COA Issues

by | Feb 15, 2021 | COA Board | 23 comments

For issues connected with the official COA Board

July 4 Photo by Susan Bursk

23 Comments

  2. MCC Owners Webmaster on June 8, 2023 at 6:16 PM

    The Meeting notes for the Owners’ Group meeting of June 1, 2023 are here.

  3. MCC Owners Webmaster on March 28, 2023 at 5:12 PM

    The Meeting notes for the Owners’ Group meeting of March 23, 2023 are here.

  6. Fred Krogh on October 21, 2022 at 9:41 AM

    From a recent conversation with a non-resident member, he raised some points that I am sure have been considered. But just so they are heard: he is a very sociable person and he knows two people who have dropped their non-resident memberships, and one that went from the family plan to just a single individual plan. He would like to see a more social atmosphere here. Thus more people using the gym, more people dining or drinking together, etc. Things that look more like a “club”, for example more trainers (although he is not interested in a trainer), just more of a “club” atmosphere.

    I don’t think there is any anything really new here.

  9. MCC Owners Webmaster on May 1, 2022 at 5:58 PM

    Notes from the Owners Group Meeting of April 28 sent to the COA Board and Jennie.

    The Owners Group met in the evening of April 28th and discussed issues with the MCC rules, The assessment we just received in the mail, and the need for having adequate reserves, as well as various suggestions surrounding the subject of the restaurant. There were approximately 25 different users on the zoom call. That may not seem like a lot, but the people who attended definitely have strong and passionate opinions about what is going on around MCC.

    1.The first discussion was about Rules &Regulations. An owner reported confusion after contacting the office and requesting a list of”recommended” contractors for a minor flooring job. He claimed he was told a list of approved vendors would be sent to him. No one ever responded. So he contacted a vendor who was doing flooring work at his neighbors unit. He hired that contractor and was told by the neighbor that the contractor was already an approved MCC vendor. Now there is a problem because even though he hired an approved vendor, the owner didn’t file the required paperwork. We told him that owners are always required to provide the proper paperwork in advance of doing repairs. He said he didn’t understand the rules and that he would have done it properly if this would have been explained to him by the staff member who helped him.

    Several residents have reported that incorrect or conflicting information has been given to them when they have contacted the office concerning rules. One example is the confusion over what is and what is not allowed in our parking garages.

    2. Most owners don’t realize that it is best not to take issues directly to the board, but rather to take them through the management office.It would help if management would e-blast a notice to help owners and office staff better understand rules for such common things as;parking place storage, smoking, pet control, proper parking, etc. There are huge trucks in owner spaces sticking out into the driving lanes. These trucks may not be allowed based on the written parking rules. Some passenger vehicles are also not parked correctly and stick out. Recently, an owner witnessed a driver crashing into an improperly parked car.

    Your recent email of all Rules & Regulations is appreciated and will be helpful for those who want more information. Of course, that assumes that people will actually read the rules.

    Perhaps Property Services could be more involved in enforcement of rules or at least let management know things they observe, particularly as it relates to rules dealing with safety.

    People do care about rules being violated, and we told our attendees that the board regularly conducts hearings and issues fines when appropriate. A vote showed that all our attendees would like to see some form of reporting summarizing what is being done about violations, including the number of cases heard, the types of problems covered, and whether fines were imposed. Many felt that violations will be reduced as it becomes known that enforcement leads to financial consequences.

    3. The issue of the assessments led one owner to push hard on the need to have more reserves. This was generally agreed to, and that conversation led to ways to save money by doing something about the restaurant. (Perhaps this information should be given directly to the Restaurant Board but since it was part of the meeting, we are including it in this report.) Most of the ideas overlooked the fact that we have a legal obligation to keep a functional restaurant and ways to save money were mostly focused on the restaurant. Among the ideas for making the restaurant more viable:

    A. Pay a restaurant company some annual amount, like $200,000 – $250,000 to take over the restaurant. (We believe the board has considered this and much more previously. But perhaps owners could be made more aware of specific board efforts.)

    B. Offer an outside membership for a “restaurant only” member, something like has been done for tennis in the past. Price could be low and perhaps a small discount rate for these members might make them feel that they are getting good value for their dues. This idea stems from the concern that our user base may be too small to interest outside vendors.

