Many Hands Make Little Work

Chris Palms

Talk about taking a Village to accomplish things, take a look at the front entrance of our building. Thanks to the expertise of our in-house maintenance staff led by Chief Engineer Chris Palms we now have a beautiful new look that is both contemporary and easy on the eye.

Annette Gamberg and Joan Weinberg

This was a complete overhaul and redesign beginning with the draining of the fountain area, sealing those leaks, repainting the fountain surfaces, improving the lighting, the addition of new plantings and landscaping, paver installation, cement work, a new wall, (with a “bench type” feature) and the beat goes on. The work that has been completed called upon every skill of our maintenance staff, some of which we never knew they had. Thanks also to “design team” Annette Gamburg and Joan Weinberg for their contributions lending that very special look to compliment the front entrance.

Recently, residents received a two page letter detailing our responsibilities when a hurricane hits our area. It is so important that you take heed regarding these instructions.

Clear Balcony of Potential Flying Debris

A priority would be to remove all objects on your balconies to include plants, statues, lighting, furniture and anything else you may store on your balcony. (This is also a requirement during any kind of absence) Should we have a hurricane watch, our maintenance staff will not have time to do it for you.

Mechanical Freezestat

This past winter many residents at PDM as well as thousands of others in South Florida, went without heat. At PDM the units with some heat varied from new heat pumps to old ones. To understand the problem we must understand the main issue. All our heat pumps circulate water from a central water source at PDM. When the water becomes “too cool” the individual heat pumps cannot heat the water warm enough to produce heat. Each heat pump has a factory preset freeze-stat that is a safety control. Otherwise, the heat pumps will continue to “work overtime”.

Note: The central boiler was removed more than ten years ago and there never were any boilers for the North and South towers. There are no plans to replace the boiler due to the cost and the seldom need.

What can we do as residents?

Safe - Space Heaters - Dangerous

Call your authorized heating and air conditioner service provider and ask if the freeze-stat can be bypassed safely. Be prepared and purchase a small lightweight portable heater. Don’t wait until January and a potential cold snap when the stores are out of heaters.

Water Cutoff Valve

When leaving for a vacation or extended absence, turn off your main water valve. Locate your main valve in your AC closet. Each unit is configured differently so if you are not sure which one controls the water to your unit, contact maintenance, have them point it out to you and then label it. Leaks are becoming very common and if detected early can save unnecessary expenses. But if you are not here, a running toilet, broken hoses, a rotted pipe can be very damaging to you AND your neighbor if gone undetected.

Put your mind at ease during your absence and
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR WATER

Avail yourself of pertinent building information by tuning into channel 96 on your TV’s. It can save you unnecessary trips down to the lobby. False Alarms and “The Mail is in” are two examples of posted information.

MANY EYES MAKE FOR A BETTER PLAYA DEL MAR

From the Playa del Mar Spring 2010 Newsletter. To access the entire Spring edition, Click Here.

Linda Eidinger accepts Award to PDM

Linda Eidinger, PDM resident and Green Committee member received a check from the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Volunteer for Recycling at the City Commission Meeting on April 20, 2010. The award amount was $325.00. Twenty two homeowner associations participated in the program with amounts ranging from $325.00 to $2,200.00. The total amount awarded was $20,000.00. The program awards points for volunteering at various City events like Fourth of July, and Jazz Sundays. Points are also earned for promoting recycling in community newsletters and attendance at the bi-monthly meetings.

Loretta Cronk, recycling coordinator for Fort Lauderdale started a pilot program at PDM this year for multi-family buildings. “It can be a savings for large condominiums because they are able to reduce the cost of waste collection by reducing the size of the garbage dumpster and the frequency of the pickups”. The awarded monies are to be used for recycling projects in the home associations. The Green Committee hopes to further recycling by adding blue bins at the beach, pool, BBQ area and garage elevator areas.

“We are very proud of the efforts of residents. Our recycle bins are constantly filled.”

Linda Eidinger attributes this to the City’s new policy of single-stream recycling. Residents no longer have to separate glass, plastic, metal cans, and paper.

If residents are interested in volunteering to work City events to earn more “points” next year please contact Board Member Fred Nesbitt or Linda Eidinger.

by PDM Newsletter Staff

Spring 2010   

PDM Board President Bob Boffa

Well in spite of a record breaking harsh winter the PDM made notable improvements. The elevator lobbies in the garage area are all tiled, the leaks in the garages are all but gone, the new entrance way area is complete, new fire strobe lights (per fire code) have been installed in all the garages, we have upgraded some of our gym equipment and our security cameras have been improved.

Chris Palms

Popular Media Room gets New Flat Screen TV

Both north and south deck areas are scheduled to be made more eye appealing. The pool deck will have a variety of planters as well as two canopies to sit under. They will not be the greenish color of the existing one, which will be moved to the lower deck by the barbeques. We hope to have these items done by the end of summer if not sooner. Our Chief Engineer, Chris Palms has formulated a procedure to address the heating problem we encountered last winter. The media room has a new flat screen TV and the floor is being tiled. I am happy to see that the room is being utilized. We have purchased another larger, more efficient pool heater to replace the broken one.

Old Pipes - New Leaks

Newly discovered building cracks and leaks in the pipes will have a high priority this summer. Maintenance is an ongoing process and there is still a lot to do and I am glad to say your Board is acting on it.

Your Board revised the Condo’s rules and is almost ready for printing. Each owner and lessee will receive a copy. PLEASE take the time to read them and take notice of the changes. Many of which have been modified to accommodate wear and tear and to comply with any liability issues.

On a personal note I wish to thank those friends that sent condolence cards to me and my family regarding my mother’s passing. Your prayers and thoughts were greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Your Newsletter Staff

We have gone green and paperless. The Newsletter can be viewed on the library computer by clicking on the PDM Newsletter icon displayed on the screen, the posted version in the mail room and on the PDM website at:

We also print a handful for those that cannot avail themselves of the above. A copy can be obtained at the front office by signing out for one. If you do not get a copy by email, let the office know so they can put you on the distribution list.