DRUM POINT VILLAGE
WEST HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING
Board Members Present: Ed Kocher, Dolores Tappert, Paula Groppe, Gene-Ann Pesano
Covenant Committee Members Present: None
Homeowner's Present: Lynn Monteiro, Lori Gaynor, Rick Gaynor, Herb Armstrong. Ken Bertch (stopped in briefly)
Dolores Tappert called the meeting to order on November 13, 2002 at 8:06 p.m. and reminded the group that we adhere to a 5-minute time limit when attendees are speaking – ideally during the Old/New Business portion of the meeting.
Dolores Tappert made a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting as published. Paula Groppe seconds the motion. All were in favor. Ed Kocher passed out the copies of the October minutes.
Without objection, the list of actions the Board were read into the record by Gene-Ann Pesano:
Actions of the
Board
October 16, 2002
to November 13, 2002
Ø Created a newsletter page and added the current newsletter to it
Ø Created an archive page and moved the following to it:
o Older Minutes
o Last month's actions of the Board
Landscaping
Ø
Area around new sidewalk on WSW was top soiled and
seeded.
Ø
Mound where tree was removed at 65-67 WSW taken out and
seed put down and rocks removed.
Ø
Sprinkler company notified that new control units are
here and need to be installed and tested.
Ø
Sprinkler company notified that sprinkler system needs
to be drained for the winter. Scheduled for 11/15 depending upon weather.
Siding
Ø
30 page warranty claim sent to Certainteed.
Drainage Project
Ø
Letter received from Township Business Administration
Office regarding start of project, inspection of crawl spaces and results of
one crawl space inspection.
Ø
Township began work on the drainage project on 11/8/02.
Covenants Committee
Ø
Conducted re-inspection of all units in which
violations were previously found on 9/30. Of the 32, all but 8 are now in
compliance.
Miscellaneous
Ø
Letter sent to Mignatti regarding an incorrectly placed
fence between two units on Black Fox Trail. Response received and fence should
be taken care of within 2 weeks.
Ø
Spoke with representatives from Mignatti and Township
Engineers regarding Mignatti landscaping.
Ø
Letter sent to Township Engineering Department
regarding Mignatti landscaping, irrigation and other problems.
Ø
Bill Pepe notified that there are outstanding painting
jobs on WSW. He will be there on or about 11/16 to complete.
Ø
Roofing contractor notified of 2 roof repairs and 1
gutter repair:
o Completed 1 roof repair, nothing found to repair on second roof. Letter to this effect provided by contractor to Association.
o Gutter repair completed. Homeowner notified that no repairs appeared to be needed.
Ø Critter Control Company notified of "livestock" scratching in the walls between two units. Inspected, found field mice and fixed on 11/6.
Ø Bags ordered and received for distribution of Newsletter.
Ø Compiled and mailed responses to 6 issues/complaints/problems raised by a homeowner.
Ø 4 letters sent to unit owners and tenants regarding garbage cans being left out all week.
Ø 2 questionnaires filled in and returned to 2 mortgage companies.
Ø Missing Link Fence Company notified that vandalized section of new fence needs to be repaired. Scheduled for week ending 11/15.
Ø Fulfilled 3 requests for Certificates of Insurance.
________________________________________________________________________
Without objection, Ed Kocher read into the minutes a letter he received from the Township of Brick dated October 29, 2002:
October
29, 2002
Edward
Kocher, Trustee & Treasurer
Drum
Point Village West
PO
Box 4023
Brick,
NJ 08723
Dear
Mr. Kocher:
I
am in receipt of your correspondence regarding our telephone call of September
24, 2002.
Let
me reiterate the commitment of the Township of Brick to assist the Drum Point
Village West Homeowners Association in bringing these matters to resolution.
The drainage plan prepared by Birdsall Engineering will be implemented by the
Township's Department of Public Works. However, the start date has been delayed
about one week. The plan has been amended to include the front and side
drainage issues to the extent possible. The Township's Road Department
Supervisor is not authorized to make any Commitment on the part of the Township
regarding repairs to the irrigation system. I am. As I stated to you the
Township will make such repairs as may be required resulting from any damage
the Township causes during the installation of the above referenced drainage
system.
