List of Articles

• Superintendent of TSCC 1446
• TSCC 1446 First Board Meeting
• MTCC 1113’s Weird "Candidates Elect"
• At the Grandview Tower (MTCC 1132) AGM
• At the Parkside (TSCC 1446) AGM
• At the Casitas (MTCC 1113) AGM
• MTCC 1132 (Grandview Tower) AGM
• TSCC 1446 (Parkside) AGM
• MTCC 1113 (Casitas) AGM
• New Garage Door
• Frozen to Death, Almost
• Organic Waste Recycling
• Traffic Control at Gatehouse
• Gate Arm Repair
• Names and Numbers
• Kitchen Stack Cleaning
• Main Entrance Doors
• Guess Gas
• Exercise room door damage
• Visitor delayed calling
• What is Grandview Way?

---

Read more about living in a condo at ILiveInACondo.blogspot.com

---

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

At the Grandview Tower (MTCC 1132) AGM

This year, the AGM of MTCC 1132 (88 Grandview Way, also known as Grandview Tower) AGM was held on Wednesday, July 28, 2010. In addition to the five directors being present, so were the usual invitees: Michael Doherty (Del’s on-site Property Manager), Maggie Yim (Del’s on-site Administrator), and a recording secretary from a minute-taking service company.

This year Del sends District Manager Michael Sentenai to be present at the AGM. Last year, it was Catherine Murdock.

Also present as an invitee is John Warren, a representative from the auditor firm is Adams & Miles LLP.

This year there was only one director position open, a regular director position, currently held by Sue Stormes. She also stood for re-election. Since there were no other candidates, she was automatically elected for another term of three years.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

MTCC 1132 (Grandview Tower) AGM

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 88 Grandview Way or Grandview Tower (MTCC 1132) will be held on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at the Party Room of their own building.

The agenda this year includes the usual stuff such as:
• Approval of last year’s AGM minutes
• Director’s report
• Approval of Auditor’s report
• Election of Directors

This year there is one position (a regular position) on the Board of Directors up for election. The position is currently held by Sue Stormes, the current President. There is one person who has expressed intention of running for the position, and it’s incumbent Sue Stormes herself.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

New Garage Door

In March this year, garage door #3 (the garage door leading to the 880 building) broke, and the door had to be left open all the time, while waiting for repair.

In April, the garage door was fixed by Burrell Overhead Door Ltd. The new door is a white one now, different from the other two garage doors (and the old one).

The repiar cost was about $4,700 (including tax). Since the garage door belongs to shared facilities among the three corporations (MTCC 1113, MTCC 1132, and TSCC 1446), and there are 500 units in total in the three corporations, each unit spends on the average less than $10 in this repair.

The new garage door uses a different trigger mechanism, so it appears to be less responsive than the old garage door. Drive carefully, and a little bit more patience would much appreciated.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

Organic Waste Recycling

The City of Toronto has instituted the Green Bin Program to collect organic waste and turns it into compost. The obvious goal of this program is to reduce the amount of garbage that goes into landfill sites.

Organic waste includes food leftovers, egg shells, coffee grounds/filters, tea bags, house plants including soil, pet’s waste, soiled paper towels and tissues, diapers and sanitary products, and certain paper food packaging. To people like us living in high-rise buildings, this could be somewhat challenging to implement. There are two approaches to deal with this.

The first approach is to have big green bins put at where currently the garbage is being picked up. Each unit will be given a small bucket to put their organic waste in. Once a day or once every 2 or 3 days, depending on the type and amount of organic waste collected, you will have to carry the bucket to the outside of the building to dump it in the green bins.

"That’s very inconvenient!" We hear you. So we have the second approach.

The second approach is to retrofit a bi-sorter into the current garbage chute. This is how it works: There are two buttons on each chute opening on each floor. You press one button for regular garbage, and press the other button for organic waste. Well, if you by mistake dump garbage into the organic waste chute, the entire organic waste will become contaminated and the City may treat it as regular garbage.

Sounds wonderful! What’s the catch? Obviously, it’s the $$$money$$$. The bi-sorter will cost us more than $40,000 to install, plus annual maintenance costs thereafter. Each unit in the 880 Grandview Way building, on the average, will have to shoulder a cost of close to $300.

