Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Austin Court Condominium Association

January 9, 2008
12 Inman Street Unit # 64

The ballots of the election were collected, and the following owners were elected/re-elected as Trustees:

Denise Bredt
Gary Drescher
Jennie Panico
John Sheff
Voncile White

The new Board thereupon elected Officers as follows:

Gary Drescher (President)
John Sheff (Secretary)
Voncile White (Treasurer)

The new Board then voted to formally adopt a set of Rules and Regulations applicable to the Condominium, and to have copies of these be mailed out to all owners.

There was a discussion about security in the building, which was especially concerning given some recent incidents of vandalism, trespassing, and unauthorized entry in the building.

It was related that Gary and John had investigated the idea of a obtaining a web camera to monitor the lobby or other security areas in the building, but all the solutions discovered so far had various practical difficulties. The search would continue.

There was a discussion about the need to rebuild or replace the front door, which had recently been vandalized. A more secure metal door to replace the wooden door was a possibility, but was determined to be significantly more expensive. It was decided to use a wooden door one more time, in the interests of saving costs. If this one were to be irreparably damaged, a more secure door would be mandatory.

The issue of frozen-pipe damage due to insufficient antifreeze in the pipes was discussed,

New projects to undertake were discussed, among them the idea of refurbishing the inside lobby. Among other repairs to anticipate in the next few years are the T-111 replacement, roof covering replacement, and rebuilding of the roof deck. It was decided to postpone such issues until we had a better idea of budget (including, potentially, need for elevator repair) later in the year. There was a possibility mentioned of having an online discussion or in-person meeting dedicated to the subject of new projects later.

The meeting was then adjourned.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Austin Court Condominium Association

April 9, 2008 

12 Inman Street Unit # 65

The minutes of the January 9 meeting were approved.

There was a discussion to see whether there were additional ways to increase building security.

There was a request to check the operation of the front door security timer.

There was a decision to establish an interest-bearing account for the capital funds we're accumulating for an eventual elevator renovation.

Denise offered to try to get a new trellis and vine for the front of the building.

John was authorized to pursue renting an additional parking spot to Zipcar.

There was a discussion about renovating the front lobby. It was recalled that at the January 9th meeting Mary Beth Jowers had offered to work on this and the board wanted to contact her to follow up on this.

The next meeting will be on July 9th, in (tentatively) Denise's unit 41.

The meeting then adjourned.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Austin Court Condominium Association

July 16, 2008
12 Inman Street Unit # 41

The minutes of the April 9 meeting were approved.

John was elected by the Board as Treasurer.

The budget was reviewed. Raphael will be asked to set up a capital-reserve account into which funds would be placed for eventual use of elevator reconstruction. Withdrawal of funds from the account will require signatures from the President and the Treasurer (or else two of the five Trustees, if it can be set up that way).

In terms of the physical plant, the hole in the garage roof will be repaired. The Unit Owners in the 15-45 block will first be given two weeks to make any necessary repairs of potentially leaking bathtubs, then the hole will be repaired.

Lexine has volunteered to be the “Lobby Reconstruction Czar”, and will be assisted by Mary Beth and Ille. The group will present a proposal to:

• Cover up the drywall where necessary
• Paint the drywall or existing surfaces
• Replace the deteriorated carpet with a new carpet

The group will prepare a proposal including costs for approval by the Board.

There was a period of discussion regarding the proposed construction by the YWCA of a low-cost housing building on our block. John was given an authorization to spend up to $ 500 to consult with an attorney to ascertain what if any options Austin Court has.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 8^th, in Gary’s Unit 65.

The meeting then adjourned.

Minutes of the Board Meeting

 Minutes of the Austin Court Condo Association Meeting of October 15, 2008

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

The 2008 budget to date was reviewed.

The proposed budget for calendar year 2009 was reviewed.  There were no significant changes proposed from the 2008 budget. The proposed 2009 budget was accepted.

We reviewed the condition of the physical plant.

A number of current and proposed projects were reviewed:

·         The board discussed setting a date 5 years hence to undertake the elevator repair. However, after discussion it was decided that there would be no particular advantage to doing so.

·         There was extensive discussion of the lobby renovation project. The committee that volunteered to work on this made a thorough and professional presentation of the proposal they had developed. It was decided that the next step would be for the committee to get some cost estimates for the materials and labor – if possible, at least 3 bids or estimates. Once these estimates were in hand, the board would consider the proposal, either at a specially-called meeting or on-line. The maximum budget for the renovation had been set at $ 5000.

·         Landscaping would be put off until Spring. (Update: Denise Bredt, following this meeting, did a thorough pruning and clean-up of the front landscaped area, so that in the spring, the usual normal landscaping clean-up, with minimal pruning will need to be done.)

·         There have been problems in the parking lot ceiling that we may have to address.

·         It seemed sensible to repair the roof, T111, and roof deck all at once when it becomes necessary, but so far the roof has been holding up well. John offered to remove the derelict satellite dish on the roof to minimize the chances of roof deterioration it may be causing.

There was notice that the city would soon begin a Manhole Access-hole Separation project that could potentially affect sidewalk and street traffic and parking for up to a year.

The next meeting was set to be the Annual Meeting, and would be held on January 14, 2009, in Unit # 64 (John Sheff’s unit).

It was further announced that the board – unless it decides otherwise – would meet quarterly on the second Wednesday of every third month.  The meetings scheduled for 2009 would be on:

January 14, 2009 (Annual Meeting)

April 8, 2009

July 8, 2009

October 14, 2009 (Budget discussion for 2010).

The meeting was then adjourned.