Pinnacle Tower News

January 09, 2006
Lobby  533-7960               Const  231-7072
 
New Year, New Home, New Look, New Adventures !
 
Construction continues in the building as work progresses on the unfinished units of the upper floors.  And Punch Lists are continually being addressed by John and his crew.  Please let us know if you have any unresolved issues so we can follow up on them for you.
 
Important Dates to remember:
  • Jan 09:  First annual HOA Meeting - Tonight - Monday, January 9 at 6pm in the Marina Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel.  Nominations for the board will be accepted from the floor.  see website for details.
  • Jan 14:  Eighth Annual Multicultural Festival, a celebration of San Diego’s rich cultural heritage and diversity. The event will feature FREE hands-on art activities, as well as music and dance performances, and a wide selection of international foods and merchandise. The Festival takes place from 11am–5pm on Saturday, January 14, 2006, at the Children’s Park, bounded by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade (1 block south of Island Avenue) between Front Street and First Avenue.
  • Jan 20:  Wine & Cheese Party - Friday, January 20th from 6pm to 9pm at Richard Walker's suite 2008.
New Look - As promised by Pinnacle we have an attractive new wall to hide our mail boxes from view in the lobby.
 
Dryer Vents - Extremely important information !  In past newsletters you have been advised to keep your clothes dryer lint filters clean after every use.  Additionally and just as important you must clean out the secondary lint filter in your laundry closets.  Though the secondary filter is inconveniently located it is extremely important to keep it clean.  If you do NOT keep it clean the flow of air to the outside is impeded if not virtually blocked and that will lead to condensation problems in your condo.
  
 
Children's Museum - Many of you have asked for an update on our future neighbor.  According to Kay Wagner, Children's Museum Director, construction will commence in March 2006 and Pinnacle residents are encouraged to help the Museum reach a $2.5 million match gift with any donation large or small. 
 
According to the Children's Museum website the new facility will open Spring 2007. Designed by Rob Wellington Quigley, it will be downtown’s first major “green” building.  For further information, call 619/233-8792 or visit their website at www.sdchildrensmuseum.org
Concierge Carts - We have available to us two concierge carts in the Lobby.  They are the same type of cart that you see at hotels.  Just go to the Lobby desk to sign for cart use. 
See photo to the right >>>
 
 
High Rise Living - For many the experience of living in a high-rise building is a new experience and requires an adjustment from what one might be used to in a single family home with a yard etc.  The close proximity of neighbors in a tower such as the Pinnacle requires particular thoughtfulness to others.   Though we may have 8 inch thick concrete ceilings and insulated walls between condos - sound can still be transmitted.   One solution to minimizing noise between floors is to use felt pads on the bottom of furniture that is placed on hard surfaced floors (i.e. chairs, tables, ottomans).  Pets can be great companions and like any other resident of the building can be good neighbors.  Care should always be taken to make sure our hallways do not get stained by an anxious dog.   And as the saying goes - Silence is golden - something to keep in mind regarding our pets.
 
KUSI Tower - The block bounded by Front, First, Island & J has been sold to BOSA Development.  Future of the project is unknown at this time.
 
For the curious - Below is a photo of a portion of the 35th floor as it looked on Dec 2, 2005.  This is the now famous Pinnacle Penthouse which is being converted from 2 penthouses into a single 2 floor penthouse.
Property Taxes - The following comment was submitted by one of our resident homeowners:
I've got a gripe ...

When we signed papers I pointed out that the amount being taken for property taxes looked too high and requested they double check the figure. The guy came back later and said that that was the figure they had on file. I was confident the figure was too high and expected to get a "supplemental tax refund" instead of "supplemental tax bill". My first tax bill came, and, sure enough, I was overcharged in escrow by $1412. The county agreed that escrow took too much, but since the old bills are for the entire building, they don't have any way to credit me.

They said I'd need to follow up with escrow. Escrow says that they just bill whatever the builder tells them and that a last minute addition to escrow instructions says we're OK with them following Pinnacle's instructions.

Pinnacle divided the tax bill entirely based on square footage. So...

At close of escrow, Pinnacle had Chicago Title hold less than twice the property taxes for unit 3301 as 301!

When we agreed to that amendment, it was with the understanding that our share of property taxes would be based on a reasonable guess of our portion of the value of the building. I'm quite angry about this, but not as angry as people on floors 3 and 4 should be. I'm not sure of a tactful way to ask that the builder fix this. In theory the people in 3301 (for example) should be kicking in more tax $ to cover the refund for the rest of us. Then again, since the builder is the one that messed up, maybe they should give out refunds to those that deserve it and leave the underpayers alone. After not suing over everything else that has gone wrong, I'm not going to sue over $1400, but it sure is frustrating!

Leaks in the garage - There are some very noticeable leaks in the floor of the garage on the 3rd (bottom level) that require the attention of the builder.  Hopefully we will have some good news to report on this in the future.  Meanwhile water continues to seep up through the floor and at the base of one or more pipes in the floor.  See photos below.

 

 

Trash Disposal - Residents are reminded that only trash contained in secured plastic bags should be placed into the trash chute.  Anything else may clog the chute.  We have a Recycle Room on the ground floor and all such materials, including the styrofoam protective covers on condo front doors should be hand carried down to the ground floor.
 
Lights Out - Since we all share in the cost of keeping the Pinnacle well lit it is very important and thoughtful to turn off lights, TVs, radios etc in the public areas of our building when we are done using them (i.e. 2nd floor restrooms, sauna, fitness room, amenity room, theater etc).  And in the case of the Spa Pool - the same button that turns the hydro jets on will also turn them off should you be through before the timer shuts them off.
 
Elevators - Some of you have expressed an interest in having contact information for our elevator manufacturer.  The manufacturer is ThyssenKrupp.  The local contact for this company is:
ThyssenKrupp Elevator 
1965 Gillespie Way Suite 101
El Cajon, CA 92020  
619.596.7220    
And speaking of elevators, we are taking a poll.   Do you want your fob to provide you access to all floors in the building at all times?  Please reply to this email with your response and we will then announce the results.
 
Well that's it for this time around.  See you at the HOA Meeting tonight.  Stay in touch with each other and together we will create a living environment we can all enjoy here at the Pinnacle.
 
Pat McArron