Okay, so it's been a while since our last condo meeting. Here's what was discussed:
As you are probably aware of, the Koman Group has purchased the remaining units in the Motor Loft building.
Present at the meeting were Garrick Hamilton (General Counsel) and Julie Pangos (Vice President of Property Management).
They began the meeting by reassuring the owners that the Koman Group is committed to the property, and is interested in making it successful.
After their introductions, they opened the floor up to questions from those in attendance. The questions from the owners were:
Downtown Children's Center's representative Susan had a few concerns about the owners / renters respect for their property. She noted that some people's children were playing in the playground area after dark, and leaving the area in disarray for the children the next day.
She was also concerned that cigarette butts were being flung into the playground.
Another concern was that people were not picking up after their dogs, which could be a health concern for their licensing.
Her final concern was that owners/renters were using their dumpsters.
Jerry from Blue Urban was in attendance, and said that they usually used their maintenance guys to clean up when this occurred, but I'm sure the owners could help out our neighbors, and let others be more aware of these concerns if they see them happening.
Chad asked if condo fees were going to be affected by the new ownership.
Garrick and Julie assured him that no extreme jumps would occur, and also stated that a new budget would have to be proposed and voted on in a future meeting. The budget would determine the condo fees.
This brought up a related question from Maria, one of the property managers of one of the units. She wanted to know if insurance prices for the building had decreased over the years since the property values have decreased over the last few years.
Jerry stated that prices for insurance have held steady over the years, and did not decrease, therefore, condo fees have stayed the same since they were first decided upon.
Claire wanted to know if the owners would have a voice regarding building concerns since we are technically the minority owners in the building.
Garrick assured her that the Koman Group wants to have a good relationship with the owners, and would consider any suggestions from the owners; however they also want to look out for their own interests too. Since they own 65% of the properties, they do have a concern in what goes on in the building, but would have to carefully consider any spending, since they would have to pay for 65% of any purchases.
Neil and Claire were curious about the Koman Group's intentions for the properties. They wanted to know if they intended to keep them as rentals or if they planned on selling them in the future.
Garrick said that they are legally obligated to keep them as rentals until 2014. They plan on keeping them as rentals past that date, but that they would be willing to sell the units to owners if it made economic sense for his company.
There was a question about who we pay our condo fees to in the future.
Starting in August, we will pay our fees to Motor Lofts Condo Association , and the Koman Group will use their own company to manage the properties. We can still drop checks in the rent box if we want to.
Motor Lofts Condominium Association
c/o The Koman Group
6 CityPlace Drive, Suite 430
St. Louis, MO 63141
Rodemyer-Christel, Inc. is no longer involved with the property, but will forward to Julie any checks that may have been sent to them for July payments.
Neil asked if the Koman Group would offer the same Fitness Factory discounts to the owners.
Jerry explained how the process worked, and Julie said that they would be willing to try to continue the same process.
Julie said that she would like to beautify the building in the future, and perhaps put some art on the walls in the hallways.
Chris asked if the art would fit in with the urban sensibilities of the building, and Julie agreed with this.
Claire was curious if the screening for the renters would be as stringent or stricter than it is now.
Julie said that it will be as strict, if not stricter.
Neil had a question about insurance. He wanted to know what insurance the owners needed.
Basically, owners need "renter's insurance" which covers everything inside of the unit, including the drywall. Everything else is covered under the insurance in our condo fees.
Finally there was a vote for officers. For legal and business purposes, employees of the Koman Group were given the titles of Director and Secretary. Chris Matter (the author of this blog) was voted as Treasurer.
As usual, my role will be as a liaison between the owners and the property owners. If you have any concerns that you feel like you cannot bring to the Koman Group directly, contact me, and I will bring your concerns to them.
Also, I would like to keep in contact with all the owners of the building, so if I do not have your contact information, you can contact me at chris_mattler@hotmail.com.
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