Ambassador II Condominiums

Meeting was called to order at 7:00pm on Wednesday, August 12, 2015.
Board Members in attendance:
Brien Sherman (President)
Jay Heath (Treasurer)
Shaun Ross (Secretary)

Introduction and Signin:
● Counting the number of persons present and proxies acquired, 30 persons attended and a quorum was met.
● The proof of meeting notice was provided to all attendees.
● The IRS form 70 604
was read aloud by the Treasurer as per federal law.
● The 2014 annual meeting minutes were approved as written by the membership.

Financial Report:
● The Treasurer presented budget highlights from the previous fiscal year. He also presented the 2015 /2016 annual budget for approval by the membership. A dues increase of 2.5% over the previous year was suggested. Four line items we reduced while ten were increased.
○ The 2015/2016 annual budget was approved by the membership as presented.
● The replacement of the alley vehicle garage door was funded with Reserves. We also replaced a compressor for our dry fire sprinkler system.

Old Business:
● Water heaters: The Board would like to remind all homeowners to please replace water heaters by the time the manufacturer’s warranty period ends. As a general rule if your water heater says Bradford White on the side, it’s likely the original equipment. This equipment is well past the end of its life and may fail without warning causing significant water damage to yours and surrounding units.
● Water Supply Valves & Hoses: If the water valves to your sinks, toilet(s), washing machine, and dishwasher are gray plastic, they are original equipment and should be replaced as soon as possible. These plastic valves have been known to fail without notice. We also urge everyone to check and change washing machine hoses every 5 years; braided hoses are more flexible and can last a decade.
● Toilets: The Board strongly urges residents to pay close attention to toilets. Several instances of spontaneous tank cracks over the years have been reported. If your toilet says “CRANE”, it’s also likely original equipment. Aged equipment is less efficient. Please consider replacing your toilet(s) with newer more efficient models.
● Homeowners and tenants need to pay better attention to what can be recycled. There are notices posted near the dumpsters for reference and on the City of Seattle website. If we lose our recycling containers or fines are imposed, our garbage bill could rise dramatically.
● According to USFA/FEMA, smoke detectors are recommended to be replaced every 10years. If your smoke detector doesn’t have a battery backup, it is well past its expected service life. Also remember that carbon monoxide detectors are now required by State law. Rental units must be equipped immediately. Whereas, resident owners are required to install CO detectors as a condition of sale.
● UPDATE: The CondoInternet and CenturyLink high speed internet services are not available due to high costs of rewiring the buildings.
● UPDATE: The Board has looked into the cost of separating the water main so each association has their own meter. The price of this project is cost prohibitive with little or no cost savings.
● Frustration with fellow residents and their barking dogs was addressed at the meeting just as a dog from Ambassador 1 started barking. The first step to resolving a barking dog issue is contacting the owner of the dog and try to work at resolving the situation between each party. If this doesn’t work, please contact the Board with a log of times and dates of the continued barking along with the unit number. Unfortunately, the Ambassador 2 Board has no jurisdiction over Ambassador 1 residents.
● UPDATE: Building maintenance by Friday Maids’ cleaning crew has improved dramatically. We have new personnel cleaning the building.

New Business:
● Nomination and election of two Board members. The incumbents, Jay Heath and Brien Sherman, were reelected to the Board for another 3year term each.
● The annual Reserve Study for the 2015 / 2016 fiscal year is scheduled for completion later this Summer. We anticipate the study to increase our very good standing above 85% funding of our total reserve needs. This is well above the average for comparable associations.
● In anticipation of an inquiry to reasons for another year with a dues increase, the Treasurer provided explanations for the continued increases to our reserves.
● The Board will be replacing the three courtyard lamp posts with bollard style light fixtures later this year along with the 25 garage lights. Seattle City Light has a program that subsidizes the cost of replacing high wattage fixtures with efficient LEDs. We will take advantage of this program.
● The Board continues to look into security options for the building and presented a few options with a semi-timeline
of implementation periods.
○ Rekeying the building: Probably next year.
○ Installing cameras: Will review once garage lights have been replaced.
○ Replacing the common door locks with electronic versions: Will review at a later date.
○ Creating a community watch program online: Has been implemented through ‘Nextdoor Capitol Hill Southwest’ (www.nextdoor.com).
● A member inquired about rules & regulations regarding the remodeling of their unit. The inside of each unit is the domain of each owner and each can pretty much do what they like to the space as long as it does not affect other units, common areas, or the building exterior.
● A member inquired about replacing the storage lockers, as some are in a sad state of disrepair: The storage lockers are assigned and owned by each unit. They are not the responsibility of the Association and can be replaced within the same footprint at owners expense. As has been mentioned before, the Board recommends not storing anything in your locker that you do not wish to lose. Thieves still target these units.

