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President’s Report – Telegraph Landing Annual Meeting
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·
Welcome and thank
you for attending ·
A year ago, I
spoke to you when I was a candidate. I
spoke of 4 guiding principles if I were to be elected: o
Our homes are our
sanctuaries and our community should be a place of harmony o
Our association
must make prudent financial decisions based upon sound business judgment o
Our meetings and
decision-making must be open and transparent, in compliance with the law, allowing
members to participate and contribute on issues which matter to them o
Constructive and
meaningful communications between members and the directors must be encouraged in
order to increase the information and diversity of viewpoints so as to enrich
the decision making process o
We established a new
protocol for our monthly board meetings which fosters constructive homeowner
participation and respect by the Board of homeowners’ opinions. Now, before the Board makes any decision,
homeowners participate in the discussion. o
We’ve demonstrated
our commitment to complying with the law on having all Board decisions made at
open and noticed meetings. This is what
is meant by Board “transparency”. This
year, there have been no secret decisions or unnoticed or unrecorded Executive
Sessions; you have received notice of and minutes of all meetings, including
Executive Sessions. Executive Sessions
have been limited to the specific reasons which the law allows them to be held:
e.g., to discuss personnel issues or member discipline. o
With the hard
work of the Communications Committee, we now have a website with news and
documents about TL and our neighborhood issues and developments: Minutes from past meetings, key committee
reports, photographs, agendas of upcoming meeting. Every association member can even get an
email notice when the website is updated.
I encourage every member and resident to sign up. o
We have a policy,
which is applied equitably to everyone, about what goes onto the bulletin
boards and what does not, and how long things stay up. We have a policy about the enforcement of our
flooring rules. Both of these policies
were developed at open Board meetings, after considerable member input. o
We tackled the
backlog of repair and construction projects that loomed over us, as we held our
first meeting in April 2004: §
We closed out the
final bill from Ryan for the $1 million redecoration, after a meeting with
principals from Ryan and Brayton-Hughes §
We addressed and
fixed the most severe leaks in the townhouse balconies and roofs and had work done
on the townhouse mechanical roofs so that our engineering consultant could
analyze and plan for necessary and cost effective work in future summers. We did a “lessons learned” Board meeting in
February 2005 and homeowners saw slides and heard our engineer explain what is
wrong with the construction and design of the townhouse roofs, what kinds of
dry rot and damage we can expect to find, and what we need to do in the next
year or two to fix that. §
Without much time
to plan major work, the Board proceeded with an innovative and relatively low
cost project which we were told could fix the leaking high rise windows in
Building #1. Many of the owners have
endured leaky windows for years. Although
there was some improvement, this has not been a complete solution. It is necessary, after all, to have detailed
engineering drawings prepared and do a more extensive replacement of many of
the windows on the 8th and 9th floors of Building #1. This has been and will be discussed at the
Board meetings this winter and spring. §
We revalved the
incoming water into Building #1 (28 valves) so that we can avoid shutting off
water service to the entire building when only one unit needs plumbing
work. o
In these last few
weeks, it’s become apparent that we have cracked and leaking sewage pipes in
Building #1. We are getting those fixed
as soon as possible and we are getting the opinion of experts as to how
extensive the problem is. Based upon the
gathered facts, which will be discussed at a Board meeting with homeowner
input, we will be making a decision as to what needs to be done. o
The Rules
Committee has thoroughly reviewed and revised the drafts of new governing
documents drafted by our Association’s attorney. After receiving many useful comments and
suggestions from homeowners, the Rules committee is working with our attorney
to get a final version ready to send to you to read and consider adopting, by
mail ballot. o
Efforts to cut
operating expenses have taken several tracks:
o
With the help of
our Landscaping Committee and other interested homeowners, we’ve revived and replanted
the roof gardens on Building #1 & #2.
The gardens are now improved by a drip irrigation system. And the cost of this, because of all the
uncompensated volunteer effort by our resident members, has been phenomenally
low. Not only does this improve
resident enjoyment of our homes, it increases property values. o
With the help of
our House Committee, we have strengthened our sense of community and neighborliness
by some very well-attended and fun social gatherings. The annual summer potluck was one of the best
attended in years, I’m told. Our first
(annual, I hope) Faire and Charity Auction, benefiting the SF Food Bank was
tremendous fun and raised nearly $2,000 for a good cause. o
Our House
Committee has also created our book and video exchange in the Club Room and
provided attractive lobby décor, instead of the same-old, same-old. Also, the House Committee coordinates and
delivers welcome baskets to new homeowner/residents. o
Early last
summer, we had some property thefts and vandalism in the garage. After a thorough look at what to do, the Security
& Maintenance Committee made specific recommendations to the Board for
additional security and surveillance equipment in common areas. With homeowner input, the Board implemented
that recommendation, and the new security equipment has been in place many
months. So far so good. o
We held two rules
enforcement hearings with homeowners that were violating our construction and
flooring rules. With those hearings, the
Board demonstrated that our rules apply to everyone, fairly and equally, and
that we are interested in compliance with our rules and the equal application
to all. ·
Special thanks
and commendation to fellow directors Barry Shiller and Mort Beebe who have
given and continue to give their Thursdays (plus extra hours at other times) to
TL -- working on understanding our
physical plant and our capital improvement needs. They call these “operational meetings.” Our Prop Manager Adele Laurence attends these
meetings, along with a variety of experts, engineers, contractors, and
specialists. The purpose of these
operational meetings is to gather the best information possible so that the
Board can make good, fact-based decisions.
Homeowners have been and are welcome and some do attend these operations
meetings. Barry’s and Mort’s commitment and sustained
hard work on physical plant issues – these past 8-9 months, and continuing – is
invaluable to each and every one of us homeowners. (In addition to Barry’s work as Treasurer.) ·
Thank you for
communicating your concerns to me, at the meetings and by email. I receive approximately 30 emails each day
pertaining to TL and I respond to many of them.
That is why you see the lights on in my home office late at night and
early in the morning. ·
TL is becoming a
vibrant, member-oriented community, which is making sound business decisions,
openly and with homeowner input, based upon facts and reliable professional
advice. Soon you will be asked about
which TL committee(s) you are interested in contributing to – the 5 elected
directors need your help to gather information and make recommendations so that
good, solid decisions are made. Please
volunteer if you are able. The
“Committee Reports” handout lists the focus and accomplishments of our
committees this past year and the Board looks forward to more assistance in
invited ways from our committees. ·
I would like to
thank and acknowledge the members of our committees: Finance: Rules: Nancy
Spero (chair), Nominations: Nancy
Spero, Communications: Beverly Sutton (chair), Marilyn
Nichols Landscape: Marilyn Benioff (chair), Pat Amdur, Phil Bastian, Monte Farris
(Active Gardeners); Eileen
McCarroll, Laura Davidson, Security & Mtce: Al Dockus (chair), Jerry Adams, House: Margaret
Miller (chair), Julie Baker, ·
We will now hear
the Treasurer’s Report. Then you will
have an opportunity to speak, to ask questions, to express your views and any
concerns.
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