Chautauqua Area Real Estate Property Management report, June 21, 2018
St. Elmo Condominium Association
The 2017-18 year ended with a bang. On May 30 afternoon , site manager, Angel Cobb was working in a unit on the 1st floor when she heard a loud pop. She ran out into the hall and saw water gushing from the ceiling. She immediately contacted myself and Angelea and Dick, Carl and his staff was working outside the building pressure washing so we quickly got them to shut the water off. A fitting on a water meter had burst on the water line side sending a large amount of water pouring out of the line. There was about a 3 inch depth of water in the first floor hallway within the very short time it took Carl to get the water flow to stop. Some of this water flowed to the concourse area over the hallway and over the side area of the restaurant. In the middle section of the first floor, the water flowed under the doors of the units from 108 back to 115. Angelea immediately called Service Master and within an hour the owner of the local company was here to assess the damage. He immediately called a crew to mobilize and come and start to work . They arrived about an hour later with 2 truckloads of equipment to suction the water and determine the extent of the damage.
In the meantime Angel, Carl, Brad , Jerry and Dick were suctioning water (with the limited equipment we have), and tearing out ceilings. We contacted the CUD who supplied a new fitting for the meter which Carl installed and was able to get the water back on to the building.
Service Master pulled off all the hallway molding, and molding in the unit walls near the hallway. After suctioning water from all these areas, (water extended into the units about 10 ft.) small holes were drilled into the drywall and air hoses were placed in the holes to blow air into the walls to prevent moisture and mold. Fans were placed in every room and about 10 in the main hallway as well as large dehumidifiers. This equipment remained for 4 days. After testing every area in the hallway and rooms, the equipment was removed.
Carl and his crew began the reconstruction, new ceiling tile, replace molding, paint same. We are as of this date completing the replacement of floor damage to units. Fortunately the carpet in the hallway withstood the flood and shows no sign of damage.
Dick consulted with CUD personnel as to how this can be avoided in the future. The fittings are plastic and 30 years old. The fittings can be either brass or plastic (same price for each). Our recommendation is that in the fall we replace all fittings with brass. This would entail shutting off water while doing the work. There is no guarantee that other fittings might not fail also. We were very fortunate that the break was on the first floor and occurred during a time when staff was here and at a time when Service Master could respond quickly to our need. If we seem a little stressed at this time, we are. This consumed much of our time for about 3 weeks and we are just recuperating.
This episode brings up an issue which each owner should look at. The Association insurance policy covers damage to walls, ceilings and floors to the degree of the original finishes in the building. Any personal items or upgrades should be covered in your private insurance coverage. Liability should be in your personal coverage. If your toilet were to overflow causing damage to a unit below, it is your liability.  The Association policy is with Travelers Insurance. Personally we carry our insurance with Travelers as well. We figure if there is a question as to whose liability it is, Travelers can argue with itself.
We have for years been trying to address a sewer smell occasionally in the concourse. Scobell who installed the system 30 years ago was called to try to come up with a solution to solve the issue. They will do some work in the fall adding more venting and a few other tweaks which we hope will take care of it.
All of our normal spring projects are about complete and we are ready for the season.
Another nightmare we have been dealing with is the changes in Spectrum service. This has consumed many hours which we really didn’t have.
I believe that all owners have been notified about the changes at 2 Ames. It is important that all owners respond to the changes as they will negatively affect our way of life and our property values. The same is true of the changes in quiet hours which the CI Trustees changed in October, making quiet hours midnight instead of 11:00. Most people go to bed and to sleep by 11:00. Noise extending until 12:00 will prevent that. The general population was not given an opportunity to respond to this change prior to Board approval.
Yours truly,
Joreta Speck, Chautauqua Area Real Estate, Property Manager.