What the Board Says

What the Board says versus what the Board does and does not do.

After trying for 8 months to get the Property Manager to resolve, or even acknowledge, my complaints about a noisy neighbour, I wrote two emails to the Board Members at their home email addresses that the Property Manager had (inadvertently?) supplied to me. I wrote about my concerns about the noise and the steps I had taken to deal with it and I expressed my concerns about the Property Manager. The Board did not respond so at the end of July I wrote a third email. In August I received an unsigned, undated letter on plain paper from the Board. Click here to see my three emails and the Board's reply.

Some of my ongoing concerns about the way this condo is run is the lack of communication and the lack of leadership in the areas of recycling, utility stewardship, maintenance and management of operating costs. I discovered from reading old meeting minutes that other owners shared these same concerns. Although the Board didn't answer my May question about when the property management contract was last tendered, they did offer their thoughts on how well they are communicating. Below is my opinion of the Board's communication. I've used the Board's August letter to me and the minutes of recent Annual General Meetings (AGMs) to show how I believe this Board and Property Manager are not doing their jobs and how things could be done better for the benefit of all owners and residents of our condo.

The Board wrote in August "With regard to communication to residents we did publish a newsletter around Christmas which was available for pick up at the front desk.” We've all seen that newsletter, I'm sure, because the same one is put out every year with the dates changed. It says live trees aren't allowed, it offers instructions about the garbage and it advises the office will be closed. One recycled newsletter a year is not communication.

The Board went on "We stopped delivering flyers to the suites as this created extra mess in the halls and were also a security issue for many residents who travel out of town frequently.” How about delivering newsletters under the door or sending them in the mail? How about the internet? Delivering to just the suites means about ½ the owners don't get the information because the status certificate from April 2010 says 150 units are rented. The Board needs to figure out a way to frequently communicate with owners and residents.

The Board continued "We had an extensive yearly update at the last AGM informing every one of the major projects in progress.” That is great for the people who are able to attend a meeting once per year. The “every one” in attendance was 8% of the owners in 2005, 14% of the owners in 2006 and 2008 and 12% in 2007. The other 86% to 92% of owners have a right to know what is going on in a timely manner. All we get is the minutes of the AGM 11 months later and an annual fee increase notice.

I've reviewed the minutes of the AGMs for 2005 to 2008 to see what the minutes say about the “extensive yearly updates”.

On October 18, 2006 the President reported that there was an “update of the Tenancy and Occupancy of Unit Rule, in accordance with Section 58 and 46 of the Condominium Act. This rule will benefit the building by reducing wear and tear and help with security issues.” One part of the rule states no residential unit shall be used for any “transient” use. Transient is defined as less than six (6) months in any particular period of twelve (12) consecutive months. I can't provide you with the direct link because it would disclose our building's identity but if you search our building's address at this web site you will see the rule is not being enforced by the Board and Property Manager. This owner is running his unit as a hotel in clear violation of the rules. Either enforce the rules or get rid of them.

Another part of the “update of the Tenancy and Occupancy of Unit Rule” requires owners to provide notice to the Corporation that they have leased their unit. The Status Certificate issued on April 16, 2010 disclosed 23 owners had provided the notice “however the Corporation believes that there are approximately 150 leased units.” How can you claim to be doing a good job if you know there are 127 units breaking the rules? Again, either enforce the rules or get rid of them.

Also at the October 18, 2006 meeting an owner asked about programmable thermostats. The minutes state that a pilot project was not positive and was determined to not be a cost-saving product. That is baffling to me because programmable thermostats have been found to save energy time and time again. Some regions know they are so valuable that they actually give programmable thermostats away free of charge.



The two thermostats in our lobby appear to be the original ones from 1986 and they don't even show the temperature anymore. On Monday, September 27th at 10:00 P.M. the thermostats were both cranked to high fan and extreme cool even though the air conditioner was broken and it was 14 degrees outside. This demonstrates a lack of leadership and stewardship by the Board and Property Manager.

The answer to the same owner went on to say individual metering will become mandatory in the year 2010 and information on this upgrade will be provided to owners when received. I don't believe the Board has provided any updates and it is 4 years later. This is another time when the Board could show some leadership and demonstrate stewardship of our resources by installing these energy savings devices before they are mandatory. People who pay for energy use less. Click here to learn more about smart meters and click here to learn more suite meters.

Another owner on October 18, 2006 raised a question about damage from air conditioners and she was advised of the importance of cleaning the drip pan from the air conditioner and how to service the fan coil unit. This raises two questions for me. First, what is the contractor paid to do when they enter our units semi-annually if it isn't cleaning the drip pans and, second, how are the 84% of owners who didn't attend the meeting suppose to know they need to be servicing their fan coil units if the Board and Property Manager aren't telling them?

