Progress Reports on the Chalet Remediation and Maintenance Program



These reports are provided by Brad Sova, Vice President of the Board, after attending the peridoc prgress meetings conducted by TRC with the Spectrium Contracting.


1 March 2024; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Chalet Owners,

 Below are the updates from our bi-weekly construction update meeting:

  • The pool is officially open for regular pool hours effective today. It will need to be closed from time to time for some balcony overhead work beyond painting and touch up, but that should be minimal. During Spectrum/Safezone working hours while the swing stages are still in use on the South side of The Chalet, the pool entrance via the social room will still be closed and you will need to access the pool through the white fence gate and walking along the pool wall to the water hose area to enter the pool area via the sun deck.
  • The 07-stack living room balconies and large master bedroom balconies should both be open by today with all doors unpinned. 
  • All grouting of railings is complete in the 05 and 07-stacks.
  • The 02 and 01-stacks have issues with the field touch up and the paint sheen on the top railing caps is noticeably different. Safezone has ordered 88 new top caps for these railings which are expected to arrive next week.
  • A swing stage has been moved to the 02-stack for top cap replacement and other final punch work.
  • The TRC engineer is waiting on Safezone to complete their final punch of railings on the 08, 06, and 04 stack before he will do his final punch and sign off on the balconies.
  • Railing installation in the 08-stack East balconies is nearly complete.
  • Spectrum is ready to move forward with the work on the 4 Atrium common areas in the center of the East side of the building. Mayor construction will first pull the glass and doors to allow Spectrum to build temporary walls and begin the work of building a curb for the new hurricane windows, which will be measured and ordered soon. Spectrum will then begin the process of sloping the large balcony areas to allow water to run off and not pool on these balconies as it currently does. Spectrum will remove temporary walls and Mayor will install hurricane glass once it arrives on site.
  • They will need to use the service elevator to bring material in for the sloping of these balconies because it is far too much material to bring up using the swing stages. These 4 atrium balcony areas are quite large compared to a typical unit balcony.
  • After the atrium curb and sloping is complete, Spectrum will tear off and replace the deteriorating and leaking stucco covered upper roof on The Chalet. Just the material covering the trusses needs to be replaced, and the structural engineer has recommended a different longer lasting material and no stucco.
  • Spectrum's final project will be the wet sealing of all the original V-Windows on the building. The windows have not been wet sealed since 2006 and whenever we get a hard driving rain, we have multiple reports of leaking V windows. Wet sealing is the process of removing old caulk and silicon that is failing and applying new silicone and sealing all the windows and the trim around the windows along with priming and painting the trim around the windows.
  • Spectrum submitted a pay request to the engineer for approval last week in the amount of $824,000 and the engineer is working on this request before submitting it to the Chalet office for payment. The last pay request was in October.
Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
19 February 2024; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Chalet owners,

Here are the latest updates from our bi-weekly meeting with Spectrum, Safezone, and TRC Engineering:

  • ***IMPORTANT*** Spectrum and TRC are asking that if you have a painted balcony floor that you not leave furniture out on the balcony until the final punch is completed. Please bring in any furniture that you use on the balcony after use. They are doing touch up and repainting many of the balcony floors in preparation for the engineer's final punch. They also want to avoid any damage to the painted surface before the final punch. If you have a tiled balcony floor, it is okay to leave furniture on the balcony. 
  • Spectrum requested to schedule the final punch for the TRC engineer for the 01-stack and 02-stack along with the breezeway between 02-stack and 03-stack. The engineer denied the request, he is not going to schedule a final punch for any stack until Spectrum and Safezone have completed all of their punch list items for the stack that is being requested.
  • Spectrum and Safezone are completing their final punch list items on the 04-stack, 06-stack, and 08-stack.
  • The TRC engineer stated that by our next bi-weekly meeting that he feels confident that he will have completed his final punch on a number of stacks. He stated that Spectrum and Safezone are making good progress on their punch list items. It is frustrating for Spectrum and Safezone that the engineer has not cleared any of the stacks, but the engineer has set the expectations, and it is in our best interest that he holds them accountable and not pass on their work until it meets the expectations.
  • Safezone is currently working on the 07-stack railing installation, which is over 80% complete.
  • The 08-stack small balcony railing installation on the East side of the building is in progress.
  • 99% of railings are now on-site, they are waiting on 1 railing to arrive.
  • We are anticipating that the pool area will be open everyday for regular hours by March 1st as work on the 07-stack railing is wrapping up.
  • All repairs are complete in the parking garage, just some final touch up is taking place.
  • Work on the atriums (large common space balcony areas in the center of the East side of the building) is going to begin soon. The water pools on these areas as they are not properly pitched to allow for run-off. The old windows will be pulled, and a 6-inch curb built to allow for the proper re-pitch of the surface floor to the outside edge of the building. The windows will all be replaced with hurricane glass.
  • The large upper roof on the Chalet was found to be deteriorating as the stucco is cracking and failing, allowing water to penetrate. The wooden frame structure under the stucco was found to still be in good shape. We are waiting on a price to remove the old stucco finish and resurface the existing framed roof with a non-stucco finish.
  • The boardwalk permit was finally approved by the city. Blue Marlin was prepared to begin work but the city found that The Chalet has an open permit with a stop work order from 2019 related to the AC units that cool the AT&T equipment on the roof. Rich is working to get that outstanding permit cleared up with the city and Blue Marlin requested a waiver from the city to allow them to start removing the old boardwalk. We should know more this week. The Dunnfoire has agreed to allow us to use their boardwalk with some restrictions while our boardwalk is being replaced. Details will be provided before our boardwalk is closed.

