WHITEHALL CONDOMINIUM

Newsletter

The Whitehall Newsletter is printed two to four times a year. The current Editor-in-Chief is Susan Spring.  Fernando Saenz does the production work. The Board of Directors provides final review and approval for each issue.

 

The goal of the Newsletter is to provide updates on Condominium Activities through the President’s Report, Management Report, and Committee Reports.  It also provides reminders on common problems and issues as well as the opportunity for residents and owners to voice their opinions or provide information through Letters to the Editor and Meet Your Neighbor.  Recipes as well as information about new or interesting activities available in the Washington DC area are also welcome. Advertisements by residents and local businesses are appreciated and help to defray the Newsletter costs.

 

For persons wishing to contribute articles or advertisements, a schedule of the issue target dates and deadlines is posted on the bulletin boards.   Advertisements should be copy-ready.  Articles in an electronic format such as RTF files are greatly appreciated. Volunteers to assist in any aspect of Newsletter production are also welcome.

In addition to the Whitehall Newsletter you will find interesting local news in the links below.

March 2007 Issue

From September 2005 Newsletter

Condominium Ownership

 

During the recent drive to change the bylaws, the Board members spent a number of hours talking to owners about how a Condominium works and is run.  It was clear that different owners had different perceptions and understandings.  Based on that experience, we would like to devote this issue of the Whitehall News to a number of issues related to Condominium ownership and operations.

A condominium is a type of common ownership community (cooperatives and home owners associations are two other common types).  In a condominium, you own your own unit and share ownership with other unit owners of the common elements such as roofs, corridors, walkways, landscaping, plumbing and electrical systems.  This means that you are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the items that serve your individual unit and you must also contribute through your condo fees to the maintenance and repair of the property as a whole.  Condominium government usually consists of a Council of Unit Owners (essentially all of the unit owners) that delegates the authority for the day to day operations to a Board of Directors.  Exactly how the process works is governed by local law (state and county) as well as by the specific governing documents of the Association, usually the declaration, bylaws and rules and regulations.  The initial documents for an Association are often provided by a developer who either builds the condominium or converts an existing rental property into a Condominium.  By buying a Condominium, you are consenting to obey the Association documents.  This is why state law provides that you must receive a copy of these documents as part of a sales or re-sale package and also provides time for you to change your mind after reading the documents.

 

The following information and quotations from the booklet “Understanding Condominium Living” produced by the Maryland Attorney Generals Office provide a brief overview of Association governance.

“The board of directors administers the internal affairs of the condominium, in accordance with the bylaws, and can make operation and management decisions without approval of the unit owners.”  The board needs to balance the wishes of individual owners and groups of owners, with the needs of the Association as a whole. “The bylaws provide a procedure for removing a board member who fails to serve the interests of all unit owners.”

 

“Bylaws may only be amended by the council of unit owners, but the board may adopt rules to meet special needs of the condominium without the consent of the council.  However, the law provides a specific procedure to be followed by the board and any new rule can be rejected by the unit owners.  This can be done at the annual meeting or by petitioning for a special meeting in accordance with the bylaws.  If a unit owner violates a rule, and upon notification does not correct the violation, a hearing will be held that could result in a penalty.”

 

“The board also has the authority to assess and collect money to maintain the financial stability of the condominium.  It has the legal right to attach a lien to an individual unit for unpaid charges for repairs to the owner’s unit, for unpaid charges for authorized repairs to the common elements or for failure to pay assessment fees.  A lien must be in compliance with the Maryland Contract Lien Act.”

 

“The condominium’s board has the basic duty to maintain the common elements.” “There may be a contract with a management firm for maintenance and repair of common elements.”

 

“It is the responsibility of each condominium’s board of directors to determine the amount of money to be kept in reserves for the replacement or repairs of the common elements.”

