......
......

Minutes for 2002 September

Minutes
Altamont Patio Condominiums
Board Meeting
September 18, 2002
6:00 P.M.

Attendees:                Jeff Sfakianos, President

        Presley Burns, Grounds

        Denise O’Donnell

        Darry Crawford (D-21)

        Charles D. Chapman (D-11)

        Bart Jones, Metcalf

        Bob Lacey, Metcalf

Business:

                          Expenses
Metcalf provided a Financial Report  to all board members:

Balance in First Commercial Bank Account         $31,573.79

Balance in Metcalf Operating Account                  $(14,753.01)

Balance in Special Assessment Account         $39,591.28

Total Monies on Hand                                    $56,412.06
 
 

Past Due Fees

Randall Newland, E-1         with attorney (Howard)           $2,100 past due

The following units will be 3 months in arrears as of September 15, 2002:

·        Elizabeth B. Sweeney, B-15

·        Scott O. Boyd, D-2

·        Christopher Pursor, D-4

The following units will be 4 months in arrears as of September 15, 2002:

·        Denton Scott, A-12

·        Gifford B. Haynes III, C-3

·        Eric Jones, D-3

Late Fees

 Late fees will be raised to $35 effective October 1, 2002. Automatic payment plans were discussed and Bob Lacey suggested that individual banks provide a service plan for such payments.

Pest Control

Cook’s began covering pest services on August 1, 2002. The service will focus on common areas and service to the individual units can be obtained on request. Service will be provided on the second and third Tuesday of each month. Cook's can be contacted at 290-0890. The monthly rate is $335 which is to cover the carpenter bees that had not been covered with previous contracts.

Insurance Coverage

Insurance premiums were raised from ~$13,000 last year to $16,509 this year. The provider, Best Insurance Agency,  LLC. of Trussville, AL stated that the rate increases are due to, "the September 11, 2001 event in our country and the current market conditions of the stock market." Best Insurance Agency anticipates that rates will 'level off in a couple of years.'

It was also discussed that many owners are not aware of the need for or have chosen not to obtain a condominium owner's insurance policy. The policy is generally inexpensive (~$200-300 annually for $25,000 coverage) and can be obtained from the same underwriter that carries your car insurance.

Bylaws

Bylaws have been posted to the website. They can be found under the Association Documents pages.

Association Fees

The Association fees have been voted on with consideration of the proposed 2003 fiscal budget. The board voted on a pro rata increase. This means that the special assessment will be removed, and the monthly association fee will be increased to'

                    2-bedroom w/patio            $187 per month

                    1-bedroom w/patio            $147 per month

                    1-bedroom w/out patio      $114 per month

The rates are based on an average monthly income of ~$12,500 over the last 9 months and an average monthly expense of ~$11,500 each month. The anticipated monthly surplus will be helpful toward the goal of having a reserve account of $84,000 ($1,000 per unit). We had previously discussed other options which included having a new special assessment for particular projects, but it was suggested that the reserve account could be used to make a larger deposit on future jobs thus requiring a lower assessment in the future.

A new roof will be one of the future projects needed that has not been budgeted for nor specifically budgeted for.

Parking Lot

The board voted to give Bart Jones of Metcalf Realty the ability to award a bid to re-cover the parking lots, including painting stripes, leaving walk spaces at the top of the stairs on C-row and the bottom all all of the stairs leading toward the bottom parking lot, also stating the guarantee of workmanship, for $15,000 or less without further consultation by the board of directors. Dunn Construction had previously given a bid to repave with 1 1/2 inch asphalt and repaint for the price of ~$13,600. Bart suggested that he would obtain a 'fresh' bid from Dunn and check at other companies such as Colonial.

The current bids stated that a $1,000 fine would be imposed if all of the cars were not removed from the lot at the scheduled work day. The board voted and agreed that cars remaining in the lot, after adequate notice has been given regarding the work date(s), would be towed at the owners expense so as to avoid the fine on the condominium association.

Letters

2 letters are planned to be mailed out over the next several months. The first letter will state the pro rata increase of the monthly association fee, the new pest control company, and a reminder regarding owner's insurance. The second letter will be mailed out to announce the location and date of the 2002 annual association meeting. A third letter may be mailed out to recruit nominations for the board to be voted on for the meeting.

New jobs

1. The air conditioners on the upstairs platforms will be assessed and repaired as needed. It has been reported on several occasions that the upper platform on B-row and the same level platform on D-row require repair.

2. A wooden deck will be installed on the A-row to cover the ground and provide a place for the resident to grill food or enjoy the outdoors.
 
 

minutes documented by Jeff Sfakianos