I
have had extensive contact with Mrs. Bertch and I am familiar with the issues
that she has raised. The Township retained Kevin Schuerman, Industrial
Hygienist, to perform a study in the living space and crawlspace of Mrs.
Bertch's unit. You should be aware that the conditions in the living space were
found to be absolutely normal. While there was mold spores found in the crawl
space which exceeded normal levels, they apparently did not have any affect
whatsoever on the living space. So long as no one spent an extensive amount of
time in the crawl space it would be unlikely that any health problems would be
caused. Nevertheless, the Township is taking action to remediate the situation
discovered in the crawl space in Mrs. Bertch's unit. The Township will inspect
the crawl spaces of each unit provided that the unit owner gives permission for
the unit to be inspected. Once the inspections have been performed a plan of
action will be developed to address any findings resulting from the
inspections. In the event your Insurance carrier has questions regarding the
presence of mold you should feel free to have their representative contact Mr.
Schuerman of Birdsall Engineering at 732-681-1165 ext. 2237.
We
are investigating your contention that the foundation wall remediation
performed by Don Miller was not done according to the Birdsall plan. I will be
in contact with you regarding this matter in the near future.
The
Township of Brick has been committed to bringing these matters to resolution
since they were brought to our attention. A great deal of time and effort has
been expended working toward this end and I assure you that we will continue to
work with you to resolve these matters in the future.
Sincerely,
Scott
Mac Fadden
Business
Administrator
SRM/mk
c
Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli
Jack
Nydam, Director of Public Works
Tom
Rospos, Township Engineer
Jim
Priolo, Township Engineer
Kevin
Schuerman, Industrial Hygienist
Ed Kocher asked if anyone had any questions about this letter and stated that it’s kind of tough when you are on just one side of the conversation.
Herb Armstrong asked “In regard to the foundation remediation that Miller has done basically what we're saying is that it is not acceptable.” Ed Kocher said “Yes, basically that's what we're saying.”
Ed Kocher stated we were given a warranty by the Township in writing that was signed by the Mayor by resolution of the Town Council, was signed by us and was signed by Don Miller. One of the items in there was that the Township would provide us a ten-year warranty on the foundation remediation. During the project, the person who Don Miller hired as the main employee to handle the job, told Ed Kocher that Don Miller denied that there was a plan – the result of Ed Kocher asking him why he wasn't using Nylon tape between the joints, why he wasn't using a Z-flashing at the top of it, and why he was using nails instead of screws and a few other things. The worker, he said they just told him that it had to go up. Ed Kocher said, well haven't you seen the plan? His reply was that there is no plan. Ed Kocher asked if Don Miller told him that and he answered yes no one ever told him that there was a plan. Ed Kocher went to get his plan and showed it to the employee and stated that this is how it is supposed to be done. Meanwhile Ed Kocher called the Township and explained the situation. The other part of the deal was that the Township was supposed to have an inspector here at all times, which we suspected wasn't going to happen, but [the township] put it in writing. Ed Kocher stated that the bottom line is that we all know that the work is sloppy (cracks are appearing in all the joints) and was done horribly and now we want it done right. His one line was that he will be in contact with us regarding that. Basically, from a legal point of view they are totally on the hook for it because they gave us that warranty. Some units are better than others. All of these things: The drainage plan, the foundation remediation plan are all a result of, in our opinion, the way the Township allowed these places to be constructed. They were not constructed according to the plan that was approved by the planning Board. At the time, it's now a relatively well-known fact that the two chief building inspectors were [corrupt]. One of them has since committed suicide; his wife was suing the Township for his back sick pay due to him even though he killed himself as a result of the investigation that was going on. The only thing that was a well known fact was how they got popped and that was because they were building a house for one of their children and they didn't have all the building permits that they needed, and if you build a new house and you hook up to the sewer system and the water system, you have to pay the Brick Township Municipality Authority a $5,000. fee just for permission to run the pipes. They hooked up without a meter, without paying the fee and somebody from BTMUA figured out what was going on and said something to somebody and then the