Letter from the President

As you can see from the letter that was mailed to all Lincoln Tower Association members and was posted in the building and on this blog site, our capital improvement project to refurbish the hallways was approved by the required two-thirds of all Association members. This was no small feat. In previous votes, it has been very difficult to get two-thirds of the owners to return their voting certificates, much less vote in favor of a particular issue. The fact that 99 out of 114 owners, 87%, returned their voting forms demonstrates that our owners are interested in the future of our building and share the Board’s desire to make it better. Of the voters, 78% supported the recommendation of the Board in regard to the hallways. We know that some Association members care deeply about the need to refurbish the hallways, but did not agree with the recommended renderings. This is understandable, particularly when it comes to design elements.  We know that there will always be differences in taste and that it is impossible to please everyone. However, I believe that all the Association members will agree that our recommended design will result in a vast improvement over the appearance of our current hallways. 

Our Hallway Committee, led by Ellen Daniel, worked for nearly three years on this project. They looked at a wide variety of design approaches and they spoke to a large number of potential contractors. Importantly, they were able to consult with one of our owners, Mr. Dan Parker, who has extensive experience in interior design in high traffic locations, such as hotels. He was able to guide the committee in areas such as carpet selection, where he could apply his expertise regarding wear and staining. I hope that everyone will appreciate the hard work that led to the committee’s recommended design.

The committee’s next steps will be to review all the bids, finalize the contracts for the renovation and present a recommendation to the Board at a formal Board Meeting.

In regard to the no smoking rule, which did not receive the required number of votes, we believe that many owners did not realize that the new rule would only apply to new owners and new renters. It would not apply to current residents. Moreover, there were questions about the impact of a no smoking rule on unit values. While we believe, based on experience in other areas, that values would increase, we will look for more research on this subject. Given the health and safety benefits arising from the elimination of smoking and the exposure to secondhand smoke, we plan to present this again to the Association later in the year.

Finally, with our new state-of-the-art cooling tower and our approval to refurbish the hallways, we have made major steps to restore our building to its position of superiority at the Lands of the President. With the support of all of our owners, we will continue to move forward.

Richard Krain