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ROTONDA WEST ASSOCIATION, INC
RWA Properties Committee
Minutes
Monday, March 24, 2008

 

PRESENT: George Krabbe (Chair.), Hank Artz, Bud Nill, Fred Warner and Carl Couture

ABSENT:

MANAGEMENT: Dianne Brophy, Secretary and Jay Lyons, Office Manager

OTHER MEMBERS: Donna Krabbe

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am, roll call was taken and the Minutes of the February 25, 2008, were approved as presented.

Chairman Krabbe stated the meeting would start with a discussion of the signs. George Krabbe said he did not go before the Budget and Finance Committee for replacement of signs at the Memorial Parks as that meeting was cancelled due to illness. Quick Signs said they would replace the signs at Pebble Beach, Broadmoor and possibly White Marsh at no cost. At the Beautification Meeting of March 13, the Memorial Park signs were discussed. The committee’s recommendation was to have two separate signs for Memorials and Safety Signs. Hank Artz asked if Quick Signs would give a discount to have the signs replaced in the new material. George Krabbe said I asked for a price quote with new material. Quick Signs stated they would give a quote and then stated they would replace signs with same materials.

Chairman Krabbe stated the Safety signs will have 5 lines. They are:

  • Residents and Guests Only
  • Use at Your Own Risk
  • Alligators in Area
  • No Swimming
  • No Open Flames

Chairman Krabbe will go to the Budget and Finance Committee to ask for funds for these Safety Signs.

Hank Artz questioned the Catch and Release signs. George Krabbe said those signs have been in place for quite a while and have nothing to do with the Safety Signs. Carl Couture asked the cost of the signs. George Krabbe said the 32 by 24 inch signs would be in the area of $300.00 and in the range of $325.00 with tax and installation. George Krabbe said 5 signs are needed and will be asking for $2,000.00 for the 3 Memorial Park signs, one at the Gazebo and one at the Marina. Donna Krabbe asked if money would be requested for landscaping the signs.  George said the signs will be placed in a landscaped area. Discussion followed on landscaping. Hank Artz asked if there is money in the Reserves for the project. George Krabbe stated leave that up to the Budget and Finance Committee. It could come out of the Unanticipated Funds. The signs need to be installed to take care of the liability. The committee approved requesting funds from the Budget and Finance Committee for the Safety Signs.

Chairman Krabbe discussed the Community Center Report. The committee members were given the report. The problem sites were listed.

  • Exterior walls have spray paint over plywood giving the appearance of stucco. The coating has deteriorated at every joint and this indicates moisture could be getting into the walls. With moisture there is always a possibility of mold.
  • Roof trusses at the back of the building are damaged and several are completely rotted. 
  • Roof is still satisfactory with a life expectancy of 5 to 7 years.
  • Shingled shed roof on the back of the building is worn and needs replacement.
  • There is little to no insulation in the building’s roof.
  • There is termite damage under building to main floor beam. This maybe old damage.
  • Rotted spot area on floor in front of kitchen. This should be repaired for safety purposes.
  • Shed door is rotted at the bottom.
  • Plumbing pipes under building are green and corroded. The pipes are in the same condition in the Men’s Room under the sink cabinet.
  • Electric systems are un-coordinated. There is one double taped circuit breaker in main service panel. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning system appears to be well maintained. There is one refrigerant line that should be sealed to prevent varmints from getting into the attic.
  • Separation in concrete walkway on south side of building that could be trip hazard.
  • Mold samples were taken. There were no elevated mold problems.

Chairman Krabbe said we have issues with the building. We have to decide what we want to do as far as the building is concerned. What will the cost be to repair these items? It would be a waste of money to repair the building. Just to put vinyl siding on building would cost $30,000.00 to $40,000.00. Discussion followed on repairs to building and the cost of repairs. There was discussion on the storage items in the shed. Carl Couture said repair soft spot on floor as a safety condition and plug the refrigerant line. George Krabbe said the repairs on the Community Center will be discussed under the Five Year Plan.

George Krabbe gave the committee copies of the Five Year Plan. Under Community Center we have completed the building and mold inspection. Chairman Krabbe asked is the building worth remodeling? Committee consensus was no. If all repairs were done on the building it would probably cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars and you would still have an old building. Carl Couture said we have to take a band-aid approach and try to keep the building intact as long as we can. Discussion followed. Jay Lyons asked if the county inspected the previous repairs? The question could not be answered. Jay Lyons suggested the Power Company give a heating and cooling survey. Carl Couture said possibly volunteers could do the work. Jay Lyons said we could have a Hold Harmless Agreement with volunteers. Discussion followed on volunteers. George Krabbe said I believe we have decided not to put a lot of money into the building. We need to do the short terms repairs. They will include fixing the soft spot in the floor in front of the kitchen, plumbing in the men’s room, plug the refrigerant line, and the repair shed roof. Jay Lyons said he will get prices from roofers and give them to the committee. George Krabbe asked what long term repairs should be undertaken? Carl Couture said only do emergency repairs.