Please visit condo control and under the "Library" tab you can view the TRC Field Reports for additional information and pictures.

Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
6 February 2024; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Chalet Owners,

Below are the updates from our meeting with TRC, Spectrum, and Safezone last week:

  • Shutterman was on site last week to meet with Spectrum to work on a resolution for the 2-bedroom units with shutters.
  • The 08, 06, 04, and 02 stacks are undergoing final punch, and they hope to have this completed by the end of this week.
  • The 01-stack and the breezeway between the 01-stack and 03-stack is nearly ready for final punch.
  • The 03-stack railings are nearly done with final grouting and painting on bedroom balcony wrapping up.
  • The 05-stack railings are installed and are being grouted.
  • The 07-stack railings are being installed on the East (Master Bedroom) balcony and should be completed this week. 
  • The 07-stack West (Living Room) balcony railings could not be installed because they are 14-foot railings and the swing stage on that balcony is only a 10-foot swing stage. The larger 02-stack swing stage will be broken down and moved to the 07-stack West balconies to begin installing the railings.
  • 08-stack concrete work is complete on the East facing balconies and core drilling for the railings is taking place.
  • The 8th floor atrium (large common balcony area in the middle of the East side of the building) requires concrete chipping and rebar repair.
  • There are water issues on the 6 atrium balconies because the water pools on those balconies because of sloping issues. The concrete on the atrium balconies is sloping in towards the windows and the water does not drain. They need to pull the windows and build a curb in order to install the proper sloping on the balconies to allow water to flow away from the building. The windows will be replaced with hurricane glass. I have included a picture of the East side of the Chalet for reference of the 6 atrium common balconies in the center of building.

Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
23 January 2024; Brad Sova; Chalet Construction Update
Chalet Owners,

Please see the bullet points from our meeting last week with TRC, Spectrum, and Safe Zone:

  • The project engineer from TRC was on site prior to our meeting performing the final punch out on the 02 and 01-stacks and the breezeway between the 01 and 03- stacks. He failed the final punch because of grout splatter from railing installation on balcony waterproofing and some installation defects on railings (crooked railings).
  • The project engineer stated that there are a number of balconies that need to be re-waterproofed because the grout splatter has stained the existing waterproofing, and he won't pass the final punch until this is corrected.
  • We had a lengthy discussion regarding the final punch of each stack and not a single stack has yet to pass the final punch by the project engineer from TRC. He refuses to pass the final punch until Spectrum and Safe Zone (railing installation company) meet his requirements. He has made it very clear what he expects in order to pass the final punch.
  • There were arrangements made for the project engineer to meet with the Safe Zone project manager and the Spectrum project manager on site to address the railing issues, grout stains on waterproofing, and any additional issues the engineer requires in order to pass the final punch.
  • The 03-stack handrail installation is complete, and the 05-stack handrail installation is wrapping up. The 07-stack west railing installation is set to begin later this week or early next week.
  • The 07-stack east (street side) balconies are currently being core drilled for railings.
  • The 08-stack east (street side) balcony concrete repairs are complete but will not be waterproofed until after railing installation because of the grout staining issues.
  • The missing railings on 201 have been installed, this was delayed because the original railing was damaged.

Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
6 January 6, 2024; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Chalet Owners,

Please see the bullet points from our construction update meeting with TRC, Spectrum, and Safezone:

  • Partial 08, 06, and 04 Stack final inspection punch list has been generated.  TRC asked Spectrum to not to remove the swing stages because the further punch list work that is needed will be difficult to do if the swing stages are removed.
  • TRC will publish the punch list in their next Field Report for the 08-stack partial, 06-stack, and 04-stack to Chalet owners for review.  Please provide any comments on any items that you believe may be missing. Owners should provide written detail via email to chaletoffice@chaletmarcoisland.com so it can be forwarded to Richard Algoo (TRC Engineer) for review and inclusion.

  • Unit 606 crooked handrails have not been addressed on their large balcony - Safezone acknowledged that this work remains to be done
  • In the 01-stack they are working on the front (west) balcony railing in unit 201 which was delayed due to a missing handrail piece, but as soon as it arrives, it will be installed, and inspections will commence.
  • In the 03-stack the handrails have been set in the living room balconies. The master bedroom rails in the 03-stack should be installed next week.
  • The 05-stack is scheduled to begin installation of handrails by the 3rd week of January.
  • Core drilling for the new handrails has been completed in the 07-stack West balconies.
  • An additional railing installation crew is expected to be added this week so Safezone anticipates that installations will begin to accelerate.
  • All railing material deliveries will be completed January 12, with the exception of any rails with incidental damage.
  • With the delivery of the front rails for the front of the building (07/08 front balconies - the front entrance will close to vehicle traffic effective next week.  Foot traffic will be allowed via the covered area.  Any vehicle pick-ups will need to be happen via the Service entrance.

