State of the Galaxy
October 11, 2002
Dear
Unit Owners:
Today, I celebrate 9 weeks at The Galaxy. Time always seems to play
tricks... in many ways I feel like I've been here so very much
longer. Overall, I must say that I am truly enjoying my time
here, every day is different, and with so many challenges ahead, I am never
bored.
I plan to write to you at the end of each month to tell you about what is going
on here at The Galaxy, and to apprise you of future and present plans for our
community.
Let's look back for a few moments at the last 9 weeks...
Management:
When I got to the office, one of the first things that I did was to look around
and ask questions. I started to review procedures and I am working to
ensure that they all make sense, and are executed appropriately. We
will revise those that don't work well, and continue to review and update our
systems to ensure that we are always using a "best practice" method.
I am always cost-conscious, so I quickly began a review of the medical insurance
benefits that are given to the employees, and the price that the GTCA pays for
them. I came to realize that the coverage had not been reviewed for
a while, so I called in some experts in the industry to give us a review.
They found that we could get equivalent or better coverage at significant
savings, so Management made a change that will result in a net savings to The
Galaxy of approximately $50,000 per year, while not reducing the benefits that
are received by Management employees in any way.
With the Assistant General Manager (AGM), John Dorin, and the Facilities
Manager (FM), Lynn Moore, I am looking at job assignments and
functions. Together, we realized that we had three strong managers
on duty during the day, and noted that we could use some of that strength at
night. John Dorin graciously accepted an evening assignment, and is now
in charge of security, while he continues to perform his AGM functions at
night. As a result, we did not have to hire a new Security Manager,
at a savings of approximately $60,000 and we now have an executive level
manager on duty until 11:00 pm.
The
Maintenance Department:
We have changed the name of IUS (In Unit Service) to The Maintenance Department
in order to more accurately reflect the duties and purpose of the
department. The Maintenance Department is now under the direct
supervision of the Facilities Manager, Lynn Moore, and in the future, we will
expect more streamlined service, triage of problems before repairmen arrive to
apartments, and a generally increased level of service as we look to improve
our procedures. We are also currently in the process of developing
a new inventory system to ensure that we have the correct amount and the proper
supplies on hand to perform our functions.
Building Structure:
The two biggest issues that I heard about, even before I got here, are
"The Façade" and "The Driveway." I would
like to address both.
First, I can't say exactly what happened with the driveway project before I
arrived, as a number of people were involved, and not all of them are still
here, but I can tell you that the driveway is much more than a driveway... it
is part of the roof of the mall. As such, it needed to be treated
as a roof that is driven over and that is no easy or cheap task, as you well
know. Upon inspection by an engineer, we found that there are items that
need to be corrected by the contractor, and are under warranty. The
constant work that you see going on in the driveway area, are repairs and tests
(at no extra charge) to fix some areas that may not have been properly
done. We are not constantly paying for this work... as a matter of fact,we
are continuing to hold back money until the project is completed properly.
The façade project is on a temporary hold while we review the
specifications that were written to ensure that they are adequate for this
project. The proper term for this project is "Exterior
Envelope" as it encompasses more than just the façade. As you
know, we are due for some extensive exterior work, and we are interviewing
qualified engineers to assist us with the task ahead. I expect that
we will revise the specifications, enlarge the scope to include other necessary
exterior work (possibly the garage), send it out for bids, receive and review
bids and choose a qualified contractor to begin working sometime around
March/April 2003.
Fire Safety Notification System:
We have identified and interviewed 4 highly qualified, highly respected Fire
Safety Engineers who are experienced in the design and implementation of Fire
Safety Systems in buildings such as ours, and have forwarded three engineering
proposals to the Board (one engineer declined to bid). Of the four, two
impressed us greatly, and the Board members are scheduled to meet and talk to
these top two choices during the third week of October. It is expected that one
of these engineering companies will be chosen, and will design and specify a system,
complete the needed drawings, and discuss them with the Board, Facilities Advisory
Committee and our local and state fire department officials. Once the proposed system
is approved, the engineer will assist us in formulating the bidders list, we will
procure bids and hopefully, select a qualified contractor sometime around March. Then,
our attorneys will draw up appropriate contracts, and we will be ready to begin the
installation of the system in the early part of the summer of 2003. We'll keep you
advised of our progress.
Insurance:
As you know from the informational meeting held on September 25, 2002, we did
an in-depth study of our insurance. Using an independent consultant who
is not a broker, We
looked at the coverage that we currently have, its adequacy and its cost, and
determined that for the time period that is covered, with the exception of our
liability policy, all appears to be in order, at the right price for the period
of coverage. Our liability carrier is in financial disorder, and we are
actively looking to replace our liability coverage. I have
asked another broker who I have had positive experience with in the industry to
assist us in this matter, and I am confident that we will have replacement
coverage in the next few days.
The Budget:
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of good fiscal management, is the
preparation of the budget. While no budget is carved in stone, the budget
is a valuable tool, and needs to be developed and referred to often. To
that end, the Comptroller, Mary Ellen Saks and the Treasurer, Allan Ellinger
have been working diligently to prepare the budget for 2003.
The Budget and Finance Committee (soon to be "The Budget and Internal
Audit Committee") have been involved in this process as well.
The Board has scheduled working sessions to review the proposed budget, and I
am proud of the work that Mary Ellen has done to streamline the process, and
produce such a terrific budget. We are conducting a
comprehensive review of our capital improvements and looking at ways to finance
the work that is needed. We will be addressing this in depth at a later
date.
Other improvements on the way:
We are meeting with contractors and obtaining prices to renovate portions of
the men's locker room. The shower, toilet and sink areas of this room
will be re-done shortly. The Spa is also on a more rigid cleaning
schedule.
A computer system designed for residential apartment buildings and the
concierges - THEFRONTDESK.NET - will be installed by year end at all three
concierge desks. This wonderful and interactive program will help pull
communications together. You will be able to view and download important
documents from the Management Office and the Board, see when packages and mail
are delivered, sign for packages, leave permissions to enter on line, retrieve
email, and order work in apartments, all using this simple computer
system.
We are installing a new key access system to replace our limited and aging one.
We are going to conduct comparison studies of the supplies and materials that
we use, in order to ensure that we are paying the best possible price.
We are going to repair and re-paint the three tower bridges that lead from the
towers to the mini-park.
We are going to schedule Financial Seminars in November to teach interested
residents how to read and understand our financial information.
We have scheduled three Fire Safety Seminars - two (identical)) for children,
and one for adults. If we have a lot of children who want to come to
these seminars, we will add more of them. See the Weekly Update for
more information.
I keep hearing a lot of talk about voting and elections outside of The
Galaxy. While I would never, ever, tell anyone who to vote for, and The
Galaxy does not endorse any particular candidate, voting is every American
citizen's right and privilege, and I will tell you to get out and
vote. We
are a significant force in the town and the district, and without voting, we
will not be recognized as such. If you need to register, you
can John Zoller, who lives here at the Galaxy in Tower I. He is
conducting a registration drive.
As you can see, we've been very busy. We are assembling the best
professionals in the business to guide us through our
projects. No one person can be an expert in every subject,
but it is not difficult to surround oneself with the right experts. With
the proper guidance, and with a solid business plan, I have no doubt that we
will soon recapture the glory that I keep hearing so much
about.
Until next month...
Susan Fitzpatrick
General Manager