Minutes from October Board Meeting

The winter has arrived.  Please remember to be careful when walking up the stairs at both doors, they can be slippery before the snow removal company arrives.  Also please remember to keep your windows and doors closed on cold days.  The cold air could freeze the water in the pipes and they could burst, this would be a hefty special assessment for owners if we had to fix pipes.

What's going on these days?

1.  Reno's are coming soon. Some of you may have run across the board looking at carpet and paint swatches over the last couple months.  It is great to have a couple new board members, it allowed us to do a vote to make the final selection.  It was a very close vote of 4 to 3 but we all happy with the outcome.  We are waiting for the final quote to ensure we can manage both the carpet and the painting costs and then we will put together a schedule to do this work.

What can you expect during this process? 

• This will require access to units as certain times.  We are going to post a large calendar of events in the front lobby, post to the blog and potentially mail out notices. 
• The painters have to open your door to paint around the door and trim. 
• We have all decided to place rubber on the stairs from the main level to parkade.  This is a high traffic area and the carpet takes a beating,  the rubber will last longer, look great and match with the carpet and tile.
• We are all very excited about the face lift our building is going to get.  Now the halls will look as great as our units! 
• None of us love to make arrangements to allow the contractors into our units, it is a pain in the butt.  This will be short term pain for long term gain!

2.  Thank you for your cooperation during the Fire Alarm testing.  It was very successful and was successfully completed.  It is a very important process, we did replace fire detectors is a few units as they were not operating as efficiently as they could be.  Safety is very important and we are glad to see you are all committed to keeping our building safe from fire.  We are done for another year.



3.  An updated Reserve Fund Study is available.  Owners can request a digital copy from Connelly.


4.  We are now into the winter months and will of course be faced with the same things as most winters.  A few reminders...

• When it gets really cold the garage door acts up, the sensor is set off by the collision of hot and cold air.  This causes the door to go up a down a few times in a row.  Not ideal, we know, but something we have to deal with.  We have had many people out to look at our garage door and everything is functioning perfectly.  This is not a isolated problem, many buildings with similar designs run into the same issue in the winter.
• We will be reinforcing the importance of keeping the driveway clear of snow.  I don't have winter tired and it can be a frustrating event to try and get up the incline after having to stop to open the door with the key. 

Not too much else to report.  As always if you have any questions please contact Connelly directly. 

Thank you,
Expresso Condo Board

Fire Inspection Reminder

IMPORTANT

The Annual Fire alarm Inspection by PDS Fire Protection will be taking place at The Expresso on:

September 12^th2013 between 8:30 AM & 12:00 Noon

Please be available to let the inspectors in your unit during this time. If you cannot be home at this time please make other arrangements by leaving a key with your neighbour.

OR

If you will not be home and need to provide Elaina a key please drop it off during the following times:

Monday, September 9, 7:00 - 9:30p

Wednesday, September 11, 5:00 - 7:00p

You will not be able to slip an envelope under the door as there is a door seal in place (as originally instructed). Please write your first and last name, unit number and phone number on the envelope so it can be returned to you later on September 12.

Thank you,

Expresso Condo Board

 

Contact Elaina (403 650-7498) if you need more information or visit the blog.

Elaina, board member, has volunteered to accompany the inspectors that day.

Thank you for your co-operation

Connelly & Company Management

August 28^th 2013.

2012-2013 Expresso Condo Board Update Letter

The Expresso Condo board would like to provide you with highlights of the past year and communicate the plans for the upcoming year.  Overall, there were no major issues this past year and the condo remains in a good financial position.

The main expenditures in the past year include the replacement of the domestic hot water recirculation line in the first floor ceiling which was a source of repeated leaks, the installation of a backflow preventer on the sprinkler system to ensure the condo is compliant with the city’s by-laws and recently the replacement of the hot water boiler.  The majority of these expenditures will be charged to the 2013 fiscal year.

