Home > Committee Minutes > Committee Minutes – 1st June 2017

 

        Islington Wharf Residents Association

 

Meeting

Thursday, 1st June 2017 @ 19:00

Medical Centre

Date of Minutes

Saturday 24th June 2017

 

Attendees

Katherine Harrison

Jonathan Isaacs (Chair)

James Needham

Anand Patel (Revolution)

Apologies

Ian Forrester

Paul Kelly

Tracey Langford

Wayne Langford

Minutes

Katherine Harrison

Next Meeting

Thursday, 6th July 2017

APOLOGIES:

  • As above.

MINUTES LAST MEETING:

  • Accepted as a true record.

UPDATE ON MATTERS FROM MINUTES OF LAST MEETING & MATTERS DISCUSSED WITH REVOLUTION:

MAJOR REPAIRS & LATENT DEFECTS

  • Sinkhole:
  • The report regarding the cause of the sinkhole had been received. The investigation had considered several causes, including drainage, poorly backfilled cellars from old houses on the site and heavy vehicles, but had not found conclusive evidence of a single cause. The sinkhole had previously been repaired. This matter has been closed
  • Water logging in gardens
  • Revolution had investigated the reasons for the waterlogging in various areas of the garden. The company that originally provided the drainage, Bowder, had been on site. A sub-contractor, Everlast, had not installed the drainage correctly. Bowder was responsible for this and would put it right without charge to Islington Wharf. This applied to both the communal areas of the garden and individual gardens. There would not be a need for an insurance claim. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO LIAISE WITH BOWDER TO ARRANGE REPAIRS

BUILDING INTERNALS

  • Plants:
  • SS had offered to investigate the possibility of replacing the live plants in the corridors with high quality artificial plants but she was not present at the meeting so this matter was carried forward. Members of the Committee who were present were divided as to the desirability of artificial plants but agreed to wait until options were available to consider. KH reported that the two plants outside the main entrances to Islington Wharf were dead and it was agreed that these would be replaced and that the contractor who supplied the indoor plants would be asked to provide options for the Committee to consider. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO LIAISE WITH PLANT CONTRACTOR
  • Metal covers:
  • The metal covers had been installed on communal internal doors in both blocks except for the door in Block B where the shopping trolleys were stored. This door was scuffed. It was agreed that a metal cover would be installed. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO ARRANGE METAL COVER FOR DOOR.

CAR PARK

  • Motorbike parking:
  • It was reported that the motorcycle parking stands were ready to install. The fob system would be used to allow motorcycle owners entry to the car park; however, questions remained regarding the pricing and enforcement policy. IF was not present at the meeting so these matters were carried over until the next meeting. ACTION: COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER MATTERS RELATED TO THIS AT NEXT MEETING
  • Car park security upgrade:
  • The upgrade to the fob entry system to the car park was underway. This would enhance security following recent break ins. Residents who held existing fobs were currently being asked to exchange them for new fobs. A deadline of the end of June had been communicated but Revolution would send out reminders in advance. New fobs would be given to all residents who already owned a fob but Revolution would cross-reference with records of residents who legitimately own or rent a parking space to prevent non-authorised use of the car park. Non-legitimate users would have their fobs deactivated and would no longer be able to gain access.
  • CCTV footage of the recent break into the car park did not identify the perpetrator who had hidden his face. It was clear from the footage that he knew where he was going. The police had been informed but were not optimistic about apprehending the thief. The Committee discussed the need for residents to ensure that possessions were not left in parked vehicles and it was agreed that signage encouraging this would be ordered. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO ORDER SIGNAGE FOR CAR PARK
  • Lights In Car Park:
  • JN requested a check on the automatic lights in the car park as some of these seemed to be out of order or slow to respond to movement. The sensors may need to be replaced. AP reported that Revolution has plans to upgrade the car park lighting in future. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO ARRANGE MAINTENANCE CHECK OF CAR PARK LIGHTS

