Construction Committee Meeting

According to the signs at the TAJ entrances, there will be a Construction Committee meeting on September 10, Thursday.

Construction Committee: Rain Gutters, Refurbishments

The construction committee meeting got underway tonight at 7:40pm. Paulette Watson is the chairman and she was there along with Ricardo, Joe, and Jan. Ben Odebralski and Mark Morgentern, both Directors on the Board, were also in attendance.  About 10 unit owners were also there.

The discussion included rain gutters, painting, tree removal, and on-going refurbishment projects. They stated that all buildings will be given rain gutters and leaf guards when they are refurbished.  They further explained that those buildings that already have gutters without leaf guards can get 

them at this time for a discounted price from the gutter company.  If the work is done at a later time it is estimated that the cost will be more than doubled.  

They also reported that the gutter system that they will be using now is different and better than previously used.  The gutters will be attached to the building with hangers in such a way so as to make them removable, unlike those that are attached with spikes (long nails).  Paulette reported that the gutter company (a branch of All Atlas Roofing) warrantees their work for five years and the gutter manufacturer guarantees their 

materials for 25 years.  

Paulette described the progress that is being made on the painting of buildings 25, 26, and 46 (?).  She said that the painting is being done by Color Clad (not Broward Boys as before) and that they are using Benjamin Moore paint.  The paint carried  a 7 year guarantee (compared to 3 years from Broward Boys) and the Benjamin Moore representative visited to review the painters' work.  He reportedly expressed satisfaction with the preparation and painting that is being done. Apparently, it takes approximately one week to complete a paint job on one building (weather permitting).

There are a number of trees that are being trimmed and others to be removed.  Some are marked with red paint, others with yellow ribbons.  Several unit owners expressed fear that the trees near their buildings are soon going to cause structural problems for their units, if they have not already (buildings 6 and 28, if I heard correctly).

Paulette reported that the City of Plantation has issued a directive to the TAJ Association, saying that within a month we are to show that we have the "brown buildings" under contract for refurbishment. They have reportedly threatened to begin inspections that may result in the condemning of buildings if we have not complied. When buildings are condemned, it was explained tonight, the occupants must vacate the building.  

Paulette stated that the work is being done to get the bid packets out to contractors to work on the buildings. There is a hang-up regarding the "specs" and some other paperwork that we thought belonged to us, that seems to be the intellectual property of our engineering firm.  In the consideration of using a different engineering firm, we are faced with the prospect of having to obtain new plans.  Until that is straightened out we cannot obtain bids.

I had to leave the meeting at 8:30pm and therefore do not know what was discussed after that time.

Construction Committee to Discuss Refurbishment Projects on Several Buildings

According to the recently distributed flyer, the construction committee will be meeting on Thursday, September 18th to discuss issues related to the refurbishment of several buildings.  The buildings that are most likely to be affected are 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 33, 43, (and 45?).  In the flyer they are described as the "Brown" buildings.  I think it is the buildings that have not recently been refurbished.  City inspectors were on the property some weeks ago, taking pictures of the buildings that were not yet refurbished.  Perhaps this meeting will explain what the city had to say about TAJ.

Construction Progress: August 2008

Una traducción española está disponible en Web site: www.TAJWatchSpanish.blogspot.com

In a conversation yesterday, the new Construction Committee Chair, Paulette Watson, explained the plans to paint several buildings. She said that buildings 14, 21, 25, 26, and 44 are scheduled to be begin the painting process in the coming week (perhaps as soon as Monday). She explained that the painting process includes a period of preparation that may take one or two days. The painting contractor is new to us here at TAJ and is named Color-Clad. It is expected that they will complete the painting within thirty days.

Paulette noted that this phase of construction involves a newly written contract that favors the association and unit owners more than contracts that we have used in the past. Some of the contract changes, she said, are that a smaller percentage of the job cost is paid up-front and a greater percentage of the job cost is withheld until completion; there is a process in place to verify the quantity of paint used on each job; and the quality of the paint will be verified and guaranteed by the manufacturer (Benjamin Moore). The manufacturer guarantees their paint for seven years, she said.

Paulette went on to explain that unit owners should make sure that their fences are complete, as the painters will be painting the fences at the same time that they paint the buildings. Some unit owners need to make repairs to their fences and some unit owners need to have fences installed. Whichever is the case, the management office has information that can be helpful. The construction committee invites you to contact the office for the name of a man who can do the work of building a fence for you. You can also contact the office to acquire the materials to build or repair the fence yourself, as the Association reportedly has a stockpile of those supplies.

Paulette explained that in some cases, unit owners are missing trellises that were removed and mistakenly discarded during the earlier stages of their building's refurbishment work. Those trellises will be replaced by the Association.

Construction Committee Meeting Notice

The following information was sent through email from the Association:

Notice
Construction Committee Meeting
Thursday, June 5, 2008, 7:30 pm at the Clubhouse

All Unit Owners are welcome to attend.

This Construction Committee meeting is for the purpose of the agenda items only. Questions
regarding items on the agenda will be answered and discussion on them will be entertained.
Questions on other building items of interest will be answered if time permits.

Agenda:
Architectural Changes
Fence and gate issues community wide
Review of committee progress on: Buildings still under construction; Painting; Gutters; Roofing
Owner questions on other matters pertaining to current construction
New business
Adjourn

Construction Committee: Gutters need leaf guards

The heavy rains that have been happening lately have provided an opportunity to evaluate the performance of our gutters. It is apparent that the gutters under trees need leaf guards, even those gutters just recently installed. Pictured are the rain-gutters over-flowing and sending water down the back walls of buildings 33 and 35. Building 40 has the same issues, with leaves and twigs blocking the downspout of the gutters. There are probably other buildings having this same system malfunction, but these are the ones that I can see easily from my window when it is raining outside.