    C. Leasing the kitchen to some vendor as a ghost kitchen (https://youtu.be/dJqn3TSEPow) was suggested as an alternative to generate revenue. Some concern was mentioned about having more people on the property for a ghost kitchen operation which might lead to safely and security concern.

    D. Require members to pay Food Minimums as other private clubs do. While most clubs require several hundred dollars a month in “Use it or lose it” food minimums, MCCR could start with a lower amount. This would bring members into the restaurant to use their minimums, and once there diners would likely spend more than their minimums. Since the MCCR Corporation is independent of COA, the MCCR Board does not have to obtain owner approval to enact restaurant minimums.

    4. A person whose parked car was badly damaged by a hit and run driver, when another car crashed into it in the center tower garage, suggested that cameras could possibly be installed at the entrances and exits to the parking garages, which might be helpful in identifying culprits involved in incidents like this.

    5. Some expressed unhappiness about the level of goods at the Sky Market, and wonder if it is going out of business. Does anyone have any information about this concern?

    6. Someone asked that since we have a Newsletter again, whether the board would provide a column summarizing some of the things the board is spending major amounts of time on. We don’t think there is enough appreciation for all the time and effort put in by many volunteers, including the board, and that a little outreach to let people know what is being worked on and/or major issues the board is dealing with, would inspire more gratitude and give more appreciation for these efforts. Even some idea about the amount of time being used for phone calls and meetings would be helpful in giving some understanding to residents.

    7. One owner complained about the environmental waste with the newsletter being done in hard copy instead of only digitally.

    8. Finally, because of the active discussion we had, we did not have time to get to comments that were submitted on the Owners’ Group website, see https://mcc-owners.org/2022/04/22/owners-group-zoom-meeting-april-28-2022-at-7pm/ We had intended to cover these additional items in our meeting. In brief,

    • Better equipment for the gym?
    • Are the $20 guest fees being processed effectively covering all usage?
    • Extra fees for overweight (over 25 lb) dogs?
    • Why the delay in window washing?
    • Request for an explanation as to why restaurant losses remain so stubbornly high? Without the expense of laundering table cloths and napkins, waiters, employees to set up and bus tables, dish washing and all of the other expenses of an open restaurant, why aren’t our costs lower?

    Respectfully submitted by Fred Krogh and Donna Bryce on behalf of the attendees at our Owners’ Group meeting.

    • Fred Krogh on May 3, 2022 at 3:50 PM

      I have been informed that what was claimed in our first item was not correct and will be addressed in a future email from management.

  10. MCC Owners Webmaster on April 5, 2022 at 8:19 AM

    Many members come to us with problems/suggestions that can only be dealt with by the board or management. Below is a recent collection of issues raised.
    Donna Bryce & Fred Krogh for the Owners Group

    Owners know our towers and common areas need expensive deferred maintenance, and appreciate the board’s efforts to accomplish that with a strained budget. However, there are simple, inexpensive fixes that would make MCC look more presentable, including improved gardening and housekeeping. The photos on pages 3, 4, and 5 are just examples of some of the problem areas that owners are pointing out. This is not a criticism of management or the board; only suggestions we hope will be implemented.
    1. Landscaping around the pool
    The flower & tree containers on the pool deck look unsightly. The trees closest to the pool

    are not a good choice for that area. The flowers are mostly annuals that die and must be replaced every several months. In the past we had perennial geraniums that didn’t need continual replacing. They may cost more than annuals but over the long run perennials would save money. We request the Landscapers replant with geraniums and keep the contents of the containers trimmed and weeded.

    The leafy trees produce berries and seem to shed foliage easily.

    Much of it ends up in the swimming pool, creating more work and

    expense. Some trees are dying or dead. These leafy trees should be replaced with the type of palm trees that are now against the back tarp. Even the palms have been neglected, but if cared for properly, adding the palms and geraniums would immediately improve the look of the area.

