View the official pdf version of the minutes
Board members: Clyde Horn, David Igl, Jesse Fitipaldi (via Zoom), Hal Dillon
BMC Personnel: Diane Sollinger, Dave Saraceno
Owners: In-Person: Bill Bomball, Ken Guzowski
Owners: Via Zoom: Rick Lowen, Lisa Bostwick
Motion: Clyde 2nd: Hal Unanimous
Motion: Clyde 2nd: Hal Unanimous
Beginning Cash Balance [01/01/2024] $264 prev: $18,696
Ending Cash Balance [01/31/2024] $9,813 prev: $264
BUDGETED Total Operating Income: $22,793 prev: $21,565
ACTUAL Total Operating Income: $22,948 prev: $22,417
ACTUAL Total Operating Expense: ($23,113) prev: ($18,574)
BUDGETED Total Operating Expense: ($22,793) prev: ($18,901)
BUDGETED Total Operating Income: $22,793 prev: $258,775
ACTUAL Total Operating Income: $22,948 prev: $254,573
ACTUAL Total Operating Expense: ($23,113) prev: ($253,429)
BUDGETED Total Operating Expense: ($22,793) prev: ($255,377)
$57,127 for riser work – primarily Riser L
$2,870 for routine elevator maintenance
$1,525 for annual fire system test
$850 for routine boiler maintenance
Opening Balance [01/01/2024] $538,698 prev: $517,718
Credits this Period $19,743 prev: $19,681
Debits this Period ($66,679) prev: $(0)
Change in Value this Period $1,569 prev: $1,299
Closing Balance [01/31/2024] $493,332 prev: $538,698
Primary Reserve balance: $143,091 prev: $130,556
Plumbing Reserve balance: $47,486 prev: $106,957
Goal of $300,000 in rotating CD funds:
CD #9 purchased, matures 03/05/2024
CD #10 purchased, matures 04/22/2024
CD #11 purchased, matures 05/20/2024
End of Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer’s Report Approval: Motion: Clyde 2nd: Hal UnanimousKen expressed his appreciation for the ongoing work of the WT HOA board and Bennett Management Company (BMC).
Rick asked about the scheduling of the plumbing work. They are having family visit and stay with them soon. They wanted to know if their water would be shut off at any time. He was told that up to now no unit has lost water for more than ? hour or so.
The BPP (Big Plumbing Project) is progressing well. It is a complicated remodel/installation.
The plumbing and drywall contractors are doing a very good job. Their work has passed all permit inspections.
Work is currently on the plumbing stack that serves the “02” kitchens. The next stack will be the stack that serves the “05” kitchens. That will be the last of the “easy” stacks.
The MMRC is gathering cost data and is more and more able to predict the cost of the work at future stacks.
Clyde: Nothing to report.
Suggested that WT hire an arborist to survey the condition of our trees. Possible concerns:
Penthouse owners request permission to get a water spigot installed on their patios. Anderson Plumbing (doing the BPP work) will do the work. The unit owners will pay for any design and labor costs. The board approved their requests.
Motion: Clyde 2nd: Hal Unanimous
Late-Fee waiver requests: We approved the requests. The problem was because of the recent increase in HOA dues.
Motion: Clyde 2nd: Hal Unanimous
MAE (Mortier Ang Engineering) invoices: Jesse will review invoices and determine if we should pay them without further discussion.
Odors from Mia Bella: The door from the hall into Mia Bella has been weather-stripped. The stylist has started using an odor-free perm solution. The problem may be fixed.
Garage door repairs. We are sending a letter to the person that damaged the door stating that we expect them to reimburse the HOA for the cost of the door repair and that they are also responsible for the cost of repairing their car.
Roof-top exhaust fan: this is the fan that ventilates the janitor closets. The board approved $880 to replace the fan.
Motion: Clyde 2nd: Hal Unanimous
Building insurance:
It was reported that two large insurance companies stated that if we replace all the problematic Zinsco Electrical Panels, they will consider providing us insurance.
We have several large Zinsco panels in the building that do not have the type of breakers that cause the problem with the small panels.
02/26/2024: We need to discuss and decide about building insurance. If we do not do something, we will be uninsured on 2/27/2024.
02/27/2024 @ 6:00 PM: HOA Annual Meeting: (This may be a hybrid meeting.)
Board members: Clyde Horn, David Igl, Hal Dillon
BMC Personnel: Diane Sollinger, Dave Saraceno
Owners: In-Person: Info not available.
