PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL REPORT

FEBRUARY 16, 2010 By Marlene Reid

The Board of Directors during the past year has been, besides Yours Truly, Tom Hooten, Vice-President, Arlene Kuhn, Secretary, Bill Wales, Treasurer and Directors Lee Brand, Ron Porat and Warren Weathers. I want to thank them for their service and the spirit of cooperation which prevailed as we all worked together for the betterment of Starlight Tower.

January of 2011 began with the Board adopting two significant resolutions, the wording of which had been properly drafted by legal counsel, which gave the Board extended authority in dealing with matters that needed “teeth” for compliance. The first provided clout and procedure for levying and enforcing fines. The second established intent to suspend use rights against a delinquent owner or unit’s occupant.

The Board also began the process of interviewing for the position of Administrative Assistant. After a couple of disappointing months we discovered Martha Rylander right on our premises. Our office needs and her part-time availability meshed nicely. Martha was offered the position, accepted, and has been doing a good job!

During January, February, and into Spring, owners and residents wrung their hands and watched in great distress as winter storms took away a huge portion of the sand that had been relegated to Starlight’s beach during the recent renourishment project. It seems that the contractor who had been hired to replace the damaged temporary groins didn’t exactly know how to do the job and failed to properly secure the beach during the early phase of the contract. Of course, the county beach coordinator, and County Commisssioners, heard from Starlight. The groins were eventually installed, but bereft of the sand that was supposed to cover them. We have been happy to learn that the permitting process has begun for permanent groins.

The Board carried out two surveys in 2011. The first was to learn where the owners stood on the issue of the future of Unit #106. Several options were suggested but the result was that the owners voted overwhelmingly to retain #106 for the purpose it is now being used, as overflow sleeping and light housekeeping for guests of owners in residence. There have been many improvements made to Unit #106 during the past year including an entire paint facelift, plumbing and electrical upgrades, new bed linens, and new comfortable bedroom mattresses donated by Tom and Mary Hooten. Your guests can thank them for a good night’s sleep!

The second survey was to determine the impact of extending laundry hours to longer week days and limited Sunday hours. Since the results produced resounding opposition from owners in the 04 and 05 stacks, the efficiency units, a great deal of discussion ensued in the course of several Board meetings. Board Director Warren Weathers offered a recommendation as a possible compromise - to approve a pilot project of retrofitting one of the laundry rooms, providing for outside ventilation so the door could be closed during operation of the machines, and possibly adopting other sound-deadening measures. Warren volunteered to spearhead this project. The pilot project was successful in accomplishing the goal set out, and subsequently all of the laundry rooms were likewise outfitted with outside ventilation. As a follow-up, extended laundry hours have now been set.

In February of 2011, the garage roofs of Number 9 and Number 11 leaked one-too-many times. Yours truly decided it was time to take the “bull by the horns” and make replacement of the roofs for the middle and south garages happen. Since I had a cooperative “common sense” Board to work with, it only took a reasonable bid from a reputable roofing contractor, a little bit of arm-twisting, some creative “owner-backed” financing and we were able to make it all come together. As it turned out many of the timbers and beams were more rotten than they had first appeared, requiring almost total rebuilding, so by the time the project was completed I don’t believe we had a single doubting Thomas, that the roofing project had not been necessary.
The owners are to be commending for the fine job they did in helping free up the garages so the work could proceed. The Board is presently making arrangements to give the same replacement treatment to the north garage roof.

Starlight’s elevators passed inspection with flying colors in April, just about the time our elevator service contract was expiring. For ferreting out the “intent” in the fine print of proposed contracts, knowing what questions to ask, negotiating the best price from the vendor-bidders, you could have none finer than Secretary Arlene Kuhn working on behalf of Starlight. She is a conscientious detail person, recognizes promises that might not come to fruition, keeps her cool under pressure, and always keeps Starlight’s interest uppermost in the equation. As a result of Arlene’s diligence in the matter of choosing an elevator service, The Board contracted with Thyssen-Krupp Company for three years. It has proven to have been a very wise decision. We are most pleased with Thyssen-Krupp’s effective servicing and response to Starlight’s needs. We are again relying on Arlene’s expertise for the project of replacing our obsolete mailboxes and upgrading that section of the lobby, as well as for doing research, getting bids, and making recommendations for pool and poolside improvement, and possible resurfacing.