    Many of the square planters are water stained and some apparently leak<, causing more damage. In addition, we have a few mismatched (terracotta, etc.) planters scattered about that make the recreation deck look like an unplanned hodgepodge. They should be immediately removed and replaced with matching square planters, and the older square planters should be painted and sealed. img src="https://mcc-owners.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1d-298x300.jpg" alt="" />

    2. Pool lounge chairs
    Many of these chairs are now sagging and ripped. Someone could be hurt by falling all the way through the deteriorated fabric or by hitting the metal framework underneath the fabric.
    The fabric should be replaced now. The manufacturer may have inserts. If not, fabric can be ordered and a seamstress or tailor can use the old fabric as a pattern and make them, Also, the deck furniture is not being properly cleaned and it is filthy.

    3. Umbrellas
    We used to have more umbrellas around the decks. Now there are only a few at the west pool, and there is only one at the oval pool that was borrowed from the west pool. More umbrellas are needed now as more and more people are using the pools.

    4. Pool signs
    The tile depth markers in the pools need replacing. Many of them have half of the depth numbers missing, other numbers are completely worn away. The wrong type of marker tile was used. Instead of the numbers being painted on, we need ceramic tiles that have the numbers fired and glazed into the tile.

    In addition, some of the signs stating the pool rules and safety measures are missing or faded. These warnings must be replaced. We could be fined by OSHA for inadequate signage, or even worse a law suit due to an injury or death.

    5. Pool deck tarps
    These tarps are an embarrassment. They are faded and some are worn to the extent that there are tears and holes in them. New tarps would make a big improvement, and they would not be that expensive.

    6. Abandoned building and maintenance materials.
    Sand bags against the windows to the fitness room at the Oval pool. These bags have been there many months. Is there some purpose for that? They are unsightly and should be removed. Often other materials are left out when no work is being done.

    7. Cabanas.
    The metal poles, frames, and curtains are unsightly. Poles holding up the canopy are chipped, frames are rusted and badly in need of a paint job.

    Some of The curtains are missing from the cabanas, or they have fallen off of their hooks.

    8. Cage covering equipment at West Pool.
    Can this ugly thing be replaced or at least painted?

    9. Door Stoppers.
    Wads of paper are being used to prop open doors in our buildings. The example in the photo is the look of a slum, and has been there for months. Other “wads” have been seen throughout the towers. Shouldn’t housekeeping be on top of things like this? There are inexpensive door stoppers that can be permanently attached to the doors so this doesn’t
    happen.

    10. Laundry Rooms.
    They are not being properly cleaned. Dirt has accumulated in the air vents and next to dryers. As shown in the photo, baseboards are coming off of the walls, making laundry day an unpleasant experience. Many owners complain about this.

    11. Deteriorating Paint.
    Paint is deteriorating around the bottom of columns. As shown in the photo, it is very ugly and dirty and could easily be touched up.

  11. MCC Owners Webmaster on April 5, 2022 at 7:01 AM

    From our Owners Group Zoom Meeting on March 10, 2022.

    1. Many questions concerned the election. Answers are here: https://mcc-owners.org/2022/03/07/owners-group-zoom-meeting-thurs-3-10-2022-at-7pm/#comment-121

    2. Perhaps management could send out an email saying something like, “If you have lost a ballot and would like a replacement now, you can send an email to [email protected] or call 805-214-8018. to get a replacement.” Or you can make sure you are at the polling place between 12 noon and 1pm to get a ballot and cast you vote there.

    3. Could some one from management, or someone delegated by management, make sure that the election notice information is posted in/at the elevators in all three towers. It would be nice if the information above were part of what is posted.

    4, There was strong agreement that rules should be clear and should be enforced whatever those rules are. For example, in 2019, the board updated CC’s Rules and Regulations, and the Traffic and Parking rules as follows:
    a: Page 32 Parking, Item 6 Storage. “Loose Items and personal property may not be stored in the garage area. The garage area is for parking vehicles only……”, and
    b: Page 33 Vehicle types, Section a. “As used in this section “Conventional passenger vehicles….” (this goes on to include certain sizes of pick-up trucks, RVs,)
    But given the current levels of enforcement: are bicycle forbidden in the garage, or are they allowed if not causing any sort of nuisance, and if the latter just what are the limits of the nuisance and how is it determined (Clarity). Etc. for carts used for groceries.

    5. In the case of masks, there was general agreement that masks should be worn in elevators as it is a closed space that people must use, and our attendees, would like these rules enforced. No consensus on masks in the gym, but a real desire for clear rules that are really enforced.