Owners: Via Zoom: Info not available.
This meeting of the HOA board was scheduled because we had to deal with our building insurance. The deadline for renewal of our policy was the end of the day on 02/26/2024.
Review/approval of Insurance Proposal
Stipulated Judgment
Review of input needed from our attorney
We voted to accept the building insurance offer. We only had one offer.
Motion: Clyde 2nd: David Unanimous
We are paying more than four times as much for building insurance in 2024 than in 2023.
Also, our insurance deductible in 2024 is $25,000 compared to $5,000 in 2023.
This is because of changes in the insurance industry AND the existence of over 60 Zinsco electrical panels in living units at Willamette Towers.
This issue has to do with the recent death of a Willamette Towers unit-owner. We are asking our attorney to contact the attorney of the heirs of the deceased and determine how to proceed.
Is the HOA responsible for housing owners whose units become uninhabitable due to the plumbing work during the BPP (Big Plumbing Project)?
The gate repair issue after the entry gate was hit by a vehicle.
We ask our attorney to write the letter to the unit-owners in Willamette Towers regarding the increase in the insurance deductible change
Review of our bylaw insurance language
Can the HOA collect money through a special assessment to pay for the high insurance cost?
Notification and a Zoom link was sent to all owners via multiple emails asking for their proxies or attendance either in person or by Zoom.
Board members: Clyde Horn, David Igl, Hal Dillon
BMC Personnel: Diane Sollinger (in person), Dave Saraceno (via zoom)
Owners (in person): Jacob Ivy, Kathleen Gekiere, Richard Bomball, Bill Bomball, Rick Lowen
Owners (via Zoom): 10
Proxy votes: 40
2023 was a busy year, primary expense for the year was all the plumbing work completed.
The decision to redo the plumbing risers that were accessible from the hallway kept the costs down a bit, but still $70-$80k per riser is a chunk. We have learned along the way and have discovered efficiencies to cut the labor costs somewhat.
As the project work that is accessible from the hallways wraps up, the more invasive and expensive portion of the project will begin where we actually have to remove interior walls and fixtures to get to the plumbing.
This will usually entail plumbing inside a shared wall between adjacent units. One or the other of the owners will be inconvenienced by the demolition, install, and remodel of their kitchen and/or bathroom.
That portion of the project is still in the design stage and much discussion is taking place in order to minimize the costs and inconvenience.
More details will be shared as time goes on in 2024.
JAN: Purchased building insurance policy, Bike Room floor sealing, Plumbing valve replacement and spare.
FEB: Annual Meeting.
MAR: Bike Room ready, Replaced Zinsco panels in 1307 and 1309 [1311 was already done], $100k CD purchased.
APR: Plumbing and electrical expenses for first riser, 2nd CD purchased.
MAY: Plumbing 2nd riser begins, 3rd CD purchased.
JUN: Plumbing work continues, New Garage gate to lower level installed, 2nd floor balcony piping repaired, CD cashed in and then new $100k cd purchased
JUL: CD cashed in and then new $100k cd purchased, plumbing continues, Bid for alley fencing received
AUG: CD cashed in and then new $100k cd purchased, Fencing funded, Odors from Mia Bella in hallway, Owner ran into upper level garage door and damaged both car and gate, website software updated, Still waiting for window washing, New Way authorized to do survey and write reports on building panels.
SEPT: CD cashed in and then new $100k CD purchased, Plumbing work continues.
OCT: FEMA flood insurance premium paid, New Way survey funded, New balcony and decks safety policy implemented, CD cashed in and then new $100k CD purchased.
NOV: CD cashed in and then new $100k CD purchased, Elevator maintenance, Voted to raise HOA dues by 4%.
DEC: Alley fencing installed, Owners of 201, 202, & 208 will assume responsibility for balcony piping including winterizing, maintenance, and repairs. 2nd floor balconies are allowed to keep both their umbrellas and tarps. 13th floor units are not yet authorized.
The major challenge (2023 year and 2024) was to find and buy insurance coverage for the building. Our bylaws demand a certain level of coverage that is becoming very difficult to find and very expensive - due, for the most part, to the continued use of 50+ year old Zinsco electrical panels in 62 of our building’s units.
The insurance companies that are big enough for us to deal with [per the bylaws] have begun to refuse to cover any building with these panels installed.
The current cost for this year’s insurance is almost $80,000.00, and other bids were well over $100,000.00.
