Dear Fellow Owners:

Playa del Mar President Ray Garcia

December 6, 2011 - On July 18, I was honored to be elected by the PDM board as the new president. At that time, I pledged to work for the benefit of the building and to address many issues that were left undone or were of serious concern to many or most owners. I am submitting to you a progress update for my presidency.

BUILDING INSURANCE: We have renewed our building insurance with the same carrier we have had for the past 4 years – Wells Fargo, a well-established company that also offers us financing to ease the burden – and lowered our insurance premiums by $25,000. Overall, we have saved over $200,000 on insurance per year with Wells Fargo.

CONFLICT FREE: The board eliminated the conflicts of interest with a board-member’s company doing payroll, health and dental insurance and workers comp by selecting vendors with no affiliations with board members and ones that provide excellent services at the same cost. I am committed that neither PDM nor the board will do business with relatives or close personal friends of board members – no exceptions!

Balcony Rails & Floors

BALCONY RAILS: The balcony rails continue to be a problem, in that paint is peeling, and no work can be done on the balcony floors until this issue is resolved. This issue is in limbo – we are attempting to negotiate a solution to this issue. The goal is a solution that benefits PDM and avoids an estimated cost of $1.4 - $2 million being shifted to the owners. A check for $150,000 does not solve the issue or make it go away.

COMMITTEES: I have reestablished real committees – with owners serving and offering advice to the board. Committee suggestions and recommendations will be given serious considerations. So far, I have organized the decorating/landscape committee (Carolyn Kervin is the board liaison to the committee), budget committee, building/construction committee, holiday fund committee, and GO Green committee. My goal is to return control of our building back to the owners and the board they elected – not one person or self-selected individuals who make decisions without owner input or participation. The day of one person running the entire building is over. The majority of the board will make all decisions – with input from the owners!

BUDGET: The budget committee presented the 2012 budget through a PowerPoint presentation. Owners and board members then had a chance to ask questions and make comments on the budget. The budget is the one mailed to all owners in mid-October: it has NO increase in quarterly maintenance fees for 2012. After discussion, the board voted 5:1 in favor of the budget, with Barry Snider voting no.

STRUCTURAL REPAIRS: Shortly, we will begin addressing the structural cracks in our building that need to be repaired – based on evaluations by our structural engineer. The costs could be as high as $400,000. The budget committee provided the funds and the board adopted the budget by a vote of 5:1. Now we must select from the bidders a construction company to do the work and we must begin now. It could take 20-36 weeks to complete the work on our building. I ask for your cooperation and understanding during this period.

FUTURE PROJECTS: In the future, we will address the pavers on the decks and cracks underneath – painting decks without repairs doubled our work and problems. We will face a 40-year inspection by Broward County possibly as early as 2014 – I want to be prepared and pass with flying colors. I don’t want our building to be cited for deficiencies and then have to work under tight time restrictions to make the repairs. We can plan ahead for this.

Playa del Mar Manager Tania Gonzalez

MAINTENANCE PROJECTS: While owners may not immediately notice these completed projects, our management team and our maintenance department has been very busy completing many small, but significant repairs around the building. Michael Hickman (board member) continues to work one-day a week in the office, overseeing special projects and issues that arise in the building. Maintenance repairs have been neglected for too long and need our attention.

Maintenance Chief Roberto Flores

These include: painting all promenade patio furniture and replacing light-weight chairs on pool deck; all A/C, meter room and trash room doors repaired and repainted; A/C vents over each elevator lobby floor replaced to stop condensation leaks on the tile; two new natural gas BBQ grills installed on South deck; catwalks pressure washed and cleaned; leaking pipes in the garage replaced – all garage pipes painted; repair leaks and cracks in the garage – especially in the ceiling where water is leaking on cars; and many other smaller projects. Together these took a great deal of time, but the good news is we did all the work with our maintenance department staff, under the direction of Roberto Flores, our newly appointed maintenance supervisor, and the building manager, Tania Gonzalez. We are not done, as there remains much to do.

UNIT MAINTENANCE PROGRAM: Fred Nesbitt (board member) presented a program for an in-house maintenance service for owners and residents. The handyman jobs (odd jobs) would be performed by a person from the PDM maintenance department and the owners/residents would be charged for the service, with the funds going to PDM. The service would also include unit sitting (checking a unit weekly to ensure the AC, water, etc. are all okay) for those not in residence full-time. The motion to initiate this program on a one-year basis, starting January 1, 2012 was approved by a vote of 6:0. Watch the PDM Newsletter and special announcements for final details once all pieces are in place.

COMMON AREA VOTING REGULATIONS: The board approved a resolution regarding common area and voting regulations. The purpose of the resolution was to promote safe and harmonious use of the common areas, especially during condo elections and other controversial times. The resolution was presented by Larry Hager (board member) and approved by a vote of 6:0.

FLOOD INSURANCE: FEMA has issued new flood maps for all of Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding areas. Our building is located in what is called the moderate to high risk flood area. This affects our flood insurance. However, our insurance agent has us grandfathered into what is called the “X zone,” meaning low flood risk. That enables the association to buy flood insurance for the building at a lower rate – and the owners do not have to buy individual policies for their apartments at a cost of $1,000 - $5,000 per year. If your mortgage lender says you have to buy flood insurance for your apartment – please contact the management office for a certificate showing the association has flood insurance and we are in the low risk flood zone. Grandfathering protects us – unless our policy expires for as little as one day. That’s why it is so important who our insurance agent is!

WEBSITE: We are regularly posting information on our building on the Playa del Mar website. Visit playadelmar.net for more information and to keep updated.

On behalf of the board and all the employees who work at Playa del Mar for you day in and day out, we wish you a happy and joyous holiday season and the very best for 2012.

Ray Garcia
President
Playa del Mar Board of Directors