Amendments were made to Starlight’s Rules and Regulations at two different times during the past year, and the Objective Standards Document was updated to accommodate unforeseen issues that arose. Now that the Board has ratified all proposed changes, copies will be sent out in the very near future to all owners. Please read carefully, keep copies readily available in you unit, apprise renters and guests of our current documents, and please, please, abide by them! There is plenty of work for the Board to do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis without having to be an “enforcement” entity. We need to use our precious volunteer time more productively for the betterment of our Gulf-front home. Not following the parking provisions continues to present huge problems! Owners need to take responsibility for their service providers, and make certain the temporary slots are used only for loading and unloading. Turning off the water in the case of a 24-hour absence, and replacing old hot water heaters, need top priority attention. The Board recently purchased and installed water sensors in all utility rooms in order to give a siren-alert notice in case of leakage. Please keep careful watch that yours doesn’t get dislodged!

Because of several breaches in security on Starlight’s premises, Progress Energy has installed a light fixture that sheds directed light on the parking lot, at an additional monthly expense to Starlight. Bill Wales has been researching and getting bids on possible surveillance cameras. There are still many questions to be answered on just how extensive our system should be, how we would handle monitoring, and what the budget could handle, even using settlement funds.

Improvements, and needed projects, are constantly on the agenda at Starlight. We try to keep up with landscaping needs, as Mother Nature, and an infestation of bugs, sometimes decide that certain plantings have outlived their life expectancy, and sometimes the sprinkling system has to be redirected as it was recently in the two east flower gardens in order to preserve the resealing coat on the ground floor “flagstone.” A big item was the replacement of the south gate with a high gate to match the fence height. The former gate frequently collapsed from the corrosion of parts and the weight of trespassers trying to find a shortcut to the beach. Besides the obvious practicality, and necessity, it is a nice aesthetic improvement.

One major project during 2011 took front and center for attention, time, correspondence, frustration, and ultimately success – the recoating of the walkways! I have compared it to giving birth to a baby. The gestation time is long and problematic, the delivery is difficult, but eventually accomplished, and the final product – the baby – is gloriously adorable, and well worth it all! I sense there is a consensus of agreement that this final product too - the surface, color, and consistency of the walkways and stairways, meets with pleasure and approbation. I thank all Starlighters for their cooperation, for putting up with “on and off schedules,” and for enduring the inconvenience of a few days of non-traffic while the product cured. I ask for your continued discretion and over-sight in helping maintain the walkways and stairs in a manner that will show we care about appearance and upkeep. Let’s keep the November 12, 2011, look!

Last but not least, I am happy to report that the lawsuit we had going since 2009 against our insurance provider regarding a claim for hidden-collapsed-damages was recently settled with Starlight netting-out $124,500.00. After answering interrogatories, appearing for depositions, keeping up correspondence and providing documents for 2&1/2 years it is a big relief to have it behind us. And it is with a great deal of satisfaction that the Board can now address (and has already started addressing and put in motion) some of the long-delayed projects that will greatly improve our building. You will be hearing more about these projects in the near future. For instance, it has been a serious concern for some time that we do not have a generator that could provide energy for our elevator, and minimal lighting, in case of a major power failure. That decision will be left to the incoming Board of Directors.

I have served as President of the Board for five years. It is time to hand over the reins to other leadership, but I am staying on as a Director for one year in order to help make the transition go as smoothly as possible. I ask for your continued cooperation with the incoming 2012 Board. In my spare time I would like to write some children’s books, but I would always willingly set aside my manuscript for any emergency call from Starlight if a question needs to be answered - or, if I can help iron out a problem! God Bless!


~~ Marlene Reid