Ambassador II Condominiums

Meeting was called to order at 7:02pm on Wednesday, August 10, 2016.
Board Members in attendance:
Brien Sherman (President)
Venus Chan (Vice President)
Jay Heath (treasurer)
Shaun Ross (Secretary)

Introduction and Signin:
● A quorum was met with the number of persons present and proxies acquired equaling 23.
● The proof of meeting notice was provided to all attendees.
● The IRS resolution 70 604 was read aloud by the Treasurer as per federal law.
● The membership approved the 2015 annual meeting minutes as written.

Financial Report:
● Budget: The Treasurer presented budget highlights from the previous fiscal year. He also presented the 2016 /2017 annual budget for approval by the membership. A dues increase of 1.6% over the previous year was suggested. 5 line items we reduced while 6 increased and 17 items are unchanged.
○ The 2016/2017 annual budget was approved by the membership as presented.
● Explanation: The Treasurer provided explanations for the continued increases to our reserves. We had unexpected reserve withdrawals because of uninsured losses caused primarily by water damage from failed appliances. In addition, the Reserve Study increased the amount of maintenance expected to occur in the next few years.

Old Business:
● Recycling: Recycling pickup has changed to twice a week (TUE & FRI). Residents need to pay attention to what can and cannot be recycled. Notices are posted near the dumpsters for reference. In addition, you may check the City of Seattle website for the latest updates. If we lose our recycling containers or fines are imposed, our garbage bill will rise considerably.
● Water heaters: The Board would like to remind all homeowners to please replace water heaters by the time the manufacturer’s warranty period ends. Equipment past its warranty period may fail without warning, causing significant water damage to your unit and neighboring 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.
● 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 likely original equipment. Please consider replacing your toilet(s) with newer more efficient models.
● Detectors: 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.
● Barking Dogs: Frustration with fellow residents is a continued issue. 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.
● Lighting: The three courtyard lamps were replaced with bollard style light fixtures and the garage lights were replaced with brighter nod efficient LED lamps. Seattle City Light subsidized the cost of replacing high wattage fixtures with efficient LEDs.
● Remodeling: Please reference the Rules & Regulations regarding remodeling of units. The inside of each unit is the domain of each owner and each may pretty much do what they like to the space as long as it does not affect other units, common areas, or the building exterior.
● Lockers: 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.

Nomination & Election of Directors:
● The incumbents, Shaun Ross and Venus Chan, were reelected to the Board for another 3year term each.

New Business:
● Janitorial: Friday Maids cleaning service was terminated for repeated nonperformance. The building’s new janitorial service is Twilight Cleaning.
● Security Upgrades: The Board continues to look into security options for the building and reviewed the previous years topics with a semi-timeline of implementation.
○ Rekeying: Maybe rekey the building in 2017.
○ Cameras: With the garage lights now replaced, we can look into video recording.
● Exterior Repair: In the coming weeks, scaffolding will be installed along the east wall of the x01 stack.

Homeowners Discussion:
● Garage Pathway: A member inquired what can be done about the dentist office patients not properly parking their vehicle within the lines of the space near the elevator entrance on the main level of the Summit Ave garage. The Board will look into options to more clearly mark the walkway.
● Roof Repairs: A member inquired about when the roof will be repaired. Roof repairs are still in the works. Unfortunately, the Board has not been able to locate a contractor to even bid on the repairs.
● Security: A member inquired about setting the new garage lights so they come on sooner as one approaches the fixture. The Board will look into adjusting the distance.
● Planter: A member inquired about receiving permission to cleanup and maintain the planter between units E105 & E106. The Board gave permission to E106 owner to clean and maintain the planter.

Meeting adjourned at 7:50pm. Next annual meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, July 12, 2017.

Monday, August 8, 2016
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 homeowners were present at the meeting this month.
Meeting was called to order at 6:37pm. The July 2016 minutes were approved as written.

Treasurer’s Reports
For period ending July 31, 2016.
Bank, Savings and Investment Accounts
Checking: $42,475.79
Washington Federal Replacement / Special Assessment Reserve: $224,259.82
Sound Credit Union Savings: $211,418.38
Umpqua Bank 17month
CD: $235,876.90
Petty Cash: $100.00
Total Assets: $714,130.89

Committee Reports
No reports.

