East Deck Pool: New Details

Posted on February 17, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

East Deck Pool:
New Details 

 

The concrete pouring in the Aquarius East Deck as part of the 40 Year Recertification exercise is going to happen in few weeks (February 2018). The next step will be the the construction of the new swimming pool.

Thomas J. Laubenthal, RLA,  Landscape Architect Consultants, Inc., of Plantation is the Landscape Architect and his professional team have prepared the conceptual drawings and the final design and specification for the engineering of the new deck. Previous details can be seen bellow taking you to links of  blog posts of months ago (six posts, all open in new tab or window).  

2009 East Pool Proposal                       2016 Neighbors of Aquarius Pool

East Deck Workshop 10/23/2016           2016/10/27 Ideas for New East Deck Debated

2016/11/29 Very Close to Final East Deck Plans       2017/11/01 Initial Master Schedule for East Deck

This week (2/15/18) Tom made a short presentation for the General Contractor (Structural Preservation Systems), the Engineering firm of record (Hillman Engineering) and some members of the Board of Aquarius on details suggested for the finalization of the project.

Some of  Tom’s comments are transcribed after the gallery of renditions. Please select any of the pictures and start a slides show. It is necessary to use the arrows left and right to change the slides.

Tom Laubenthal  comments:

“”It took us some time to research facts and be sure we were both within code compliance and well as representing solutions that would not represent any level of liability of life safety concerns.   We ran all of our options by Terry the Pool Engineer after we got them developed.  We seem to be A-OK on all points.

These include:

  • Moving ladders away from the center of the north and south swim walls to the side walls of the deep ends.
  • Figuring out the details of managing swim lanes within allowable widths, including mounting details for the swim-lane ropes.
  • Swim lanes for competition require tile targets in the head wall of each swim lane, but optional to private use facilities.    Swim lanes often have a tile lane in the floor of the pool, but that too is optional for private use.
  • Hand railing for the shallow beach entry end of the pool

o   need to include an ADA end loop that extends beyond the grate and water line.  

o   They should also continue down to the 3 foot depth which is close enough for most to be able to float free of the hand rail.

o   The rails should only be at the 2 side walls and NOT at the middle, so that someone could hit their head on the pole.

o   Side rails would be place in the pool bottom and not in the gutter line, so they follow the slope of the pool.

o   Pool rails would have a 4” offset to the center line of a 2” diameter tubular rail, so there is a 3” gap between the inside of the railing and the pool side wall.   That is less than the 4” width for pickets so there is no risk of a child’s head being caught, and yet wide enough that no one’s hand, arm or leg can get trapped.

  • We have recommendations for the perimeter tile bands for the pool edge including tile dimensions and colors.    We took the time to re-visit several sites to collect photo images to represent key details that will help expedite your Owner Approvals.

Adding Hand Rails at the shallow end of the pool is NOT A CODE REQUIREMENT.   It is purely an option of the Owner.    There is no question that they ARE ALLOWED they are just not required.    

Now focus on the issue of placement.   Putting a Railing in Center Field is exactly the wrong thing to do.    It completely cuts the social space of the pool in half instead of having a wide space that allows for families to gather with generous room to still access the pool.

Placing the Railings at the 2 sides was very deliberate.   Stop and think for one minute.   As the pool transitions deeper and deeper ANYONE approaching from the shallow SIDE can miss judge the step.   In one spot it is a 3” step, a little further down it is a 6-8” step,  further down it is between  12-18”, ALL enough to throw someone off balance.   Since you never want anyone hurt, you need to take a measure to inhibit their awkward side entry to the pool.   Putting the Handrail to each side BOTH limits any un-safe access, as well as provides those less stable the  safety and convenience they are asking for.   Win-win, and life safety should be your first concern and the basis of your final decision.””      Comments end here.

Observation: The suggestion of railing along the beach entry of the pool was not in the original plans. Some see it a very good idea in terms of safety and consideration with elders, infants and people with mobility challenges.

