St Martins Residents' Association
Minutes* of AGM held Thursday 26th June 2014 at 7.00pm
Bishop Lloyds Palace, Chester.
Present:
SMRA Committee Members
* As all SMRA members are aware the position of SMRA Committee Secretary is vacant. Therefore the AGM minutes (edited and published by the Acting Chairman) were not collated in the normal manner, and will only reflect items raised by members that are directly related to AGM business. Individual members may not be named.
1. Welcome
Michael Harris the Acting Chairman, opened the meeting by welcoming Chris Attwater and Jo Medley from OM Property Management, and Councillor Samantha Dixon.
2. Agreement of minutes from 2013 AGM
Before acceptance of the minutes was proposed and seconded, a discussion ensued as to the basis of the voting which took place at the 2013 AGM in relation to changes in the Courtyard apportionment of Gardening & Landscaping (G & L) costs. Chris Attwater advised that the vote on the reallocation of gardening costs at the last AGM had been taken twice, first on the basis of one vote per member (2 votes per property in joint ownership), and second on the basis of one vote per property, and that the resolution had been passed under both procedures.
Questions were also put forward as to why the proposal of the reallocation of gardening costs had only been raised at that AGM and not raised in a global circular to all owners and as to why OM had gone ahead and reallocated the gardening costs on the basis of the resolution passed at the last AGM. Chris Attwater advised that as the resolution on the reallocation of the gardening costs had been passed by the SMRA under both the above procedures and as this matter was not a change in the terms of the lease, OM were correct to have acted on the resolution passed.
A further question was asked as to why the suggestion of reallocating gardening costs on the basis of square footage had not been considered further. Chris Attwater advised that this had not been considered further as it is generally the case that gardening costs are allocated equally across all residences on all OM managed developments.
Following these discussions, approval of the minutes of the 2013 AGM was proposed by Alan Edge, and seconded by Martin Perry. The 2013 minutes were agreed by a majority vote.
3. Up-date report by Chris Attwater OM Area Manager and Jo Medley Acting OM Site Manager
Jo Medley reported that over the past 12 months the following projects had been undertaken:
Jet Washing Programme - she advised that the defective work issues which had arisen in relation to this programme had now been addressed by the contractor. She said that the issues had arisen as, in hindsight, the quotation accepted for the work had turned out to be too cheap. She advised that payment for the work had been withheld until the contractor had dealt with all work quality and snagging issues. In reply to the query as to why no deduction has been made in the payment to the contractor, Jo Medley advised that the work finally completed by the contractor was in accordance with the specifications. Therefore OM did not consider it appropriate to make a deduction in the payment made to the contractor. On the question of why Geoff Shotton had not done the jet washing, she advised that he would not have been able to carry out the jet washing of the whole of St Martins as a one-off exercise, and attend to his other duties at the same time. It was also put to Jo Medley that the work specifications for all such projects should be put on the OM website, so that they could be reviewed by all residents. A comment was also made that such jet washing projects on the development should be kept to a minimum, as they damage the block paving and the mortar in the brickwork and coping stones.
Refit of Sens Close Office for Geoff Shotton - Jo Medley said that the refit of this office to relocate Geoff Shotton's office and toilet facilities from the 1761 building, was saving a rental charge of around £2,000.00 per year to provide an office in the 1761 building. She advised that the costs of the refit had been met from reserves. Also that the work had involved fitting out an office in Sens Close, and toilet facilities in Brennus Place.
Vehicle Parking in St Martins - Jo Medley advise that she had been looking into residents
parking on the development in breach of terms of the lease, such as residents parking commercial vehicles. Also residents parking commercial vehicles connected with a business being operated from the development. She advise that these issues had been addressed directly by OM with the offending residents. She also advised that OM were looking at a proposal to impose formal parking restrictions, and on which at least a majority vote of 51% of all owners would be required to implement such a scheme.
