River Place South Board Minutes-July 16, 2019

​River Place South Housing Corporation (RPSHC)
FINAL Minutes From the Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
 
In Attendance – Board of Directors

• Janice Mays, President
• Waqas Ali, Vice President (via video conference)
• Jim McInerney, Treasurer (via telephone)
• Sara Shahade, Secretary
• Lauren Hall, Director
• Vikram Reddy, Director

 
Regrets – Board of Directors

• Richard Villegas, Director

 
In Attendance – Property Management

• Joette Waters, General Manager

 
In Attendance – Shareholders

• Nancy Greenberg, Unit 542
• Oscar and Crystal Jobe, Unit 1007
• Luc and Diane Vidal, Unit T-4

 

1. Call to Order

The Board of Directors of the River Place South Housing Corporation held a meeting on Tuesday, July 16, 2019.  Board President Janice Mays called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
 

1. Resident Participation

Crystal Jobe of Unit 1007 inquired what will happen if the land lease is not renewed.  Mr. Ali explained, if the land use is not renewed, all of the River Place buildings and shares will be returned to the landlord (Monday Properties).  Mr. Ali is the South Building’s representative on a group that is working with Monday Properties to identify an alternative, more favorable outcome for the River Place entities.  The next meeting with Monday Properties will be scheduled for an August 2019 date to be determined.  Mr. Ali will then present an update to the Board of Directors during the September 2019 Board meeting.
 
Luc and Diane Vidal of Unit T-4 requested 10 minutes on the record, but asked to raise their points with the Board of Directors during Executive Session.
 

1. Approval of Agenda

Ms. Shahade moved to approve the July 16, 2019 Board Meeting agenda as presented.  Dr. Reddy seconded, and the motion carried unanimously (6-0-0).
 

1. Approval of Meeting Minutes (June 4, 2019)

Dr. Reddy moved to approve the June 4, 2019 Board of Directors Meeting minutes as amended.  Ms. Shahade seconded, and the motion carried unanimously (6-0-0).
 

1. Reports
2. President’s Report: Ms. Mays reported the balcony repair work is progressing favorably, and is proving to be a large but essential project.  Ms. Waters stated the project is approximately 70% complete, with work soon to begin on the fourth set of tiers and the overall project expected to be finished by the end of summer 2019.  Ms. Waters recommended having the pointing work performed in spring 2020, with the expense to be split between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 fiscal years.

 

1. Treasurer’s Report: Mr. McInerney reported the following information:

1. The Corporation is in a good financial position year-to-date.
2. A financing proposal is being reviewed for maximizing the Corporation’s reserve funds.
3. The Corporation is looking into options for refinancing the current loan to avoid the upcoming balloon payment.

 

1. Owners Association (OA) Report: Ms. Mays reported the following information:

1. The MP Garage project continues, and is approximately two-thirds completed.
2. Completion of the pool façade project has resulted in a more aesthetically pleasing pool area.  However, there is still work that must be done to the inside of the pool that will be scheduled for a future date.

 
 
  VI.Management Report
A.     Balcony Work: In addition to the information reported in Section V.A of these minutes, Ms. Waters added that the balcony project is revealing damaged concrete as well as units that have covered balcony floors.  There will be an additional cost of $500 to $550 per balcony for removing paint, carpeting or tile.
 
B.     Façade Work: Facility Engineering Associates, P.C. (FEA) performed an evaluation of the building’s façade.  The façade work will be pursued after the balcony project has been completed.
 
C.     Cell Towers: T-Mobile’s attempts to gain access to the River Place South roof continue, as they would like to install Remote Radio Units (RRUs).  Ms. Waters recommends holding out for the rubber mats to cover the walkway areas that were promised upon completion of the roof approximately one year and a half ago.  Ms. Waters will attempt to have representatives from T-Mobile attend the August 2019 River Place South Board meeting.
 
D.    Washington Gas: Washington Gas failed to charge River Place South for commodities during the months of January 2019 through April 2019.  The issue was discovered, and the Corporation was billed $40,529.48 – an amount that has been paid, and will be recorded in the July 2019 financial report.  First Service Residential will include a footnote in the financial reports for the auditors to classify the expense as part of the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
 
E.     Terrace Leaks: The building has been experiencing more terrace leaks – something that is also being experienced in the West Building.  The leaking terraces noted in the South Building will be investigated by Commercial Waterproofing, and repairs will be made as soon as possible.
 
