The 24 Norman Street Blog is written and privately maintained by resident George Courage. This blog is no longer endorsed or paid for by either Markwood Management, or Harvest Properties and the opinions, observations and recommendations expressed therein are those of the author alone. This blog welcomes constructive comments, opinions and feedback about anything and everything affecting the quality of life in, near and around 24 Norman Street and Salem, Massachusetts.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Some Updates and Clarifications

There have been a lot of e-mails lately asking questions about three items: The roof, the windows and the laundry. There has also been a fair amount of rumor, speculation and disinformation. Here is some clarification on what is going on.

The Window Replacement Project:
The proposed window replacements are still in the works. there have been some delays.  New Angle Glass, which had originally been the preferred vendor, dropped out of the project because some essential members of their installation team left the company, but they have hired replacements, and are now back in the mix. They have already given estimates to several owners and were trying to work out scheduling for giving several more. Another hold up is getting an energy audit for the building to see if we can qualify for low-interest loans.
We must point out that New Angle Glass was contacted as a courtesy by one of the trustees. (The thinking behind the window project was that the more people we have on board for this the less expensive it will for everyone as lift equipment rental fees and police detail expenses would be divided among many participants. However, window replacement is completely optional and up to the individual unit owners. If you can find a vendor/installer you like better, or can get a better price, or even want to contact new Angle Glass directly, feel free to move ahead on your own.

The Roof:
Many owners have expressed anxiety over the roof repairs not being completed. This is understandable as we head into fall/winter. We were hoping to use the settlement money from National Grid to pay for the roof, but they are being dicks about actually paying us and it looks like we may have to hire a litigator to force them to pay us. However, this won’t prevent us from completing the roof repairs as there is enough money in savings to pay for the roof repair outright. Markwood is trying to get that scheduled for later this month or early October.

Special Assessments:
There are no special assessments planned for the roof or anything else at this time.

The Laundry:
One of the washing machines in the laundry room stopped working about 2 months ago. Markwood looked into repairing it, which was not feasible, so they tried ordering a new machine. There is only one company in our area that handles the sales and service of commercial, coin-operated machines http://www.macgray.com/. They are a large, busy company and we are a smaller client so their service has lacked a certain urgency. After a month of phone calls, we were finally able to place an order for a new machine only to be told that issues with the manufacturer would further delay it's delivery. So basically, Markwood is on the case, but we are at the mercy of the vendor. We appreciate your patience.


No comments:

Post a Comment