ball started rolling. The state took over building department. It is Ed’s opinion that the Township is basically, to a great deal, bending over backwards to try to correct these problems because they know there was fraud going on during that time, and they know that if we went to court, they would spend money defending it. We spoke to three attorneys who would not touch the case. Even after seven years, we couldn't find an attorney who would take it on a contingency basis three or four years ago. We were told that it was a less than 50% chance that we would win. That the town has been dragging its feet is an understatement, but they are finally getting around to correcting it. Ed Kocher stated that they are actually adding more to this drainage project then we asked for and we are very surprised. Evidently Mr. Schuerman found out that Mrs. Bertch's patio as well as other patios (primarily on the end units), are not pitched properly so that the corner pitches down so that water flows back down into that corner down below and then there is hydrostatic pressure that lets it get into the crawl space. So they are going to redo the patios and pitch them the way they are supposed to. Paula Groppe stated that they are starting to do a very good job. Ed Kocher stated that Fred Weintraub was the final catalyst. When he basically said, Look I'm going to appear and I am going to get as many of my neighbors as I can, to come to the Town Council Meeting and embarrass you in front of the Town Council because it has dragged on for so long. Again the Board wanted to thank Fred Weintraub for his efforts as well as other people who have sent many faxes. Lori Gaynor asked “There was no problem with mildew in the living space?” Ed Kocher stated “No not in the living space that is what they are finding.” Gene-Ann stated “There is a good amount of insulation in there and I can see where if this part of it is properly constructed the mildew shouldn't come through.” Ed Kocher mentioned that, prior to his purchasing it, his unit had significant water damage due to pipes breaking which caused the crawl space to be completely flooded. He had to rip up 3/8 ply which was on top of 3/4 ply and in the process found that they had constructed the sub floor properly and all the joints were sealed and that the sub floor was glued to the I-beams. Richard Gaynor asked “Don't you have vents?” Ed Kocher answered “Yes, but there was just too much water and it was coming out the front door.” Ed Kocher said that he was told that the drainage project should be completed in late November, which he doesn't expect to happen. Every leader, except for the leaders that drop between the middle of the garages, will be drained either to the drainage pits or to the curb that will eventually drain to the gutter which will drain to the drainage pits.
Fred Weintraub provided us some forty something photos of the various conditions of the siding, both on the Miller and Mignatti side. On the actual warranty application (it was not really suited to our needs), Ed filled in as much information as he could and then wrote a rather lengthy letter explaining why we couldn't answer the rest of the questions (e.g., how many squares were used, how many were affected, etc.) Basically the letter said that the pictures speak for themselves. We are now waiting for a response from Certainteed. The claim was sent around the first of November.
Gene Ann just happened one day to see a group of men that were engineers having some kind of meeting. She went outside to see what it was about and found out that that there was an inspection done over a year ago on the Mignatti landscaping and found out that there was a total of 116-118 trees/shrubs that Mignatti should have planted that were not planted. While the engineers were there, Gene Ann talked to them about the buffer that was proposed for the area along Drum Point Road. They went over the plans and what everyone discovered was that that area was overcleared. Although the plans did not call for trees to be planted in that area, the previously existing oaks and pines should not have been removed. So the Township is going to have Mignatti plant the buffer in there. Gene Ann stated that it should save us at least $5,000.
Without objection, Gene Ann read the following letter into the minutes:
November
1, 2002
Ken
Shafer
Brick
Township Engineering Department
401
Chambers Bridge Road
Brick,
NJ 08723
Re:
Mignatti landscaping
Mr. Shafer:
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me when
you were here last week. I apprised the rest of the Trustees as to what is
going on with the landscaping done by The Mignatti Companies. In our
discussions, several additional items came up that we feel you should be made
aware of:
·
Mignatti
originally sodded the walls of the drainage basin. The sod died long before the
drought because there is no irrigation along the basin walls. The previous
Project Manager for Mignatti specifically asked the Association if we wanted
sprinklers installed to irrigate the basin, and we responded with a “yes”.