Financial update

The 2012 fiscal year covers March 1, 2012 - February 28, 2013.  The year-end audit was completed for 2012 with no qualifications.  As of February 28, 2013, our net asset position strengthened to $174 thousand from $154 thousand in 2012.  This was due to higher revenue over expenses for the year-ended February 28, 2013 compared to the prior year ($12 thousand increase).  The main reason for this was lower repair costs and a prior year insurance deductible that did not reoccur in the current year.  Although cash slightly decreased by approximately $4 thousand compared to the prior year, this was partly due to a transfer of $10 thousand from our operating fund to reserve fund.

A new five year reserve fund study was completed in 2013.  Although this did not result in a condo fee increase for the 2013-2014 budget, we will assess how the revised budget will impact future years, including any potential condo fee increases.

Forward-looking items

The budget strategy being implemented by the board is to keep the condo fee increases to a minimum and use special assessments to cover a couple specific reserve fund purchases.  The first of which will be for new carpets.  As the current carpets are badly worn, the board is planning to replace all the common area carpets this fall.  The hallways will be re-painted this year (or early next year) giving our home a fresh new look.  Once the board finalizes the quote for the carpet, more details on the special assessment will follow.

The condo board is always looking for more members, so if you are interested in having a say in the running of the condo please contact Connelly and Company.

We look forward to seeing you at the AGM. 

Best Regards,

signed “the Espresso Condo Board”

AGM Reminder

It is important to attend the AGM on September 4^th at 7:00pm...

WHY?

The board will be discussing:

• The expenditures the condo has encountered over the past year, some unplanned.
• The audit report outlining our financial position.
• Increases coming to the condo fees and a special assessment for all units.  The Reserve Fund Study was completed and outlines what work needs to take place on our building, now and in the future.  The board will be discussing the strategy being implemented to keep condo fee increases low and use special assessments on certain projects.  You will receive a letter from the President with some additional detail; exact numbers will not be presented at the AGM as they are still in progress.

You will be receiving an AGM package in the mail.  Please review the information and come with your questions, we are happy to address them.  If you can’t attend the AGM it is critical you complete and submit the Proxy sheet to ensure we are able to go ahead with the meeting.  We need 25% attendance the run the meeting. 

Thank you for your attention to the AGM and proxy, it is important the meeting can run so the board members don’ have to try to re-schedule.

See you next week,

Expresso Condo Board

ANNUAL FIRE INSPECTION - September 12, 2013

ANNUAL FIRE INSPECTION - September 12, 2013

The annual fire inspection is here again.  You will receive a notice in your mailbox and under your door.  It is important you are either home during the inspection or provide a key in a marked envelope to Elaina in Unit 312.  

If you plan to provide a key lease make sure the envelope has the following information to access your unit and to return the key:

1. First and last name
2. Unit number
3. Phone number

We are charged a penalty for each unit we can't get in which we have to take out of the condo fee contributions.   Please be considerate make arrangements so the condo doesn't incur any unnecessary fees. Also if there was ever a fire and it was traced back to your unit and the inspections were not complete the owner of that unit will be help responsible for the damage and the costs associated with the first department coming to the building (not fun).

Thank you,

Expresso Condo Board

Save the date: AGM meeting September 4th

You will be receiving an official AGM meeting letter in the mail.  Please save the date on your calendar - September 4th.

New to a condo building? What is an AGM?

The AGM (Annual General Meeting) is held once a year and all condo owners are invited to attend. The meeting gives owners a chance to ask questions and discuss current issues.  Click here for more information. This is also when the new condo board is chosen, we have room on the board.  It requires about 2-5 hours a month depending on what's happening.  This is a small amount of time and an important job to ensure the building is being maintained properly and your investment is protected.  Give it some thought.

See you on September 4th!

Expresso Condo Board

Do you want to help clean up from the flood?

I think we can all be thankful for the hill we live on.  Of course many people weren't as lucky.

If you have time and energy you can get involved.  Check out Twitter @yychelps or just go down to the registration centre in Mission to sign up and head out.  Click here for more information.

Follow by email

If you would like to be notified when a new post has been made to this blog please enter your email address in the "Follow by email" box on the right hand side of the page.

Thank you,

Vent Cleaning

The board recently discussed vent cleaning.  As it is a significant bill that we haven't budgeted for, we decided to wait until fall to make the decision at that time.  

