Management Office Hours Change  – To provide better contact opportunities to the residents, the management office will be open on Tuesdays from 11:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. All other weekdays, office hours will be from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 PM.

Landscaping  – Landscaping the front and east side of the building will begin next Thursday or Friday (June 16 or 17). In discussions with the landscaping companies we were considering, certain criteria needed to be considered in plant selection. Amongst issues of color and layout, paramount in this list was the ability of the selected specimens to survive the wind and lack of moisture conditions presented by our front driveway area. Almost all of our plant stock from last year has died or has experienced “some type of  burn”. We have to replace all of it. We cannot keep doing this every year. We should not have to budget each year to replace the entire area. Each budget year should be focused on plant maintenance and landscaping enhancements. As expected, to address this issue, we have included a maintenance phase with the landscaper. But, more importantly, we are looking into providing a sprinkler system for the new landscaped area. Because of the driveway roof covering and the wind tunnel effects, the landscaped area will probably need to be watered at least once a day, possibly twice.  It is impractical for the staff to adequately water this often as it interferes with their other scheduled job activities. An automatic sprinkler system provides the necessary frequency and coverage. We are reviewing the most cost effective ways for installation. The building’s basement runs underneath these landscaped areas and provides access for the additional required plumbing. I firmly believe a modest investment at this time will save considerable expenses in the future as well as guarantee an attractive entrance area for the building.

Window Washing/Filter Replacement  – Thanks to everyone for your cooperation and patience during our window washings and filter replacement activities. I want to personally thank the maintenance staff for their extra duty effort in removing and cleaning the sliding glass windows. This was a big effort and it was completed as scheduled. As I mentioned in my last update, we do not intend to repeat this removal/cleaning process in future cleanings. We are still diligently working at coming up with a more acceptable process. We have found a screen dealer with a lot of experience working with Traco windows. He came over to our building to review our situation. He has proposed two different solutions and is in the process of preparing a prototype for each idea. Since Service One did not have to clean these windows, they are cleaning the exterior lobby windows for free. We had the hopper screens cleaned this time around at an additional cost of $2200. The prime motivator for this cleaning was that the screens hadn’t been cleaned in quite a while. Whether we are able to repeat this in the fall will heavily depend on how our operating expenses are going at that time in comparison to the budget.

General Permission to Enter Forms  - We tried something new for building wide access permission with the “general permission to enter forms”. The maintenance staff commented that this was the quickest response they experienced. This facilitated our planning. But I would like some feedback on the future use of these forms. Did they work? More/less convenient? Suggested changes? (If we use this process in the future, I will remove the resident status columns. They are unnecessary and probably confuse the issue.)

Advisory Council – At the last Skybridge board meeting, the board suggested that an advisory council composed of the Skybridge residents be created. We are now ready to begin that activity. First of all, I must reiterate that the formation of an advisory council before a resident elected board exists is new, or at least a new concept to me. This council will not have the same governing powers or authority as that of an elected board, but the experienced gained should be a great head start for the future elected board.  We will create our mission statement and operational mechanisms as we go along. In order to provide some initial structure, I propose, with the concurrence of the board,   that we limit the actual council to 7 people (one person per unit) with an opportunity for each council member to organize their own committee. This structure should provide a way for everyone who has shown an interest an opportunity to participate.

According to my records, the following individuals have expressed interest in being on the advisory council:

Mary Ann Anderson               
Michael Bordainick               
John Czernek                                               
Leon Drolet                                       
Erin Grossman                       
Jan Hughes                                       
Celia Leventhal                       
David March       
Kelli Nelson
Michael Regan
Matthew Singer
Scott Shapiro
Scott Shearon
Brad Vargovick
Zimmerman (Robin or Gary)                                                                       

If anyone has been left off or if anyone else would like to participate, or if anyone would like to remove their name, please let me know by June 15. You can send me an email, written note, or simply call me. The seven individuals will be selected randomly on June 17th. My first thought is to have 7 residents pick one name out of a “hat” as they pass the desk on the morning of June 17th. If you have any other ideas, please let me know.