However, sprinklers were never installed. It seems that re-sodding will only be
a temporary solution if the sod is not irrigated. The same is true for any
wildflower seed that might be added to the bottom of the basin.
·
The
lawn area behind building #10 (34 to 44 Manhattan Drive) was not completely
sodded. The sod ended about 25 feet short of the northern property line and the
sprinkler system does not cover that area. To our knowledge, a group of
homeowners from the affected building sent a letter to Mignatti about this
issue. Mignatti responded to them by stating that they were not allowed to do
anything within “so many” feet of the property line. If that were true, why was
that area cleared of trees? Why did this same rule not affect the other lawn
areas and irrigation heads installed by Mignatti on the Southern property line?
·
Probably
the most glaring problem is the fact that no topsoil was put down in any of the
lawn and landscape areas. All of the sod is sitting on pure sand and, as a
result, it takes an inordinate amount of water just to keep it alive. When a
Trustee questioned Mignatti about this, they verbally responded that they used
special sod that came with two inches of topsoil. I can tell you from my
personal experience that the sod used by Mignatti contained less than an inch
of topsoil – possibly as little as a half inch. The same is true for the
shrubbery installed by Mignatti. No soil or peat beds were created, and all
shrubs were planted directly into the sand. Many of these shrubs have not
rooted properly. The only reason that many of them have survived this long is
because the Association has used massive amounts of fertilizers and water to
keep them alive.
·
This
item is not related to the landscaping but it may be something you can help us
with. The driveway at 11 Manhattan Drive has a very steep gradient at one side.
Three or four of the Belgian blocks at the left edge of the driveway should be
lying at an angle. Instead, they were installed on their edge. Please note that
a wheel chair bound person lives in that unit and needs to use the driveway to
gain access to the rest of the community. Attached is the note from the unit
owner that we received. As you can see from this note, Mignatti was notified of
this problem shortly after the owner moved in to the unit. To date, Mignatti
has not responded to her.
·
Finally,
as you are already likely aware, in September of 1999 the Association and
Mignatti entered into an agreement where it was agreed that if the Association
eliminated the pool facility from the site plan, Mignatti would reimburse the
Association for the cost of construction of the eliminated elements. The
Association went to the Board of Adjustment and the pool facility has been
eliminated from the project. However, Mignatti is now offering $70,000 for the
value of the pool facility – an amount that we cannot reconcile with the
estimates we have received from other contractors, who place the value at
approximately $500,000. We hope that you can help us to bring this matter to
resolution. In the meantime, we strongly encourage you to withhold the bond
until the Association is adequately compensated for the pool facility.
Thank
you for your kind attention to these matters. I can be reached at 732-477-9605
or a message may be left at any of the above numbers. Since I work primarily
from my home, I am usually reachable and am happy to help in any way that I can
to get these issues taken care of.
Respectfully,
Gene-Ann
Pesano, Trustee
For
the Association
________________________________________________________________________
Ed suggested that Gene Ann ask the Township for clarification on when the warranty for the newly installed landscaping will expire because they are doing it at the wrong time of the year. Gene Ann stated that they would be doing this in about two weeks. Ed Kocher stated that it would be even better if they could delay the installation until the spring. Ed Kocher stated that a request was made either at last meeting or the meeting before that we get an accounting from the Township as to what parts of the Bond has been released based on what removed elements or cleared elements. Ed Kocher believes that unit owner was talking about the pool facility, what amount of money did the Township release for them. Ed Kocher is not in total agreement with that homeowner because the amounts on the Bond for the pool elements, although they are far above what is being offered by Mignatti, they are far below the true value. So there is not as much strength to that argument as Ed would like there to be.