 

In the meantime...

 

Please keep on eye on your dryer vents as spring and therefore nesting season has arrived.  If you do have a problems with your dryer vent, please contact Connelly.

Thank you,

Expresso Condo Board

Spring has Sprung!

The nice weather has begun and it is lighter much later, this could only mean Spring is here.  Winter can seem like it goes on and on and the condo seems impossible to keep clean.  Winter can take it's toll so we are focused on cleaning it up.  Like always we do a bit at a time based on other city Spring clean up initiatives   For example, we don't sweep out the parkade until the city completes the street sweeping.  Let the clean up begin.

1.  Rocky Mountain Landscaping - Will continue to service Expresso

You can expect the following Spring/Summer services (will post similar outline for Fall.Winter when the time comes): 

• Spring clean-up: leaf removal  weeding of flower beds, power raking, aerating, fertilizing, little removal, tree pruning, sweeping of all roadways, sidewalks and exterior parking stalls and general site clean-up.
• Litter detail: to be completed during the Spring clean-up
• Summer lawn maintenance (April-September): this includes weekly lawn maintenance services including mowing  trimming, edging of flowerbeds and plants  tree trimming as required, clearing of grass trimmings from sidewalks and weeding of flower beds, any other misc. maintenance related to these activities.

2.  Parking - frequent parking in unauthorized area in the alley next to the electrical poll: 

We have noticed a truck and SUV have been parking next to the electrical poll in the back alley.  Unfortunately this is not a parking spot and therefore not assigned to anyone in the building.  This area is not zoned to be a parking spot and it is unfair for people to take advantage of this area when others are following the rules by not parking there.  This is the final warning and the next time we notice a car there it will be towed at the owners expense.  

3.  Carpet cleaning - the carpets will be deep cleaned this Spring.  Carpet replacement will be factored into the next reserve fund study.  Once the study is complete the board will decide if we should replace them sooner.  

4.  Reserve fund study - is currently in progress by Clear Path.  The study will outline all the building maintenance needed over the next number of years and estimate the costs associated.  Once complete the board will review and do the proper financial planning needed to ensure the condo fees can cover the costs.  More to come.  It is required we have a reserve fund study completed every 5 years.

5.  Air compressor - PDS fire protection suggested we replace the air compressor, a component of our sprinkler system to ensure proper functionality.  This work will proceed.  We will also be using PDS to complete our fire inspections going forward.

6.  Last but not least - THANK YOU for your patience on the first floor ceiling repair, it was a treat to see if complete and they did a great job.  Can barely tell there was a huge gaping hole lol.

Thanks all for now folks, Happy Spring and be kind to your neighbors.

Expresso Board of Directors



Winter Update

Hello,

Here are some updates from the December board meeting.

1. Ceiling repairs on the 1st floor.  After speaking with multiple contractors there is no guarantee insulating the pipes in the ceiling will help decrease the temperature on the second floor.  The board has approved a quote from Guardian Condo Care to proceed to repair the roof on the first floor.  This work will commence very soon.  Thank you very much for your patience on this matter and apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
2. Once the repairs are complete on the first floor the hallway will be cleaned.  Winter does take a toll on the carpet.  More to come on the carpet replacement once the reserve fund study is complete (see #5).
3. To ensure our building meets all cities bylaws in terms of fire safety we are required to install a back flow device for our sprinkler system.  A quote from Fahrenheit 451 has been approved by the board and will commence soon. 
4. The board is pleased with the service Connelly & Company has provided and has renewed the contract with them for another three years ending February 2016.
5. It is time to have a full Reserve Fund Study done on our building.  Clear Path Engineering will assess the property in great detail and provide a report to determine when repairs will be needed to the building.  From there the board partners with Connelly to budget appropriately.  The details of the report will be released once it is complete.  This will take a few months, more to come.  For more information about what is reserve fund study is check out the Clear Path website. 
6. Next meeting is scheduled for February 12.  As always please send Connelly a note if you have any questions, concerns or comments.

Hope everyone is having a good winter!

Thank you,
Expresso Condo Board