The minutes of the 2006 AGM say a toilet retrofit was considered, tests were performed and it was determined that the building has adequate installation at this time. I don't know what that means. The original toilets are 23 years old and used 13 litres per flush when they were new and operating at peak performance. Water rates are increasing at a rate of 10% annually and the water consumption of the original toilets will be increasing annually too as they age and deteriorate. Why would an owner change a toilet when the Corporation would save the money? The Corporation would likely have saved more than the cost through reduced water bills if the Board had done their job 4 years ago. Click here to learn more about saving water. 

The October 18, 2007 minutes report the Board “identified the many energy-efficient improvements already made to the building and future enhancements are being considered” unfortunately none were listed. We do know, however, that water efficient toilets and programmable thermostats were not among the many energy-efficient improvements made. At the same meeting the “residents requested that the newsletter be issued more frequently” and it was marked as “Action” but three years later we are still waiting.

At the November 12, 2008 meeting an owner asked about the new garbage collection levy established by the City of Toronto. The President advised that the expense was included in the budget. The same owner followed up asking if there will be education programs provided to help people to know how and what should be discarded, to better use the recycling bins. The President replied that the Board and Property Manager would enquire on information pamphlets and additional material available to advise residents on proper disposal practice. Information would be included in the Newsletter. I wrote to the President on April 14, 2008 and April 22, 2008 to find out what the Board was doing to prepare for the changes. A year later on April 11, 2009 I followed up because I hadn't heard anything. I even provided links to newsletters the City had prepared. All the Property Manager and Board had to do was print them off and distribute them but that didn't happen. This was a missed opportunity to save money by the Board and Property Manager and they should be embarrassed. What effort was made to educate owners and residents about the impact of this change on our condo fees? None, until December 2009 – a full 18 months after the charges had started! And only then because the City introduced the green bin to our building. The City is eager to help buildings increase their recycling but the same can't be said for the Board and Property Manager or they would have acted when the garbage levy was first announced in 2007.

The message about garbage was and is simple. Everything that goes down the chute costs money to dispose of. Everything that is recycled is free. This still has not been communicated well enough. That is not to say recycling isn't happening because it is but more waste needs to be diverted from the chute. Recycling is happening and the bins are often full on Monday night but the pick-up is Wednesday.



Why can't we have more recycling bins and bins for batteries and other items that can't be recycled? If there are bins for beer and wine bottles, there could certainly be bins for other things. And why are there just garbage can in the common areas? Would it be too radical to put a recycling can beside each garbage can? Click here to learn more about the City's recycling program.  

An owner at the November 12, 2008 meeting generously offered to prepare a brief on an oiling procedure for the suite exhaust fans. The minutes state “the Board will review the brief and circulate to the residents” but that hasn't happened.

Another owner recommended upgrading thermostats to new programmable units and the Board said it will review the topic. The Board also agreed a reminder will be included in the Newsletter that residents should be in their suites when running washing machines etc. That was 23 months ago and I don't recall seeing that newsletter.

Also at the November 12, 2008 meeting an owner raised the issue of a leak that originated behind the wall of his bathroom and caused a “major leak disaster” in June 2008. I was on the receiving end of a similar leak earlier this year and the Property Manager casually mentioned that the cause is the shower cartridges. He indicated it was a common problem in the building and was easy to prevent by changing the cartridges. That is a gem of information that owners would like to know in a newsletter if the Board and Property Manager would do their jobs and put one together.

A frequently raised issue at all of the AGMs is the roof and gym upgrades. The response is always that it is being considered – year after year.

In terms of communication beyond the annual recycled newsletter, the Board told me in their August 2010 reply that the current Property Management Company “also publishes a magazine (4 times a year) available to all residents at the front desk.” It seems unlikely to me that they would write an article saying, for example, our building now has fobs available as an alternative to access cards. If the glossy, self-promoting magazine wrote that article, I missed it. If anyone wrote that article, I missed it too. I see people with fobs at the doors but the Board and Property Manager have never, to my knowledge, mentioned it. That would be just one small example of news that would be worth communicating.

In 2009 a Board Member's candidate statement stated that “If elected, I would like to use my term to push for ... the formation of an internet-based communication tool where we can share ideas, advise, recipes or form support groups or squash buddies.”He was elected but, so far, nothing has changed. The Board's August response to me said “I agree that having a 'Communication Committee' in the building would help keep the residents better informed. We would like to explore use of a website and social networks to help reach out. If you would like to be involved in this committee please leave a note for 'Condominium Board' at the front desk.” Are you serious? We pay for a full time Property Manager and part time Site Administrator and the Board expects volunteers to do the communication?

It is my opinion that it is clearly time for the friends of the Property Management Company to resign from the Board to allow a new Board with some leadership to manage the Property Manager. The next step would be to tender the contract to find a firm that can manage and maintain our building properly and cost effectively.