Islington Wharf

        Islington Wharf Residents Association

APOLOGIES:

• As above.

MINUTES LAST MEETING:

• Accepted as a true record.

UPDATE ON MATTERS FROM MINUTES OF LAST MEETING:

• Electronic Noticeboards

• TJ confirmed that permission to install these had been requested from the freeholder but no response had been received. Since the installation would have minimal impact on the building it was decided that Revolution would notify the freeholder that we will proceed with the installation unless we receive a denial of permission before the end of January 2017. ACTION: REVOLUTION.

• Fire exit signs for public areas

• The new metal fire exit signs had now been installed in the buildings. JI and JN confirmed that these looked much better than the prior signage and were in keeping with the décor.

• Water logging in gardens

• It was reported by JN that WL had sought and received quotations for remedial work on the blocked drain but as WL was not present the matter was carried over until the next meeting. ACTION: WL to update Committee at or prior to the next meeting.

• Security lights

• TJ confirmed that Revolution had recently had an electrician at Islington Wharf to investigate the lights that were not working and repairs or changes to light bulbs would be concluded by the end of the week. JI reported that the motion sensor on the lights in the ground floor car park seemed to be very slow to react and suggested that the same electrician could investigate while repairing the security lights. TJ suggested that the issue could be a timer fault and confirmed that Revolution would instruct the electrician to look into it while on site this week. ACTION: REVOLUTION

• Motorbike parking

• Revolution confirmed that IF had been consulted with regard to the design of the new facilities and that a metal fabricator was currently constructing the ground anchors. No estimated time for completion of the work was known at the time of the meeting. ACTION: Revolution to update Committee at the next meeting.

• Resident boiler maintenance

• TJ reported that this had gone out for tender and quotations had been received. An agreement had been reached with Heating Doctor who would commence a mail drop to arrange appointments to access individual apartments. Revolution would also send out an email to capture all residential tenants and landlords. The cost of the service would be contained within the service charge. A discussion took place regarding the feasibility of residents leaving keys with the caretakers so that they did not have to be on the premises during Heating Doctor’s visit. This would be at the residents’ own risk and would depend on Revolution and Heating Doctor agreeing a suitable system. ACTION: Revolution to investigate options with Heating Doctor and caretakers.

• Monthly report from Revolution with tickets raised.

• The Committee requested an update on the earlier request to Revolution to receive a monthly summary of tickets issued for works and reports of problems at Islington Wharf in order to maintain an overview. TJ confirmed that Revolution had recently obtained new software to assist with this and that the reporting system was currently being developed. There was no timeframe for this at present since the software (Zendesk) was new to Revolution but the Committee’s request would certainly be fulfilled and rolled out to other developments managed by Revolution as well. ACTION: Revolution to update Committee when possible.

• Lock on 17th floor

• It was confirmed that the lock on the door to the stairwell on the 17th floor had been installed. There was a discussion regarding the fire safety issue pertaining to the keypad lock on the exit from the stairwell to the first floor, which was raised by WL at the last meeting. TJ was not aware of whether this lock had now been removed but agreed to check and report back to the Committee. ACTION: Revolution to update the Committee.

• Fixed window cleaning months.

• It was confirmed that the December window clean throughout Islington Wharf was currently under way. A discussion took place regarding the timing and frequency of the window cleaning. The Committee requested that since the hours of daylight were few during the winter months the window cleaning schedule should be adjusted from June and December to March and September. TJ confirmed that there would be a cost implication this year since the next window clean would be brought forward. This was agreed. The Committee also requested costings for more frequent window cleaning of three or four times a year. ACTION: Revolution to change window cleaning schedule and obtain estimates for additional cleans.

• Car park security upgrade.

• Revolution updated the Committee on the car park security issues. The cost of the new fob system (£10,000) had been confirmed at the last meeting and Committee members had voted 4 to 1 to commence the works. However, as several members of the Committee were absent, the decision about whether to go ahead had been deferred. Two more Committee members voted in favour, leading to a 6 to 1 majority (one member of the Committee had not been present to vote at either meeting) so the motion was carried. Revolution confirmed that the costs for this would fall in the 2017-18 financial year and would be drawn from the car park service charge plus a one-off charge for additional fobs. One fob would be provided free of charge per car parking space but any additional fobs or fobs requested by bicycle or motorbike owners would be subject to a fee. ACTION: Revolution to implement new car park fob system and to update Committee on costs.
• JN also raised the potential necessity of additional security measures since, even with the new fob system, it would be possible for intruders to tailgate and to then exit via the fire door, which did not require a fob. A discussion took place regarding this. ACTION: Committee to consider whether additional security measures were required.

• Renting of apartments – lease essential information.