F.      Telephone System Replacement: Ms. Waters requested and received a proposal from Slable to upgrade the telephone system used by the management office and concierge team. (Slable is the company that installed the new WiFi system in the building and provides ongoing technical support.)  The proposal includes the installation of five new telephones with many more features than the current system and a fax line at a cost savings of approximately $100 per month.  Service would no longer be with Verizon under the new arrangement.  Those Board members in attendance agreed by unanimous consent to have management move forward with the telephone system replacement.
 
G.    Reserve Accounts: Management recommends changing the Corporation’s reserve accounts with First Service Residential to a new financial institution that offers greater interest income.  The accounts with National Cooperative Bank, Lafayette Federal Credit Union, Eagle Bank, and Burke & Herbert Bank will be closed if better interest rates can be found.  The account with United Bank will remain open, as they offered a higher interest rate to keep the Corporation’s accounts.  Ms. Waters asked the officers of the Board to complete new signature cards for the United Bank account.
 
H.    Comcast: On Wednesday, July 24th, technicians will install fiber optics from the main trash/compactor room through the trash/compactor room on each floor where the nodes have been moved.  The work will require a shutdown of Comcast’s services for several hours on the 24th.  Comcast informed Ms. Waters that River Place South is the last building in Arlington to have the fiber moved.
 
I.       Lease Violation: Board members held a discussion concerning a lease violation.  The Board of Directors agreed by unanimous consent that, if a shareholder presents lease paperwork indicating a three-month lease and the tenant moves out prior to the end of the three months, and the shareholder is a repeat offender and was made aware of the bylaw minimum lease requirement, the Board of Directors agreed that the penalty fee would escalate to the highest penalty allowed by the Board’s resolution on lease minimum guidelines rather than going up incrementally.  Ms. Waters noted that management regularly reviews short-term rental web sites to identify River Place South units.
 
J.       RivStar Transfer Agency: A letter of complaint was sent by a shareholder seeking the Board’s help with the receipt of stock certificates from the RivStar Transfer Agency.  Ms. Waters stated there are 26 missing stock certificates.  Board members discussed the issue along with potential solutions.  The Board agreed to have the Corporation’s attorney, Kevin Kernan, draft a letter to be sent to the RivStar Transfer Agency concerning the stock certificates that need to be provided.
 
K.    Non-Smoking Building: Attorney Kevin Kernan provided instructions regarding the process to designate River Place South as a smoke-free building.  A survey was sent to shareholders seeking feedback concerning the matter.  A total of 35 responses have been received to date – a 14% response rate.  Of those 35 responses, 91.43% were in favor of making River Place South a smoke-free building.  Those Board members in attendance agreed by unanimous consent to incorporate the proposed amendment into the smoke-free building notice and include the notice in the announcement for the next Board meeting.
 
L.     Rental Occupancy: The Corporation rented six units in the interim of the June 2019 and July 2019 Board meeting, with two units currently vacant.
 

1. Resale Notifications

No resale notifications were presented.
 

1. New Business
2. Rules and Regulations Re: Hate Speech, Emblems, Symbols and Assaults: Ms. Hall stated there have been recent incidents involving hate speech in the East and West Buildings.  As a result, M.J. Schmelzer from the River Place East Board of Directors drafted proposed language for incorporation into the rules and regulations of each River Place entity.  The language would govern how each entity should respond to incidents of hate speech, the use of offensive emblems and assaults.  Those Board members in attendance agreed by unanimous consent to review the draft language and further discuss it during their next meeting.

 

1. Old/Unfinished Business
2. RivStar Transfer Agency: Please see Section VI.J of these minutes.

 

1. Façade Project: Please see Section VI.B of these minutes.

 

1. Balcony Rehab Project: Please see Section V.A and VI.A of these minutes.

 

1. T-Mobile: Please see Section VI.C of these minutes.

 
 

1. Temporary Adjournment to Executive Session

The Board of Directors temporarily adjourned the Open Session at 7:04 p.m. to hold an Executive Session to discuss reserve portfolio changes and hear from Luc and Diane Vidal of Unit T-4.
 

1. Adjournment

Following the conclusion of the Executive Session, the July 16, 2019 Board of Directors meeting was adjourned at 7:43 p.m.