I just wanted to bring all owners / residents up to speed on the contract we have for Paul’s services.
The Committee signed a 3-year contract on 1 July 2021. The current monthly fee is $7950 per month ($95400 pa) plus payment for all consumables. The initial fee was agreed after some negotiation and was increased from the previous contract amount to the figure requested by Genesis. It also has an annual CPI escalation clause.
I was surprised to get a request for an increase of 10% rather than the CPI figure of 6.8%. The dollar difference was not significant, but I thought it was a simple oversight and the OC Manager, under my agreement, simply replied that we would increase the amount as per the contract.
We received a reply to say that they were very disappointed and that they wished to terminate the contract with one months notice.
We met with Maggie Simone (the owner of Genesis) to discuss. She explained that they are operating at a loss on our building and she had increased Paul’s wages several times during this contract period. I replied that they picked the initial price and have had CPI increases, she has elected to increase Paul’s wages. I also noted that they have the opportunity to increase the price at the end of the contract period (in 12 months time). I also noted that they cannot terminate until that time.
Maggie made it clear that she thought we were being unreasonable and gave us notice that she would not offer us a new contract at any price.
Today’s main show is the huge concrete pour taking place at the Albert Road Station Entrance. Everything is ticking along well there at the moment with the pour to wrap up at about 6pm. We will have crews into the night (in the entrance) putting in the final touches.
For the next two weeks St Kilda Road northbound will be closed from 8pm to 5am week nights. First we will install utility conduits under St Kilda Road, and the following week lights onto the new tram poles.
Utility Works – Bowen Lane to Bowen Crescent
Next week, the team will continue to work on the watermain and sewer works in this area. non-destructive digging (NDD), trenching and excavation will continue. We have encountered some unexpected services in the area so we are working away behind the scenes to resolve and move forward. This does mean that the pedestrian diversion I have been mentioning for the past few weeks will be delayed until 24 July.
Night works will take place in this area starting next week as we install conduits under St Kilda Road. All of the details on these works can be found here. We expect the first four nights to be the most disruptive.
Cladding will continue on the chiller structures.
Albert Road Reserve Station entrance
As mentioned at the start of this email, the base pour is happening as I write this email. Next week the team will start to shift their focus to the lining wall. What does this mean? More steel fixing and more concrete pours!
Albert Road legacy construction
Investigating, moving and installing utilities continue on Albert Road as we build the legacy linear park which will be the green connection between Albert Lake and the Station. Paving and preparing for the Kingsway slow land reopening also continue. We are building the new kerbs and roadway.
St Kilda Road median works – South
We permanently removed the parking this week on the northbound side of St Kilda Road between Kings Way and Bowen Crescent. To enable this, traffic changes are now in place as far down as Arthur Street.
In this area next week we will be saw cutting, NDD and trenching for the new stormwater connections.
St Kilda Road median works – North
The pedestrian crossing from one side of Park Street to the other is still on track to reopen in mid-July, around the 20th. Next week will continue the road works in this area to finish it off.
Cyclists will merge onto St Kilda Road and share with vehicles from Park Street to Toorak Road.
Station box construction
Testing, commissioning, installation all continues in the station box. We won’t see much of an update in this space for a while.
Shrine Entrance
Precast elements continue to be installed in the shrine entrance. Works continue on the raft slab which will support the future stairs and escalators into the station entrance, as well as the canopy.
Park Street to Albert Road
The footpath is open again out the front of the Hallmark. We are looking to the hard landscaping through here completed in time for some shrub planting this year.
The sun is setting on another week, here is a look at what is coming up.
Please note that Monday 10 July is a rostered day off, so things will really get into the swing of it after the weekend from Tuesday.
Utility Works – Bowen Lane to Bowen Crescent
This week the team finished of the majority of the watermain works in this area. Next week the focus will be service investigation (which means non-destructive digging – NDD) at the south west corner of Bowen lane site and in the bike lane of Bowen Crescent (where the site was recently extending to). On Tuesday, the pedestrian diversion that I shared last week will be set up, and then in action from Wednesday or Thursday. Pedestrian access to buildings will be maintained at all times. From Monday 17 July, there will be a series of night works to trench along St Kilda Road for utility connections. This will mean northbound closures of St Kilda Road.
Albert Road Reserve Station entrance
After hours and hours of preparation work, the Albert Road Station entrance team are gearing up for a big week next week with the base slab to be poured this Friday. A photo of the steel fixing is at the bottom of this email. Works until 10pm will continue in the entrance as they form out the slab. Once the base slab is complete they will move onto the lining walls, just as we have seen over at the Shrine entrance.
Albert Road legacy construction
The team continue to work away at Kings Way end of Albert Road to construct the linear park which will be the green link from Albert Lake to the Station.
From 17 July until 27 July, eastbound traffic will be shifted to the southern side (Reserve side) so that utility works can take place. We will have several mini sites between the driveways from 50 Albert to St Kilda Road, access to the driveways will be maintained during this time.
St Kilda Road median works – South
Permanent parking removal on the northbound side of St Kilda Road between Kings Way and Bowen Crescent will be in place from 11 July 2023. We will have night works on Tuesday to place the barriers and line mark. Traffic changes will be in place as far down as Arthur Street in order to get vehicles in the correct place. As I mentioned last week, expect the site to be set up similarly to how it is between Park Street and Dorcas. We will first undergo site investigation including NDD and saw cutting, followed by updating the stormwater and gas. Following those work, we will construct the new bike lanes through this section.
