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The St. George Newsletter
Members of the Board
Gordon Diamond 613-562-2487 Ross Hynes 613-408-7678
George Hack 613-729-1164
Sarah Hurman 613-850-2525
Lorne Richardson
Krystyna Miedzybrodzka
613-241-1580
Verla Sherhols 613-410-1003
Val Roca Property Management
613-744-1199
Security Office: 613-241-7664
Editor: Irene Diamond
Translation:
Diane de Varennes-Mann
Webmaster: Tahirah Shadforth St. George website
President’s Corner 1
Fitness Center 2
Maintenance 2
Great Cycle Challenge 3
Calendar 3
Upcoming Events 3
Address change 3
Condo Party Photos 4
June 2018 President’s Corner by Gordon Diamond
It’s a standing joke that Ottawa only has two seasons –Winter and Con-struction and it’s especially true this year with major projects like the LRT, Elgin Street rebuild and Queensway modifications underway. The St. George is no different with a number of building elements or systems re-quiring repair or replacement after 32 years. Some residents have asked about the status of the more visible projects, which were delayed starting for a number of reasons, including weather. Remember the freezing rain and snow in April? Several projects were supposed to be done last year, which is one of the reasons we changed property management compa-nies. Your Board and our new Property Manager, Nancy Bouillon are just as anxious as you are to see them finished and by the time you read this, a number will be completed. On the 3rd floor patio: · The planters will be re-sealed to stop water leaking down into the offices on the second floor; · New ‘duck-resistant’ shrubs will then be planted instead of the ornamental grass, which looked good but provided too much cover for nesting ducks; · New flowering shrubs and trees will be planted in the large planter and · The deteriorating concrete in front of the pool sliding glass doors is being removed, the area re- sealed and a new door and sill will be installed, again to prevent water leaking into the offices below. The waterfall and ground level pool will be turned on after several repairs are completed: · The broken and missing blue tile on the pillars and vertical surfaces of the first level have already been replaced; · The metal covers for the waste bins and several metal brackets and fittings around the ground level patio will be sand-blasted and re-painted; · the metal structure was painted the wrong colour last year and will be repainted the proper shade of blue; · The railing on the first level behind the waterfall will be sanded and repainted the same blue; · The broken glass panel on the same level will be replaced; and · The upper tank of the waterfall and the lower pool will be patched where necessary and repainted. 2nd floor Commercial: · Water leaks into offices will be stopped and repairs made to pre vent future problems; · The corroded main Commercial entrance door and surrounding metal structure will be replaced; In spite of a number of transition challenges, including problems with fi-nancial information provided by Axia, new RBC financial security checks and having to move their office on short notice to a new location, Val Roca has worked closely with your Board to: · Finalize a new budget for FY 2018/19; · Complete a new Reserve Fund Study, with Keller Engineering; and · Move operating surpluses from FY 2017/18 to the Reserve Fund to keep owner condo fee increases low and allow several projects to be moved forward for earlier completion.
All that to say it has been a busy transition for Val Roca and the Board
appreciates what has been accomplished in just a few months.
Wishing you all a great summer. See you at the AGM on Wednesday, 26 September.
There were two orientation sessions to help residents make the best of use of the newly installed exercise equipment. About 20 residents attended these ses-sions led by Erin Nelson, an accredited personal trainer.
The orientation session focused on the new universal weight machine. A series of exercises and their proper execution was demonstrated. And persons attend-ing were given a chance to try out several of the workout stations. The breadth of exercise options was highlighted. And proper use of the equipment was emphasized – especially as regards the range of adjustment that can be made to accommodate individual users. It should also be noted that the pulley-system used in this apparatus demands a measured and attentive approach to each exercise – for example the rapid movement of the weights can lead to injury, damage the plates or dis-lodge the cables. For those persons interested in rapid movements it is recommended that they use the free-weights for those exercises.
Users of the exercise room should notice some minor changes to the organization of the room in the near future. The arrangement of the treadmills will be changed to address concerns raised regarding the possible tripping hazard that their electrical cords create.
There will then remain the effort to reset our security camera to permit monitoring of the exercise room. This relates to a concern identified in the fitness room survey. The intention here is to establish a way to respond to a solo user of the exercise room who might require assistance. So, stay tuned for that.
Your feedback is always welcome. You can send your comments to George Hack at [email protected]. The objective, as always, is to support the interests of The Saint George resident community.
Fitness Center Orientation Sessions by George Hack
Maintenance update by Lorne Richardson
“FLOOD, FLOOD, FLOOD. FLOOD IN THE 04 STACK. DAMAGE CONTROL SECTION TAKE ACTION!”
No, you will not hear that on the Public Announcement system of the St. George when a leak is dis-covered. Rather, the Condominium Manager arranges for a plumber to investigate the leak. It takes time to discover the leak and not only means inconvenience to the owner of the unit but also affects the budget of the St. George and our condominium fees
A recent leak discovered at the St. George was investigated by a plumber, who advised that the leak was caused by a backup in the 04 stack which handles the laundry rooms in the 04 suites. This has occurred before and in other stacks besides the 04 stack. Many times these backups are caused by excessive suds from washing machines
High-efficiency front or top loading washers are designed with low water levels and a tumbling wash-ing action. High-efficiency (HE) detergents are low sudsing and specially formulated to provide clean wash loads in these energy-saving washers. Use of any other kind of detergent (such as the older style laundry detergent) in a high-efficiency washer can prevent it from washing properly or rinsing thoroughly. HE detergents are comparable in price to regular laundry detergents, so look for the (HE) symbol and ensure that you are using the cor-rect detergent for your high-efficiency washer.
When you see a mass of bubbles or realize that you've used the wrong detergent, cancel the washing cycle, and restart the HE washer at the spin cycle. Then follow with another cycle that is a rinse/spin only with cold water, to remove the suds from the wash with a regular washing cycle and cold wa-ter. Proceed with a regular washing cycle with cold water in case there is any sudsy detergent re-maining in the wash.
You should not use regular detergents in a high-efficiency washer. Only high efficiency detergents should be used in these newer washers.
Once again, this June, our own Sylvain Tousignant is participating in the Great Cycle Challenge in which the monies raised will help the some 1400 children diagnosed with cancer each year. His interest is also personal. He was treated there as a newborn and credits the Sick Kids hospital and staff with saving his life.
All funds raised will be used to support Sick Kids Foundation to con-tinue their work in caring for children, developing innovative treat-ments and finding a cure for childhood cancer.
The residents of the St. George have been incredibly supportive, collectively donating more than $3500 in 2016 and 2017.
Sylvain has set a personal goal of raising $1500 and riding more than 1500 kms. this June.
On behalf of all the children who benefit from your generosity, THANK YOU!
Contributions can be made online at https://greatcyclechallenge.ca/Riders/SylvainTousignant or in person to Sylvain at the Security Desk. Further information is also available at Security.
Great Cycle Challenge
St. George Lobby Events
Annual General Meeting Wednesday, 26 September
Ottawa Municipal Election Friday, 12 October Advanced Poll
Volunteer Needed!
“Web Savvy” person to work with our Web Master to update and modernize
our St. George Website. Contact G. Diamond - [email protected]
Property Manager’s New Address
Nancy Bouillon Tel: 613-744-1199
Val Roca Management INC. Fax: 613-744-1421
440 Laurier Avenue West email:
Suite 355 [email protected]
Ottawa ON K1R 7X6
Condo Party
June 2018