• Lease essential information. Following on from a discussion at the last meeting regarding the desirability of tenants or landlords notifying Revolution when they moved in or out of Islington Wharf, Revolution had checked the lease to determine the obligations on tenants and landlords. The lease stated only that the freeholder (via its proxy, Revolution) should be notified when residential leases of over 12 months were issued. This would not capture normal rental leases of 6 or 12 months, so there was no obligation on tenants to notify Revolution. However, Revolution confirmed that they only deal with tenants by phone or email if they are registered to MyRevolution and have therefore submitted their personal details. A discussion took place regarding how to encourage more residents to sign up to MyRevolution and it was decided that the electronic noticeboards could be used for this purpose. Additionally, JN suggested that the caretakers could refuse to accept parcels for anyone not registered to MyRevolution and it was generally agreed that this was a good idea. TJ confirmed that a similar system was in place at other Revolution developments and worked well. ACTION: Revolution to explore the feasibility of monitoring residency via parcel delivery system.
• It was noted from the minutes of the last meeting that TL and SS had reported that they were making headway in putting together a welcome pack of essential information for new residents, which could contain encouragement to register with MyRevolution. Neither TL or SS was present so the matter was carried over until the next meeting. ACTION: TL and SS to update Committee on new residents’ information pack.

• Holiday parcel plans

• The schedule for this had now been circulated by Revolution.

• Bike store.

• This was on-going and Revolution would issue communications within the next week. The new bike store room was also ready and information would be circulated to residents imminently. The cost was confirmed as £10 per year per bike, though this introductory offer was open to increase in future. ACTION: Revolution to communicate information to residents.

• Christmas Tree

• The Christmas trees had been delivered and would be decorated by the caretaking staff this year. The Committee thanked the caretaking staff for this.

• Plants

• It was reported that some of the plants in the corridors were dying again. A discussion took place regarding whether the dying plants were faulty specimens and could simply be replaced or whether environmental conditions in the buildings meant that all the plants were dying slowly and that, therefore, it might be better to cancel the contract and remove the plants completely. It was agreed that the plants would be monitored more closely to determine the extent of their ill health. ACTION: JI to conduct another plant health survey and report back to the Committee.

• Security cameras on the lift quote

• Security cameras in lifts. It was confirmed that Revolution had obtained quotations for this but the cost was prohibitively expensive due to the logistics of the installation and the approval that would be needed from Schindler, the lift manufacturer. The decision had already been made not to go ahead at a previous meeting. This was reconfirmed and the matter was closed

• Date of next meeting:

• The next meeting would take place a week later than usual on Tuesday 10th January 2017 to accommodate Committee members who were away over New Year. Everyone present agreed to the new date. ACTION: All.

MATTERS ARISING – TO BE DISCUSSED WITH REVOLUTION PRESENT:

• There were no matters arising to be discussed with Revolution.

MATTERS DISCUSSED IN ISOLATION

• Facebook:

• A resident had written to the Committee to complain about another residents’ language and conduct on the Facebook page. A discussion took place about this and it was decided that IF would be asked to remind all residents tactfully of the code of conduct for using the Facebook page. The Committee agreed that it was desirable that residents experiencing problems with specific neighbours either speak to each other directly or notify Revolution, rather than airing grievances on Facebook, though it was acknowledged that speaking directly to neighbours at night time or where parties were in progress was sometimes intimidating or impractical. ACTION: IF to remind residents of the code of conduct for using the Facebook page.

• New Members:

• The Committee felt that it would be beneficial to issue an invitation for new members since the current membership was 8 but some members rarely attended meetings and the optimal number was felt to be 10. It was decided to combine the initiative with an open residents’ meeting in February 2017 and advance information would be circulated asking potential new members to get in touch. ACTION: Committee

• Open Residents Meeting:

• A resident had been in touch via Facebook asking for the date of the next open residents’ meeting. This was overdue and it was also necessary to hold an AGM open to all residents in order to confirm the new constitution for the Residents’ Association. It was decided that this would take place on the first Tuesday in February and that all residents, representatives from Revolution and the Local Councillors would be invited to attend. It would not be possible to invite representatives from Waterside Places since the discussion of the new constitution for the Residents’ Association, which had the potential to allow residents to take greater control of Islington Wharf, represented a conflict of interest. However, it was agreed that Waterside Places should be pressed to agree a date for another open residents’ meeting with specific regard to the on-going water ingress and solar heat gain issues, since they had promised such at the last open meeting and it had not yet materialised. ACTION: Committee

• Experts Meeting:

• The experts’ meeting between Waterside Places and the Residents’ Association’s representatives, Pick Everard, had taken place and Pick Everard had invoiced JI for the first part of their work. JI had paid this bill and was waiting for reimbursement from Revolution. The discussion of the technical issues germane to finding a solution to the water ingress and solar heat gain problems was on-going but progress was slow. A discussion took place regarding the claim made to Zurich Insurance and JI agreed to check up on progress with this. ACTION: JI to follow up with Zurich Insurance.

• Constitution:

• JI briefed the Committee on the draft of the new constitution for the Residents’ Association. It seemed like it would be possible to waive the cost of membership in future, if this was enshrined in a constitution that was agreed and adopted by formal means. An AGM would take place as part of the full residents’ meeting in February 2017 in order to ratify the new constitution. ACTION: JI to finalise constitution and circulate to Committee for agreement at next meeting, prior to circulation to all residents.

AOB:

• There was no other business.

NB:

• The next meeting of Islington Wharf Residents Association Committee will be Tuesday 10th January at 7.00pm at the medical centre. Please note that this is a change from the usual schedule