Some see as an unnecessary eye sore not common at all on zero entry pools.

You are the judge.

.o0o.

Posted in Amenities, Construction & 50 & 40 Year Recertifications | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cecilio Berndsen says: I never got so many support expressions

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

Cecilio Berndsen says: I never got so many support expressions

 

Since I learned that members of the Board have secretly prepared a meeting to oust me from the Vice President Board seat I never heard so many support and solidarity manifestations. They will say that this is just an a mere reorganization but is an action filled with hate and revenge.  It is not healthy. It is not nice. It is a sample of arrogance and disdain from serious work and real will to contribute.

Residents call me on the phone, approach me in the hallways, send emails, make Facebook comments. It is really an expression of friendship and communal integration. I am moved and I am grateful. It warms my heart.

Thank you so much. I was surprised and pleased that so many cared for my labor of love. Inside or outside the Board, Vice-President or not I promise to continue to work for a better Aquarius – our home, our place – within my time and abilities limitations but with vigor and dedication.

Thank you, again, Aquarius community. You are great! 

Small sample of the messages received:

What makes community a good place to live?

– feeling that we have a right to belong and feel welcome;

– sense that we have some say in the community issues that affect us and that our perspectives are appreciated and respected;

– notion that the community has numerous opportunities for both individual and social fulfillment including basic needs, recreation, and social interaction.

Members of the board must show leadership and example of the professional and courteous behavior to all members of the Association, including their colleagues, and do not allow their personal emotions and feelings to affect their judgment.

Cecilio, we all appreciate your invaluable contribution, and hope that you will continue your hard work on behalf of all of us.

With kind regards, Arkady Chase, PH5N

Cecilio

From my perspective you are a true asset on the board and too the Aquarius. How can we stop the board action?

 Steve Koslow,  704 N

 

Dear Cecilio, we really appreciate all the work you are doing toward the Aquarius bldg. and always keeping us aware on all  current events. We all know it is a very hard job and you are doing it with a smile. God bless you and big thanks for everything.

Your friends John and Nadine

John Youssef  1105 N

Pamela Ippolito    1103 and 1104 N

HOW  DARE  WE ..THE ASSOCIATION..WHO GAVE ” OUR TRUST.”.BE TREATED  SO  POORLY  BY   HYPOCRITES …WITH  THEIR   OWN  AGENDAS. WHERE  AS ..VICTOR AND JUDY SPEND  MORE TIME AWAY  AND  OUT OF TOWN..LEAVING  THE  PHYSICAL  ISSUES  ON  A  DAILY .. TO  CECILIO. .LINDA  AND  BUCK..YES  WE  ARE  A RETIRED  COMMUNITY  AND  YES  WE  ARE  IN   THE  MIDDLE  OF A  HUGE  RENOVATION .. .WITH  HORRID  NOISE  DAILY …FOR THESE PEOPLE .TO BE AWAY FROM HERE  THEN ..TO TREAT YOU , CECILIO..SO  POORLY..AFTER  ALL  OF  THE  HOURS SPENT  AWAY  FROM  YOUR   FAMILY  ..IN   TIME  ,EFFORT  , SOMETIMES   PHYSICAL   EXHAUSTIVE   ENERGY LOOKING   INTO  ISSUES   TO   BETTER   UPDATE   AND   OR   FIX  ‘ ‘OUR  HOME”  ….IT REALLY  SADDENS  ME .. BECAUSE  IT  ONLY SHOWS..  ONCE   AGAIN  ,THAT  CERTAIN  PEOPLE  OF  THE  BOD   ARE  ”NOT.”  HAPPY WITH   RULES OF FLA. STATE ..  TAKE  A  LOOK  AROUND  AT WHAT   IS  BEING  DONE ……COMMITTEES HELP GET WORK DONE..  THE BLOG CECILIO IS   DOING KEEPS US INFORMED ..THANKS BUNCHES AND CAMERAS  HELP KEEP US SAFE……….