    6. It seems that employees here are using parking spaces intended for visitors. Rules on where employees can park should be enforced. (Note: People may be confused about the rules here.) The lowest level of the parking in the central tower, G1, always has available parking, but signage could be improved to help people get there and to find their way out after parking.

    7. People in our meetings are extremely appreciative of the work the current board is doing. But feel that they should be willing to delegate more. This is especially true concerning the restaurant which is a big job on its own. The Restaurant Board likely would benefit from including people with a serious interest and expertise in this area. It need not include all COA Board members. The restaurant committee appears to deal solely with social events and menus, not with the deeper issues of managing the restaurant or finding a replacement.

    8. People would really appreciate more transparency on restaurant issues. Restaurant financials are not the main part of the issue as these are much improved.

  12. MCC Owners Webmaster on April 5, 2022 at 6:59 AM

    Summary of views from our Owners Group meeting of 1/13/2022, emailed to the board and Jennie

    We think the board and PMP may have an interest in what transpires at our owners group meetings.

    At our meeting on 1/13/2022, we were not able to get any additional candidates to run for the new board, partly because it was known that the two current board members that would term out, Susan Bursk and Steve Rehling are running and everyone was extremely happy with that. It should be noted that there was special appreciation for all the work that Steve has done as treasurer as well as a general feeling that all the board members and Jennie Twyman and her staff at PMP are doing a great job. We expect to give Susan and Steve our full support in the coming election

    A discussion on MCC’s Rules and Regulations revealed some diversity of opinion, but it is fair to say that Property Services and/or PMP should be doing more with regard to violations. Most of us would like to see fast action and much heftier fines, especially for repeat offenders. The amount of the fines should be published in the Rules and Regulations. There is also a great deal of confusion about the content of the Rules and Regulations, and how residents are to report what they believe are violations. For example, how many owners realize that there are two sets of Rules and Regulations, one for the Condo Owner’s Association and another for the “Club”, (the restaurant, fitness and recreational areas). Given the board’s busy schedule, it was suggested that perhaps some of the preliminary work on dealing with these issues might be left to a trusted committee or Advisory Panel member and presented to the board for approval. Perhaps this would not be allowed by the rules, but if it were, it may be something you may want to consider.

    There was a suggestion that a committee be formed to work on PR for the MCC to counteract some of the recent bad publicity we have received. This transformed into maybe PMP could do some work on this or, “perhaps we really need to hire some professional entity to work on this”. We, of course, have no power which or whether any of these suggestions are chosen. However, people are upset that buyers cannot get loans, and hope that some work to counter the bad publicity can be done.

    You can always see our meeting agendas on our website, with the latest being at

    Owners Group Zoom Meeting Thursday Jan. 13, 2022

    Once again thanks for all your good work,

    Donna Bryce

    Fred Krogh

  13. Duvan Mejia. M.D on September 20, 2021 at 5:35 PM

    ESSEX ABUSES
    Essex properties which include the Car Wash, Sky’s Marketplace, CCS Design Center, the Beauty Salon, Washer -Dryers on each Tower, Boat Slips( 350 ), Offices on each Tower and even the Old Yacht Club they all have produced Thousands of dollars, in rent, yearly, for this company; however we the Homeowners are contributing 86% of the expenses which include water, electricity, maintenance, security, parking, insurance etc.
    It is time to demand that this abuse and injustice be corrected. Essex should return all the money collected through rent, from 2004 on, with compound interest, to the Common Area ( COA ).
    It is also a corollary that Essex should pay not 14% of the expenses of COA, but a lot higher equitable percentage and with retroactive compensation to COA.
    I am willing to withdraw my statement if I get hard proof my suspicious are wrong