With respect to reserves and maintenance of the common elements, it is important to understand the physical structure of the Whitehall Buildings, which are the responsibility of the Association as a whole and the maintenance of which consumes a significant amount of both the operation and reserve portion of the budget.  (The October 2004 issue had an article about the budget and budget process and so that will not be covered in this issue). Whitehall has three buildings, two high-rise buildings (one with 78 units and one with 210) and a semi-circle of 13 townhouses, there are three roof structures, two boiler rooms (one for each high-rise), two boilers for heating and a hot water heater for summer use (for the North Building and townhouses), two garages (one free-standing and one under the North Building), a total of 450 parking spaces (both inside and outside), multiple vertical risers and horizontal pipes for fresh and waste water as well as back-flow preventers and valves, electrical panels for the buildings, 2 lobbies, 21 interior hallways, 21 hallway trash rooms, 21 laundry rooms, two trash compacter rooms, two sets of chillers and cooling towers, tier roof fans for the high-rise buildings, 5 elevators, sidewalks, roadways, curbs, dumpster areas and landscaping.  Maintenance and repair of these are the responsibility of the Association Staff with outside contracts to provide specialized services. The Who’sWho article in this issue of the newsletter covers some of these issues as well.  The reserve funds come into play when a replacement or renovation is needed, such as the recent renovation of the elevators and planned renovations of the lobbies.

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Who’s who at Whitehall

 

Several years ago, Whitehall changed its management system from one in which the association hired its on-site management staff and contracted with a management company to do financial services and to provide a part-time (20%) property manager (who oversaw the on-site staff and major condominium projects) to one in which a management company (CFM) continues to provide financial services while the Board directly hired a General Manager to assume the duties of the property manager as well as many of the duties of the site manager.  Part of the rationale for that change was the number of structural and renovation projects that were projected and which needed to have more oversight time than the traditional management company property manager could provide (20%).  The engineering staff and front desk staff services and duties have also evolved.  In the sections below, we have tried to summarize some of the current duties of Whitehall staff so that order that the Condominium will function optimally for staff, residents and owners. (The actual position descriptions for individual staff members are 4-10 pages in length and so these are condensed versions. The accompanying article on the Condominium ownership provides information on the number of structural components of the buildings.)

Management Staff consists of the General Manager, Assistant Manager and some aspects of the Front Desk. The General Manager oversees the overall operation of the property and staff.  He is responsible for soliciting bids for and overseeing the implementation of large projects and service contracts for the Association.  He interacts with the President and other members of the Board of Directors, with the President being the principal conduit for such communications.  He attends Board meetings and prepares the Management Report. He is responsible for the overall implementation of the Association’s documents and procedures.  He interacts with the Association’s attorney and Management Company for legal and financial issues, respectively. He provides a draft budget for the Association and monitors expenses to be sure that they are concordant with that budget. He evaluates staff performance.  He interacts with County inspectors to assure that the Association is in compliance with County regulations.

 

The Assistant General Manager provides support to the General Manager. He responds to general inquiries by residents and owners.   He is responsible for coding purchase orders by budget category and for billing under the In-Unit Services. He maintains the key fob system and resident database.  He assists the General Manager in overseeing projects and in soliciting bids for smaller scope projects such as window washing and carpet cleaning.  He is responsible for ordering office supplies and preparing the Board Books. He trains the Front Desk Staff.

 

Given the multiple duties of the General Manager and Assistant Manager, it is advisable for residents who have a specific issue that they want to discuss face to face, to make an appointment.  That way, they will be certain that the Managers do not have another commitment or meeting.  However, as indicated below, many day to day items can be easily resolved at the Front Desk or by sending a note, FAX or e-mail to the Management Office.

 

Front Desk Staff are involved in assisting residents and the Management Office.  Given the broader scope duties of the Management Office for items affecting the Condominium as a whole, the General Manager has been working with the Front Desk Staff so that they can provide many services and general information to residents both when the Management Office is opened as well as during evening and weekend hours.  Front desk staff can provide you with work order forms; comments, complaints, suggestion forms; architectural change forms; issue laundry cards, make an appointment for the extermination service, notify you when your packages arrives and hand your package to an express delivery service.  The Front Desk staff can explain guest parking and help you or your guest register a car in person or by telephone. Front Desk staff can take information about problems with Master Antenna reception.  The Front Desk Staff have a manual to guide them as to what is an emergency situation requiring them to contact the General or Assistant Manager or on-duty engineer.