Pamela Ippolito    1103 and 1104 N

 Cecilio – I am distraught at this news. You have made an enormous contribution and truly changed the nature of communication and community at the Aquarius. Especially because our mom has not been well for the past two years and unable to keep up with all the changes your ability to 

  1. consistently kept everyone up to date with the very complicated construction schedule and issues
  2. sent out helpful information such as quotes for the impact windows
  3. always been available to answer questions in a helpful manner

Has been invaluable to myself and my family.

Because I myself serve on my own Coop board in NY, and my brothers manage many coops and work hand in hand with boards and their officers, I understand how different personalities and approaches can cause friction when people work closely together. Especially when there are many problems to solve.

However, in all board service one must separate personality differences from the value different board members contribute as well as the intrinsic value of diversity of opinion.

How do we as residents who see great value on your contributions, help you remain in your seat?

Dara Lamb

Pam  II

Cecílio

I have worked alongside educated and trust worthy gentleman. There are ups downs. We disagree at times. We discuss issues and work together to find a way to make the issue work.  It is called Flexibility and Cecílio has just that.
I have found his agenda to be the good for Aquarius. It is not my way or the highway!!!   AS SOME ON THE BOD MAY HAVE IT.  We pay too much money to not be ahead of this.   Come on people…

You all have a wonderful resume. What happened to the working together?  Part may be some BOD people, who are not here all the time. Are they just jealous of seeing the amount of work that Cecílio gets accomplished?

Kudos Cecílio for all you do.  Please stay the course. We need you.

Thank you and Yvana

Pamela Ippolito    1103 and 1104 N     (second message)

 

Cecilio, I am supporting you 100%. You are our voice and eyes especially for the owners who are not full time residents.   BOD got their agenda trough because of You and your work.  Blogs are great!!!  All our BOD are people in retirement. Enjoy the life!  Our BOD are not employee who must attend work every day. It voluntary NOT PAID  position.
Larida Vdovets,  Apt  203N

Please say this is not true over something so insignificant. We love you, Cecilio and do not want you removed from the board.

Roni Komie  1803 S

We have big respect to CECILIO DIVERSIFIED CONTRIBUTION TO THE BOARD AND SUPPORT HIM IN HIS EXISTENCE IN THE BOARD.    ZOYA@SAM SCHMUTER

Zoya and Sam Schmuter, 1101 N

 

Caramba! What is this? We are together with you 100%

Aldo Pires. 505 N

Very unfortunate.  Keep Cecilio VP!

George Ottoni, 2014 N

Hi Cecilio,

Sorry to hear that.  Although I may not always agree with you, I thought you were doing a good job and providing valuable service with your blog….

You must have stepped on on someone shoes there…  So who really “runs” the Board at Aquarius?

Even more disturbing, are you statements about possible breaches of contract and non-competitive contract awards, and Board non-responsiveness to these.  You probably were out-voted on these issues.

Hope you kept a record of these, as it might  come handy.

Good luck tonight, whatever happens.

Val Boyarsky,  201 N

Eugenia Aulov-Volchek says:

February 15, 2018 at 2:56 am (Edit)

Cecilio, your feeling is understandable. Your contribution to the community is invaluable. It is very unfortunate and strange that the same five Board members being elected the third year in a row cannot work in unison. What position does the Board offer to you now? Do they want you to be a Treasurer, knowing of what you are capable of?
Remember that you are elected by the community and you stay on the Board and continue being an expert in everything you do.

.o0o.

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Coup D’état at Aquarius?

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

Coup D’état at Aquarius?

Not really, as you know Aquarius Condo is not a Sovereign State. Besides, it seems that the majority of the Board want to remove the Vice-President Cecílio Augusto Berndsen. In that case it may be something protected by the law. It is within their priviledge.