There are two main reasons for this outlandish price: The panels themselves have been shown to be fire hazards in the Insurance Companies’ claims records (which affects the availability and cost of coverage), and the sheer total of national losses the Companies have had to cover in the last two or three years due to natural disasters.
We will attempt to hold the line budget-wise in 2024 so we can avoid raising the HOA dues in order to cover the $80,000.00 cost, which is still more than 4 times our usual costs.
Finding insurance coverage AT ALL next year will likely require either;
Replacing all the old panels, - OR - increasing the HOA dues to cover the increased costs (whatever they may be, and IF we can even buy coverage) going forward - that’s in addition to any other reason for increasing the dues.
This means that each unit would see an increase of ~$100+/month starting next year.
We could end up without any coverage at all, simply because we still have the dangerous and outdated panels in some of our units.
The insurance marketplace is getting much much tighter and outrageously expensive.
We have had an Electrical Contractor survey the building and inspect all the big distribution panels which are fine, so the unit panels that the Insurance Companies abhor are the only elements that must be upgraded.
Since we are required to purchase insurance at suitable levels of coverage, and only from Companies that are rated solvent and large enough to handle losses, we, the Association, are authorized to have all the panels replaced and bill the owners of the units.
Owners can choose to get their own contractor to replace their panel at their own expense, but must work in cooperation with the WT Office to make sure we can document for the Insurance Companies that we have replaced all the old and dangerous panels.
If you choose to get your own contractor, that’s perfectly acceptable.
If you wish to join in on the project, we may be able to secure better pricing by buying a large quantity of panels at the same time - we are still looking at possibly doing that.
If you refuse to do either, we will still send our own contractor into your unit with a panel and bill you for the parts and labor via your HOA account.
Bottom line is, that ALL the panels must be replaced no later than September 1, 2024 so we can be assured of obtaining insurance AT ALL.
This date was chosen so we can have time to identify the hold outs, wait for the parts to be ordered and received, the installation and testing to happen, and still have time to shop, find, and purchase, more affordable building insurance by this time next year.
The Association has three lines of income: “Dues,” “Rent,” and “Other.”
Dues account for 76% of budgeted income, Rent for 19%, and Other for 5%.
The Association maintains a checking account into which these lines of income flow. From the Checking Account, a fixed amount is transferred monthly into a Reserves Account held with Morgan Stanley.
The reserves are differentiated by the Association between “Primary Reserves” and “Plumbing Reserves,” but all reserve funds are held in a single Morgan Stanley account.
Primary Reserves: $130,556
Plumbing Reserves: $106,957
CDs $300,000
Dues: $196,143 $196,225
Rent: $49,050 $44,574
Other (laundry, late fees, etc.) $13,855 $13,500
Total Operating Income: $254,573 $258,775
Gate Maintenance $8,834 $6,000
Storm Water $2,834 $2,807
Water $12,527 $13,625
Sewer $12,050 $13,622
Electricity $16,881 $15,902
Natural Gas $9,800 $8,200
Property Insurance $31,436 $28,560
General Maintenance $2,164 $3,000
Maintenance Supplies $4,244 $7,500
Maintenance Contract $19,611 $17,300
Elevator Maintenance $9,934 $11,500
Garbage $5,195 $5,005
Telephone $5,302 $5,300
Professional Fees / Consultation $3,768 $4,000
Promotion, Gifts, Travel, Education $50 $0
Site Management $65,804 $61,000
Administrative Management $25,286 $25,286
Office & General Supplies $2,765 $2,500
Taxes & Licenses $6,672 $12,000
Additional Grounds Work $0 $1,000
Grounds Contract $3,520 $3,520
Window Cleaning $5,000 $7,000
Reserve Study Expenses $750 $750
Total Operating Expense $253,429 $253,377
The Plumbing Riser Project is proceeding. Work is passing permit inspections. We are also gathering information about the costs of the remaining risers.
Also, it was suggested that we put Riser Project updates on the bulletin board and put notices on unit doors when a unit will be impacted by the plumbing work.
See the President’s Annual Report, paragraphs March, July, October, and December.
“Green Tips” are being put on the bulletin board in the mail room.
The committee is providing information about trash and recycling disposal.
Tax credits may be available to help with the cost of replacing the Zinsco electrical panel.
The bike room has spaces available ($9/month).
We will have an arborist come and check all our trees for health and appropriateness.
The board seats of Clyde Horn, Alex Howe, and David Igl were up for election.
All three agreed to run for reelection and they ran unopposed.
We had enough voters present and proxy votes. All three were reelected.