 

The Engineering Staff consists of the Chief Engineer, Assistant Engineer and a Maintenance Assistant. The Chief Engineer has responsibility for the operation and maintenance by internal staff or contractors of the electrical and mechanical equipment used to provide heat, air conditioning, and hot water for all units.  In addition to operating building equipment, the engineer provides maintenance and repair services for the total operation of the condominium, either directly or by contract.  These duties involve daily inspections of the main mechanical elements of the property as well as scheduled maintenance service and inspections (such as the seasonal switch-overs between the heating and air-conditioning systems). The Chief and Assistant Engineer are on-call for alternating weeks and provide services on a time and materials basis under the In-Unit Service program.  (There is a separate article in this issue about the In-Unit Service program.)  The Assistant Engineer provides assistance to the Chief Engineer for maintenance and repair projects and works in tandem with him for projects requiring two persons. The Association also employs a Maintenance Engineer to help out with various tasks around the property.  These include additional exterior cleaning not covered under the Sweeney or Landscaping contract, minor interior and exterior painting, assistance in in-unit projects such as filter changing.  The Maintenance Engineer also provides assistance to the Chief and Assistant Engineers.

 

Building cleaning staff is provided under a contract that the Association has with the Sweeney Company.  The contractor trains the staff to provide the duties specified by the Association.

 

A landscaping contractor is engaged under performance contract to provide specific routine services to the association for maintenance of the common element plants, bushes and trees.  Specialized services such as pruning of large trees, deep root feeding, and tree removal are contracted for separately.  Under a separate contract for time and materials, the landscaping contractor provides snow removal services.

 

Other routine services that are provided under contract include Pool Management, Trash Pick-Up, and Elevator Maintenance.

 

It is important to note that residents and owners are not to direct Whitehall staff or Whitehall contractors as to when or how to do their work. Residents and owners requesting specific services should fill out the required work order or use other procedures developed by the Board or Management Staff.   Residents having suggestions or complaints about staff or contractor performance must provide written documentation of the issue. Residents and owners who approach contractors or staff who are engaged in repair, service or construction activities may endanger themselves and others and will be solely responsible for any liability incurred by their actions. Emergency or endangerment issues may be reported verbally to the Management Staff or the Front Desk Staff, or if appropriate to emergency services or law enforcement (911).

 

Staff or contractors doing their duties should not be verbally harassed or threatened by owners or residents.  (Unfortunately, this does happen.) Staff has been asked to report such behavior to the Board of Directors for action under the Association’s Harassment Policy or when appropriate, to contact Montgomery County Police.

 

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Understanding the In-Unit Program

 

The In-Unit Service program was set up in the mid 1980’s as a way to help Condominium owners and residents maintain the individually owned units.  Although each owner is responsible for items that service their own units (e.g., plumbing and plumbing fixtures, electric outlets, windows, HVAC units, interior walls and floors), because all of the units abut on at least one other unit and because utilities are paid in common, it is to the benefit of the Condominium as a whole for the unit interiors to be well maintained. Because this work is done on items for which the owner is responsible, it is done on a fee, that is time and materials, basis.

 

 

Owners desiring this service can fill out a work order form at the Front Desk indicating the nature of the problem in their unit.  Renters should consult with their owner or owner’s agent prior to requesting services.  While the engineering staff endeavors to do work on a first-come, first-served basis, at times this is not possible.  If there is a major problem within the common elements, e.g., plumbing repair, servicing of boilers, or if another resident has an emergency problem such as an inoperative toilet in a single bathroom unit, those concerns will need to be addressed first.  It is also possible that a part may need to be ordered to make your repair.  A note will be left to inform you of the completion of service or the need for additional materials or parts.  There are also situations that may need an owner’s go-ahead prior to proceeding.  If a leaking faucet cannot be repaired, the owner would have a choice of having the engineers replace it with a stock part or the owner may prefer to purchase a faucet of their own choice and have it installed by their own plumber.