Yes. It is that Cecílio that has minimized is personal travels so he can dedicate more time for our ailing building. It is the one that complains why we don’t still have an insurance claim for our IRMA Storm insurance while little happens. It is the one that asks uncomfortable questions about contracts celebrated after very limited number of vendors invitations and that struggles to have some life on our Condo. Committees. Committees that the BOD believes do not help. “There are too many committees” some say. Not for Cecilio. In addition, Movie Nights, Library organization and maintenance are no important. Cameras, sound systems, computer systems.

And, of course, the aquariusuno.com blog is also looked with mistrust and reservation. Have you seen any contribution to the blog by any BOD member? Not really, but the blog has more than 400 posts trying to bring the community together and informed. Not divided.

But this seems not be important. Important in the view of some members of the Board of Directors is to remove the Vice-President because he did not help set up a projector for the Super Bowl.

All of a sudden it became Cecílio’s responsibility to do a job that Linda Satz, Secretary and Buck Gupta, President were full aware more than 72 hours in advance that Cecílio would not be available to do. Cecílio had alerted them that he would not be available but they ignored the warning.

Linda informed that she would summoned some other Resident. She was informed that the this chosen Resident was out of town. Buck, the president, said he would not get involved. Now the alternate reality will confess that they never had been warned. Some will say that they did not know. Some will say there were not here.

And the removal of the vice president goes on…

Thank you residents of Aquarius, four your support during these years. It was hard work, but you deserve it.

P.S. Do you remember who was the Board member with the highest number of votes in the last elections? Check it out.

Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

 

.o0o.

Posted in Board of Directors | 1 Comment

Are You Laying Tiles in your Aquarius Balcony?

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

Are You Laying Tiles in your Aquarius Balcony?

 

Many residents would like to have tiles in their Aquarius Balconies. The waterproof finish contracted by the Association is a regular grey material.

So, what do you need to do to have your balcony with the tiles of your choice?

1  -Have your option known and registered at the Management Office. The South Tower registration is closed.  Now – August – is the time for the North Tower.

2   -There is a fee of  $.50 (fifty cents) per square foot of the balcony. This fee is charged by the General Contractor Structural Preservation Systems to cover expenses of the water proofing material. This polimer is not the same that is applied in the non-tiles balconies.

3   -Purchase the tiles of your choice. Please note that the tiles must be for exterior and  non slippery. The SIZE (large than 12 by 12 is OK!)  and color of the tiles is your choice. The tiles may not be thicker than 3/8 of an inch or 9.5 mm.

4   -How much tile is needed?     Balconies’ tiles need no less that 15% of additional tiles for cuts, breakdown, etc.
Lines 1 and 4:           223.5 sq ft or 20.76 sq m     (buy at least 260sq ft)
Lines 2, 3, 6 & 7:     111 sq ft or   10.31 sq m         (buy at least  130 sq ft)
Lines 5 & 8:              243 sq ft of  22.5 sq m          (buy at least   280 sq ft)

Here you will find the procedures for tile installation as given by the construction engineer Hillman. Please note the NOA/Miami specifications have been relaxed by the engineer as observed above size and thickness of tile. All other recommendations by the product maker SIKA, must be followed so the guaranty of the waterproof is not voided.

There are also instructions to install the tiles with diagrams provided by Hillman. Please make copies of both documents for your installer to follow them with all details.  The links to download the instructions are also at the bottom of this post.  Diagram 1   Diagram 2

5   – Please hire a reputable tiles installer. The installer must present: valid license, workingmen’s compensation and general liabilities insurance policies.

6  – A City of Hollywood tiles installation permit is not needed.

7   – The Aquarius Condo. Association requires pre approval of  the work. All documentation must be on file before work start.

8  –  There are some ancillary documents such as an affidavit regarding the warranty that the Management Office will be glad to supply.

9  –  After the balcony is given back for your use you have 90 days to complete the laying out of the tiles. After that the SIKA material may lose its waterproofing capabilities what would void the warranty.

