Meeting of the Construction Committee
Minutes
Thursday, July 21, 2022
The meeting was called to order at 3:10 PM.
All three Construction Committee (“CC”) members (Michael Mandell (“MM”), Betina Mario (“BM”), and Marisol Arboleda-Diaz (“MD”), along with Building Manager Belinda Behar (“BB”), were present, therefore a quorum was met. The meeting was attended by owners in-person and Zoom, including two members of the Board of Directors (Teresa Vilar (“TV”), and Maria Laura Ramos (“MLR”)), as well as our Engineer from Thornton Tomasetti (“TT”), Massimiliano Voto (“MV”).
The first order of business was the status update on the 40-year Recertification.
BM opened the meeting by asking for a status update on the 40-year Recertification. She noted that work on the building seems to have come to a halt, and expressed concerns about timing for getting the recertification completed in the next couple of months. She mentioned that buyers are unable to obtain financing due to the outstanding violations on the building, which need to be cleared with the 40-year recertification.
MV, an owner and Engineer from TT, took the floor to provide a walkthrough of the project. He noted that work on the East façade is mostly completed, aside from any balcony waterproofing upgrades that are required. He stated that the waterproofing membrane on the balconies is 12-years old, well past the useful life of the material which only had a 5-year warranty. In addition, he mentioned that the City of Miami Beach (“CMB”) recommends waterproofing and painting are done every 10-years. In order to properly install the membrane, MV said that all shutters must be removed, and should not be replaced. This would require unit owners to upgrade their doors to impact-resistant, and we should allow owners a time period for door replacement. Before any waterproofing material is installed, the contractor will repair any concrete and provide a sloping finish to reduce any ponding on the balcony.
TV noted that we can’t make a unit owner change to impact-resistant doors unless a vote takes place.
MV then provided a brief update on the legislative changes which were recently passed, which will reduce the 40-year recertification to 25-years for buildings within 3-miles of the shoreline. Changes also require additional details and photos from the engineer as part of the recertification process.
MD asked MV specifically what work is required in order to complete the 40-year recertification. Although there are a lot of repairs which need to be made to the building, it is still unclear what is or isn’t required to get the certification process completed. She noted that the Engineer first submits their initial finding to CMB with a Tracking Sheet for all repair items to be completed. If this has been submitted, this report has not been shared with the CC.
MM asked about the scope of work for the 40-year recertification asking if we can move some of the work which has been identified to a later phase, after the recertification is completed. He then emphasized the concern on timing since work has come to a halt. It’s understood that new permits may need to be filed and contractors need to be hired for specific work, but we need to continue (at a minimum) working on the East and North facades to make sure the project continues forward.
MV noted concerns with AG, since we don’t have enough workers on the jobsite every day. In addition, he noted concerns having AG complete some of the more skilled work, such as post tension cable repair. MV said he is having a hard time getting contractors to bid on jobs.
MM then asked whether TT, the Property Manager, or the Board of Directors is responsible for getting bids.
MV said it’s the responsibility of the Engineer, TT.
BM asked if a Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) was in place with AG which specifies how many workers are required to be present on any given workday. TV didn’t believe an SLA was in place.
The next item on the agenda was the budget review.
MM noted that we still have not been presented with a budget, even though we have asked for budget for months.
TV said she has been working with the bank, and received a Term Sheet for a $1MM loan plus additional funding for the roof replacement. Once the budget and funding are confirmed, a Special Assessment can be finalized. Any repairs to the balconies (waterproofing, tile removal, etc) will be paid directly to the contractor.
MM mentioned that $1MM is an arbitrary number since the budget summary provided by TT is based off of jobs which still have not been bid.
BB said that a letter will be issued to all owners regarding the cost per unit for the balcony repairs. The cost is determined by balcony size.
MD mentioned that the building code is specifically designed to prevent an undue financial burden on owners. She is concerned that some of the repair work that TT has identified as part of the 40-year recertification may not be required, and can be addressed after the 40-year recertification is done. Specifically, the removal of tile and replacement of the waterproofing membrane should not be required for balconies which don’t have structural issues.
MD also noted that TT has not been hired for the 40-year recertification report. This is specifically omitted from the current contract with TT.
MV agreed that TT has not yet been hired for the 40-year recertification report, and suggested that it will only cost a few thousand dollars.
MD said that a formal proposal from TT needs to be issued to the building, so we can get a contract in place for TT to issue the 40-year recertification report.
Next on the agenda was the project schedule for the 40-year recertification.
MV said there are a lot of items which will require us to go back to CMB with new drawings, and scope of work to obtain additional permits. This could take a couple of months. In scope for TT is:
• Roof replacement for 4th floor, 19th floor, and pool clubhouse. There are ongoing leaks on the 4th floor roof which will require an emergency replacement of the roof.
• Basement repirs (AG submitted a bid, TT suggests we obtain other quotes)
• Jasmine condo wall repairs (we need Jasmine to sign the permit application since the work will be done on their property)
• Post tension cable repair on the lobby level (AG bid the job but TT suggests getting other bids from companies specialized in this type of work)
MLR had questions on who hires the contractors to do work in the building. She was reminded that the Board ultimately decides who is hired and enters the Association into the various contracts.
Before adjourning the meeting, the Construction Committee made it clear that they still don’t have the following from the Board, Management, and the Engineer:
1- what work is required to complete the 40-year recertification
2- timeline for the current work in progress and additional work which is mandatory for the 40-year recertification
3 – budget: no clarity of how much we’ve spent so far and the total estimated cost for the recertification
We remain concerned that we are starting multiple workstreams without a detailed plan, and we are not clear about the cost and timelines for the critical work.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:41 PM.