On the other side of the road, the last remaining parking to be permanently removed will be gone sometime during the week commencing 17 July. This will also involve a night of works to move the barriers and line mark. Once the parking is removed and the new site set up, we will be able to complete the separated bike lanes in this section.
St Kilda Road median works – North
The pedestrian crossing over to the gardens and across Park Street are still on track to reopen in mid-July, around the 20th. We are asphalting from Park Street to Dorcas next week and getting well on the way to finishing the road works.
Cyclists will merge onto St Kilda Road and share with vehicles from Park Street to Toorak Road.
Station box construction
Testing, commissioning, installation all continues in the station box. Platform screen door testing, commissioning of the lifts, colour back glass installation, drum lights, back-of-house room fit-out, are ongoing.
Shrine Entrance
Precast elements continue to be installed in the shrine entrance. Works continue on the raft slab which will support the future stairs and escalators into the station entrance, as well as the canopy.
Park Street to Albert Road
You may have noticed that late last week, planting has commenced in the median across from Albert Road and Park Street, lovely to see the start of green in the legacy areas!
The bluestone repair works are complete between Park Street and Albert Road, we will spend the first half of next week cleaning up the area before reopening the footpath.
Works on the driveway have been significantly delayed due to the rain the last two weeks.
Thursday 6 and Friday 7 July are forecast to be clear until the afternoon permitting us to complete the works required.
We will close the driveway from 9am to 4pm each day on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 July.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the driveway closure or any access requirements, please do not hesitate to reach out by calling 1800 105 105 or via email at CYP@metrotunnelcyp-dc.com.au
I apologise for the inconvenience caused by these shifting dates. We are aiming to complete these works as soon as possible and will continue to provide updates as soon as they become available.
Happy last day of June, hard to believe we are moving into the second half of the year tomorrow!
Over July, there will be quite a bit of night works in all sections of the job. Works in the station box and station entrances, road works on St Kilda Road including utility connection, tram lights and pole installation, barrier moving, signal connections, and line marking will all take place at night in July.
You may have also noticed CitiPower have been working on the corner of Park Street and St Kilda Road overnight. I have been in touch with them, they are due to complete works on 6 July, if you have any questions or concerns you can reach them at MajorProjects@powercor.com.au or by calling 1300 301 101.
Things are ticking along, here a look at what is happening next week and beyond.
Utility Works – Bowen Lane to Bowen Crescent
Next week in this area we will be working away to complete the station sewer and water connections. The pedestrian diversion I mentioned last week which will shift pedestrians away from Bowen Lane and closer to St Kilda Road (think current arrangement at Park Street to Albert Road) will be in place from 11 July. Pedestrians moving from Bowen Lane to Bowen Crescent will see a longer walk as they will be required to walk around the site. A traffic plan outlining this is at the bottom of this email.
Albert Road Reserve Station entrance
This week, we poured the first section of the base slab in the Albert Road entrance.
Formwork, steel fixing and concrete pours will continue as we complete section by section. As mentioned above, we will be working in the station entrances at night.
Albert Road North construction
No major updated here. Works on the Kings Way end of Albert Road have been a focus for this area and will continue to be into next week. Breakout and demolition of the redundant roadway continue as well as the construction of the legacy linear park. The team are working away to reopen the westbound lane of Albert Road out to Kings Way as soon as possible.
St Kilda Road median works – South
Median works are continuing between Bowen Cres and Toorak Road. The pedestrian crossing at the southern end of the tram stop is on track to reopen in mid-July as planned. We have added some more fencing and signage to this area to help pedestrians get around.
The permanent parking removal on both sides of St Kilda Road and the construction of the separated bike lanes will take place in July. There will be night works in mid-July to move the barriers to make this possible. We will need to reduce the northbound lane of St Kilda Road to one lane in this section to facilitate these works. You will see some changes to the traffic arrangement and line marking from as far down as Arthur Street.
Largely, the site set up will look a lot like it does now between Park Street and Dorcus where a similar scope is taking place. We are aiming to complete the eastern side of St Kilda Road by the end of July, but with the winter rain and encountering some unexpected services, we are trying to make back delays.
St Kilda Road median works – North
No new updates in this area, works continue to progress well and are on track to reopen mid-July.
Station box construction
Testing, commissioning, installation all continues in the station box. Platform screen door testing, commissioning of the lifts, colour back glass installation, drum lights, back-of-house room fit-out, are ongoing. In July, we will start installing the legacy flooring in some sections of the station.
Shrine Entrance
Not a whole lot to update at the Shrine Entrance, a mountain of work is taking place for the raft slabs and columns. Installation of the new walkway and hoarding is ongoing.
Park Street to Albert Road
Rectification works in this area are ongoing and will continue into next week. There will be works in the service pits in front of the Domain Hill on Tuesday which will detour pedestrians around the site.
As mentioned in my email earlier in the week, the works scheduled for Wednesday were unable to take place. The rescheduled date for this works is Monday 3 July from 8am to 4.30pm.
In light of the difficulties faced this week, I wish to inform you that there is potential for these works to run over into Tuesday 4 July from 8am to 4.30pm as well. All efforts will be made to avoid this, however if unexpected challenges are encountered, please be aware of this additional date.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the driveway closure or any access requirements, please do not hesitate to reach out by calling 1800 105 105 or via email at CYP@metrotunnelcyp-dc.com.au
Again, I apologise for the inconvenience caused by these shifting dates.
We will continue to provide updates as soon as they become available.
The Botanica 
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