Condo Media - January 2013 - 44

MAINTENANCE

nitude. More than just the occasional first aid kit tucked away in a closet somewhere, abstract preparations are extremely necessary. Flood insurance, window barriers and knowing how to shut off utilities are just a few of the strategies that must be considered far beforehand.

the defense in the event of an unanticipated emergency or disaster. • Know the building layout. Identify the location and operation of primary water, electrical, fuel, and all electronic communications connections, HVAC and related control points and shutoffs for all buildings. Clear identification of location and use on a master schematic and inventory list will ensure trustees, managers, security staff and vendors are sufficiently familiar with their operation to be able to act effectively in an unanticipated event. • Create a comprehensive vendor master list. Maintain, update and distribute a vendor master list for your property, including plumbing, electrical, energy supply, roofing and carpentry. A qualified public insurance adjuster should also be included. A contact list of specialty vendors and support organizations should also be compiled and distributed, including flood abatement, locksmith, elevator repair, local police and fire, American Red Cross, local hotel/motel facilities (in the event occupancy is foreclosed by a contingency event) and municipal authorities. • Publish emergency police and fire numbers for everyone to see. • Provide contact information for the president and executive committee, including specific “In Case of Emergency” names and numbers. Also include telephone numbers and email addresses for the management office and on-site personnel such as the concierge and superintendent. • Make sure all contact information for the occupants living in your association is up to date, especially their email addresses, and cell and home telephone numbers. As Mr. Roth’s blog showed, the homeowners had to resort to Facebook and Twitter to find out what was hap-

Contingency Plans Need Preparation
Although key areas of focus for trustees and managers alike include association governance, managing capital and maintaining facilities, the ability to lead during contingencies is the where the marks of true leadership lie. At any given moment, a fire or flood can occur without warning. Because of how community associations are arranged, they are extremely vulnerable to these unforeseeable destructive events if only because individual residences are invariably located in close physical proximity to one another. Fires ignite, pipes burst and windstorms tear away roofs and siding. In these events, proper action must be taken with clear purpose, direction and timeliness. Hesitation and delay become exponentially more costly the longer they take.

pening outside of their building. But what about what was happening inside their building? A good idea is to have a community web page where information can be disseminated to everyone during and after disaster. This would greatly alleviate many of the questions and concerns homeowners would have. Spreading information is the most essential tool. • Undertake a property survey at least once annually to identify vulnerable plumbing, freezing or water penetration locations, new system installations or the progress of life cycles/replacement schedules (for roofs, boilers, pumps, security and other high-use/high-stress systems). This will improve the continuity of operations vital to the long-term, reliable occupancy of your property. For property owners and managers, creating a contingency plan for any kind of emergency will ultimately save you time and money, all the while ensuring safety for the homeowners, employees and tenants. Creating a comprehensive and customized plan will help you assess any contingency and duly establish restoration procedures, while ensuring your condominiums can endure any threat nature throws at you. While condominium life in the United States, especially New England, particularly isn't known for extreme climates, the passage of time, the ravages of nature and human error all require continual oversight. Recognizing contingency planning as one of the most vital tasks of leadership and creating appropriate internal procedures in response to these unexpected disasters, even ones as uncommon and extreme as Sandy, is absolutely critical to sustaining the life and comfort of any community. CM Matthew Daniele is with Puritan Flood Restoration, located in Needham, Mass.

Create a Master Plan
Community associations should plan now for contingencies, before a mechanical failure or weather condition compromises the integrity of your property and threatens the safety of its occupants. These preparations cannot be enacted last-minute as they take time, but are worth the effort and are essential to any manager. By creating a master contingency plan with a directory of relevant information, including build/installation dates, useful life cycles, control locations and operating characteristics, property use and security will be better utilized. In compiling and distributing the following relevant information among association trustees, property owners and managers, common knowledge of systems, locations and cautions become part of

CONDO MEDIA • JANUARY 2013

Condo Media - January 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - January 2013