Dear Owners,
At this time, we would like to thank you all of those who were able to attend last week’s meeting. We appreciate your questions, concerns, and suggestions. Official meeting minutes will be available after approval the next Board meeting. In the meantime, we would like to provide you with a brief synopsis.
The special assessment in the amount of $1,000,000 was approved. You should have already received a letter via email from the Management company with the schedule and amounts per stack. Additionally, you will receive a letter in the mail at your official mailing address, if you have not already. Timely payments are critical. If you have any questions regarding payments, please contact our Property Manager, Tiffany, at tmarsters@dstpm.net
Our Board Treasurer, Richard Witkowski, led the meeting with a detailed explanation of the necessity and contents of the special assessment. He also addressed several questions and concerns from the owners. The Board is fortunate to have Richard volunteer his expertise and extensive knowledge of accounting and construction.
The current costs far exceeded the original contract price, see the breakdown below.
Per the most recent RobMar change order:
• The original contract sum was $814,870.50.
• Net change by authorized change orders $1,884,986.90.
• The contract sum with this change order was $2,699,857.40.
2019 SA Concrete Restoration Line Item - $1,123,578 2021 SA Concrete Restoration Line Item - $746,550 TOTAL Already Assessed for Concrete - $1,870,128 2023 SA Concrete Restoration Line Item - $750,000 Total Including 2023 SA for Concrete - $2,620,128
Some items on the 2023 special assessment were listed on previous assessments. Unfortunately, those funds were used for concrete restoration. Instead of stopping the work and collecting funds again, we used the existing monies. When a special assessment is created, the list of projects is a goal. Legally, those funds can only be used for the listed items. However, sometimes items are underestimated. In this case, we were unable to get to all the projects on the previous special assessments’ list. Therefore, this new assessment is crucial for the remainder of concrete restoration AND the other items.
To answer questions about concrete restoration, Kevin from Hellas Engineering joined the zoom call. He spoke about the extent of concrete work that had been discovered once the project was underway which caused the project to take more time and money than originally anticipated. Kevin explained how each aspect of all the work done by RobMar is extensively and carefully inspected by him. Kevin and Rich (Board Treasurer) briefly explained the punch list procedure: final inspection, owner provides punch list to Management, Kevin reviews and explains which items are contractor responsibility and which items are owner responsibility. We are grateful to Kevin for his time and expertise.
Another topic that was raised was the Desert Air unit that provides air conditioning for the hallways. At a prior Board meeting, we informed you all the difficulties the AC unit was having and warned you that we may need to replace the unit. To replace the Desert Air unit, it would cost a few hundred thousand dollars – ballpark guess. Since we began investigating the issue, we have spoken to about a dozen engineers/contractors/experts. Recently, we have been receiving conflicting information. A few have said the unit needs to be completely replaced. Others have said that with certain repairs made we can get the unit to function properly. We do not want to preemptively replace the unit unless we are absolutely positive that it is necessary. Our management team is working on obtaining a completely independent engineer to fully evaluate the system and determine if it needs to be replaced or what repairs can be made. Additionally, we explored legal avenues for retribution from the installation company. A unit owner came forward and expressed that she has documentation that can help us. Unfortunately, this owner has requested a private board meeting to share the documentation. Our attorney from Becker and Poliakoff also joined the meeting via zoom. He addressed this owner directly at the meeting. Our attorney informed the owners the Board cannot meet with an individual unit owner in a closed meeting. He encouraged her to be forthcoming with the information for the benefit of the community. Our management team is more than willing to make copies or scans of any documentation an owner has that can help with this process. We hope this unit owner brings the documentation to the management office.
A resident brought to our attention items on the property that need attention. He scheduled a property walk with Tiffany and Henry. It has already been completed and several work orders have been created. Thank you for your time. If any resident sees something, we encourage you to notify Tiffany. She will create a work order for the maintenance team or contact the appropriate vendor.
Another suggestion was to provide construction change orders and documents to the owners. Since the meeting, Tiffany has completely updated the Aristocrat website. She uploaded several construction documents. You can visit the website at aristocratcondo.org
Lastly, thank you to all the owners and our management team for your continued dedication to the community.
Kind regards, The Aristocrat Board of Directors
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