Security
CONTINUED REMINDER TO ALL RESIDENTS: Before proceeding away from the building or to your parking space (Rule 3.17), please wait for the Summit Ave garage gate to close completely. Residential garage burglaries are still up citywide. The most common method of entry for a trespasser is through an unattended open garage gate/door after a vehicle or pedestrian has passed through.

There was one observation of an attempted locker break-in in the alley garage. One other prowler in the Summit garage was thwarted by a fellow homeowner. One was a daylight attempt. A photo of one of the suspects was submitted to the Board. Because of the continued rise in residential garage burglaries, we strongly advise residents to never leave anything you don’t wish to lose in lockers or vehicles. Leaving valuables or even non-valuables in plain sight is an invitation for thieves. Nonresident owners, please discuss this continued security issue with your tenants.

No package thefts were reported in July. We continue to advise residents to consider having packages delivered to your workplace or other secure address. Delivery people are under no obligation to call your personal number. You should also pick up packages promptly. Packages left for extended periods could be considered abandoned.

Rules
No shortterm tenants are allowed. Rental leases may not be less than 6months. Please reference the Declaration (10.4 and 10.5) for the full description. Our attorney informs us that our Declaration rules specifically prohibits AirBnB type rentals. The Board will formulate rules that allow for significant fines for violations.

Recycling reminders: There are a few residents who continually abuse recycling. The Board will send a warning before assessing fines for the continual misuse of the recycling beginning with the frequent abusers. Fines are $100 per incident (Rule 3.10.2). Our recycling rules are identical to the City of Seattle recycling requirements.

Please continue to pickup after your dog (Rule 10.5), consider using a Citronella collar to curb barking (Rule 10.3), keep dogs off balconies and decks when youfre not home (Rule 10.6), and please control their behavior when you are home. While in the common areas, dogs must be leashed at all times. Your neighbors will be appreciative. Fines will be and have been imposed for repeated violations.

Old Business

The door at the bottom of the east building’s north stairwell will be replaced someday. The Board continues to search for a vendor to bid on this small project.

Owners not residing in their units are encouraged to inspect their units on a regular basis. We have seen multiple instances in the last few years where tenants have not discovered issues that have caused unnecessary and very expensive damage to units and common areas.

We continue to search for a vendor to complete roof repairs. Construction in the city is at a fever pace and small projects like ours are least desirable for vendors. But no worries, the temporary repairs are still holding. We hope to have the repairs completed before the rain returns on a regular basis.

The Summit Ave garage gate opener was repaired.

Missing emergency contact information. Please contact Jack Taylor at Property Concepts to make sure he has current phone number(s), mailing address, and email address for you and/or your tenant. His contact information is at the bottom of these minutes. There are still several units that have not contacted Property Concepts with current emergency contact information.

New Business
The Board has voted to increase the Association’s insurance deductible for water damage from $10K to $20K per incident. The deductible for all non-water damage claims remains at $10K per incident. Per the 3rd Amendment to the Declaration, the at fault owner is responsible for the amount of the Association’s insurance deductible. Homeowners without insurance may be responsible for the entire damage bill. The Board will give adequate notice to all homeowners so everyone can verify or adjust their coverage. Exact details will be released in a few weeks. The change is expected to take place in early 2017.

Shortly, there will be a necessary repair to the exterior of the west building on the east side of the x01 stack (near the Dentist office). Scaffolding will be installed to access the location.

The project to replace the trash room gate will be done about Wednesday, August 24th. This is a reserves replacement project.

Water damage repairs are nearly complete.

The Association’s $10K insurance deductible has been assigned to the units that caused the damage. We will work to insure these amounts are returned to the Association in a timely manner.

Meeting adjourned at 7:48pm.
Next Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 12, 2016 at 6:30pm in Unit E108.
Ambassador II Condominium Homeowners Association:
506 E Howell St, Seattle, WA 98122 (not mailing address)