Chris Attwater was asked why the OM's management fee for 2013 had increased by 20% from approximately £120,000.00 in 2011, as this escalation was a major concern. He advised that management charges vary depending on the level of work undertaken each year, and that OM did look for ways to reduce their management charge. An example of this being OM reducing their 15% fee on the external painting by the fee charged by the surveying company who are project managing the painting programme. Chris Attwater also said that based on other developments in Chester, the market rate for the management of such developments, appeared to be around £170,000.00 per annum. He also went on to say that the OM Site Manager does submit quotes for significant projects to the SMRA Committee for review and comment.
Chris Attwater then advised on the external painting project planned for 2014. He said Gleeds had be appointed to act as the Project Managers rather than OM. They would handle the tendering process, manage the preparation work such as wood treatments and timber repairs, and on-site project management of the actual external painting work.. He advised that three tenders had been requested, and only two had been received, and there was a significant difference in the prices quoted. In view of this, another quotation was being sought to assess the quality of the two tenders already received. Given that time is moving on, and the likelihood of not completing the entire project in 2014, before the bad weather sets in, he proposed that, if necessary, the urgent work could be undertaken in 2014, and the major work scheduled for 2015. He advised that the reserves currently held for this work were approximately £100,000.00 which is around the level of the lowest tender, currently received for this project. A recommendation was made to Christ Attwater, that OM obtained a copy of the ICI report detailing the faults found with the paint that was used in the last external painting project.
A request was made for OM to review the installation of full cavity wall insulation in properties on the development. Chris advised that this would be possible, but that it would depend on all owners accepting the costs of such work.
4. Councillor Samantha Dixon’s Presentation:
Samantha Dixon advised that she was the Councillor for Chester City Ward and was present at the meeting to advise on a number of projects in the City which had an impact on St Martins. She advised on the following
a) The Northgate Scheme – see Scheme Progression from Cheshire West and Chester on the SMRA website.
b) The Odeon Development – The decision on the planning application is expected in July 2014. £5m of funding is being sought from the Arts Council and £3m of funding is being sought from the Heritage Lottery Fund – decisions on the funding applications are due in July 2014.
c) Linenhall Student Accommodation Development – Stevenson Group, the developers, are seeking a relationship with the University of Chester whereby the University uses this accommodation for its students. If such a relationship is agreed, work will start on the development in October 2014, with a view to the accommodation being ready for occupation by the students in October 2016.
Samantha Dixon also said that she had received four questions prior to this meeting and these were as follows together with Samantha Dixon’s responses:
i) Given that our development is in a conservation area, would CWAC allow uPVC window frames? Response: The CWAC Development Planning Manager said there was no overall ban on uPVC window frames on the development, it just depends on their overall look, as they need to be in keeping with the current timber frames.
ii) Could the speed warning sign on St Martins Way be replaced with a speed camera? Response: Samantha Dixon had been told it could not, as the collision data from May 2011 to April 2014 had been reviewed and as there had only been 10 collisions in that period, it was not believed that a speed camera was warranted.
iii) Could a survey be undertaken to assess the level of exhaust emissions on St Martins Way in front of the Sens Close apartments? Response: Samantha Dixon had been advised that monitoring is already being undertaken on levels of nitrogen dioxide on St Martins Way and these comply with national standards. Monitoring is also being done on Bedward Row and the levels of nitrogen dioxide are slightly higher there, but still within the national standards.
iv) Could emergency vehicles stop sounding their sirens along St Martins Way in the quiet hours? Response: Samantha Dixon had been advised the answer was no, this was not possible. Emergency vehicles are always required to sound their sirens if travelling to emergencies along St Martins Way, to alert other traffic of their presence on the road.
Samantha Dixon also advised that she was notified of all tree and advertising orders in the City and was notified of all licensing applications in City. With regard to licensing applications she advised that is was now the responsibility of all applicants to prove that their licence will not result in noise or harm for City centre residents.
Samantha Dixon was thanked for her presentation on the numerous city projects and for obtaining answers to the specific questions that she had received.
5. Chairman's Address
In view of the fact that he has a problem with his vocal cords, Michael Harris referred everyone to the comments made in his letter to all St Martins owners dated 14th May 2014, as all of these items would have been contained in his address. He advised that he would be making further comments later in the meeting when it came to requesting members to put themselves forward to fill vacancies in the SMRA Committee.
