Westmoreland Condo annual meeting

At the Westmoreland Condominium annual meeting on Monday, April 27, Valerie Corda, Jennifer Hastings, and Joe Ruland were elected to the Condo Board for three-year terms. They will join Jose Calvo and Emil Tabakov on the new Board. Valerie and Jennifer were re-elected. Joe is a new Board member who will replace Clayton Taylor. Thanks to Clayton for his service on the Board.

Joe has lived in 1336 N. Ode St. since 1995. In his candidate's statement, he declared, "Buying my condo at Westmoreland has proved to be one of the best lifestle, financial, and practical decisions I've ever made." Thanks to Joe for his willingness to work to continue to make Westmoreland a great place to live. Joe expressed a particular interest in issues related to the level of noise in the buildings.

The Board reviewed the budget for fiscal year June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010. The reserve fund had $386,295 as of 2/28/09. The monthly condo assessment will increase 10% this coming year to help fund facade repair and roof repair. The repair program for the facade and roofs is planned for ten years. The Board noted that a 10% increase in condo assessments may be required each year for the next ten years to fund the repairs. The budgeted amount for capital improvements in FY 2010 is $182,942. Emil noted that rising heating oil prices have driven up the cost of hot water. The FY 2010 budget for water & sewer is $41,000. Total budgeted operating expenses for FY 2010 are $341,485.

Installation of Verizon Fios access will start in a couple of weeks. All units should be wired in 8-10 weeks. The installation will occur by buildings. Notices will be placed on individual buildings when the installlation in imminent. Contrary to previous information, a board will not be installed in each unit's closet. Only a small fiber optic wire will be pulled into the closet. A board and equipment will be installed if the unit owner later chooses to subscribe to Fios.

Nine residents, Board members Jose Calvo, Jennifer Hastings, and Emil Tabakov, and Property Manager Dennis M. Freeman attended the meeting. The next Board meeting, according to the regular schedule, would fall on May 25. That's Memorial Day. I guess that it will be scheduled for a different day. When I get information about the May meeting date, I'll post it.