At the 2013 Annual General Meeting, the board did not prepare and present a budget for the Reserve Fund account. When questioned at the meeting as to why not, the response was simply that there would be no reserve fund expenditures in the coming year. As the building throughout its entire history, has always had Reserve Fund expenditures and certainly a budget for them, this response from the treasurer was found to be very questionable.

Recently, residents were informed that someone on the board would like to spend resident funds on the exercise room. This would require funding from the Reserve Fund. Apparently, this Board member convinced the Board to proceed with this expenditure.We once again see the Board proceeding with absolutely no consultation or participation of residents.

A far more necessary and responsible use of residential funds would of course be to install a humidification unit which was removed and not replaced during installation of the new heating system. Again, members of the Board  made this decision with no consultation or participation of residents. Residents have been severely impacted by the extreme dry conditions in the building during the winter months.

This has been yet again another winter where our residents have experienced extremely low humidity levels, often following below 10% which becomes an extreme health hazard. There is no question that this problem must be addressed before any other Reserve Fund expenditure is considered.

The Board has attempted to provide excuses for not replacing the former humidifier unit, including that the engineer advised the building it didn’t need one. This was found not to be true.  When the engineer was questioned about this at a general meeting held subsequent to the installation of the new heating system, his response was that he was directed NOT TO INCLUDE THE HUMIDIFIER IN ORDER IN ORDER TO REDUCE COSTS OF THE PROJECT!  It is important to note, that humidification was an original and intregal component of  the building’s HVAC system and served the building well for more than 30 years. Residents purchased their units with the understanding and comfort knowing this was a beneficial feature of their unit.

Any such alteration or removal of such a major component of the building’s mechanical system which in turn seriously impacts the the use and enjoyment of a residents property, is very disrespectful of our residents and certainly raises questions about such decisions being made without appropriate consultation with them.

The Board must not be allowed to continue spending other people’s money simply to satisfy their own personal agenda. It is requested that immediate arrangements be made to reinstall the humidifier to serve the residential units. Further, it is requested that no expenditure be made regarding the exercise room until residents have in fact been consulted on the matter and an opportunity provided for their input. This matter should therefore be left for further review at the next general meeting.