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| Starfish III, IV & V Meeting Minutes 2010 - 2011 |
| Starfish III, IV & V Condo Association Owners Meeting April 24, 2010 - 10:00 am North Side Park Recreation Building, Ocean City Present Starfish Board of Directors Shipley Management Twenty two (22) condo units present or represented by proxy, a quorum was held. Old Business Bike racks have been built, galvanized and installed in all three-garage areas. The bike rack materials and construction costs have been largely covered by Walkersville High School Shop Students, and galvanized by Manny Gomes brother. The Board of Directors has added a standard insurance rider for employee dishonesty coverage from ING, our insurance agent. Multi-year construction initiatives including roofs, railings, stairs, utility boxes and hatches have been successfully finished with the most recent completion of the roof hatch phase. o The roof work on all three buildings is now finished and replacement of the hatches concludes the multi-stage efforts over the past 12 months. o The roofs have been repaired and resurfaced using proven engineering and construction methods in ocean areas. o The roof construction comes with a 12 year warranty and includes hurricane proof compressor stands. o The Board of Directors obtained multiple bids and provided oversight and some equipment that was needed, which reduced the original estimate by more than $10,000. The dryer fan vent pilot is underway in Building 4 and will continue with additional tuning for the air switch. If the Board of Directors deems the pilot successful, additional dryer fans can be added. The fan helps draw air through the common dryer vent tubes, which decreases the drying time needed and condensation build up that may eventually cause rust in owners dryers. New Business Paint damage caused by over-spray of black paint in the garage area of Bldg 3 was repainted. Someone carelessly spray painted something in the garage and left a big mess on the wall. The Board of Directors has announced the next Owners Meeting on April 23, 2011 @ 10:00 am at the same location (Northside Park Recreation Building) as this years meeting. The Board of Directors has decided to amend the current policy regarding the use of bird feeders and flag holders. Bird feeders will be permitted on a case-by-case basis using Board approved hardware. Owners may now mount flag holders on the railings only if they use Board approved method. Previously, these were not permitted as owners were drilling into the new railings, which compromises the appearance of the railing and can cause permanent damage over time due to corrosion. Please email Richard Gilbert or John Ryan for mounting instructions if you would like to mount a flag holder. All existing flag holders that are drilled into the railings are to be removed immediately and the railing must be repaired. Flag holders can be reinstalled using Board accepted method. The Board of Directors has decided to prohibit (per our by-laws) any new permanent gates to be installed on the deck areas between condo units. Existing permanent gates will be inspected and may be subject to removal if they are deemed rusty, in need of repair, or are installed directly to the railing in an unapproved manner. There is no change in policy towards temporary gates or structures that divide the porch areas between units. Projects for the May 15th work day include: o Repair of fence top rail. o Grass removal on both sides of bldg IV and replacement with medium size stones to discourage dog owners from letting their dogs use the area as a toilet. o Planting of replacement shrubs and flowers, mulching and sealing of garden landscaping lumber. o Touch up painting and caulking of various areas in all three buildings, including stairwells, garage areas and wooden boxes. o Caulking of garage floors, especially around piers. The State of Maryland made changes to the law concerning condo insurance for owners. The new law states that an owner is NOW responsible for up to $5000 of the master policy deductible for damage to any unit or common area when the cause of the damage originates from their unit. The associations master policy would kick in to make all necessary repairs. The Board of Directors recommends that each condo owner work with their own insurance provider to obtain additional coverage for this potential expense, should they be held responsible. (See Starfish Insurance for more info) Stairwell light replacements. The Board has authorized the replacement of light fixtures in each of the stairwells for all three buildings. The Ocean City Government has suspended recycling citing a loss of $1,000,000 for the program. Our condo association will receive a pro rated refund (amount TBD) for the purchase of our recycling bins after they have been turned in. The Board of Directors has asked Shipley Management to research the potential of providing Comcast to all Starfish units under a single agreement for a negotiated reduced amount. The single Comcast invoice would be paid by Shipley Management and the per unit expense would be added to the monthly Condo fee. In addition, the use of satellite TV service is being investigated. Findings and options will be presented to the owners for consideration as the facts become available. There is a leak on the north side of bldg IV that will be caulked and re-checked. If the caulk does not fix the issue, additional repair steps will be investigated to resolve the leak. The Board of Directors is investigating the type of replacement windows that owners can purchase. The City Fire Marshall has added specifications to the windows to withstand hurricane conditions. The Board will provide an update as more information becomes available. Financial Update Through continued supervision and diligent financial management, the Starfish Condo Association and the property are in excellent shape. The overall health of the financial status is very good with a strong ratio of savings to expenses. The 12 month construction and maintenance projects are complete and approximately $45,000 was spent from the existing accounts with no special assessment required. Through negotiation, use of construction expertise, open competition, owner involvement and project management, approximately $100,000 has been saved since 2003. The condo fee is $165 per month with the potential for each unit to earn a $25 credit per month for approved participation in a work day. The Board anticipates one more $5 per month increase in the condo fees if there are no unforeseen projects or issues that require funding. The $5 per month increase will more than likely be effective as of January 1, 2011. The 2015 goal is to build a $75,000 reserve. For more detailed financial information, please send an email to Richard Gilbert Starfish President gilbertr55@hotmail.com, or John Ryan Starfish Treasurer jryan1680@yahoo.com, be sure to include your name, contact information (email address or mailing address), building and condo unit number. Board Elections Richard Gilbert was nominated and elected as the new President of the association. Garrett German was nominated and elected as the new Vice President of the association. John Ryan was nominated and elected to continue as the Treasurer and Secretary of the association. Sandy Poms graciously stepped down from the board to make room for Garrett to re-join the board and to become Vice President. All other previous members of the board (Manny Gomes, John Ryan, Mark Burne, Bill LaChance, Bill Riley) continue to serve, as well as Tom McDaniel our previous President who we especially thank for his service along with the entire board over the last year. |