Following Up with Markwood

MESSAGES
There have been several complaints recently that Markwood has not been getting back to people in a timely fashion when they leave a message. One mitigating factor may be the message itself. If you are calling from a cell phone, especially if you are in a car, the basement, or other area where reception is poor or there is a lot of metal and cement, consider that your message may not be intelligible. We recently had a call from someone in the laundry room that was so garbled, it could not be understood at all. Markwood had no idea who had called or why. All that had was a partial phone number and a very hard to understand name. It is also important that when you leave a message, besides giving your name and phone number to also give your unit number. Sometimes the unit number is the most important piece of information, especially since some tenants have non-local area codes, and it is not always clear if the caller is an owner,a tenant or somebody else.
It is also a good idea to follow up any phone call with an e-mail to Markwood. They can be sent to either Kim Lord at kim.lord@markwoodmanagement.com, or to Carol Kenney at carol.kenney@markwoodmanagement.com.

ATTENTION UNIT OWNERS
Markwood has noticed that there seem to be many new tenants in the building who have never received a copy of the condo documents, which include the bylaws sound, and other regulations, from the owner (their landlord). It is the unit owners responsibility to provide a copy of the condo documents to their tenant, or to make sure that the tenant has access to them. Although these documents are available for download here on this blog, it is not the responsibility of Markwood Management to make sure that your tenant has received them.
Another owner responsibility is keeping Markwood informed and up to date of any changes in tenancy. If you have neglected to inform Markwood of a new tenant please follow up immediately.

Facade Damage/ Roof Repairs

On October 29-30th, a large section of the copper facade on the front of the building broke away from the roof during the heavy wind/rain storms we had over the Halloween weekend. Maintenance noticed it was loose, and pulled the loose section up onto the roof, securing it so that it would not blow away or fall to the into the street. One of the copper downspouts at the back of the building was also damaged. Markwood is in the process of making arrangements to have these repaired as quickly as possible.

Nothing in the Hallways

You may have received this recent notice from Markwood Management about Halloween decorations in the hallways.

Good afternoon homeowners:

We appreciate that it is impossible to avoid enthusiasm for Halloween when you live in Salem.  Unfortunately, we must ask you to remove the decorations many of you have placed in the hallways.

Insurance companies are quite adamant that nothing be placed in in common areas that might in any way be considered a "trip" hazard.

Thank you,
Markwood Management

Basically, do not place or store anything in the common areas (hallways, steps, roof) of the building. This not only includes seasonal decorations of any kind, but also trash bags, furniture, sculptures and especially...shoes. There are several good reasons for this policy: These objects constitute a potential hazard and expose us to liability (the insurance for the common areas does not cover your personal items).  That could mean problems if visitors or tenants trip on these things (and sue us), if they impede evacuation during a fire, or constitute a fire hazard in and of themselves.  There are also problems if someone damages or steals the personal items left in the common areas. This kind of clutter can also make vacuuming more difficult for the cleaners. And lastly, not everyone shares the same taste in "decoration". So please keep all of your personal items inside your unit.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT PETS

There are still some tenants who are unclear on the rules about pets in the building. I recently encountered a woman from the building walking her dog by the dumpsters. When I told her that dogs are not allowed in the building, she replied "Yes they are, lot's of people in the building have dogs."
Besides being disingenuous, she was also completely wrong. As a trustee I would know who has approval for a dog, and she most definitely did not. In fact only one person in the entire building has permission to have a dog, and that is a small (service) dog in the building by special permission of the management company and the board.  This is the only exception and was the result of a long process of medical documentation, review and approval by the board.

Let me clearly restate the official policy here so there is no longer any confusion.

From the original Condo by-laws:
 (b) No animals shall be permitted in any unit without approval of the Managing Board.

 From the 2013 amended rules and regs:
No animals shall be permitted in any unit or on the common areas without written approval of the managing board

If you are contemplating getting a pet of any kind, you need to contact Markwood Management and submit an application for permission to have that pet. If you somehow overlooked or ignored the condo bylaws and already have a dog, contact Markwood Management immediately, because if you do not, and there is any complaint about that animal, (barking, poop, etc.) the unit owner will be fined until either the animal or you, are removed from the building.

In a building this small, where smells and sounds are a real quality-of-life issue, we cannot afford to have people assuming that rules about pets do not apply to them.

Pets Policy Clarification

There are no dogs allowed in the building. This includes all dogs no matter how small they are. There is currently only one exception;  (1) small service dog is in the building by special permission of the management company and the board.  This is the only exception and was the result of a long process of medical documentation, review and approval by the board. The official policy for the building is that there are no pets allowed in the building. The management maintains this rule and right to control the presence of all pets especially if they can potentially become a noise or health issue. Thank you.

Equipment Vault Update

If you live on the basement level of 24 Norman Street, or on the 7-11 side of the building, you may have noticed some activity in and around the electrical junction room (next to the laundry room), and the adjacent below-ground equipment "vault". 
Here is an official update dated April 23rd, from the Markwood office on the work being done at 24 Norman Street. 

 "As we have previously reported, Commtank is working in the building continuing the clean up.  All proper notifications and permits have been filed.  To date we have spent just under $6,000.

Today was the anticipated day to remove the transformers which have been evaluated and believe to be the source of the oil. Commtank has reported back today the transformers, which were thought to have been abandoned, do in fact have power to them.

