Is there an outlet somewhere in the parking ramp and I just can’t see it?  It sure would be nice to have one somewhere where it would be convenient to be able to vacuum out your car or whatever.

As I understand it, the developer still retains rights to the top of the parking ramp because back when they were selling condos briskly, they thought they might build some town homes or a Starbucks or something.

Can the board members find out what would be required to either release their retained interest, or at least permit parking there?

As I see it, we could solve two problems by opening up that ramp:

1) The front parking lot is packed, mostly with residents.  It would be really nice for guests to not have to park in the back corner of the “guest lot”.  If we opened the top of the ramp up, the residents who don’t want to park in the garage could park up there leaving the front lot more open.

2) The elevator we have for carts is total garbage.  For the cost of continuing to service that thing so frequently, we could build a double cutback ramp on the entrance from the upper deck of the ramp so that you could unload your groceries up there and use a cart without having to use an elevator which was never designed for the amount of use it gets now (it is an elevator designed for wheelchair use in a residential or light commercial – ie church, school – application)

In the winter we would have additional snow removal costs, but we would only have to plow a small portion of the deck.

Thoughts?

If you have any issues you would like to bring up with the board, there is an open homeowners forum before hand.  The meetings usually take place in the lobby or in the management office.

I plan on attending and giving the board members a reminder that while we are evaluating such things as carpeting the entryway from the garage and “beautifying” the lobby – there is a very real chance that at this time next year we may be facing a significant number of units which are either in foreclosure or are owned by absentee owners.  In either event, we will not be getting association dues from those units – so it might be a good idea to keep the purse strings tied for a little while…

(not to mention we are in an old building and have already had a dozen elevator repairs, a new chiller, a new boiler, a new exit gate, and more unexpected repairs in our first year)

Maybe I am just sensitive because my dues are $496 and I am really really hoping against all odds that they don’t break the $500 mark anytime soon?

Barb has been talking to Avvid Technologies regarding the ridiculously slow internet service.  They are working on it and appear to be taking it very seriously.  They were here last week reinstalling much of the switching, hopefully in preparation for improving our service.

It sounds like the issue comes down to the need to add more bandwidth to the building.  Our setup is essentially the same as if you had a regular broadband connection in your single family house and then set up a home network – except we have a home network with 160 users.  When everybody is online, there is just too much demand for the skinny little supply “pipe” to keep up with. 

Hopefully they will be bringing a fatter pipe into the building, or multiple pipes serving smaller segments of the building.

- Scott

Is anyone else getting tired of how many doors we have between the garage and the lobby?  The one that seems to be the biggest pain is the one at the top of the stairs (which doesn’t even swing the proper way).  What are people thoughts regarding just removing that door entirely and leaving it as an open doorway?

I don’t know if there would be issues with HVAC/Fire Code/Security – but I know I would be happier not having to open that door when I have my arms full of groceries…

Thoughts? 

I have had a couple requests to post some courteous reminders here regarding the association rules regarding pets.

1) Dogs are required to be kept on a leash or carried while inside the building and are only to use the freight elevator. 

2) The only area to exercise your pets is in the strip to the East of the back parking lot.  Not the corner of grass by the ramp and not anywhere around the bbq area or pond.  Even if you pick up after your pet, the non-pet owners appreciate knowing they can safely walk/sit in that area

I believe the board has discussed imposing fines – I am not sure about that.  Hopefully it doesn’t need to come to that.

The next board of directors meeting will be held on Wednesday August 22nd in Unit #701.

Agenda:

1) Calling Meeting to Order – Stuart Lancer

2) Roll Call – Stuart Lancer

3) Secretary’s Report – Jodi Sommerfeld

4) Treasurer’s Report – Chase Ryeberg

5) Management Report – Andrea Hemingway

6) Old Business

a. Direct TV and High Speed Internet

b. Homeowner Violation of Rules and Regulations – Petter’s Units

7) New Business

Adjournment

I created this free blog for us all to share so that we can communicate more easily with one another. Everyone is encouraged to check in frequently and contribute often (check the about page for information on how to post here).

Posting categories include: Announcements, Classifieds, Events, Services Needed, Services Available, Get to Know, and a Suggestion Box.

I hope this turns out to be something useful for us all.

Regards,
Scott #313

Ok, I swear I didn’t make this site just to sell my stuff, but I do have a bunch of stuff on the auction block.

A pair of nice black metal stands, adjustable height, will handle heavy or small bookshelf speakers. Floor spikes included. $50, come and get them, I don’t want speakers falling on Ava, and I don’t want to store them. scott@scotthayne.com

Follow the link below for picture…

This was a bit of an impulse buy one day, but it was really nice to have in my condo. Added some white noise that helped to drown out the traffic. Water flow is adjustable as is the ability to send the water over the edge of the fountain (loud) or through a drain hole (quiet). Was $600, will sell for much less because my 8 month old is just about ready to start crawling and I don’t want to worry about her going for a swim in it or trying to eat the rocks…

Dimensions are about 30″ square and 18″ high. Contact scott@scotthayne.com.