BOARD MEETINGS. January 2016 Issue I

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1 January 2016 Issue I BOARD MEETINGS Board of Directors: President: Martin Pinilla, Vice President: Alison Owen, Treasurer, Robert Knecht, Secretary: Judy Rosenblum, Assistant Secretary: Elsa Dominguez, Directors: Mario Lopez, Marcos Perez. At the meeting on September 24 th, the Board voted to allocated $15,000 to install fencing and cameras in the water sports area as well as racks for the kayaks, and paddleboards, etc. This is being done to improve security. Residents need to register their equipment at the office and receive a key to the area. Due to internet ordering and the increase in the number of full time residents at the Towers, there has been a large increase in the number of packages that have to be handled by the one person in Receiving 24,503 year to date. As a result, the Board voted to add an employee to that department. Receiving will now be open Monday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Tuesday through Friday 8 am to 8 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. Monisha Seidner from ThyssenKrupp Elevators reported that all the building elevators were now in operation, but there is still a list of items to rectified. All work should be completed by the end of The pool elevator and the dumbwaiter are waiting inspection. Mr. Pinilla reported that two window suppliers and contractors have been selected by the consulting engineer to present proposals at the October 1 st Board meeting. The Board voted to ratify the opening of sweep accounts so that all the deposits are insured by the FDIC. The Board voted to ratify the engagement of Sokol and Sokol as the Association s auditors for Sokol and Sokol prepared the 2014 audit. The Board moved to hire Foliage Design at an annual cost not to exceed $6000 to handle the supply and care of the lobby foliage, the lobby orchids and the planters in front of the lobbies. This is expected to reduce costs because of the need for frequent replacements. The Board voted to retain for itself the authority to approve alterations that include the addition of a bedroom or bathroom or any other addition. At the October 1 st meeting, the Towers window consultant, Jack Erdozain of Erdozain Engineering introduced two general contractors and window suppliers who had submitted the most competitive bids on the project. The contractors were Complete General Contracting and Coast to Coast. The manufacturers were Windoor and RC Home Showcase. The four companies made presentations. At the October 8 th meeting, Mr. Pinilla announced that the Board had decided to explore more options for the window project and ask for additional bids. Because of the continued difficulty of staffing the Landscaping department with qualified help, the Board voted to outsource landscaping, fertilization and all associated service to Gorgeous Lawns and Landscaping, which handles the Village of

2 Key Biscayne and a number of island condos. There will be very little increased cost and much increased productivity. After a presentation by Lynx Property Services, the Board voted to hire the company on a trial basis to handle the Towers outside accounting including processing all accounts payable and preparing all checks. Francine Gonzalez-Portuondo, who has been the Towers accountant for a number of years, is now a partner with Lynx Property Services, which will be providing additional accounting services recommended by our auditors. There were two board meetings on November 11 th. The first meeting went over the reserve budget for 2016 and other items. The second dealt only with the details of the 2016 operating budget. The Board voted to approve the mailing out of the budget to the membership showing a combined operating and reserve budget increase of 7.14%. The Board introduced Jesus Trujillo, owner of Gorgeous Lawns and Landscaping, which has taken over landscaping responsibilities for the Towers. The Board voted to hire PMM Consulting Engineering to inspect all the balconies, eyebrows and balusters in 2016 at a cost not to exceed $37,000. The Board voted to hire an attendant for the beach to help residents with chairs and umbrellas. The Board also voted to purchase additional umbrellas. The Board ratified the payment of $21,000 for the cleaning/televising of the pipes and trench drains at the entrances to the garages as part of the effort to reduce the flooding in the lower garages. The fencing and locking of the water sports area has been completed. The Board voted to provide one limited common area key per unit that stores a device in that area. The Board approved the colors of red and white for the election envelopes next year. On November 30 th, the Board held a special meeting at which the 2016 budget with an increase of 7.14% was approved. The budget and summary had been mailed out to all owners following the November 11 th meeting. Copies of the budget, including the maintenance and reserve amounts for each unit, are also available in the office.. Manager s Report 1. The garage flooding is being worked on in various ways including cleaning and inspecting the drains, the valves and the pipes, contacting a well drilling company and consulting Jose Lopez, the Village storm drain expert. 2. The elevator floors are being polished and the elevator landings cleaned. 3. Holiday lights are being installed on the boulevard trees. 4. Tree trimming has been completed on the boulevard and in the west lanai and is continuing in other areas. 5. A number of Towers units have been posted on websites offering short term rentals for less than 90 days, which our documents do not allow. A letter will be sent from our attorney to all unit owners advising them of our rental policy. If there are any further postings or illegal rentals, legal action will be taken against the owner.