Thank you,

Brad Sova 
Chalet Board Vice President
18 December 2023; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Chalet Owners,

Please see the updates below from our meeting last week with TRC, Spectrum, and SafeZone:

  • The 02-stack railings were expected to be completely finished by the end of last week.
  • The final punch out on the 08, 06, 04, and 02 stacks is starting this week. This does not include the 08-stack East (Collier facing) balconies which are undergoing repairs currently. 
  • The final punch out is expected to take 7-10 days. Spectrum failed in their first attempt at the final punch out of the 06 and 04 stacks about 5 or 6 weeks ago and received a clear explanation from the engineer on what his expectations are in order to pass the final punch out.
  • Upon the passing of the final punch out by the engineer, the swing stages will begin to be removed from the North side of the building. 
  • The 01-stack West (Front) railings are currently being installed and the 01-stack South railings are fully installed and finishing up grouting.
  • The 03-stack core drilling is complete, and railings will begin being installed this week. The 05-stack core drilling is currently being performed, and they will move to the 07-stack core drilling soon.
  • The 07-stack East (Collier facing) balconies are waterproofed, and stucco is being applied with painting this week.
  • The 08-stack east chipping was 90% complete as of last Wednesday and was expected to be completed by the end of last week. This should be the end of the chipping except for any minor repairs.
  • Spectrum is currently repairing the concrete spawls in the garage.
  • Work continues on the covered parking area on the North side of the garage and the work is completed on the covered parking area along the very North side of the parking lot.
  • Safezone has added additional crew members to assist with railing installation.
  • The pool deck is currently in the final painting stages and the pool and hot tub will both be professionally cleaned soon. It was planned to have the pool and hot tub open by Christmas, but that will likely be pushed back to after the new year. Safezone will be installing railings on the 03, 05, and 07 stacks over the coming weeks and it is too much of a hazard to have the pool area fully open during this railing installation process. Spectrum will likely be putting in place a covered walkway from either the social room door to the pool area or the sliding glass door to the pool for easier access to the dune crossover.
  • Spectrum believes it will likely be late January before sod repairs can begin, but it could be later than that depending on the exact timing of the boardwalk replacement project.
Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
3 December 2023; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Chalet Owners,

Below are the updates from our recent meeting with representatives of Spectrum, TRC, and Safezone:

  • The barrier fence at the Northwest corner of the building has been moved West to the wall just past the service entrance and the service entrance is fully operational and open.
  • The 07-stack East balconies (balconies facing Collier Blvd) waterproofing is complete and the shoring has been removed from all balconies.
  • Guest Room 4 Windows have been removed for concrete repairs and are boarded up. It will remain boarded up until new hurricane windows are installed. Guest Room 3 Windows are still installed until new windows arrive.
  • 08-stack East balconies have a large number of concrete repairs and chipping continues on those balconies. (This is the final stack for concrete chipping and repairs).
  • PHF shutters were removed, and tiles stripped. Two doors were removed, and concrete chipped out. Pre-pour inspection is complete.
  • The final punch on the 08, 06, and 04 stacks is still delayed because of extensive chipping on the 08-stack East balconies and the PHF balcony repairs. They can't do the final punch because of the dust and debris from the current concrete chipping. All chipping needs to be completed in order to do the final power wash before the final punch.
  • 01-stack east balcony rails are currently being installed. 01-stack west (gulf facing) are expected to be delivered on Wednesday 12/6.
  • The 03-stack and 05-stack railings are expected to be delivered between 12/11 and 12/13.
  • Additional crews are expected to be added this week to install railings.
  • Pool deck stripping and grinding is complete, and crews are currently grouting large cracks and repairing broken concrete areas before painting.
  • Spectrum said the pool deck will be completed before Christmas and we requested that the professional cleaning of the pool and hot tub be scheduled to get the pool swim ready before Christmas. (Spectrum is paying to have the pool and hot tub professionally cleaned)
  • We had a discussion regarding the original V-windows on the building. I was in my unit on 11/15 during an all-day driving rain. The water was pouring in the V-windows and flowing across the kitchen tile. The structural engineer recommends replacement of the original V windows with hurricane windows. They stated that insurance companies are likely to mandate it soon as they are already doing this in counties along the gulf in the northern part of the state. He said if owners choose not to replace the windows, then at the very least they all need to be wet sealed and the flashing replaced or treated, which hasn't been done since 2006. Wet sealing is the process of stripping out all the old silicone and caulk and re-sealing the windows. He said that this could be a waste of money as insurance companies will likely require hurricane windows for insurance coverage in the near future. The board will be discussing this at an upcoming meeting as our insurance agent has also recommended that we replace the original V-Windows with hurricane glass in order to lower our insurance premiums going forward.

Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
14 November 2023; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Chalet Owners,

Below are the bullet points from our recent meeting with TRC, Spectrum, and Safe Zone:

  • Spectrum final punch is in progress on 08, 06, and 04 stacks. The TRC final punch will not be scheduled until all chipping is completed on the building to allow for a power wash without more dust being created afterward. Owners will be notified before the final power wash in order to pull everything inside off the balconies.
  • Spectrum had previously scheduled the TRC final punch for the 06 and 04 stacks, but our structural engineer, Richard Algoo, was not satisfied and failed the final punch. 
  • Safezone is finishing up railing installation on the 02-stack West (large) balconies.
  • Core drilling for railing installation is taking place on both 01-stack balconies.
  • The 01-stack East (small) balcony rails will be installed first.
  • The 07-stack East balconies are nearly done with concrete repairs, and will begin stucco, painting, and waterproofing.
  • The 07-stack back bedroom balconies (square) are being braced from the 8th floor balcony down to the ground level. A significant amount of the balcony concrete needed to be removed from the 807 balcony that the engineer required the bracing as the balcony couldn't support itself with so much of the concrete chipped out.
  • The breezeway on the 07 stack is 90% completed.
  • Spectrum is chipping out the 08 stack balconies that have been marked out by TRC.
  • All chipping should be done by early December as Spectrum is working on the 08-stack Northeast corner (final stack).
  • The 03-stack and 05-stack rails are built and going to paint (this is the additional fabricator that was added recently).
  • The 01-stack straight rails are on sight and will begin being installed soon on the East (small) balconies.
Following the meeting, Kim Meeks did a walk-through of the pool area with Spectrum's project manager. Here is the update on the pool deck:

  1. For the last few days and today there have been two Spectrum workers out in the pool area grinding and stripping.  They are making progress, but Spectrum's Superintendent said that he was going to be able to put additional resources on it soon.
  2. We agreed that the original stamped concrete tiles, in general, look good after being stripped of the old overcoating.
  3. The old stamped concrete appears to have the right amount of texture to allow it to be anti-slip 
  4. We determined that it would be best to have a single layer of paint applied to the entire deck once it is fully stripped and cleaned.  This single layer will serve us well for several reasons:
    1. It will allow previously repaired areas (differing colored cement) to be look homogeneous with the rest of the deck.
    2. It will allow easy repair of newly broken areas and existing cracks to be filled and painted over to also make them less noticeable
    3. The pool edges and the walls need to be painted.  The single coat of paint will allow the floor tile to match the pool edges and walls.
  5. We decided on single layer of paint because it provided adequate coverage and looked good.  We were concerned that multiple layers would:
    1. potentially take away from the adequate surface roughness of the stamped concrete potentially making the deck more slippery
    2. adding a second layer of paint may add to its likelihood to peel or bubble
    3. another layer would add additional cost to the project
  6. I have included a picture of the paint sample.  It shows six tiles:
    1. The top two tiles are examples of the coloring of the original stamped concrete after stripping.
    2. The middle two tiles are the two that are painted with a single coat of paint
    3. The bottom two tiles have a crack running through them which they will fill and "rough up" to further camouflage it under the single layer of paint .  
For additional project information, please visit the "Library" tab in Condo Control where you can view all 72 TRC Field Reports.

Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President  
31 October 2023; Brad Sova; Progress Report

Chalet Owners,

Below are the updates from our bi-weekly meeting with TRC, Spectrum, and Safezone last week:

  • 02 East (small) balcony punch being performed by Spectrum
  • 02 West/Front (large) balcony handrails were delivered last week and are currently being installed
  • 01 West/Front (large) balconies are currently being marked for core drilling for railings
  • 05 Stack paint is nearly complete
  • 07 Stack (Large/West) waterproofing and painting is in progress
  • 07 Stack (Large/East) concrete repairs are nearly complete
  • 07 Stack (Small/East) balcony concrete repairs are in progress
  • 08 Stack (Small/East) balcony concrete repairs are starting soon (This is the last stack of the concrete repairs)
  • Painted the inside of the parking garage and ceiling
  • Covered parking on North side of parking lot repairs and painting has started
  • Final TRC punch on the 06 and 04 stacks was scheduled to start Monday 10/29.
  • Spectrum needs to complete a couple of items in the 08 stack before the final TRC punch can be performed
  • There are some balconies that have been opened in the 08, 06, and 04 stacks for owners who are on site and all balconies in these stacks will be open after the final TRC punch
  • Safezone LLC (railing installation company) was able to locate a second fabricator to assist with railing fabrication for the 01, 03, 05, and 07 stacks.
  • The additional fabricator is expected to allow them to finish the installation of the railings 30 days sooner than previously estimated. They now expect final railing installation by end of January and to complete the project by early to mid-February.
I have attached the new railing schedule which includes fabrication dates and delivery to job site dates.

Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
16 October 2023; Brad Sova; Progress Report

Dear Owners,

Below are the updates from our meeting last week with TRC and Spectrum:

