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Board Meeting Minutes
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<p>Driftwood Sands Condominium Association, Inc. Dear Driftwood Sands Owner, This letter is being written to inform you of several ongoing projects and concerns. Firstly, and most importantly, your Board of Directors has been diligently researching a solution to the continued problem with water intrusion in the 8 stack units. Let us share some of the President's recap as given at the last Board Meeting on 04/20/2017: “We live in a building that was constructed in 1981 and has had many minor renovations and repairs and one major renovation in 2005/6. At that time we removed all wood from the top 5 floors, placed stucco over concrete masonry to modernize and protect our building and change the car port area. This was done to protect the infrastructure and integrity of the building while increasing the value of each unit. This cost over $1.2 million and paid through an assessment of all owners. We have been fighting a battle since 2013 in the 8 stack units of our building to prevent water intrusion into the units and more importantly into the slab and infrastructure that supports our building. RPM has the time line and expense for each repair in the 8 stack since 2013. The total cost was $53,900. To continue to fight this battle your Board hired TRC engineering firm to give us an account of the damages and the causes of this damage. (We hired TRC after getting 3 bids from engineering firms as dictated by our governing documents). TRC assessed the damage incurred by water intrusion into each unit. They have made recommendations to the BOD and our condo lawyer was present via conference call on April 7th to discuss liability and fault issues. A copy of the complete engineering report is included in this package. The summary begins on page 32 and continues with recommendations and pictures of each unit. The Board has discussed a time line for the 3 phases including the painting and repairs of fine cracks in stucco and balcony walls. We will continue to repair 5 balcony decks each year according to those having the greatest need for resurfacing. The engineers have recommended we begin with the repairs and replacements of sliding doors in the 8 stack ASAP. Our lawyer has reviewed our condo documents and it is the owners' responsibility to replace and repair all balcony doors with sliders and frames as per the scope of work outlined in their reports in the 8 stack. At our next meeting, we will know the cost of each owner of units (#'s108, 208, 308, 408, and 508). This cost will be to replace all sliding doors and framework and install proper insulation, frames, doors with sliders and the type of glass for maximum hurricane forces.” The major concern is for the continuing problems at the 08 stacks. The extreme exposure of these units to the harsh storms from the Southwest have caused compounding damage over the years. Inspections have indicated that the sliding glass doors do not protect infiltration of high velocity rain water. The first stage recommendation, accepted by the board of directors, is for replacement of all 08 stack sliders with high impact units. These doors will have a raised a raised threshold to block blowing water. It is desirable to commence the work before the August rain. TRC will provide all services required to oversee the work. At least three qualified contractors will be invited to bid the work. Any owner desirous of having new sliding glass doors during this time, will need to contact management in writing (email is fine) and request them. TRC Engineering will notify the Association's contractor of choice and a discounted price will be offered to you. If you prefer another contractor, said contractor will have to work with TRC to ensure all installation follows the specifications of Driftwood Sands and TRC. After reading the attached report, we are sure that you will understand the severity of this problem and stand with your Board on this decision. Our building, in the words of the Engineer, Mr. Robert Shreffler, E.I., has been maintained to the highest standards and shows no other severe problems. He was astounded that for a beach property, the integrity of the Building is intact! Your Board plans to keep it that way, which is why the repairs and renovations to the 8 stack are so important. Secondly, after a small fire in one of the storage units last month...quickly contained by our fire system and the fire department, your Board is requesting that each owner ensure they provide access to their unit and storage areas by either providing a key for each, a security code, or both. THIS IS MANDATORY! Your Condominium Documents state in part: “The Association shall have...the Irrevocable right to have access to each Unit from time to time during reasonable hours as may be necessary for the maintenance, repair or re-placement of any Condominium Elements therein, or at any time and by force if necessary, for making emergency repairs therein necessary to prevent damage to the Common Elements or to any other Unit or units, or to determine compliance with the arms and provisions of this Declaration, the exhibits annexed hereto, and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to such documents”. All keys and/or codes must be given to the Maintenance Supervisor, Arnold Kraemer, no later than June 1st, 2017. On June 2nd, 2017, Maintenance, a Board Member and Management will be checking all entry and storage doors for access. If no access has been provided, a locksmith will be called to change the locks, provide a key for you, the Owner and the Association, and you will be charged for the visit and the keys. Thirdly, many owners have been renting their units to tenants with pets. PLEASE NOTE: Driftwood Sands Declaration of Condominium, Section 17.2 Pets, specifically states in part: “No one other than the Owner of the Unit is permitted to keep any pets”. Your tenants and/or guest are not permitted to have pets on the association property, period! Please inform your leasing agents, if any, of this rule and abide by it in future. On a happier note, many of you have discovered the Driftwood Sands Website, courtesy of Jack Berlin and Lana Schlapkohl, thank you so much. For those of you who have not yet perused the site, please do...there is a wealth of information there. The site is extremely user friendly and can be accessed at www.driftwoodsandsfl.com and the Owner's password is dwsirb. Please do not give out the password to all and sundry...the association is trying very hard to keep it to owners and residents only! We sincerely wish you and yours the best for the remaining 2017, and thank you for your continued support. Your Driftwood Sands Board of Directors. </p>