Chairman Krabbe said the Rotonda West Foundation received the 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status. Our hopes are to build a building within Rotonda West to be used by all community groups within the whole Rotonda area and the RWA might be able to use that building for their main meetings. The RWA may consider constructing an office building where meetings and organizations would not cause interruptions to the office staff. Do we consider building a community center or an office building? Do we consider leasing office space? Hank Artz said leasing was considered 3 years ago. Bud Nill said if done right we could have a new building within 3 to 4 years. We need to design the building right. Time is needed to research what is needed in a building. The design and engineering phase could take a year and a half. Planning would be needed from a promotional standpoint. Discussion followed on what should be done to promote a new building. George Krabbe said we have tried twice to get a new community center and the residents turned it down. That is one of the reasons we have formed the foundation. Additionally, with the Rotonda West Foundation’s 501 (c) (3) non-profit status, we can apply for grants and donations can be accepted. This is a vehicle to construct a building for the social aspects of health, education and welfare of Rotonda citizens. This would also open doors for other organizations if the building is big enough and more user-friendly. More than one organization could use the building at the same time. The RWA Community Center is used to its capacity. Looking at the calendar something is going on here almost every day and evening. The RWA is trying to conduct business at the Community Center and it is very hard to do that with the organizations using the building during working hours and the RWA holding committee meetings. Discussion followed. Hank Artz said the people living in Rotonda West wanted a new building. George Krabbe said now is the time to build because the costs are less. This committee needs to put together alternatives for a building. Hank Artz suggested putting together a vision of what the building would look like. That would be a start. Discussion followed on the building concept. Carl Couture said I don’t see the office side of the building expanding. It is the community side that will command more capacity. Discussion followed on needed office space. The committee agreed leasing is not a good option.

The committee discussed the following Five Year Plan items.

George Krabbe said he will check with the office personal to see what needs to be replaced and make a prioritized list of office equipment needed. This will be done each year.

  • The Gazebo was supposed to be repaired last year but did not happen due to lack of funds. The committee needs to decide what repairs are needed and get cost estimates for repairs. There was soffit damage at the Gazebo by vandals. We do not have the funds for the repairs. Do we want to redo the whole Gazebo or just do patch work. Discussion followed on work to be done. David Kelly is putting wedding packages together and has approached the Properties Committee to have wedding pictures taken at the Gazebo. Discussion followed on the uses of the Gazebo and repairs needed.
  • The Gazebo Island’s landscaping needs updating. Plans should be made to get estimates to have work done in 2009.
  • Marina Docks were power washed, repaired and sealed in 2007. They are to be inspected in 2008 and scheduled to be repaired, power washed and sealed in 2009 and 2011.
  • Signs have already been discussed.
  • The Aquatic Committee should perform RWA boat, motor and trailer inspection since they use the equipment. The Aquatic Committee should also schedule any required maintenance or repairs.

Carl Couture stated at the last meeting he would create spreadsheets to track items by each quarter of the year. A sample of the spreadsheet was given to the committee members. A sheet could cover a year. In the upper right hand corner could be last update with the year listed. Also on the right side would be the maintenance items. Abbreviations of the planned items could be listed below. There would be a column for each quarter. Three quarters of the sheet would be permanent once we have the maintenance items and abbreviations. Only the update will be done in the quarterly sections. This could be done as a cyclical maintenance program for the upcoming years. Discussion followed that future committees could use the same forms. Hank Artz stated he could do the format for the spreadsheet.     

George Krabbe asked who is responsible for Community Maintenance items. Hank Artz answered the manager. George Krabbe said he believes a board member should be involved in the budgetary process, and that he would bring that up at the next Budget and Finance meeting. Chairman Krabbe said if the Reserve Study is done that could be used as part of the Properties Committee Five Year Plan. That would dictate what needs to be done.

There was discussion on the length and time spent on the minutes.

Meeting adjourned at 11:35 am.

Next meeting will be April 28, 2008, at 10:00 a.m.

 

Dianne Brophy, Secretary