  1. 01/03 Stacks concrete repairs & painting is complete.  Core drilling remains and will be done "just in time" when aluminum rails arrive to avoid water pooling in the holes and risking rust to rebar.
  2. 05 Stack is 95% complete with painting remaining to be done.
  3. 07 Stack the concrete repairs are done, and stucco is applied & curing. Water testing is complete on the southwest balconies.  407 was the only balcony identified with concerns to be addressed.  Waterproofing will be completed this week and painting to follow.
  4. 07 Southeast (street side) balconies are halfway through concrete repairs.
  5. Excavation has begun in the Guest Room stack.
  6. 08 Stack Northeast (street side) balconies concrete rails have been removed and the mast climber is being removed from the site.  
  7. 08/06 Stack balconies are being "punch-listed" by Spectrum and TRC (Richard Algoo) expects to be doing final punch on them starting this week.
  8. 04 Stack aluminum rails are installed and are next for punch list processing.
  9. 02 Stack Northeast balcony aluminum rails are currently being installed by SafeZone.
  10. The South carport drop down facia beam is rotted and needs repair.  TRC/Spectrum scoping the required repairs and will provide information by our next construction meeting.  If you are interested in seeing detail of the problem, please review Field Report #64.
  11. The third draw for payment of $760K to Spectrum was sent to TRC for review.  TRC rejected and is working through the details with Spectrum.
  12. SafeZone has made progress in securing an additional fabricator for the aluminum rails.  This will allow them to present a more aggressive timeline for the installation.  Details and an updated timeline are expected by our next construction meeting.
  13. A follow-up meeting to discuss pool deck repair options is scheduled for today, 10/16.  Brad, Rich and Kim will walk the deck with Shawn from Spectrum to discuss options/costs.  This cost was planned in the original project assessment, so no additional financial outlay is planned for owners.   
I have attached the most recent TRC Field Report, #65.

Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
27 September 2023; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Dear Chalet Owners,

It was requested by an owner at the recent board meeting that we should communicate the current state of the building and grounds to those owners returning to the Chalet for the season. The entire building and grounds are currently a construction area. There is ongoing work being done on all sides of the building, but the construction on the North side of the building should be wrapped up by the end of October or early November. The pool/grill area is closed off and the pool deck needs to be completely resurfaced before the pool and hot tub can be cleaned and reopened (we are hoping to have it open before Christmas). The concrete chipping and grinding on the building itself is nearly complete, but the pool deck resurfacing will be a very noisy and dusty process for everyone on the South side of the building. The parking garage is also undergoing concrete repairs. The boardwalk replacement project is set to begin on November 1st and take up to 6 weeks to complete depending on the weather. During this time, owners and renters will need to use the public access at Winterberry to access the beach. It was suggested that we ask our neighbors at The Dunnfoire if we can access the beach using their boardwalk, but that is an unlikely option since The Chalet refused to allow Dunnfoire owners access to the beach via our boardwalk in 2016 when their boardwalk was replaced. We also are not allowed to clear a walking path through the vegetation area to the beach. If you have renters or guests occupying your unit at any time during this season, please be sure to inform them of the current conditions as we don't anticipate a total wrap up of construction until sometime in February or March because of delays in railing fabrication. 

I have attached the most recent Field Report from our structural engineer, as always, you can access all 61 Field Reports at Condo Control. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to our building manager, Rich Cassata, as he is on site and can provide you with the most up to date and accurate information.

Bullet points from recent meeting:

  • The mask climber is now in its final location at the 08-stack on the east side of the building and railing removal has begun. The main entrance is only accessible from the South side of the entrance.
  • The 03-stack repairs, waterproofing, and paint are completed, and they will begin drilling cores for the handrails.
  • The 05-stack repairs are complete and water testing is completed. Waterproofing is to start this week followed by joints and painting.
  • The 07-stack front balconies are complete with stucco to begin this week.
  • The 04-stack large balcony handrails are expected to be fully installed this week. 
  • The 02-stack east rails were expected to be delivered early this week with installation complete by 10/4.
  • The 02-stack large rails are expected to be delivered on 10/13, with installation completed by 10/27.
  • The delays with getting the railings on site are due to fabrication. They are actively looking for other sources to assist in the fabrication process in hopes of completing the project by February.
  • They are beginning the final punch list on the 08 and 06-stacks, after which, doors will be unpinned for balcony access and use.

Action items from recent meeting:  

  1. Safe Zone to present a get-well timing plan for aluminum rails at our next meeting
  2. Spectrum to prepare a quote ASAP for stripping, respraying and painting the pool deck - his concrete team is available to begin this as soon as the 8 stack rails are removed so that the pool can be ready for season - Shawn from Spectrum thinks this will take 5-6 weeks to complete
  3. Pool and Spa will be cleaned and re-opened after the pool deck is re-surfaced
  4. Rich Algoo to begin the final inspections/punch list of the 8/6/4 stacks so these balconies can be re-opened for owner use as soon as possible.  Final water-proofing and final paint is required on all by Spectrum and a few balconies have some small unique open items left to finish
  5. Rich Algoo through the punch list process will also generate an inventory list of each units balcony status WRT (Hurricane Glass, White Shutters, remaining Brown Shutters, no current Hurricane protection).  The Board will use this to monitor the building preparedness for the 2024 Hurricane season and any future building damage on unit balconies where owners chose to not remove their brown shutters.
  6. Safe Zone will resend the quote for the fabrication of the aluminum gate for the walkway to the beach.
  7. Spectrum and TRC to walk the garage area today so work can begin and be completed before residents return for season
  8. Housekeeping by Spectrum will be improved now that resident return is impending
    1. Storage of equipment will be consolidated to original parking lot area and not all around the building
    2. The overgrown grass that cannot be accessed by our Landscaping contractors will be trimmed by Spectrum
    3. Routine walk-throughs by Rich, (Kim) and Rubin to inspect areas that need housekeeping attention.  Additionally, we will all do a walk around after the next construction meeting with Shawn and Rich
  9. A landscaping punch list will be created beyond sod & sprinkler head replacement for negotiation with Shawn to replace
Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
23 February 2023; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Dear Owners,
 
We had our bi-weekly construction update meeting with representatives from Spectrum Contracting, Inc and TRC Worldwide Engineering last week. Most of the discussion was in regard to safety issues that were brought up by a unit owner. The owner of Spectrum was in attendance and discussed the concerns with his foreman who also attended the meeting. The concerns were primarily in regard to small debris and sheets of plywood being left unsecured on exposed balconies overnight which could pose a hazard should we get any significant wind. In addition, we discussed the barricading of sliding glass doors from the outside using 2x4's to prevent access to the balconies that don't have railings. This is standard practice in the industry and is compliant per the President of Spectrum.
 
