Portofino South, West Palm Beach, Board Meeting March 15, 2016
All board members present except K G who called in around the middle of the meeting.
It was announced that the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm going forward, Frank the manager will hold an open meeting. He invites all condo owners to come in and ask questions or voice complaints.
Martha board president mentioned that the four white boxes surrounding the entrance fountain were removed since nothing will grow because of the wind and chemicals in the fountain.
Martha also mentioned that the board would be willing to take questions or comments from the audience after the board has discussed a topic
A letter from B L about the website was brought up by BG. She said she had not seen it before she saw it in her packet before the meeting. H M said she had received it a week ago and took it upon herself to answer it. She read her letter saying the board had chosen the least costly option and the purpose of informing the owners was achieved. BG said the website was inadequate and that it was not generating that much info. GD mentioned that they had looked at much more expensive websites and rejected them. He had not been on the website yet. BG mentioned that condo owners should be automatically notified with new postings….one service which does that is called Constant Contact. The office said they were looking in to it.
GD gave financials: two condos in arrears for two months
Pool Discussion:
The total cost of repair was around $31,000. Still holding final payment as there are four missing tiles.
BG wanted a full accounting for the pool.
Pool project is complete and the temperature is holding at 86 degrees. Seems there is no more water leaking. Before it was leaking 3 to 4 inches a day. Auto fill is working.
Cooling Tower:
As it is so old that the whole thing might have to be rebuilt, we are talking about a large amount to repair. Engineer is being sought for this project.
Redoing the parking lots:
Redoing the parking lots is complicated by drainage problems. The board was given two engineers to choose from.
As there are three coats of sealant already on it, to fix sinkholes the ground must be dug up at least one or two feet for it to be refinished. The drainage problem could be handled in two different ways either by laying new pipe or by blowing new pipes into the old ones.
The city will get involved and will demand handicap parking on this side and dividers every 10 spaces. We will have to conform to current city code. We will lose some spaces.
We will have to hire site planners and landscapers who hopefully can deal with the city
This project could run about $500,000.00. Timeline is about 4 months.
M L asked if we could appeal some code requirements. It was mentioned that is what the site planners can help us do.
WE COULD BE ASKED FOR EACH CONDO OWNER TO BE ASSESSED
Sauna:
Frank’s work to clean it up was not successful so it has to be redone. Estimates were given for the special wood and the installation which is separate. Labor would be around $ 2500 ( Designer Builder)and cost of wood ( Finlanda) is about $2525. Board did not approve the expense as only one carpenter bid had been submitted.
A guest in # 912 was interviewed as she is staying longer than a month.
Decorating committee met
The audience asked:
Do you have flip or transfer taxes in Florida?
We should have a project manager as these jobs are so large and technical. We have three large jobs to complete and coordinated.
We are lucking to have Greg doing as much as he does.
PR said if we are thinking of spending such large amounts of money we should try to get good estimates for the projects and then tell the condo owners, who might want to sell their apartments.
All these contracts must be sent to the lawyer for review. The pool contract wasn’t sent to the lawyer, as it adds expense up front.
Frank called the insurance people and the pool lighting is sufficient for extended night hours. The pool is now open till 9:30 along with the barbecue.
Hopefully people will be respectful of noise. Doorman should be called with noise complaint and to check if the grill is shut off.
Status of the Docs:
BG deferred to PA
Once the docs (containing bylaws, rules & regulations, articles of incorporation) are finished the lawyer has instructed the board to give them to the condo owners for a yes or no vote, all or nothing. They have been in the works for about three years. The rules and regulations must be in your declaration of condo by laws, not separate, or they have no teeth.