THIS WORK YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO BE PATIENT – A LOT OF NOISE AND AGITATION – THE PROJECT(S) WILL LAST ABOUT ONE YEAR (maybe a good set of ear plugs are in order)
The beachside gate and fence was replaced. A shield was placed on the gate to prevent people from reaching through and opening the gate without a security key. If you see someone trying to use this method of opening the gate, please question them and find out if they belong here. Staff cannot watch everything without your help. We (the owners) are our own best watchers and can help control what is happening. In the same vain, there have been many incidents of persons bringing and eating food in the pool area and bringing glass bottles to the pool – this is not permitted and you should remind them. Also, we have noticed persons coming from the beach and cleaning feet in the baby pool or jumping in the pool to clean off, please remind them to use the shower before using the pools – sand causes serious problems with the filtration system and other filtering equipment in addition to extra labor to clean the pool and filters – help us alleviate these problems.
We also have been working on the AC tower. For years floors 3 down to lower lobby have had an AC/Heating problem due to lack of pressure and circulation. This was attributed to pump and motor on the roof. We replaced the old pump and motor and then electrical system on the roof. See the AC Problems description following this Newsletter for details.
The other half of this issue, heating, has been bid and we are awaiting arrival of the gas-valve-train on the boiler. The added pressure and circulation provided by the new pump and motor should help the heat flow to the 3rd floor down. If not, we may have to do redo some tower plumbing to fix the problem, it will be finished by the heating season.
While the cooling tower was down for pump-motor replacement the staff cleaned the tower which prompted the staff really hustling to purge the cooling system in various units that day and the next day.
The laundry room doors on 1, 2, 11, and 16 were stripped and repainted. We are also in the process of cleaning and hanging the AC access doors, on these four floors, with piano hinges and locks. Also putting trim around each opening. Looks much better and makes access to each hall AC easier and faster.
We now have a weekend cleaning person who cleans the parking areas, north and south, cleans the entry area windows, pool area, and generally whatever is needed on the outside of the building. He also sweeps the parking garage when needed. If you see him sweeping in the garage, ask him, back you car out, and he will sweep your space.
Six new umbrellas have been ordered and in place by the time you read this newsletter.
The high palm trees will be trimmed by Tuesday, June 30th.
We have replaced the tennis net and cable. The gate is now locked and you can get the key lobby desk.
We are making progress in the audit of several years back. Our biggest problem is finding all the financial and contract data for 2006 and 2007. We have requested all bank data from the Bank of America, received some, and requested more based on the auditors needs for more information.
Don't forget, next Board meeting August 5th, 2009 in the Clubhouse at 6:30 pm.