The TRC site visit update will be posted on Condo Control tomorrow. The update includes 30 pages of pictures of the building and balconies including the excavated balconies showing rusted and damaged re-rod inside the concrete. The February 7th site visit report is posted on Condo Control and the pictures of the excavated balcony of unit 208 reveals re-rod that is broken at the base of the sliding doors due water penetration and rust. Spectrum is currently removing the concrete railings in the 04-stack and 02-stack, and they may stop after the 02-stack removal and move to the East side of the building in order to keep the pool and sundeck open until Easter.
 
We have our monthly board meeting this Thursday at 9:00am and you can join via Zoom or attend in person in the social room. I have attached the agenda for the meeting.
 
Thank you,
 
Brad Sova
Chalet Board President
3 July 2023; Brad Sova; Progress Report
Dear Owners,

Happy 4th of July! Please see the notes below from our bi-weekly construction meeting with TRC and Spectrum:

  • Core drilling for new aluminum railings continues on the 02 Balconies 
  • 05 Stack railing removal is complete
  • 03 Stack concrete repairs are nearly complete
  • 07 Living room balcony railing removal is complete
  • Mast climber will need to be moved to the front of the building prior to the continuation of railing removal in the 07 stack
  • Next week begins 05/07 Engineer's mark out for repairs and consideration for door removal.  The potential removals from the TRC original inspection report are at 1 x unit in the 05 stack and 5 x units in the 07 stack.   (Remember, we ended up with a few more door removals in the 01 stack, but considerably less door removals in the 03 stack than the TRC original forecast - so nothing is final yet).
  • To complete the railing removal, we will need two more mast climber moves - one to accomplish the remaining 07 stack balconies, and then a 2nd move to accomplish the 08 remaining balcony railing removals.
  • The new aluminum railing installation has not begun.  Railings are delayed in painting - installation is expected to begin the week of July 10th beginning with the straight rails on the bedroom balconies of the 04 & 06 stack.  
  • We cannot close the front access of the building to remove the railings on the front of our building until our Service entrance can be re-opened.  The arrival of aluminum railing is now impacting the total project timeline.  We have escalated to TRC about the poor coordination of the aluminum railings and are pressuring them to resolve this issue quickly.
  • Initial concrete removal efforts on the first of the 07 balconies may begin in as soon as 2 weeks, but due to the unknown timeline for the removal of the remainder of the 07 stack rails due to aluminum railing delays completion of concrete repairs in the 07 stack could span 6 weeks or more.
  • We discussed Hurricane protection for units that currently have shutters removed.  Spectrum has a 72-hour name storm protocol which includes boarding up any units that do not have shutters.  They also re-assured us that they would handle the closing of any existing installed shutters prior to any hurricane's arrival.
  • We discussed the stucco painting around the V-windows that has not been completed.  The Spectrum project manager said that they are not finished painting the North side of the building and that area remains to be done.
  • TRC/Spectrum have been asked to not re-install any brown shutters until Dave Puccio can complete full coordination with owners about their decision on their course of action for individual unit brown shutters reinstalls given the recommendations of the Board/Chalet Attorney to not re-install them given their known risk to damage the balconies and the unit owner fiscal responsibility for any future damage to the Chalet building.
  • Rich is working on getting group pricing for a bulk purchase of white shutters for those unit owners that would like to replace their brown shutters with new balcony edge mounted white shutters.  This information will be communicated to owners as soon as it is in hand.
Thank you,

Brad Sova
Chalet Board Vice President
25 June 2023; Eric Fortney; Brown Shutter Issue
Dear Owners,
 
At the last Board meeting on June 22, 2023, we discussed the balcony damage continually being found by TRC and Spectrum Construction along the glass, doorwalls that have the brown, surface mounted shutters.  There has been consistent water damage and water penetration associated with this type of shutter.  TRC has sent us a letter recommending that these shutters NOT be reinstalled. 
 
We have spoken to the Association Attorney about mandating the removal of the brown shutters, and instead requiring installation of the White Accordion Perimeter Shutters (as seen on the majority of the building).  While our attorney feels we do indeed have the right to mandate this change, we have decided instead to strongly encourage owners with these brown shutters NOT to reinstall them, but rather change to the White perimeter shutters.  
 