Water Supply Repairs – We had an extensive inspection and analysis of our building water supply system. That team consisted of the building’s original mechanical design company, the provider of our equipment and our own engineering personnel. We have a computer controlled system and it was found that one of the devices (transducer) was sending incorrect data (info) to the computer and thereby giving incorrect commands to the pumps. There were some other items noted and we are monitoring our equipment to verify the correction.

Cart Room/Packages – One of the building’s next projects is to reconfigure our cart room. This room will become a more useable combined cart room and package storage room. In order to recapture some floor space, the rolling tubs will be replaced with all plastic grocery type carts. These carts are all blue and will have the Skybridge logo on the handle. Since these carts fold into each other, they will take up less room and provide more floor space for packages. We will also add wall mounted shelves (and a clothing pole) to store smaller packages. Brighter lighting will also be added. The tubs will still be available and chained in the loading dock area for occasions when they are more desirable.  There will be a sign in/sign out sheet at the front desk for the carts so that we can locate them if necessary.

Deck Furniture – Furniture for the sun deck has been ordered: 8 Chaise chairs, 6 small beverage tables, 3 large round dining tables, and 12 dining table chairs. The distributor has given us a one month delivery window. Pictures and specs of this furniture are available in my office.

Fitness Center – It has been pointed out to me that the fitness center has not always been as neat and clean as it should be. I’ve instructed the maintenance staff to be especially vigilant on cleaning the fitness room, restrooms, and kitchen areas. But in a community spirit I ask that residents assist in keeping the room in an acceptable appearance. The simple request is to put the room back into the same condition as when you entered. That means, replacing all weights back on their racks (no weights, whether free or machine based should be left on the floor), wiping down equipment after use, returning magazines to the shelf, etc. This is probably the one area in which most residents have a neighborhood experience. So please be conscious of your neighbor and help keep the room in the manner that you would expect to find it. Also, we have recently had 3 instances of equipment being missing as well as equipment being abnormally damaged. If any resident has “borrowed” the upright scale or abs trainer, please return them as soon as possible. These two pieces of equipment belong to one of our residents who was kind enough to place them in the fitness room for all to enjoy. The fitness room is, as is all common areas, intended to be used by all residents. Everyone pays into it.  It is discourteous and unfair to deny the community the use of any of the facility.


Elevator Carpets – We are in the process of getting the resident elevator carpeting replaced. To reduce edge fraying, we are requesting the installer to add a trim piece to the door side (front) of the elevator. Additionally, we are getting a quote on installing tile instead of a carpet. If we tiled the elevator floor, we would cover the entire floor with a carpet during the day while construction is still ongoing and then remove it from 5 P.M. until 8 A.M.

Permission to Enter and Front Desk Key Policy –  First and foremost, the Skybridge staff has been instructed by me that they are to enter a resident’s unit only if that resident has given written permission. We will accept verbal permission, but that verbal permission will be transcribed onto a permission to enter form by the door staff and dated. The key box at the front desk is voluntary and is provided as a convenience to the residents.  But the service is voluntary. A copy of your key is secured in the manager’s office and available when a permission to enter form has been submitted. But it should be noted that the door staff is not allowed to leave their station and retrieve a key from the manager’s office. A member of the maintenance staff must be called leaving the work they are performing. Therefore, we encourage you to use the front desk key
box especially if you have routine activities such as maid service, dog walking, or showings by a realtor. We would also encourage you to provide a key when a work order is submitted and it’s a good way to avoid a lock out fee if you are inclined to forget your key.  But again, I emphasize, the service is voluntary.


Assessment Payments – The management office will no longer accept assessment payments dropped at the manager’s office. These must be mailed to insure proper handling. If lost or billing information is in question, I certainly will assist you, but the management office will assume no responsibility for regular payments.

Mail/Packages  – With the turnover of our mailroom to the U.S. Postal Service, we no longer have a key or assess privileges to the mailroom. So, please do not request that the door staff hold mail for you. The postman will not give your mail to the door staff nor will the door staff be able to retrieve your mail from your mail box. You must make arrangements with the post office.

Also, when picking up your packages, you must personally sign the package log sheet at the front desk. I have instructed the door staff that they are not allowed to sign out any package for the resident. Please do not ask the door staff to sign out a package for you. This is an important liability issue.