 

When an owner needs to have a repair on a specific day or specific tight time frame, it may not be possible for building staff to accommodate them.  The owner then needs to directly hire someone to do the work.

 

The in-unit program is in effect during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.  Service outside of these hours is available only on an emergency basis.  Thus, items such as a dripping faucet or toilet, stopped garbage disposal, etc. will not be serviced on an emergency basis.

 

Many Associations do not have an In-Unit Services program and owners then have the responsibility of hiring outside contractors for all repairs that affect their individual unit.  If one compares the charges for the In-Unit Service with the cost of hiring an outside contractor, it is clear that the In-Unit Services program is not only a convenience, but a major money saver.

 

 

Please Put It In Writing…

 

Whether it’s a compliment or complaint or item needing repair, please put it in writing.  It is most efficient for everyone when there is a written record of what is needed or requested.  For items such as rule violations or personnel complaints, the Board cannot act unless there is written documentation. It is easier to schedule and track items as well as to understand the specific problem when written information is provided.  Work order, suggestion and complaint forms are available 24/7 at the Front Desk.  The Management Office can also be reached by e-mail ( GM@whitehallcondo.net  and FAX (301-652-1192).

 

From March 2006 Newsletter

Why Rules and Hearings

 

The Board has started the process of updating and revising the Whitehall Rules and Regulations.  Before the proposed changes are finalized, owners will have a chance to comment on them.  Some residents have asked why there are so many rules.  The reality is that the majority of people are considerate, use common sense in their actions and realize that their actions impact the lives of others.  However, there are times when residents do not appreciate the complexities of sharing common space and it is necessary to have some way to address the situation.

 

It is important for all residents and owners to understand what happens when someone breaks the rules or ByLaws.  The Board’s scope of action is limited to the procedures outlined by state law and the ByLaws.  That is, the Board must get a written notice of specific times and dates of events and a description of the alleged problem. After the Board receives notice of an alleged infraction, a letter is sent to the resident and/or the owner of the unit identified as the problem.  It is only after a second infraction that a hearing can be held.  If a fine is imposed, the bylaws limit it to $5 per incident.

 

There may be incidents in which the untoward behavior is so compelling that it cannot wait for this lengthy process and can most promptly be dealt with by the affected residents calling the police directly.  This is distasteful to most people, but necessary.

 

Modified from November 1998

Whitehall Budget Process

 

The development of the budget takes several months and follows the general format outlined below.  It is based on the Condo’s fiscal year which runs July 1 through June 30.  In March, a draft budget is developed by Management based on the previous year’s expenses and anticipated future needs. After the Board receives the draft and provides preliminary suggestions or raises questions, a revised draft copy is provided to owners.  (This draft, which contains all of the budget categories and shows previous year’s budget levels and projected annual expenses for each category is a 3-4 page document.) The Board then holds a budget town meeting, either as a separate meeting or as part of the regularly scheduled Board meeting.  At that meeting, the Property Manager presents the budget category by category.  Owners and Board members ask questions and make suggestions.  Owners who cannot attend the meeting may provide written comments for the Board’s consideration.

 

The budget consists of two parts, operating expenses and capital reserve expenses.  The operating budget is developed based on the current years projected actual expenses for the various categories and takes into account increases anticipated in utility company rates, mandated government personnel costs (such as FICA, Workmen’s Compensation), and contract service fees.

 

The second part of the budget is the capital/reserve budget, which is for the repair and replacement of major physical elements of the Condominium.  The proposed capital expenses are based on major repair items which have been identified by reserve studies that have been conducted by reserve specialists.

 

The final budget is usually passed at a Board Meeting in May so that new coupons can be generated in time for the start of the fiscal year.