This correspondence (and the attached letters) is basically a formal warning to those owners with the Brown Surface mounted shutters. Once our concrete restoration and recertification is complete, it is our intent to have regular balcony inspections performed by an engineer (most likely TRC) every 3 to 5 years.   If, during any of those inspections, it is determined an owner reinstalled the Brown shutters and water is again penetrating the doorwall or balcony surface, it will be the sole cost and responsibility of that owner to repair all damage.  This could include removal and replacement of the glass doorwall and any rebar repair. The balconies are a common element of the building and Florida statute clearly states that an owner cannot cause damage to a common element.   Attached is the letter from TRC and a letter from the association attorney clearly stating the owners responsibility in the future.  I have also spoken to Rich Caseta and he has been in contact with Shutter Mann about getting a collective discount for owners changing out the Brown shutters. Please contact Rich if you have questions regarding this discount.  
 
Thank you. 
 
Eric Fortney 
Chalet President 
20 June 2023 ; Brad Sova; Progress Report
We are at about the halfway point of the Chalet concrete restoration and painting project. The project is running on time and appears to be under budget at this time. We won't know for sure on the budget until we get closer to the completion of the project because of the element of unknown when performing the concrete restoration work. As an example, the 01 and 02 stacks had much more required repairs and door wall removal than expected, but the 03 stack was the exact opposite. The 03-stack had a potential 13 door walls that were marked for possible removal, and they only needed to remove 3 door walls for repairs on the entire stack. Reminder, the final special assessment payment in the amount of $10,100 is due by August 1, 2023. Below are the notes from our bi-weekly meeting with TRC and Spectrum:
·       Safezone is finishing the core drilling on the 02 Northside balcony stack this week
·       The 02 West Stack balconies doors are all returned, waterproofing is done, and core drilling will begin this week
·       01 Stack - Concrete repairs complete
·       03 Stack - Easier concrete repairs in progress, Door walls due to come out this week for more difficult repairs.  There are fewer door walls than originally identified that will have to come out in the 03 Stack
·       Mast climber has been installed between the 05 and 07 balconies.  Rail removal will begin here this week.  Concrete repairs are not expected to begin for 1 month.
·       Handrail installation is scheduled to begin in the last week of June.  Beginning with the straight-railed bedroom balconies in the 04 & 06 Stacks.  Followed by the 08-stack large balcony.
·       The 04 and 06 large balconies with shutters on the bedroom window will require a shutter modification.  This is due to current code requiring a less than 3 7/8-inch gap between the window and the start of the railing edge.  Shutterman will be hired by Rich Cassata to create a "Dead Blind" or a two-piece blind to allow for the rail out of the existing blind.  This will be approximately a $1500 cost per impacted unit in the 04, 06, 03, and 05 stacks.  This cost will be included in the overall building cost because this is about bringing the railings to code.  If you already have hurricane glass updates to your unit, then this shutter work will not be required.
·       Spectrum stated that they are on track with the project but remain concerned about this shutter modification requirement.  Rich is in discussions with Shutterman to get our work on their schedule.  We have decided to contract directly with Shutterman instead of going through Spectrum, as this will save us approximately 20% on the overall cost of this work.
7 May 2023; Eric Fortne; Progress Report
 
Dear Owners,
 
There is an upcoming vote to replace our Boardwalk/Dune Crossover on Mon May 15, 1pm EDT.  Our current Boardwalk structure is original - from when the building was built over 40 years ago.  In the mid 1990's, the wood deck boards were replaced with Trex (a composite type material) however, all the structure and framing is over 40 years old.  Dry Rot has now caused a situation where repairs are not possible.  There is nothing left to attach boards to.  I have enclosed photos of what we are dealing with.  
 
Prior to Covid, the Board had planned on replacing the Boardwalk and had received quotes at that time.  Unfortunately, due to everything that happened in 2020, the replacement project never took place.  The most recent Board had planned on replacing the Boardwalk while the Concrete Restoration work was being done.  We thought it would be an ideal time to complete this needed replacement, since the pool would be closed most of the summer and there would be less disruption if beach access was limited at this time.  So... the timing is perfect to replace the Boardwalk/Dune Crossover now.  In addition, we would save money on landscaping...as the grass is already in need of replacement due to the Concrete Restoration work.  If we do the Boardwalk now...the grass will only have to be replaced once instead of twice.  Again, perfect timing.  
 
Why do we need an owners' vote?  
The Board is allowed to annually have a special assessment that does not exceed 15% of our annual operating budget.  That was the Board's original intent.  However, because the Concrete Restoration assessment was made payable in 2023, the Board would have to wait until January 2024 to replace the Boardwalk without a vote (not perfect timing.) If we wait until January, we will be damaging newly replaced landscaping and undoubtedly incur a slight cost increase along with creating major disruption during our primary in-season when most owners are in the building.  The Board feels this is the right time to get this project done and our contractor has said the Boardwalk would be finished by late fall when many owners return.  The Board is asking for a Yes vote at the Special Members meeting on Mon May 15.  We encourage all of you to vote and send your proxy in to the Chalet front desk.  I have re-attached the proxy I sent out on April 29th, along with the zoom link and pictures of the Boardwalk.
 
I hope this clarifies the project and the need for an owners' vote.  If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to call me at 612-889-7765.
 
This is the perfect time to get this Boardwalk finished.  Thank you for voting.
 