MAINTENANCE

  • Lifts:
  • The lift in Block A had been out of service for almost a full week in May 2017. This had caused residents significant inconvenience and the Committee questioned why repairs had not been conducted more quickly. AP reported that the contractor, Schindler, had explained that the parts required were based in Europe and Schindler had had trouble acquiring them. Additionally, the parts had been delivered directly to Islington Wharf, rather than to the Schindler office, had delivery had been declined by the caretaking staff since they had not been advised to expect it. AP had liaised with Schindler regarding their delivery procedures and had briefed the caretaking staff at Islington Wharf to accept such deliveries in future, though they should be sent directly to Schindler in normal circumstances.
  • The lifts in Block B had also been out of service for shorter time periods; however, it was noted that the response times for lift service engineers to come to the site were rather long. AP confirmed that the normal response time is 4 hours. A report was received that showed response times for recent lift malfunctions. The response times were varied but some exceeded the normal period. ACTION: COMMITTEE TO REVIEW REPORT.
  • During one of the latest lift malfunctions in Block B, the service engineer had placed stickers on the buttons for certain floors saying ‘Do not use’. This had taken place over night. No explanatory notification had been provided to residents by Revolution so this led to confusion with some residents wondering if it was a joke or if the lifts were dangerous. AP explained that Schindler had wanted to shut down the lift entirely but a resident had requested that it remained in service so the lift engineer had compromised but had not informed Revolution. Revolution had now briefed Schindler regarding the need to provide information.
  • It was confirmed that industrial cleaning of the lifts had been booked. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO REPORT BACK ON PROGRESS.
  • Resident boiler maintenance:
  • AP reported that the contractor had visited approximately 60 apartments so far and that the boiler servicing was well underway. Letting agents have made keys available for empty apartments and apartments where tenants had not responded to requests for access. It was confirmed that the tenancy lease and leasehold allow access for maintenance. Revolution had set a cut-off date for non-responders after which time access rights would be invoked so that all boilers in Islington Wharf could be serviced. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO PROVIDE FURTHER PROGRESS REPORT AT NEXT MEETING.
  • Window Cleaning:
  • JN raised the window-cleaning schedule, as it seemed that the windows had not yet been cleaned in 2017. Various residents had complained about this on the Facebook page. A discussion took place regarding the change of cleaning schedule, which had been agreed at a previous meeting, and the on-going debate about whether additional cleans were needed and the impact of this on the service charge. Revolution confirmed that one additional window clean per year would cost £4,995.00 + VAT and would necessitate a rise in the service charge of approximately £30.00 per apartment per year. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO CHECK WINDOW CLEANING SCHEDULE AND COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER ADDITIONAL WINDOW CLEAN PER YEAR

PHASE 3

  • Phase 3 Construction:
  • It was confirmed that the SIP car park adjacent to Islington Wharf had now closed permanently and that building for Phase 3 of the Islington Wharf development was due to begin. Revolution had liaised with the developer to ensure that boarding would be erected between the building site and Islington Wharf Phase 2. This would be put up soon. An explanatory leaflet had been circulated by the developer to residents giving details of likely disruption and construction vehicles’ use of the slip road leading to the car park. A discussion took place regarding the likelihood of dirt from the building site entering the car park and common areas of Islington Wharf, as well as the potential for additional window cleaning to be billed to the developer. ACTION: COMMITTEE TO REVIEW DISRUPTION AND LEVEL OF DIRT
  • Car Park Allocation For Phase 3:
  • JN spoke to the MP about whether the developer could use spaces allocated to one development to reach a quota for another.
  • He advised, they couldn’t as part of their planning application say we need 100 space, 50 are going to be built with the development, 50 are part of Islington Wharf. They can however, say we only require 50 in this development which we are building, and if more people require them, they can buy them from our other development. ACTION: JN TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION ON THE MATTER WHICH CAN BE PRESENTED.

REVOLUTION & OOH

  • Monthly report from Revolution with tickets raised:
  • The monthly ticket report detailing all problems and responses pertaining to Islington Wharf had still not been made available to the Committee. This was a long-standing item on meeting agendas and the Committee would like to see more progress. AP requested feedback on the level of detail required and it was agreed that AP would send a dummy dataset to JI who would review it and provide feedback. ACTION: AP AND JI TO REVIEW DUMMY DATASET AND AGREE FORMAT FOR MONTHLY TICKET REPORTS.
  • Out of Hours Responsiveness:
  • It was reported that the out-of-hours response team still seemed to be unfamiliar with the Islington Wharf site and asked basic questions when residents telephoned to report issues. AP confirmed that the out-of-hours personnel now had all the necessary estate information so the basic questions were inexplicable. AP would feed back the Committee’s concerns.
  • Incidental to this discussion, AP advised the Committee that all doors in the Islington Wharf estate had a number in the top-right corner to allow auditing and contractor accuracy when responding to problems.
  • Revolution Staff Responsiveness:
  • It was observed that, at the last meeting, some members of staff from Revolution had lacked answers to questions or information that had been previously requested via the circulated agenda. AP raised the possibility that the agenda had been sent to an incorrect email address and that the member of staff in question may not have received it on that occasion. ACTION: JI TO CLARIFY BEST ADDRESS FOR AGENDAS