With this information and information found by Carol Kenney (Markwood Management), of a possible easement with AT&T for access to this room, we felt it was necessary to immediately contact local Attorney Scott Grover.  We have asked Attorney Grover to interpret this recorded easement and advise the Board of further direction.

We will continue to update the Board as information is available."

-Kimberly Lord

It turns out that the easement has since passed from AT&T to National Grid. The condo trust attorney is on the case trying to sort out who is responsible for the clean-up.

Electric Rates Are Going Up. What to do?

If you are a National Grid customer, you may have received a notice  informing you that your electric rates are going to be raised by as much as 37% next month. That is 37¢ on every dollar you spend. So a $100 electric bill will now be a $137 electric bill. Coming hard on the teeth of another brutally long and cold winter seems akin to kicking someone when they are down. What can you do? Turn down the thermostat, switch to energy efficient bulbs and appliances, sure, but many of us have already done that, in fact that is one of the reasons that National Grid is raising it's rates. People are using less energy, but the power company "needs" to make the same amount of money, therefore: higher rates. So what to do? Suck it up and pay the higher rates...or look into supplementing our energy with solar power?
The possibility of placing solar panels on the roof of 24 Norman Street is an idea that has been discussed. It is unlikely that we could generate enough power to supply the entire building, but it might be enough to keep our ever-spiraling electric bills down to a manageable level.
Here is an article about how one couple in a Chicago condominium went solar. http://www.motherearthliving.com/mother-earth-living/how-to-go-solar-condo.aspx#axzz3K1C34V4e

The main hindrances to going solar are expense, and maintenance. There are several government-sponsored incentive programs for going solar, as well as a solar initiative here in Salem.
This article is the best in explaining the incentives.
http://brightstarsolar.net/2011/02/solar-power-for-condominiums/

The first big question is: do we qualify? The second is: if not, does anyone in the building want to spend the money to have solar panels installed? Would it be economically feasible?
Like many other initiatives proposed for our building, if there is no interest, we will continue to maintain the status quo, however we would love to know your thoughts.

Get a Key

The front entry access panel was replaced and re-programmed this week. It turns out that it was a nearby lightning strike that caused an electrical surge that overloaded and burned out part of the entry system. We were extremely lucky that the main part of the code entry system continued to work, but it underlines a potential issue. One of the things that was so surprising about the panel failure was how few tenants in the building actually have a key to the front door of the building. If the electronic entry panel fails for any reason (lightning strike, power failure, vandalism) you may not be able to gain access the building. For this reason, Markwood Management strongly advises that you have an entry key in your possession; obtain one from your landlord, or Markwood Management as soon as possible.
The front entry panel is meant as a convenience, but not as a total replacement for keyed entry, and in the case of a total power failure, it will not work. For security purposes we prefer that you have a key available to use in such emergencies. This may also reduce the incidence of people propping the door open because they do not have a key.  So again, if you do not have a key to the front and back door, get one as soon as possible.

Railing Vandalism?

Several weeks ago the wooden railing on the second floor staircase was damaged by what looked like scraping it with a set of keys, knife or other sharp object.It left deep gouges in the wood, and was rough to the touch. Since several people have moved in and out of the building recently it was assumed that the marks may have been the result of dragging some kind of furniture up the stairs. Markwood Management paid to have it sanded and refinished. No sooner was that done than someone scratched it up again. The fact that it is in the same place (out of view of the surveillance cameras) and in the same way, makes it look like it was done deliberately. One has to wonder why. There is a very short list of individuals who have ongoing issues with Markwood Management.  Everyone has frustrations from time to time, but taking them out on the building is not going to resolve anything. It's just going to make things worse, and if the person doing it gets caught they will be on the losing side of some serious legal ramifications.

Now a scratched railing may not seem like a big deal, but the fact that someone feels it is OK to destroy community property is an indicator of a much more serious problem. We had someone smash a window in the back stairwell this winter under similarly mysterious circumstances.
If you see anyone vandalizing the building please notifying Markwood immediately.

If the person(s) doing this reads this blog post, please consider communicating with Markwood Management with some other method than vandalism. Try talking directly to Markwood Management or the trustees. Post your grievance on the blog comments. These are meant to be communication tools and not just a one-way outlet.

If you are so pissed-off that you actually think vandalizing property is a good alternative to open communication, please get professional help. Seriously. You need it.

Loading the Dumpster

 We had a bit of a problem with the dumpster this last week. It looked like this:

As it often is, the dumpster was loaded to overflowing with trash, some of which fell or was left on the ground, and with the high winds we had this weekend, blew trash all over the parking area and down the street. Not good for community relations.
The funny thing is, the back of the dumpster was pretty much empty. This tells me that people would rather stuff the front of the dumpster to the point of overflowing or worse yet, leave their trash bags on the ground in front of the dumpster, than walk an extra 10 feet to place their trash in the back of the dumpster.
Maybe you are too short to reach the back of the dumpster, maybe you are scared of what might be back there, maybe you like the look of garbage strewn all over the property, maybe you just don't give a crap, who knows? However, if you are tall enough, and have enough upper-body strength to lift a (maybe) 5-pound plastic dumpster lid, would you please consider placing your trash in the back of the dumpster? I think everyone might appreciate it. Thank you.