All the best. 
Eric Fortney
Chalet Board - President 
24 April 2023; Progress Report
 
We had our bi-weekly construction meeting last week with representatives from TRC and Spectrum. The work on the building is progressing and will be moving to the South side of the building soon as all railings have now been removed from the front balconies of the 01 stack. The pool will remain open on a temporary basis until they are ready to begin work on the south side of the building, which is expected within the next week. The new railing layout is complete on the 06 and 08 stacks, and they have started the core drilling for the new railings on the 06 stack. The painting will continue in the 08 and 06 stacks once the core drilling and balcony waterproofing is completed. They expect to complete the painting in the 08, 06, and 04 stacks by June and railings are going to start to be installed in June. It is expected to take 2 weeks per stack to install the new railings and then an additional week for punch and proper waterproofing. Once railings are installed, the service entrance will be reopened and the fenced off construction area consolidated to the parking lot area to the west of the service entrance.
 
Our hired structural engineer (TRC Worldwide Engineering) has requested that all units with 2 layers of tile on balconies be stripped in order to properly waterproof the balconies. The owners who have 2 layers of tile on their balconies will be notified and given the price to remove the tile.
 
We requested that they do not pull door walls/windows until absolutely necessary when making balcony repairs to be sure that units don't go more than 30 days maximum with a temporary wall. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our building manager, Rich Cassata. We will provide another update in early May.
6 April 2023; Progress Report
I wanted to send an update to a previous email which outlined tentative dates for the pool closure.   The pool area will now be closed to everyone starting Monday April 17th.  This is one week later than anticipated, which I'm sure will come as a relief to many.  
 
We are asking all owners that may need access to their stored beach chairs (or anything stored on the south side of the building) to have those items removed and stored in your unit no later than Sun April 16th.  After Sun April 16th you will no longer have access to the storage room in the pool area.  The Grill Stations will also be closed starting April 17th until further notice.    
 
The new route to the beach - Owners will access the beach through the front doors of the Chalet (by Jenny) and head through the south, white vinyl fence gate.  Once through the gate, stay to the southeast side of the Grill shack and walk along the grass between the chain link fence and the pool wall.  This will lead you directly to the boardwalk/dune crossover.  Please follow this same path when returning from the beach.  If you have any questions or are not clear about this new path, Rich will be happy to walk it with you so it is clear.   This is for everyone's safety and must be strictly followed. 
 
On a side note... in my first correspondence to owners, I failed to include Dave Puccio as a Board member (sorry Dave!).  I was also remiss in thanking Brad Sova for his incredible work as our President for the last two years.  Brad's dedication and leadership has helped put us and The Chalet on a path to a bright and successful future.  Brad has been a pleasure to work with and I'm sure I speak for the Board and many others when I say we truly appreciate all he has done for us at The Chalet.  Thank you Brad!
 
If you are traveling this holiday weekend, be safe, be well and have fun with your families.   
 
All the best.
Eric Fortney
Chalet - President
 
31 March 2023; Progress Report
 
Dear Owners,
 
The building remediation is progressing on the north side of The Chalet with most of the rebar repairs and concrete pouring completed by this weekend in the 08, 06, and 04 stacks. There are two units in the 06 stack that are not completed at this time as Spectrum still needs to remove door walls to complete those repairs. All railings have now been removed from the 02 stack and balcony repairs will begin on units 402 and 602 in the 02 stack. In addition, they will be grinding off existing waterproofing in the 08, 06, and 04 stacks for balconies that needed repairs or had tile removed in order to prep the balconies for new waterproofing to be installed.  Work will begin this week on removing and replacing caulking on the 08 06, 04 and 02 stacks which need to be completed prior to power washing and painting. 
 
The core drilling for the new railing system is expected to begin in the 08 stack on April 10th and will be performed by Safe Zone, which is the railing installation company.  The power washing of each stack cannot be done until after the core drilling is completed as the drill process is a "wet" drill with a slurry that will create a dripping mess.  Spectrum crews will then begin power washing the building and making repairs to the building exterior before painting begins. The Spectrum Project Manager is directing his team to begin the removal of railings off of the 01-stack next week to remain on track with his timeline.  They are in the process of moving the barricade in preparation for this which will close off the north side of the sundeck across from the shuffleboard area. The handicap ramp and steps to the sundeck will remain open for beach and sundeck access. The entire pool and grill area will remain open until after Easter, with a possibility of an additional week (or two) grace period further into April depending on the Spectrum team's progress.
 
They are placing plastic over windows for additional protection, but dust intrusion with this kind of work is inevitable.  Please continue to prepare your units, especially if you have non-hurricane glass door walls or have repair work being done directly on your balconies.  In addition to taping the inside your door walls as recommended, placing towels along the bottom of your windows to help keep the dust out of your unit. Going forward, if windows need to be removed to complete rebar repairs, owners will be given 1 week notice by management in order to prepare your unit. There is a posting on condo control today with pictures of how to properly prepare your unit. If you are not in residence, you will want to contact your cleaner or someone you know that can prepare your unit.
 
The structural engineer is recommending that all units that have double tile on their balconies should have this tile completely removed in order to properly waterproof the balcony. We will be contacting the 3 owners who have double tile on their balconies in the 08, 06, and 02 stacks to give them the pricing to have the tile removed. We will identify the units that have double tile in the 01, 03, 05, and 07 stacks once work moves to that side of the building and be in contact with those owners.