So, the first approach appears to be the one that should be tried out first because the cost is minimal. If the first approach turns out to present major problems, then the second approach may then be the option.

So, when you take your bucket full of organic waste from your unit to the outside, please make sure the bucket won't drip; otherwise, carpet cleaning costs will soar drastically.

Update: The City of Toronto has provided, free of charge, small blue boxes for recycling. This small blue box can fit under the kitchen sink. You can pick up your blue box now at the Management Office (Tel: 416-229-4274).

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

Traffic Control at Gatehouse

The evenings of Fridays and Saturdays are the times that most visitors are coming to visit their friends and relatives in the Grandview Way residential complex. You probably have seen something like this: visitor vehicles form a long line in front of the gatehouse, blocking traffic on the right lane for residents.

In order to expedite the traffic flow at the entrance, delayed visitors calling was implemented in July this year. (Click here to read about visitor delayed calling.)

In order to further avoid traffic hold-ups at the gatehouse entrance, especially when it comes the time Doris becomes a thoroughfare to Finch, pylons (orange traffic cones) have been put at the entrance to divide it into two lanes: the left lane (the lane closer to the gatehouse) is for visitors, the right lane for residents.

New traffic control measures at the gatehouse.
(Click here to see a larger picture.)

Please inform your visitors of the new procedure. Also inform them that if the visitor’s lane is already queued up with cars, wait at the curbside of Doris (if you are coming from the south) or at the center buffer lane (if you are coming from the north), but please do not block the entrance of the resident’s lane.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

Gate Arm Repair

Saturday morning, September 26, 2009. It was a bit cool outside. It is perfect to sleep in. Especially when most people don’t have to go to work.

Shortly after 8:00am, residents whose units face the gatehouse were awakened by a loud construction noise, even much louder if the units are on lower floors.

What was that noise? It was two construction workers using an electric saw to cut the floor tiles at the exit gate-arms to repair the malfunctioning exit loop that was buried underneath. The work was finished by about 10:00am. The work cost about $1,500 to the Grandview Way complex.

Two workers fixing exit gate arm
(Click here to see a larger picture.)

It has been noticed that the exit gate arm does not come down intermittently after vehicles have exited. So, the management office is initiating the repair work.

Some residents felt that, even though it is not against any law to start construction work after 8 on a Saturday morning, they would have appreciated it very much if someone could cut some slack and have the work started after 9:00am.

Some residents mentioned that they did not notice the problem with the exit gate-arm, but instead they had noticed that the entrance gate-arm on the resident side (not the visitor side) often do not come back down after a vehicle has entered past the entrance gate-arm. They wondered why the entrance gate-arm is not fixed first because vehicles can just go through when the gate-arm on the resident side stays up. This could pose a security issue.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

Names and Numbers 2009

All three condominium corporations in the Grandview Way residential complex use the one and same management office. The property management function was contracted out to DEL Property Management.

The people working in the management office are:

Property Manager:	Michael Doherty
Administrative Assistant:	Maggie Yim
Address for service:	126 Grandview Way
Phone:	416-224-2373

The phone number for the gatehouse is: 416-529-6489.

*   *   *   *

The three corporations have had their Annual General Meetings (AGM) in June and July this year.

The Casitas at Northtown (MTCC #1113) had two incumbent candidates running for two positions on the Board of Directors. All candidates were re-elected. These are the members of the Board of Directors for MTCC #1113 for the coming year, and each director also holds an office in the corporation:

President:	Hamzeh Roumani*
Secretary:	Cathy Vendramin
Treasurer:	Alan Tam
1st Vice-President:	Amy Choi*
2nd Vice President:	Debby Nathanson
*Also serves as a representative to the Shared Facilities Committee.

Source: AGM package and "Board meeting highlights."