  14. Candy Crawford on August 17, 2021 at 10:47 AM

    Hi – We just purchased our second unit in the complex and because of this I did a deep dive into the insurance on the building with the insurance broker that handles the account for the complex. I do risk management in my professional life so I needed to understand what we have and what we don’t have. Great knowledgeable guy and impressive. In summary, here is how the insurance works. The outside building and common area is covered for $566m. Hopefully we have had an engineering estimate that validated that this is current replacement cost. He did not have that information. However, if the building goes down and the board that would be in effect at that time decides not to rebuild, which is their right per the CCRs, then only the depreciated value of this amount insured would get paid out. So since the building was build in 1972 with a 99 year lease then we would have 50% depreciation on the amount that would be available for a cash payout if this took place this next year, which would calculate to less than $300 per sq foot of that total. In addition, if there was an earthquake that damaged the building and it was red tagged there would be zero payout on this policy. If there was other construction maintenance needs this might be a double whammy that would cost homeowners a significant amount since there would be zero insurance coverage. The personal policy that each home owner is required to have for their interior might or might not payout if the building was not rebuilt. it depends on if the homeowner has a “cash” payout clause in their policy. The general building policy is coming up for renewal May 2022 and the board would have to look at new provisions, replacement cost values, etc at the beg of the year to give the broker adequate time to shop the policy. Per discussion with the management company the homeowners do not have the right to see the costs and quotes on the earthquake quote or other policy quotes, which I personally would like to see. The board has the right to make the decision not to have certain coverages in place because of cost or other factors but I think homeowners need to have some degree of transparency on this. I also think we should review the clause in our CCR that makes the rebuilding or not a board only decision since the decision to not rebuild might be catastrophic to many owners.

    • Rosemarie L Bayles on August 17, 2021 at 12:33 PM

      Ms. Crawford:
      Thank you for your very informative comments on our existing insurance. I hope many of the unit owners will read this and ask pertinent questions from the Board. Are you on any of the committees? Please offer to volunteer your professional knowhow–we need, really need capable people like you!
      Thank you!

  15. frank duke on July 16, 2021 at 12:03 AM

    Not sure if this is the right area to post this topic, but what do we have to do to get astroturf in Doggy Land East? The dust bowl that is there now, certainly is not what is needed and planting grass over and over again is futile. Take a look at the dog runs at the Azzurra condo complex adjacent to the bike trail. Beautiful and I’m sure contribute to resale value of their units. Our Doggy Land…..not so much. Thanks

    • Fred Krogh on August 8, 2021 at 5:29 PM

      From an email that arrived on 8/6/21, to Marina City Club Residents,

      Great news! The East Dog Park Artificial Grass will be installed next week. The East Dog Park and surrounding common area will be closed on:

      Tuesday, August 10, 2021 until Thursday, August 12, 2021
      (During this time, please utilize the West Dog Park)

      Due to the installation of the Artificial Grass at the East Dog Park, the West Dog Park ADA Ramp Installation has been rescheduled. The West Dog Park and surrounding common area will now be closed on:

      Monday, August 16, 2021 until Friday, August 20, 2021
      (During this time, please utilize the East Dog Park)

      We apologize for any inconvenience.

      Thank you for your patience and understanding,

      Management Office.

  16. Sydney on July 15, 2021 at 4:04 AM

    Thank you for a wonderful new sane Board

  17. Fred Krogh on July 14, 2021 at 1:08 PM

    Management has recently sent us a long “(Proposed) Operating Rule Change” concerning the use of the owner email list I believe this is ill advised. A shorter rule limiting the use of this list to 3(?) times a month with a clearly specified fine would be an improvement, but no rule at all would be even better. These kind of emails always have a small unsubscribe link near the bottom. (If you must have a rule, require that emails come with a way to unsubscribe by clicking on a link.) Educate people that they can unsubscribe, and that if enough of them do so, the sender is likely to lose the service provided by the bulk emailer.

    Other problems are:

    a. Enforcement is liable to lead to lawsuits. (We have enough of these!)
    b. These rules are not likely to stop the person these rules target.
    c. A future corrupt board acting as judge and jury would be problematic.
    d. The more rules we have, the more likely they are to be inadvertently violated.

  18. Faith Bautista on July 13, 2021 at 1:42 PM

    Please include me on all communications. I would like to participate.

    Can someone email me or call me regarding the safety of our building and the status of the invistigation?

    I’m unit 1011

    • MCC Owners Webmaster on July 13, 2021 at 3:57 PM

      There appears to be no problem with structural safety of our buildings. There are however numerous repairs/upgrades that are necessary or desirable. You are safe as far as recent inspections have shown.

  19. Fred Krogh on June 30, 2021 at 9:52 AM

    What a pleasure it is to see a board so actively working to get things done for the MCC. Many Thanks to Sandra, Jack, Steve, Andrea, and Susan. May you live long and prosper!