Baldwin Lofts Condominium Association

C/O Rampart Management

11312 US 15-501 N. Suite 107-174, Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Phone 919 932 0592 // Fax 919 533 2446

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENT

March 30th 2017

Dear Fellow Condominium Owners,

Your board of directors has determined that it is necessary and in the best interest of the owners/association to move forward with two capital repair projects as soon as possible: the installation of a new roofing system; and an upgrade of the aging lift station/equipment that serves to breakdown and move the building’s sewage from the basement to the City’s main sewer-line under Main Street.

While the current roof material is strong, it is susceptible to continued leaks, and is at the end of its useful life. The best option is to cover the existing roof to prevent further leaks that could cause major problems in the future. The roof has so many cracks that identifying the exact source of a leak is extremely difficult, and costly, when it occurs. When water penetrates the roof, the cost of repairs is 3-4 times the typical cost due to the difficulty isolating the source. Despite our former management company’s hiring of well-known professional roofing companies, we’ve experienced problems with leaks recurring after the repairs were supposedly completed and paid for.

The board has been working with Simon Roofing and tentatively approved a proposal that can be viewed on our community’s webpage at: Once the project begins, Simon Roofing becomes responsible for any future leaks and the cost of ongoing roof repairs by the association, ceases.

The total cost for the new roofing system by Simon Roofing is $44,626and would be completed in one concentrated time period saving $14,473 versus completing the project in a 3-year, 3-phase period. The scope of work includes the following:

15 Year Labor and 15 Year Materials Warranty
Power-wash roof area to properly prepare substrate for completely new restoration process.
Locate any current leaks and repair with SR Wite-Brite mastic and polyester mesh.
Apply a three course of Wite-Brite Mastic and Polyester mesh to all penetrations, curbs, and perimeter wall laps to manufacture specifications
Remove approximately 245 linear feet of tile coping, install membrane and new 24 gauge Kynar coping
Install base coat of SR Flood Coat at 2 to 3 gallons per square foot,embed SR Poly Plus
Apply 2nd layer of poly on lower roof where walk pads are.
Install 1 coat of Wite-Brite Coating over the entire roof area at the rate of 2 gallons per 100sq.ft.
Cap 1 chimney and 3 skylights
Install new Wite-Brite on metal sun room approx. 5’x15’
Clean entire site of all construction debris and properly dispose

Like the roofing system, the lift station/sump pump located in the basement is also at the end of its useful life and needs to be upgraded.

Initially, we were hopeful that the current sewage system could be fed into the City’s main line by reworking the piping, thus allowing the system to work off of gravity, similar to most other sewage systems. While a proposal by Brown Brothers Plumbing ensured that many (and possibly all) of the residential condo lines could be transitioned to a gravity-fed system, the restaurant’s lines could not, thus there would still be a dependence upon, and regular maintenance of, the lift station. Since the lift station would have had to remain in use by the restaurant, the $22,500 (not to exceed) proposal by Brown Brothers was rejected by the board as a partial solution. In addition to the proposal from Simon Roofing, the Brown Brothers proposal is also posted online at

The board has chosen to accept a proposal from ARS Rescue Rooter at a total cost of $13,792.22 and the scope of work includes the following:

Lift station to be pumped out, removing grease, paper-towels, etc. prior to further repairs
Remove and dispose of old abandoned pump, rails and floats
Remove the two incorrectly installed pumps and floats
Remove and replace existing control box and wires
Install two (2) Liberty omnivore pumps
Repair existing pit lid with new gaskets and secure to existing basin to seal odors

At a duly-called, special meeting held on Wednesday, March 29th at 7:30 PM, the executive board voted unanimously in favor of a special assessment, totaling $32,000 ($2,000 per share), in order to fund these two projects. For planning purposes, the Special Assessment will amount to the following, per unit:

$2,000 - Units 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305

$3,000 - Units 401, 402

$6,000 - Unit 100 (Restaurant)

As of the date of this writing, the association has total funds of $39,769.19, which are broken down into two separate funds...a checking/operating account with $20,095.84, and a money market/reserve fund of $19,673.35. With the recent increase in dues and the amount of budgeted reserves, we believe that the timing for a special assessment of $2,000 per share is necessary and fiscally prudent in order to prevent unaffordable maintenance and repair costs down the road and to hold monthly dues at their current levels.

While the total of both projects is $58,418.22, the $2,000 per share assessment means the remaining cost of the project, 26,418.22, will be paid for using the association’s current funds. Hypothetically, if both projects are completed and paid for in 2017, the association would end the year with approximately $25,000 in cash...a safe amount of funds to safely operatethe association, and build on, over the upcoming years. There are additional projects that the board would like to undertake; like exterior window washing, exterior painting, and a reserve study, but we are keeping those on hold until the two capital repair projects are complete.

In accordance with the Bylaws of Baldwin Lofts Condominium Association, Article VI, Paragraph 3: “All Unit Owners shall be obligated to pay special assessments imposed by the Association to meet the costs...” Furthermore, “Such special assessments must be approved by the Executive Board but shall not be payable if seventy-five (75%) of the total votes of the Association vote against such assessment at a duly convened special meeting... “If a vote against the proposed special assessment is not sustained, the special assessment shall be due and payable ten (10) days after expiration of the forty-five (45) day period in which the Unit Owners may consider action to veto a special assessment.

Based on the above excerpt from the Bylaws, a Special Meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 2nd to allow those against the special assessment the opportunity to convene. The meeting will be held in Rodney Derrick’s condo, unit 304, at 7:30 PM. For voting purposes, each unit owner has one vote, however, units 401 and 402 have 1.5 votes, and unit 100 has 3 votes. If 75% of the membership fails to vote against the special assessment, the amount will be due on May 25, 2017.

Assuming there is not a successful vote against the special assessment, we realize that some owners may be unable to pay the full amount of the assessment on or before May 25th. If so, please contact our property manager, Ted Parenti, 919-932-0592, to work out possible payment options.

We anticipate that both projects could be completed by the end of July, but realize there could be delays due to weather or circumstances beyond our control. As you probably know, Revolution recently closed and the space is for sale. We believe that having both projects done prior to having a new restaurant tenant/owner move in would be prudent, and likely make the space more attractive to potential buyers. One of the challenges with the current lift station is the number of paper towels and other trash that gets into the lift station and are unable to be pumped out with the current system. The installation of the “Omnivore pumps” will ensure materials that aren’t supposed to be flushed down the toilet are decimated...thus allowing the pumps to move all of the waste into the City’s sewer line and not causing our equipment to break down. One of the hidden benefits of having new lift-station equipment and a new roofing system is knowing that we won’t have to file an insurance claim when one of the systems breaks down. Once an insurance claim is processed, it is typical that upon renewal, we would see an increase in our premium. Thus, having new equipment decreases our exposure to filing future claims and saves the association money well into the future.

While it is not necessary to attend the meeting on May 2nd ...unless you desire to vote against the assessment...your board of directors and our property manager will be in attendance to answer any questions, listen to feedback, etc. We would prefer, however, to answer any questions and get your feedback before any such meeting, so that we have the opportunity to share as many details as possible. Please email our property manager, Ted Parenti at with any questions or comments and Ted will share them with us or forward any questions that require a board-member response.

We strongly believe these projects are necessary now, and will prove to be a wise decision for the long-term good of our community. Again, please feel free to review the details of the proposals at or call/email Ted at Rampart Management for more info.

My fellow Board of Directorsand I appreciate you taking the time to read this letter and we appreciate your feedback.

Sincerely,

The Baldwin Lofts Board of Directors,

Rodney Derrick, Andrew Damon, Tessa Hunt