3 6. The Village Code Enforcement Depart. has authorized us to place umbrellas on the beach temporarily while the Village processes the Tower's Beach Management Plan. The umbrellas will be installed in the morning between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM after the tractor has raked the beach and will be picked up prior to sundown. Umbrellas will not be relocated during the course of the day. Also, umbrellas will not be set up on rainy/windy days or whenever there is high tide and the water is too close to the dunes. 7. Residents are requested to lock their bicycles so that they remain in one location and aren t moved by other residents. 8. Residents are asked not to leave garbage on the floor the trash chute rooms. It blocks the chute and causes odors in the hallways. 9. There are some rental parking spaces available as well as a waiting list. 10. Signs identifying the apartment numbers will be attached to the hall storage units in order to avoid any further confusion. 11. One of the pool heaters for Tower I has been replaced. ANNOUNCEMENTS In order to avoid accidents, please drive carefully and slowly on the Towers boulevard, slow down when entering and exiting the garage and drive slowly within the garage. There have been a number of occasions when children have been left at the pool without supervision. This is a serious matter. Please do not leave your children unattended. Our restaurant, Francesco at the Towers, is open seven nights a week. Takeout service and catering of private parties are offered as well. Call Complimentary valet parking is available on Friday and Saturday nights for those dining at the restaurant. Residents can now request Certificates of Insurance/Proof of Insurance directly from The Association insurance agent, Combined Underwriters of Miami. For help, call Diana Rubio or Susan Sanchez-Armengol at Trash bags and laundry tokens are available from the lobby guards at all times rather than from the office. Packages are logged in on the computer, and residents get a notice via . Packages are delivered to the apartments or left at the lobby desks for pickup. Bicycle racks have been installed throughout the garages. Please keep your bicycles in the racks and do not leave in any other location. Bicycles should be locked and registered with the Towers office and the Key Biscayne Police Department. Please DO NOT place more bicycles in the racks than the slots allow. Please do not store any items in the garage other than bicycles. Any other items will be removed and discarded. The fee for golf cart charging is $15 a month for a single battery and $30 a month

4 for a double battery. Payments are due in December and June for six months in advance. The charging areas are for that purpose only and are not to be used as parking spaces. Remember that it is illegal to toss anything off the balconies. Falling objects can be a hazard, and cigarette and cigar butts also cause litter and possibly fires. Please do not park your cars in front of either lobby. These areas must be kept free for emergency vehicles. You can leave your car for a few moments to pick up mail but for no other purpose. If you are waiting to pick someone up, please stay in the car and turn off the motor. If you have guests leaving late in the evening, please minimize the noise of farewells and conversation as the guests leave the lobbies and get into their cars. Please don t let your children ride their bicycles or skateboards in the garage. This is not a play area, and serious accidents could result. The trash chutes are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Use the chute, and please don t leave trash or garbage bags on the floor. Residents who do not comply will be fined. The barbecue area cannot be exclusively reserved. Residents renting the Ocean Room for a party do not have exclusive use of the barbecue. If you require an additional transponder on a temporary basis because you are using a rental car, you may obtain an additional transponder good for a maximum of 30 days at the office for a refundable fee of $300. The money will be refunded when the transponder is returned to the office in working order. RECYCLING We urge you to help the Towers increase the amount that we recycle. Each person in the United States creates five pounds of garbage and trash per day. One third of this could be recycled. All recycled materials are picked up at the Towers by one truck and separated once they reach the plant. This is more cost efficient and faster than keeping the recycled materials separate on the truck. The recycling bins are located in the lower garage in both Tower I and Tower II. The following items can be placed in any bin: cardboard boxes, magazines, newspapers, books, cans, glass containers, plastic bottles without lids and plastic containers. In order to reduce odors, please rinse containers before putting them in the bins. Plastic bags jam up the separating machines and have to be removed by hand, so please recycle bags at the supermarket. No food or kitchen waste is permitted in the recycling bins. Garbage should be deposited in the trash chutes. It is picked up by a different Waste Management truck. Please do not leave cardboard boxes in the trash vestibules or throw glass down the trash chutes. COMMUNICATION Your Board of Directors urges you to communicate and participate. Come to the meetings or watch them on Channel 95. Write to us. Let us know what you think. Elsa Dominguez

5 at Robert Knecht at Mario Lopez at Alison Owen at Martin Pinilla at Marcos Perez at Judy Rosenblum at Board meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of the month, except during the summer months, They can be seen live on Channel 95 and also Friday through Thursday at 9 a.m., noon, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. the week following a Board meeting. Meetings are held in the Conference Room in Tower II where they are televised. The Towers web site can be accessed at The Board requests that all owners ensure that the Management office has your updated phone numbers, addresses and fax numbers on file. This information is essential for basic communications and hurricane status reports, etc. Joe Maura at: jmaura@tkbonline.com with your updated information. This newsletter was prepared by Alison Owen. Alison with suggestions for the next edition. The newsletter is published four times a year and distributed with the quarterly statements.