6. Treasurer's Report
Alan Edge advised that the total funds in the SMRA Accounts, after payment of the AGM room hire, stood at £485.50. As there are no items of major items of expenditure planned for the coming year, he recommended that no subscriptions should be requested.
7. Gardening & Landscaping up-date
Len Bell advised that Ben Walker was now the main gardening contractor on the development and that big improvements were envisaged in the G & L on the development as a result of this change of contractor. Len Bell advised that Ben Walker and his team were spending twice the amount of time working on our development, compared with the previous contractors, and at a lower cost.
Len Bell advised that the trees at the front of the development had been trimmed and fed and were now looking better with more leafage; it is hoped in the future that they can be pruned to form better shapes. Len Bell also said that five silver birches on the development had become too overgrown for their locations, and so with the agreement of CWAC, they had been removed and replaced with five new trees, as required in the conservation area.
Len Bell also advised that if anyone wanted to help with the gardening, perhaps dealing with weeding in a certain area, then they could speak to Ben Walker and agree the location and the nature of the work to be done.
Len Bell further advised that the G & L Sub-Committee were looking to focus on the areas of the Brennus Place and Sens Cose courtyards. Len asked people to give him feedback, if they were not in agreement for money to be spent on new shrubbery etc in those areas.
A comment was made that the ivy should be looked at on the internal walkway to ensure that it does not affect the render.
Len Bell was asked if a water supply had now been found to service the plant/shrubs in the development, and he advised that a communal water supply had been found in The Yonne courtyard
A request was made to be advised in advance of all gardening costs incurred on the development which were not included in the annual budget for gardening. A suggestion was also made, that communication by letter to all owners, of any proposed significant expenditure, would be an improvement in communications to owners. Michael Harris advised that Chris Attwater had agreed to two adhoc mailings per year from the SMRA Committee to all St Martins owners, and that OM would absorb the cost of these mailings.
8. Committee Nominations & 9. The Future of the Residents' Association
Michael Harris advised that whilst he was looking to stand down as Acting Chairman, he (and Len Bell and Paulette Thomas) would consider continuing to act in a consultant capacity to assist the incoming Chairman and Committee members on financial matters and contract scrutiny. Michael Harris called for nominations for the positions of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and Brennus Place, Sens Close and The Yonne Representatives. With the exception of Wilf Platt who put himself forward to serve as the Yonne Representative, no other nominations were received. Michael Harris then advised the meeting that prior to the AGM, that he, Alan Edge, Howard Walshaw, Paulette Thomas had agreed to continue to serve on SMRA Committee until 30th November 2014, should this situation arise. Martin Perry will now stand down and be replaced by Wilf Platt. Len Bell will continue to Chair the G & L Sub-Committee. Martin Perry agreed to continue overseeing the SMRA website. This proposal was put to the meeting, and agreed by a majority.
Members of the SMRA Committee who will now serve until 30th November 2014 are as follows:
Acting Chairman Michael Harris
Secretary Vacant
Treasurer Alan Edge
Brennus Place Representative Howard Walshaw
Sens Close Representative Paulette Thomas
The Yonne Representative Wilf Platt
Gardening & Landscaping Sub-Committee
Len Bell (Chairman) Anne Platt, Wilf Platt, Hilary Strange
Michael Harris then said that he will call an EGM which will take place at Bishops Lloyds Palace at 7.00 pm on Thursday 27th November 2014.
Michael Harris further advised that Len Bell and he had undertaken a thorough examination of the St Martins Management Accounts for the year ended 30th November 2013, and that Len Bell had put a number of detailed queries to OM to clarify issues that he had identified. In the light of this, Michael Harris suggested that even if the SMRA committee positions could not be filled after November 2014 and the St Martins RA was disbanded, that he, Len Bell and Paulette Thomas all having accounting/financial experience, would be willing to continue this annual review of the Management Charges Accounts. Any such arrangement would require OM's agreement, as there would then be no Resident's Association representing the St Martins owners.
10. Any Other Business
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at !0 pm.