Tall Ship Association

Board of Directors Meeting

16 May 2006

Present:            Virginia Sholar, Donna Federico, Mike Ferrato, Roger Heffelfinger.

Absent: Carolyn Asperger, Barry Stuart.

1)      Virginia Sholar called the meeting to order and read a letter of resignation from board president Sharon Luria. Her husband announced that Sharon was terminally ill and was now in Hospice care. Virginia Sholar formally took over as board president

2)      The minutes of the April meeting were approved. A homeowner asked that when the board votes to approve or disapprove a motion that a synopsis of the issue be included in the minutes.

3)      The Treasurer stated that there would not be a report this month.

4)      Safety Concerns:

a)      Virginia Sholar read and distributed a draft of the safety regulations that the board was considering. In essence it outlawed the storage of combustible materials in the basement and forbade the use of charcoal or propane grills on the balcony. It went on to say that storage areas would be inspected periodically and combustibles removed without recompense to their owners. Mrs. Sholar stated that the purpose of this meeting was to solicit reactions to and inputs from the homeowners regarding the draft. See Attachment #1A & 1B

b)      A Fire Dept. representative explained the rationale for the proposed rule changes and cited appropriate sections from the SC fire codes. He also showed a video to illustrate the destructive power of various sized tanks of propane, when exposed to fire, including the ubiquitous 20# tank found on many home grills. The concern is that if a fire in an owner’s unit were to migrate to a balcony and envelop a propane tank, the resulting explosion could bring down the entire stack of units, and at the very least endanger the entire building. In regard to the basements, the bottom line was that the addition of 3/8” sheet rock to the basement ceilings would render the storage areas adequately safe for combustibles storage,  See Attachment #2A and 2B

c)      A number of homeowners cited the negative impact the draft policy would have on lifestyles and property values and urged that an accommodation needs to be found that achieves an acceptable level of safety at a minimal infringement upon homeowners’ lifestyles 

5)       Tom Schill’s Report:  

a)      Tom reported that work on the repair of the end unit walls has come to a halt for lack of funds, and urged the board to soon come up with funding proposals lest we lose the contractor to other jobs.  The board will meet in executive session following this meeting to address that issue.

b)      The cost to repair one end unit is approximately $19,000. An influx of $50 - $75,000 should keep the repairs moving along.

c)      Inspection has revealed an improperly installed support under Unit #104.

d)      In response to a homeowner’s question, all of the cut joists have been repaired.

6)       Property Manager’s Report:  Cathy Bell’s report is included as Attachment #3. Homeowner Kathy Stanton noted that the bulletin board at Schooner Bldg needs to be replaced.

7)      Mike Ferrato’s Report:  In regard to the elevator room heaters there is nothing new to report at this time.

Respectfully submitted,

Carlos Luria

Secretary pro tem

Attachments:

#1A & 1B        Draft Policy Statement

#2A & 2B        SC Fire Codes

#3                    Property Mgrs. Report