Newsletter 4

GREETINGS FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS (BOD):

Here is some exciting news to report:

-$273,759 Reimbursement Received from Aimco:

As we reported to you our audit of the “REA 2010 budget” aka Common area expenses is still in progress. However, we take great pleasure in reporting to our members that as part of corrections caused by the ongoing audit we have received $273,759 reimbursement from Aimco. This is obviously wonderful news for all of us!  Hopefully more to follow as we complete the 2010 audit and start looking into the previous years…

- Your Assessments Have Been Lowered

We are pleased to report that the Board has been able to adopt a new budget that has lowered each members’ assessments for 2011!   We will continue to analyze cost savings measures throughout this year to keep your assessments as low as possible while still maintain a high level of service and upkeep to the building.

-Lobby Remodeling:

The remodeling of the lobby is in progress and should be completed within two weeks, subject to delivery schedules.  Once again we apologize for the inconvenience. The scope of work was driven by two separate factors: First, by the need to change the badly damaged wallpaper and to make the entire space brighter and easier to maintain (the old material was no longer available).  The refinishing of wood panels and replacement of skirting boards damaged by humidity and mold was caused by the flood that occurred in June of 2009 is also in progress together with fresh paint and improvement of the lighting.  On the other hand the security officers’ desk is being refurbished along with the re-upholstering of the furniture.

Second, the scope of work had to be expanded in view of the ongoing litigation we have with the insurance carrier.  For members who are not familiar with this lawsuit, it consists of a claim for flood damages to the lobby area which took place, during the flooding of June 2009. The former BOD took legal action to collect on the claim, unfortunately no adequate evidentiary documentation to support the claim was ever collected or produced at the time. After consultation with the lawyers representing the Association we have been advised to take further action to substantiate our claim;  (1)remove and replace part of the drywall damaged by humidity and mold in order to expose partially damaged materials as evidence (besides the necessity to comply with state health regulations), (2)removal and replacement of centerpiece stones and wood (clearly loosened by the flood) in order to expose the condition of the supporting base. This way we would be in compliance with the inspection requirements of the insurance company’s claim adjusters. The stone will be replaced along with the repair of the wood components upon the conclusion of their investigation. Naturally our ultimate goal is to recover some of the expenses from the insurance claim together with the increase the value of our members’ investments.

-Architectural Committee:

Should you want to be involved in future projects and dedicate your time sign up in our Architectural Committee chaired by Tony Anderson tanyc1@gmail.com.

-Parking:

This is another area where no legal study of our rights to parking was apparently ever done in the past.  We have one more meeting with Aimco regarding the final status of the parking. We will advise you of the details when it is completed, but expect to be able to improve the parking situation for all of our residents.

-Resort Passes:

This is a sensitive subject with most of our members. We are making every effort to sever our ties with Aimco in order to process the resort/guest passes in-house within our own South Tower facility. We are receiving bids from companies to acquire the hardware/software including the installation of a new security system and the installation of additional cameras in the elevators and floor lobbies, etc.

-Maintenance:

You may have noticed that we have started painting the elevator exterior door frames along with the damaged door frames on every floor. We have also ordered new unit number signs since many were broken, vandalized or missing to keep up with the uniform standard. We will also have someone available over the weekends to clean up unexpected messes created by pets, etc..

-Blog:

The official Flamingo South Beach blog has been created and is available to members.  Please feel free to visit and discuss topics of interest regarding the property.  http://flamingosouthbeach1.blogspot.com/

Best Wishes,

Flamingo Association Board of Directors TheFlamingoBOD@hotmail.com

Kirk Kesapyan, Pres

Riccardo Olivieri, VP

Scott Shames, Sec’y