Let me get the bad news out of the way first.
Simon is still in the hospital. Covid seems to have affected his lungs and the doctors have been unable to regulate his oxygen when he stands or walks. Our prayers are with him.
Apparently, there was a recent meeting of some owners at the building. It seems they are unhappy with the current concrete project and its progress and the effects that it may have had on them.
No one has the right to yell at Ali or any other of our employees. If you have an issue you can deal with it without making Ali cry. That is just unacceptable behavior and should never be tolerated. If I felt like spending another hour with this post, I could tell you all of the times Ali has managed to save us money and stepped up above and beyond what her job title is to help us manage this building.
The point was also made that Stan, Peter and Ali are not qualified to run a project like this. No kidding! I guess that is why, as I already said, we hired an engineering firm to set up and oversee the project. At various times we have had 9 engineers here to deal with our project within each engineer's specialty. What Stan, Peter and Ali have been doing is acting as go betweens to keep owners informed. All of the emails and website updates take me a lot of time and input from Peter, Ali, our engineers, our foreman and our contractor takes quite a bit of time and work. Keep in mind that our Rules do not permit owners to discuss the project with our contractors. That is why we spend so much effort communicating with you.
The Board was upfront from the very beginning and told everyone it would be expensive, dirty and loud. I am sorry to say that we were correct. When our accountant visited us and gave his presentation at the beginning of the project he said that this was the most difficult Job to be done in a condo. That is obviously not a lie!
According to our lead engineer, if we had waited we would have had balconies sagging, collapsing and being condemned within 4 to 5 years. We avoided that. If you think it is an exaggeration, read about the Champlain Towers outside Miami.
At this meeting, the "scope of work" was questioned. When we were about to undertake this onerous but necessary project, you were introduced to a representative from Hellas Engineering. He explained the project to us. He also was responsible for putting together the scope of work for contractors to bid on. No one in our building, that I know of, would have been capable of putting together a scope of work, that is why we hired an engineering firm to oversee and run the construction. They approve all billing by the contractor after checking that they are billing for work that was properly performed within the engineer's scope of work. All work is inspected to be sure it is up to code and actually done before the engineer will approve it for payment.
There were questions regarding the sliding glass doors and the shutters that some people wished to retain. The contractor repaired and refurbished each before reinstalling them, and they were inspected by an engineer as to the fact that they were operable and safe to use. Did we have issues with water leaking in through the sliders? That news is over a year old. The contractor brought in, at his expense, a well respected company that installs and repairs windows and doors. He taught our contractor's workers what to do upon reinstallation. The leaks were all repaired within a few weeks. By the way, my unit was involved in that as well.
The point was also made that they don't feel the Board hears their concerns. When we redid our website to make it more useful, I informed everyone that under the heading of "Forms" there is a form to submit Construction Questions. Those of you who submitted forms with questions got them answered within a day or two.
If a valid complaint is made, you should already know that I have been taking them seriously. But, if you are going to complain, check your emails and website postings. Odds are that you have already been given the information you are looking for. If you don't read what is sent to you I can't help you from feeling ignored, but I then feel ignored.
Apparently, a comment was made that the Board members should stop complaining that they are just volunteers. This person supposedly mentioned that he does not volunteer because he knows he hasn't got the time. Well, the Board members don't mind giving up their time, but we also do not deserve to be abused or taken advantage of.
Just a reminder that contrary to what was said at the meeting, I have not resigned from the Board. I resigned as President of the Board. I still own a unit in the building and my term does not end until a year from January. I agreed to stay on and continue assisting getting through this construction project. I can not just walk away and turn my back on the many wonderful people I have met at the Aristocrat. I apologize if I sounded harsh, but I truly object to the Board being accused of being uncaring and not doing what is necessary during this project, especially since most of you know the amount of work that has been put in by our Board and Ali.
AND NOW FOR THE NEWS, SPORTS AND WEATHER
1-The stack 6 final inspection is almost done. There are 2 units left where Ali is trying to coordinate our owners, who are here, with the contractors. This will get worked out and be done shortly.
2-The fire stairwell was 1/2 done for prep work, but the railing contractor can't get here for another week to install the new railings. I asked if there was any reason we couldn't just finish the whole string and get all of the new railings installed at once. The engineer agreed and that is what we are doing.
3-The parking deck is being prepared for the final surface coat, but a suggestion was made to put 2 layers of the final coat on so it lasts longer when cars are driving over it. The product representative is being contacted to find out if those final coats will adhere one to the other. In any case, at least one layer of final coating is scheduled to be applied next week.
4-Stack 7 will have shutters replaced for those people who are keeping them. It should take about two weeks.
5-Stack 8 will have their 2 sets of sliding doors replaced any day. The next 3 will be coming out. Ali will notify those owners involved. Stucco will start to be applied to balcony ceilings. The front of the building, stack 8 window section, has all of the wooden forms completed for the "eyelids." It is now ready for fresh concrete and then stucco and paint. Once that is completed the swing stage will move to the other side of the front, the stack 1 window section.
6-We know that there are several units that need glass replaced. The contractor was in touch with our glass guy. The new glass is still being shipped and has not yet arrived. You have not been forgotten!
7-Those of you who have not yet sent in your payment for the "Pam Lucas" assessment, you are late. Please get it in as soon as you can. Those of you who mailed it in and have not seen the checks cashed, please don't worry about late fees if your payment was delayed in the mail. We are checking post marks. Between the Canadian and the US Postal Services............ Yesterday the Pompano Post Office informed Ali that they have a mailed check that has been there for a month. They did not tell Ali why it took a month for them to notify her!
8-On Monday, you will see a new face in the office. Shayla will be trained to answer phones and emails. Ali is out of the office just too much with the current construction and everything involved with it. Ali will continue to be our representative with the construction and with any other projects. (She recently helped us arrange for and had the main roof redone.) We also need her to be able to deal with ordering and paying bills on time.
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