Meeting adjourned at 8:02pm.
Next annual meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 10, 2016.

Monday, August 10, 2015
President: Brien Sherman
Vice President: Venus Chan (absent)
Treasurer: Jay Heath
Secretary: Shaun Ross
Member At Large: Anand Singla (absent)
Association Manager: Jack Taylor

Homeowners Forum
● No homeowner was present at the meeting this month.
Meeting was called to order at 6:35pm. The July 2015 minutes were approved as written.

Treasurer’s Reports
For period ending July 31, 2015.
Bank, Savings and Investment Accounts
Checking: $67,023.60
Washington Federal Replacement / Special Assessment Reserve CD: $391,721.88
Sound Credit Union Savings: $211,312.40
Petty Cash: $100.00
Total Assets: $670,157.88

Committee Reports
● Security Committee: The Board continues to examine a variety of security proposals. The new budget has additional funds to begin upgrading security. The comment period has ended. Thanks to those who gave input. For additional information or a refresher as to what the Board is considering, please checkout the Ambassador II Security Proposal Outline on the association’s website. Options discussed at the annual meeting.

Security
● CONTINUED REMINDER TO ALL RESIDENTS: Please wait for the Summit Ave garage gate to close completely before proceeding to your parking space or away from the building. The gate closes in less than a minute. SPD reported earlier this summer that car thefts and breakins are rising in condo garages, and the most common method of entry is to walk through an open gate/door after or once a car passes through. This is also the easiest way for locker thieves to enter. Do not leave anything in your locker you do not wish to lose. Leaving valuables in plain sight is an invitation for thieves. For owners who rent their units, please discuss this security issue with your tenants, as it’s their security too.
● Packages may still be rifled through or stolen from the lobby and hallways even though reported incidences have diminished. We advise that everyone pick up your packages as soon as they arrive or have them delivered to your workplace or other address.

Rules
● Please pickup after your dog, consider using a Citronella collar to curb barking, keep dogs off of balconies and decks when you are not home, and please control their behavior on the deck when you are home. While in the common areas, dogs must be leashed at all times. Your neighbors will be appreciative. Fines will be imposed for continued violations.
● Once again recycling containers are being misused. There is absolutely no clothing or shoes allowed in recycling. Just because it’s plastic does not mean it is automatically recyclable. Please refer to the recycling instructions regularly sent by the City. There is a copy of this flyer by the recycling containers. The Board is considering increasing staff hours to regularly sort through our garbage and recycling. This would entail an increase in dues to pay for this, which can be avoided by proper sorting of disposable items.

Old Business
● At your earliest convenience, please contact Property Concepts to make sure they have current phone number(s), mailing address, and email address for you and/or your tenant. There are several units in which Property Concepts does not have current emergency contact information.
● The Board is still waiting for a sample garage light fixture. Once received, it’ll be installed in the alley garage near the recycling dumpsters so everyone can see the light output. We hope to do this soon.
New Business
● The annual HOA meeting was Wednesday, August 12, 2015. Minutes will be sent to all owners current addresses.
● One of the alley Sumac trees was hit by a passing truck and fell on Friday, July 31st, taking out a section of fence. The tree was removed and the fence was replaced the following day. This is the third tree to fail and fortunately there have been no injuries. The Board has voted to remove the remaining Sumac trees from the alley in the coming months, as they’ve all shown root rot and drought stress. Unfortunately, they’ve come to the end of their life. One tree will take out power lines if it falls, and the other remaining tree would likely damage the Redwood tavern. This creates significant liability issues for the Association.
● The Board has been looking into transferring some of our reserve money into a couple new accounts so the money is safely under the $250K FDIC insured amount.

Meeting adjourned: 7:22pm.
Next Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 14, 2015 at 6:30pm in Unit E108.
Ambassador II Condominium Homeowners Association:
506 E Howell St, Seattle, WA 98122