The 88 Grandview Way (MTCC #1132) also had two incumbent candidates running for two positions on the Board of Directors. All candidates were re-elected. These are the members of the Board of Directors for MTCC #1132 for the coming year, and each director also holds an office in the corporation:

President:	Susan Stormes*
Secretary:	Stephen Douglas
Treasurer:	Brian Ho*
1st Vice-President:	Sandra Sanguinetti
2nd Vice President:	Taraneh Foyle
*Also serves as a representative to the Shared Facilities Committee.

Source: AGM package et al.

The 880 Grandview Way (TSCC #1446) surprisingly had four candidates running for two positions on the Board of Directors.

It is very rare, possibly unheard of, that in condominium corporations there are more candidates than available positions on the Board of Directors. Most typically, condominium corporations have great difficulties in finding people to fill the vacancies on the Board. This, perhaps, may be a good sign as more people are getting more enthusiastically involved in managing the affairs of their own condo. After all, it's their homes.

Among the four candidates, only one was an incumbent: Thomas Kwong. The second candidate, David Grader, the former President, resigned in 2008 and declared his candidacy again in 2009. The third candidate, Bill Kay, was a recent new owner to the 880 building.

The candidacy of these three candidates were made known to unit owners in the AGM package which also included their resumes. However, only the resumes of Thomas Kwong and David Grader were translated into Chinese by the Management Office. Bill Kay later confirmed that he was never asked whether he would like his resume translated into Chinese. "I definitely would like my resume in Chinese," he added.

The fourth candidate, Audrey Wai, declared her candidacy at the Annual General Meeting, at which she handed out her resume in English. She was a member of the board for the 880 building since the inception of the bulidng in 2002. She resigned in 2007 to go back to school.

After election, these are the members of the Board of Directors for TSCC #1446 for the coming year, and each director also holds an office in the corporation:

President:	David Yung*
Secretary:	Simon Li*
Treasurer:	Johnny Hui
1st Vice-President:	Thomas Kwong
2nd Vice President:	Audrey Wai
*Also serves as a representative to the Shared Facilities Committee.

Source: AGM package, Annual Genreal Meeting and notice posted in the lobby.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

Main entrance doors

Of the two doors at the front of the 880 Grandview Way building, the pivot and closure of the south-side door (the door to your left when you are looking at the doors from outside the building) was damaged.

South-side entrance door cannot closed properly
Click here for larger picture

Possible causes include the strong northerly winds in the winter and blow slam open the south-side door, as well as careless use by residents and visitors.

One can use slide bolts to make it stationary but can be opened to make way for large items going through. This will cost about $350 (including taxes). Another way is to repair the close mechanism; this will cost under $1,200 (including taxes).

However, this is being put on hold temporarily because the Board is actively considering installing automatic door openers on the main lobby entrances (as well as at the P1 and P2 entrances). When and if it is decided to install the automatic door openers, it may not even be necessary to repair the south-side door.

Meanwhile, residents should use the door with care, as always should. Careless use and misuse will result in unexpected repair costs that end up becoming part of your monthly management fees. Please pass the message to your children and visitors.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

Guess Gas

Our current gas contract with Provident Energy Management will expire by the end of October this year. The three Boards of the three Corporations (the Casitas, the 88 Grandview Way building, the 880 Grandview Way building) have been investigating into new and better commitments.

The Management Office invited two suppliers for a presentation on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 in the party room of the 88 building. The first one to present was Mark Burtniak from Superior Energy. The second one was Ata Malick from Comsatec Inc.

Shorter-term contracts (e.g., 1-year or 2-year contracts) have lower rates and longer-term contracts (e.g., 3-year or 5-year contracts) have higher rates. One-year contract will save us money if gas price does not increase significantly next year, because it will allow us to continue to commit to lower prices next year.

However, if gas price increases significantly next year and in future years, then lock-in multi-year contracts now are better even though they have higher rates than one-year contracts.

During the presentation, prices for future natural gas starting November 1, 2009 were quoted as follows:

• For 1-year contract: 20.8 cents per cubic metre
• For 3-year contract: 24.3 cents per cubic metre
• For 5-year contract: 25.9 cents per cubic metre

(Note: natural gas prices, like stock prices, fluctuate every minute, if not more frequent. You may check energy prices on www.ino.com.)

To go long, or to go short? That’s the question.

