Waikiki Banyan

Elevator Modernization. We’re approaching the end of the long process of modernizing our elevators. Sunset Refinishers is more than halfway through the installation of the new cab interiors, and our Maintenance Department is installing new floor tiles. Sunset Powdercoating is ready to finish the elevator exterior door painting in Tower 1 as soon as the interior cab work is complete.

The new interiors are beautiful and do justice to the newly modernized elevators provided by Otis. Our in-house agents also appreciate the positive impact of the new cabs and are working with us and their respective staffs to ensure that the elevators continue to look good for a long time.

As part of the interior renovation, we are replacing the existing elevator cameras with new high resolution cameras with wide-angle lenses and less obtrusive housings. Some of the old elevator cameras, while too big for the new interiors, are still functioning well and will replace failing cameras elsewhere in our CCTV system.

Fire Alarms. This is our periodic reminder to owners and agents to inform your tenants to keep their apartment front doors closed while they cook, especially if they create smoke by burning or overcooking food. Opening the entry door is guaranteed to activate the floor smoke detector and trigger a fire alarm. Security will respond. Honolulu Fire Department will respond. Other residents will be disturbed. Please pass this on to your tenants.

Pool Coping Stones. Waikiki Banyan Maintenance will be repairing and repainting the swimming pool coping stones the week of June 1. The pool will be closed from Monday, 6/1 through Friday, 6/5 while the work is being done.

Elevator Modernization. Sunset Refinishers are working on the interiors of the cabs in our new elevators. Elevator 4 in Tower I has been completed and the feedback we’ve been getting has been extremely positive. The usual comment starts with “Wow!”

We’re also working on setting up the elevator LCD displays to provide the information carried on our old elevator bulletin boards, so you may see some interesting changes popping up on the screens.

The new interiors raise concerns about damage. We will be working with our commercial lessees to institute and maintain procedures designed to minimize the chances of damage. We will also be enforcing more rigorously the use of elevators 1 and 5, the cabs with high ceilings, for large or tall objects, such as surfboards.

Parking Permits. One reason we have been able to keep Waikiki Banyan’s maintenance fees low is that our parking garage is large, relatively secure, and popular.

In the last few weeks Security has discovered two instances of counterfeit parking permits. Apparently the availability of high quality color copiers has tempted some tenants to go for free parking at Waikiki Banyan, thereby depriving all owners of income. Please advise your tenants that not only will we catch forgers, but we will ban their vehicles, issue trespass warning and pursue criminal charges.

Pre-meeting Potluck. Last Thursday owners and Association employees gathered on the recreation deck to enjoy the traditional pre-annual meeting potluck. The rain held off and we enjoyed much good food and company, with many owners making delicious contributions to the festivities.

The Association’s Annual Meeting was held on Friday at the Pacific beach Hotel. Congratulations to re-elected Board members Bob Carbone and Shraga Dachner, and to newly-elected Board member Jeannie Phillips.

At its organizational meeting immediately after the annual meeting, the new board elected the following directors as officers for 2009:

• Dick Eide, President
• Shraga Dachner, Vice-president
• Kenji Iwasa, Treasurer
• Shigeo Minamoto, Secretary

With La Niña dominating the Pacific's weather, our winter has been cold, windy and wet. Several storms driven by southerly winds instead of our usual north-east trades have exposed water intrusion problems throughout the building. Security responded to many water leak calls, some of which will be addressed by the Association. We are now finalizing our list of units that need repairs made to the seal between their window frames and the building, and plan to begin repairs next week, weather permitting.

Added to the interesting weather we've been experiencing was an island-wide power outage that lasted about 13 hours. Hawaiian Electric (HECO) is still not sure about the causes. We can only hope their systems engineers are able to prevent another extended outage.

Our emergency power generator performed beautifully, keeping emergency power on in the building for the duration of the outage.

Unfortunately, the Association does not have the resources to provide supplies like flashlights and batteries to everyone, so owners, agents and residents of Waikiki Banyan should think about maintaining their own kits of emergency supplies.

You can find advice on what to think about for your disaster preparedness kit at the state’s Civil Defense website and more detailed information at the DHS-affiliated website www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html.