Ed Kocher received complaints from at least two, possibly three homeowners that, at the very tops of the chimneys on the Miller units, the caps were rusted. One of the homeowners has accused the board of negligence because the Board didn’t have the caps replaced during the siding project. Ed pointed out that prior to, or during, the siding project, no homeowner, board member or former board member noticed this problem. Ed stared that you didn’t really notice the caps being rusted because there was wood up there and the wood was almost black so if anything was running and staining you couldn't tell. So, we never talked about it, the board member who negotiated the contract didn't say anything about it, nor did the contractor. Ed Kocher stated that the bottom line is that we now know we have caps that are rusting, not to the point of decay or leaking (according to one of the contractors that did an inspection), but there are signs of problems developing in the future (probably within two-three years). We have found a contractor who is willing to do the work. Initially the price was given to the Board at approximately $210.00 per unit. Ed asked the contractor to go back and research all the units and find out how many units are involved (some units do not have chimney boxes, other units have chimney boxes without actual fireplaces). The contractor was told to go back and make an accurate count of all the different types and to provide us one price for remediating all of them. We are still waiting for that price. Ed pointed our that this contractor is a tenant on the Mingatti side, so therefore he may be a “related party.” The contractor also stated that he will power wash the siding to get off as much stain as possible. Ed Kocher hopes to get this ball rolling by January 1st at the latest, as long as the weather permits.
We have to get at least one other bid from a “non-related party.” Ed will attempt to get a bid from All County Aluminum. Herb Armstrong asked “Could those caps be coated [(i.e., painted)]. Ed Kocher replied They are rusted to the point that they are dripping down the siding and staining and once you get oxidation on metal nothing sticks to it in the long run, just like on cars. This guy said he would do his best to get the rust off the vinyl with power washing.
Ed Kocher stated that there is really no big news to report.
o The only big bill that came in was the water bill, which was $1,970.00 instead of the expected $6,000.00 so that was a good thing.
o Ed had instructed the attorney to file suit against one of the two severely delinquent homeowners. He originally came back to Ed Kocher and said that if you like to you can file yourself. It is actually really simple but, between a couple of things the attorney said and some research, Ed found out that by the time we got done with legal fees, the one year up front that he can charge on top of the amount that is past due etc., we would be over the $3,000.00 limit for filing ourselves. If we are successful in the collection, the homeowner pays the legal fees anyway. Ed Kocher told the attorney to file and should be hearing back from him within the week. Ed gave the other delinquent unit owner one more chance [as that homeowner had, at least, made some recent payments to us] and said if you begin paying the Association $200.00 per month with the first payment due to the Association by November 25th, then he will "call off the dogs." Ed hasn’t received a response from that homeowner and if he doesn’t receive a payment by November 25th, he will tell the attorney to file suit against that unit owner as well. Out of the 95 units, 85 units pay on time every single month. The other 10 are perennially a month late or 2 months late and then they send me a check for all 2 or 3 months at once and they are back to normal and then they slide again. Another unit is starting to go south, the balance is $360.00 and it is not expected to improve any time in the near future.
o Checks that were sent for this month include: Morano Landscaping, Brick Township Utilities, Postage Meter Use, Electric, Phone, Answering Service, Bank fees for Checking Account, Insurance.
o The old Insurance policy was approximately $14,000.00 and our new policy is approximately $22,000.00. Our old umbrella policy was $550.00/year and our new policy is $1,200.00/year. That is higher than the industry average of approximately 30% increases for this type of stuff this year.
o Herb Armstrong wanted to know what the status is of the vehicle parked in front of 43 WSW with license plate LBU 10S. He did not know who the car belonged to. Paula Groppe is going to try find out who the car belongs to and then ask them to move it. Ed Kocher stated that if this person is not a homeowner and it has been here for more than 48 hours, it could be considered abandoned on private property if we really want to play hardball. If it is a homeowner it may be a different story – though we may be able to apply the same law.
o Herb Armstrong wanted to know what is being done about the garbage on Holidays. Ed Kocher wants to see if we can get a list of holidays from the Township and we can publish that in the newsletter and put it on the web site as well, this way all the unit owners know when garbage pick-ups will be. Ed Kocher stated that most of the garbage cans are no longer an issue except for a unit owner who constantly stores it on the side of their unit or behind their unit. It was noted that garbage cans are to be stored in the garage.
The meeting was duly adjourned by Dolores Tappert at 9:07 p.m.
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will be held on January 8, 2002 at 48 White Swan Way.