COMMUNICATION

  • Electronic Noticeboards:
  • It was reported that IF (not present) had been concerned that incorrect technology had been delivered, which could allow anyone to add content to the screens. This matter had been resolved and content could now only be uploaded from the caretaker’s office via a USB stick.
  • The screens had not yet been installed. KH offered to assist IF with writing content for the displays. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO ARRANGE INSTALLATION OF SCREENS ONCE IF HAD PROVIDED INITIAL CONTENT
  • Access To Revolution Mailing List:
  • AP updated the Committee on the wording of the automatic message that was sent to residents who registered to use MyRevolution. This would now contain information about the benefits of joining the Residents’ Association. A discussion took place regarding the ethics and legality of automatically signing up all residents who registered with MyRevolution to the Islington Wharf Residents’ Association unless they ticked an ‘opt out’ box. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO ADVISE ON LEGALITY OF OPT OUT

GARDEN

  • Communal BBQ:
  • JN raised the matter of the communal barbecues. Due to the non-standard size of the barbecues that been constructed, which was contrary to what had been agreed, the disposable grills had proved to be very expensive last year. JN suggested that buying grills earlier this year might avoid prohibitively high costs. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO INVESTIGATE COST OF GRILLS

OTHER

  • Parcel Collection:
  • The long-standing matter of using the parcel collection service to encourage residents to sign up to the Residents’ Association was discussed. The idea had been to only allow residents’ personal parcel delivery and collection from the caretaker’s office if residents were signed up to MyRevolution and could thus be contacted with information.
  • This scheme would necessitate that the caretaker cross-referenced the names on parcels that were delivered with a database of registered residents before accepting them, which could present various challenges. A discussion took place about whether this idea was workable or still desirable.
  • One alternative suggestion was that the parcel collection slips could include information about how to join the Residents’ Association and MyRevolution. Another possibility was using the MyRevolution registration process to inform residents about the Residents’ Association – this was discussed separately as another agenda item (see below). It was agreed that the Committee would discuss this matter further and report back to Revolution at the next meeting. ACTION: COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER SCHEME AND RATIONALE BEHIND IT
  • Commercial Unit:
  • The empty commercial unit in Block B, where Laing O’Rouke had set up and subsequently abandoned their site office was still a mess with black mould creeping up the woodwork and miscellaneous buckets lying about on full view through the large windows. This was an eyesore and detrimental to the appearance of the development. Revolution had liaised with the developer regarding tidying up the vacant unit and/or reinstating the original window decals to conceal the mess. The developer had received quotations for the remedial work but was waiting for these to be signed off by the board. The options under consideration ranged from a tidy up to the total removal of the site office. Revolution would report back at the next meeting. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO REPORT BACK
  • Throwing Things Out Of Windows:
  • KH brought up the issue of residents throwing things out of windows. Several incidents had been reported by residents on the Facebook page of other residents throwing rubbish and emptying buckets out of windows in apartments facing the canal in Block B. Additionally, KH had seen much detritus, such as tea bags, in the same spot below Block B, which appeared to have been thrown from above. AP agreed that this was unacceptable and that Revolution would send out a reminder not to throw items out of windows plus advice about the potential penalties if the offending parties did not desist from the behaviour. ACTION: REVOLUTION TO SEND OUT A STRONGLY WORDED REMINDER

MATTERS DISCUSSED IN ISOLATION

  • Latent Defects & Zurich Insurance:
  • A response to Waterside Places had been given, whereby addressing concern with lack of progress, and delay. It also stated that if a meeting wasn’t forthcoming, and open meeting would be held with invites to their major competitors.
  • Meeting With Lucy Powell:
  • Katherine to advise on any update at next meeting following the general election pause. ACTION: KH
  • Media Coverage:
  • Carried forward to next meeting for IF to report back. ACTION: IF

AOB:

  • Thermometers
  • These had been delivered, and slips had been printed. Committee to discuss best method of allocation at next meeting.

 

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