Because of a family commitment, I wasn't able to attend the meeting Thursday, but I did forward all of your concerns to Jerry and Jenni before the meeting, and asked them to address them at the meeting. Leslie attended and took copious notes, so I think I can accurately relay the minutes of the meeting.
The meeting was to address two issues: passing the budget and listening to owners' concerns. The budget was passed. Jerry distributed a list of revenues and expenses with actual numbers instead of estimated numbers. I will pass this on to you individually, in case you didn't receive a copy. The good thing about having a full building is that it gives us a good idea of the expenses and services that will be needed for the building in the future.
Trash - A question was asked about trash pick up. Right now, trash is picked up twice a week and the cardboard recycling is picked up once a week. Around the holiday, trash did get a little heavy, but besides that twice a week seems to be working well for the building. As always, Jerry said that if you have a concern, feel free to contact Blue Urban or your Director.
I had a concern with the large trash that was being left in the hall by the dumpster and on the dock. There is often furniture, Christmas trees, and other large items that the waste management company isn't picking up. The burden of the disposal then falls onto the building, which means that our maintenance guy is hauling trash to the dump instead of taking care of the building.
Jerry is looking into getting some sort of bulk pick-up for our building, but in the meantime Blue Urban will circulate a letter informing people that they cannot just dump their trash in our hall. This is already in the renters' leases. Two of the people who dumped their Christmas trees were identified by Blue Urban and fined for their actions.
Jerry is also concerned about the safety of allowing Christmas trees in the building because they could be a fire hazard. Next year, renters may not be allowed to bring real trees into the building.
A question was brought forth by James Leonard about the phones in the budget. (James has been an owner for a while, but this was his first condo association meeting) Motor has five phone lines (2 for the elevators, 1 for the HVAC, 1 for the front door, and 1 for the fire monitoring system) and because we are a company, we have to pay commercial phone rates, which are a lot more expensive than a residential line.
A few owners who could not attend the meeting had several issues that I asked Jerry to address:
Snow removal - An owner was concerned with the parking lot being cleared in a timely manner, since it is part of the condo fees.
Jerry's response was that, unfortunately, Blue Urban had switched snow removal companies the day before it snowed, so Motor was last on the list to be cleared. In the future, there shouldn't be a problem with snow removal. He also pointed out that plowing the lot isn't a great idea early in the morning with all of the cars still on the lot.
This also brought up a question about an initial response to snow removal for the people parking in the garage, because of the difficulty of getting out of the garage with snow on the ground.
Jerry said that Jake (the maintenance man) will try to keep the area in front of the garage clear during snow days from now on.
There was also another issue concerning ice on the ground in the area when you walk out the back door. This is caused by water dripping from the top of the building and freezing in that spot.
It was decided that a 5 gallon bucket of ice melt will be left by the door so that people can spread some in that area if it gets icy.
Another issue was window washing. An owner was concerned that their windows were not washed in October.
Jerry wants the owners to make sure that they contact Blue Urban immediately if they believe a service has not fulfilled by a contractor. That way Blue Urban can call the contractor to come out and rectify the situation. If you wait several weeks or months, there is less that they will be able to do.
An owner at the meeting commented that the window cleaning wasn't very thorough, and that the window sills do not get cleaned.
Animals defecating in the basement - This was an issue with which both the owners and Blue Urban were concerned, but I'm happy to report that the perpetrator has been caught and fined. This person wasn't a renter, but was a friend of a renter and the situation has been rectified. The renter had to sign another lease and pay an extra pet deposit. If this incident happens again, they will be evicted.
Jerry noted that it is all of our responsibility to keep and eye out for our building, and to report any behavior like this to Blue Urban. If you are not comfortable confronting the person, then pass along the information to Jenni.
Size and number of animals - One owner thinks that some people have too many animals, and that some of the dogs are too big.
Renters cannot have more than two animals and they cannot be more than 60 lbs. If anybody is out of compliance, report them to Blue Urban.
Owners, according to the charter (declaration 1:gg (pg. 6)), cannot have more than two dogs (not heavier than 70 lbs.), three cats, birds and fish. Also, according to by-law 12.12 (pg. 23) the Board can ask any pet to be removed from the building, or ask the owner to leave a pet deposit.
There was an incident with a dog-on-dog attack. The dog's owner was forced to remove the dog from the building.
Basement clean-up - A couple of owners are concerned with the rules that are not being followed regarding the new basement rules. There are still a number of people who have items in their parking spaces.
Basically the response to this is that those people were fined. They have been given notice that they must pay their fine and clean up their spaces or Blue Urban will begin the eviction process. (For owners, a lien will be put on their property until they pay)
Renting properties is a legal minefield. Blue Urban cannot just do whatever it wants. They cannot just move people's property without their permission. Only after a person has been evicted can they begin the process of moving that person's stuff out of the building (at their expense).
As evident in the basement rules that we defined, there should be no items stored in the inner ring parking spaces. Only the owners will be allowed to store things in the outer ring of parking spaces, with a few exceptions. Because of legal reasons, the people who signed a lease and stored things in the basement prior to the rules being put in place will be allowed to keep their storage until their lease is up. At that time, they must sign a new lease, which will not allow them to store items in the basement.
Blue Urban is also looking into power washing the basement in the near future.
Smoking - Owners can smoke in their units, renters cannot. Nobody can smoke in the common areas. If you see anyone smoking, report it to Blue Urban. This also includes pot smoking. One owner took exception to people smoking pot in the building. If you believe your neighbor is smoking pot, contact Jenni to rectify the issue. If Jenni is not available, she says to call the police. She says she has only received one complaint so far about a person smoking pot in their residence, and that issue has been addressed.
Security and Cameras - Cameras will be $8000 a year. Blue Urban is considering placing three cameras all in the parking lot.
Some of the owners questioned the effectiveness of cameras as either a deterrent or as a way to identify criminals. Some people wanted a camera in the lobby too.
Lobby - Packages are still being stolen. This was addressed at a previous meeting, and Blue Urban's position is "get packages delivered at your own risk". It's probably not a good idea to let packages sit in the lobby for a long period of time. Either pick up your packages immediately or have them delivered to Blue Urban, and pick them up during business hours.
There have also been a lot of issues with the trash can in the lobby. People have been dumping large amounts of trash and dog poop in that tiny can, so Blue Urban has decided to remove it from the lobby.
Renting out your unit - If you would like to rent out your unit, Blue Urban would be happy to assist you in leasing your unit. There will some management fees involved. Contact Jenni for more information. If you'd like a copy of the lease, that can be provided.
Rec. Center - Kevin is in the middle of a project at the old DCC site. He had been in touch with his bank, and they will discuss the rec. center for Motor after construction begins on the old DCC project. No promises, but it sounds promising.
One owner told me to pass along the concern that rules are not being followed by everyone in the building. Blue Urban asks that you contact them with any of your concerns when you see something that is wrong. They would like to point out that the fines and warnings given out for the Christmas trees, dog pooping in the basement, and storage in the basement are proof that they are concerned with the building and that rules are being followed.
