University Townhouses Cooperative

Board Meeting Summary

November 24, 2003

 

 

Call to Order:  6:40 pm

 

Roll Call: Board Members – Willie Horton, President; Elizabeth Sullivan, Vice President; Mike Schneider, Secretary; Sharon Heminger Vice President; and Theresa Ramirez, Treasurer.

Management: Renee Cieslak, Manager.

Members: Karen Brittain, Donna Kearney, Gregory Brown, Heather Roe, Alan Johnston, Gregoria Pinkley and Angela Witham. 

 

Motion: Motion made to approve the minutes from the October 20, 2003 meeting by Willie Horton.  Elizabeth motioned to accept the minutes.  Seconded by Theresa.  Motion passed.  Sharon is requesting that the person making motions needs to be named in the board meeting minutes. 

 

Committee Reports:

Orientation-Membership Committee: There was a meeting last week.  There were 20 potential move-ins.  There were 7 committee members present at that meeting.

Neighborhood Watch Committee: Everything is on hold at this time.  Sharon requested that a link be put on our web site to Neighborhood Watch page web site and to the National Neighborhood Watch web site. 

Mortgage Payoff Committee: On hold until a decision is made about the upcoming refinancing.

Needs Assessment Committee: On hold until a decision is made about the upcoming refinancing.

 

Discussion/Ratification of Board Business:

Refinancing Attorney Approval: Renee has talked to Randy Pentiuk and Joe Couvreur.  They are well versed in dealing with HUD and in getting the use agreement signed.  They have also dealt with the banks that we maybe dealing with.  Everyone seemed pleased to have them represent us.  The cost will be approximately $9,000-10,000, but it could be less.  However, if there are any real legal issues it could be more.  Renee cannot actually hire them to start assessing until she has board approval. 

Motion: To accept the firm of Pentiuk, Couvreur & Kobiljak, P.C. by Sharon Heminger.  Seconded by Theresa Ramirez.  Mike stated that this firm has dealt with other Coop’s in the area and he feels it is a good idea.  All in favor.  Motion passed.

Establishment of a Disaster Preparedness Committee: Through the month of December Renee would like to start working on the office procedures and putting together a disaster preparedness that could be put together by the neighborhood watch committee.  Willie would like to know if there is any information about this.  Willie will schedule a neighborhood watch meeting in early December or January to look at the information. 

Cooperative Refinancing Options: There are several companies that the Cooperative is looking at for refinancing.  National Cooperative Bank, MMA Financial and Arbor Commercial (formerly Bristol Capital Group) have submitted loan proposals and have financed other Cooperatives.  The interest rates, loan amounts and payment options vary from company to company and the Coop will be meeting with each of these companies next week.  A decision will be made after meeting with each company. 

National City Bank: Renee just wants to bring us up to date on the money from the matured CD will be deposited at NCB and that the maturity for the first 2 months will earn 2.25% and then 2% thereafter.  NCB also has a direct deposit program so that members could pay their carrying charges automatically through NCB.  She would also like to start taking money out of Standard Federal in January or February and transfer it over to NCB.  The direct deposit program would automatically deposit money from the member’s checking account into the Coop account. 

 

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Motion: Mike made a motion to change our accounts over to NCB.  Seconded by Sharon.  All in favor.  Motion passed. 

 

Computer Maintenance Contract: To maintain the computers and get updates Renee would like us to sign a 1 year contract with Anacon for ongoing technical support.  Anacon is very familiar with our computers and signing a contract would save us money.  The contract would be for $2,400 and would allow for 20 hours of technical support per year. 

The office is updating their property management software.  The current software causes a lot of problems and going with a new system will be cost effective. 

Mike Schneider asked if we are automatically updating our virus protection software more often than once per quarter.  Renee says that Cindy is updating that regularly and she will check with Cindy to make sure it is occurring. 

Motion: Elizabeth motioned to approve Anacon for the computer maintenance for $2,400.  Seconded by Mike.  All in favor.  Motion passed.

Holiday Business Hours: Normally the office is closed on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.  Because Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve fall on Thursday this year Renee was hoping that the office could stay open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and close on December 26th and January 2nd.  The office will be open December 24th, Christmas Eve, and December 31st, New Year’s Eve, until 3 pm and will be closed December 26th and January 2nd. 

 

Management Report: We have received 2 bids for lawn contracts, one from Aaron’s and the other from Apartment Services.  The decision will be made at the January meeting. 

 

Special Thanks: Elizabeth made a comment that a board member from another Co-op made a comment to her regarding our lawn maintenance and that it looks great.  So, a special thank you to the grounds crew on the fantastic job that they do. 

 

Renee would also like to say a special thanks to all of the members who participated in the Haunted Hospital.  There were a lot of members that donated, time, money, cookies, candy, etc., and all was very, very appreciated.  Also, to everyone that helped patrol the community on Devils Night and Halloween.  The Haunted Hospital and Halloween weekend was a great success!

 

Financial Reports: Renee wanted everyone to know that the lawn care budget looks like it is over budget, but they are going to figure out to do the service contract over 26 weeks.  The insurance shows that we are over budget, but that is not correct. 

 

Old Business:

Neighborhood Coalition: The Neighborhood Coalition and Old Town did not have a meeting last month and will not be meeting until January.

Book Exchange: Angela Witham is a coordinating a book exchange to occur at the Clubhouse.  The exchange is to occur on the 2nd Saturday of the month, providing the clubhouse is not rented.  The first exchange is to occur on February 14, 2004 from 11 am to noon. 

Book Exchange Guidelines:

1.       Bring as many books as you can carry.

2.       You must stay at the book exchange until the end of the event (1 hour).

3.       You may not leave any books at the clubhouse at any time.

4.       There will be no charges for any books that are exchanged.

5.       Please include children books with this exchange.

6.       Make sure that nothing is left in your books that you need or want to keep.

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7.       Please feel free to share your comments on the books you bring.

8.       Enjoy the pleasure of reading.

           

 

Gas Usage Chart: There are 75 buildings in the Coop.  The board would like to have a chart for the gas usage of each building for comparison of years past. 

 

A member asked if the Coop has ever considered having a company come out and clean out the air ducts in each unit.  Renee informed the member that it is up to the individual to have that done.  There maybe a way to reduce the cost if several members went in together to have it done through the same company at the same time. 

 

New Business:

Green’s Mobile Market: Renee was contacted by Green’s Mobile Market to distribute a market survey to see if there is any need in the Coop.  They are a mobile market that delivers to seniors and low income residents.  It was decided that if they wanted to distribute anything it would have to be through the regular mailing system. 

 

Public Discussion: A member was wondering why the crosswalk at the front of the Coop by the stop sign had not been painted when all of the parking lines had been done.  Renee will check into that.

 

A member was wondering if a reminder could be sent out to members informing them that they are responsible for where they park their car and where their visitors park their that it is up to the individual members to let their guests know where they can and cannot park.  The procedure for having a car towed from your designated spot is to call the on-call maintenance person first.  After the on-call maintenance person verifies the violation, they will call the towing company. 

 

Next Board Meeting: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 at 6:30 pm.

 

Adjournment: 9:05 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Michael Schneider

Secretary