The price for 5-year contract is about 25% higher than the 1-year contract price. That means if we go for 1-year contract, we already have (in a way) 25% immediate savings, but we risk of paying higher prices if natural gas price increases in later years. We don’t know unless we have a crystal ball, but unfortunately that’s something that we don’t have.

So we turn to the experts. Mark Burtniak of Superior Energy recommended to go long term (5 years), but Ata Malick of Comsatec Inc. recommended to go short term (1 year). Well, looks like they don’t have the crystal ball either.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

Visitor delayed calling

The current procedure dealing with visitors in cars are like this:

When visitors in cars come to visit residents of Grandview Way, they have to stop at the gatehouse, tell the security guard which building and unit number they are visiting. The security guard then has to call the unit to get confirmation that they are expecting the visitors. Once confirmed, the gate-arm is open to let the car pass through to visitor parking.

Sometimes no-one in the unit answers the phone. This could happen for a number of reasons. Perhaps the visitors show up a bit early, and the resident is running some errands nearby but not at home. It could also be that the resident is not expecting visitors but the visitors just show up. The visitors may ask the security guard to try some other phone number (such as a cell phone number). This delays the processing, and if more visitor cars arrive, the cars could queue up and spill onto Doris Avenue, and you probably have seen such a situation.

As you may know, Doris Avenue is currently being extended from Byng Avenue to Finch Avenue as a bypass route for Yonge Street traffic. The construction is scheduled to complete before the end of this year. Then the traffic will be expected to be heavier than now. If visitor cars queue up and spill onto Doris Avenue, traffic would be messy and even dangerous.

The Shared Facilities Committee has decided to implement a new “delayed calling” procedure on a trial basis:

During rush hours (4pm to 7pm, Mondays to Fridays, holidays excepted), visitors cars after giving the building and unit number they are visiting, will be let through to the visitor parking so as not to clog up the entrance. As soon as when it is less busy, the security guard will then call the unit to confirm that their visitors are legits.

This new “delayed calling” procedure has already been in effect since July on a trial basis until September this year when it will be reviewed. A notice is supposed to have been put up to inform residents the change of new procedure.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

What is Grandview Way?

Welcome to Grandview Way!

But, what is Grandview Way?

Grandview Way is a residential complex located in North York, south of Finch and east of Yonge. Since the amalgamation, North York has become part of the City of Toronto.

This entire residential complex was built by the developer Tridel under the project name "Northtown". It consists of three condominium projects:

• The casitas (or more commonly known as the townhouses), the condominium townhouses completed in 1995 under the project name “Northtown Casitas 1”. Legally it is known as Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation Number 1113 (MTCC 1113).

• The 88 Grandview Way building – the condominium building completed in 1996 under the project name “Grandview Tower”. Legally it is known as Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation Number 1132 (MTCC 1132).

• The 880 Grandview Way building – the condominium building completed in 2002, under the project name “Parkside”. Legally it is known as Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation Number 1446 (TSCC 1446).

If you want to know the difference between MTCC and TSCC, read the article “Condominium Corporation.”

With the addition of the newest and latest building (the 880 building), the Grandview Way residential complex is now complete. This entire complex was managed by DEL Property Management Inc., an affiliation, (if not a subsidiary) of Tridel, the builder of the Grandview Way residential complex.

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---

INDEX

• At the Grandview Tower (MTCC 1132) AGM
• At the Parkside (TSCC 1446) AGM
• At the Casitas (MTCC 1113) AGM
• MTCC 1132 (Grandview Tower) AGM
• TSCC 1446 (Parkside) AGM
• MTCC 1113 (Casitas) AGM
• New Garage Door
• Frozen to Death, Almost
• Organic Waste Recycling
• Traffic Control at Gatehouse
• Gate Arm Repair
• Names and Numbers
• Kitchen Stack Cleaning
• Main Entrance Doors
• Guess Gas
• Exercise room door damage
• Visitor delayed calling
• What is Grandview Way?

---

Read more about living in a condo at ILiveInACondo.blogspot.com

---

Got comments?
Write your comments below,
or send your comments to GrandviewWay@gmail.com

---