Easy? Maybe not,  but following these procedures may assure the balconies last a long, long time.

Attachments

  1.  Hillman Letter of Nov. 16 with NOA/MIAMI and SIKA installation recommendations     2017 11 16 Tile Procedure

2.   Balcony Tile Layout – Hillman Engineering Specifications 1  2018 02 02 Balcony Tile Layout Hillman

3.    Balcony Tile Layout – Hillman Engineering Specifications 2  2018 02 02 Balcony Tile Layout rend-Hillman

 

Posted in Construction & 50 & 40 Year Recertifications | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Great News: Aquarius North Tower Construction Early Start

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

Great News:

Aquarius North Tower Construction Early Start

 

The plans for an early start of the construction at the Aquarius North Tower are underway. The first step is a full inspection of the interior of the apartments.

If all runs well as planed we will have the North Tower ready before Christmas. With the support of all residents we will get there. If you want to be present here is the schedule of inspections that will start Monday, February 12, 2018. If you are not available not to worry the inspections will proceed being the engineers escorted by our security officers.

Let’s get this 40 Re Certification exercise ready and finished before the end of 2018.

Printer Friendly version of the schdule2018 02 09 North_T Inspections_Schedule_

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The Wide Picture: Impact Windows Installation Gets Speed at Aquarius

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

 The Wide Picture:
Impact Windows Installation Gets Speed at Aquarius

 

At Aquarius about 75 owners have their apartments protected by IMPACT WINDOWS. They realize that not only they increase the value of their property as they live with better protection, spend less in energy, have less outside noise and beautify their unit and of course the building.

The number of units with IMPACT WINDOWS is in an accelerated rate. Owners at the South building have increased interest in IMPACT WINDOWS. The number of owners of North building units is also notable.

Are you interested? Click HERE. You will find some information that may help your project.

 

Many thanks to Joe Paez, our Security Director, for the careful and well done survey. These tables are just suggestive of Aquarius Impact Windows installation. This is an unofficial and informal survey. 

Please inform of any omission observed in the tables of the survey.

.o0o.

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Village People: Are They Visiting Aquarius?

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

This gallery contains 10 photos.

Village People: Are They Visiting Aquarius?   Roni Komie, from the South Tower,  shot some pictures of construction people working on her balcony. They look like the disco group that had such enormous success in the seventies. Check the pictures. … Continue reading →

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Janice Koppel left us February 2018

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

Janice Koppel left us

February 2018.

Janice Koppel, long time Aquarius resident, passed away. She left many friends in our community. Information about the funeral will be posted when available.

Expressions of sympathy and comfort may be sent to the family at:
Janice Koppel 
21 Estates Terrace
North Manhasset, New York  11030

The material above was prepared by Dara Lamb loving daughter of Janice.

.o0o.

 

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Call for Action: Aquarius Committees It Is Time to Apply

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

Call for Action:

Aquarius Committees It Is Time to Apply

 

The community needs your help. Volunteer to give your expertise, time and harmonious team play commitment. The BOD will define the size and particulars of the Committees. There are no restrictions on the household participation. As a general rule Committees may not exceed 10 members.

Please consider your time availability and motivation. Attendance and participation in all Committee activities is essential. The work on Committees is much, much more than attending meetings. Every application will be carefully reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. This form  is an invitation. It is not a confirmed appointment.

 

The Committee  Application  Form is very short. Click Here

 

You also find the Application form here:  > aquariuscondo.net   >   Documents  > Choose a Category    >  Committees Business >  Committees Membership   Application Form 2018

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New Wheelchair

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Cecilio Augusto Berndsen

New Wheelchair

 

Sometimes residents and visitors with mobility challenges need some help with a wheelchair. Joseph Paez, our Security Director, had the great ideal to acquire a large chair able to accommodate any passenger.

Thank you Joe! Always caring for Aquarius and its residents.

Dennis helped assembling the chair. After the work completed a brief pause for a picture.

.o0o.

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