Page 4 - New England Condominium January 2019

4 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM - JANUARY 2019 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM I P TRANSITIONS & AWARDS omas Shields Joins Risk Strategies Company omas Shields of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, has joined Risk Strategies Company, one of the United States’ largest insurance brokers, with over two-dozen spe- cialty practices. Shields, a licensed property and casualty/life & health producer, has over 15 years of experience in the P&C insurance industry, with a focus on real estate, commu- nity associations, development and construc- tion. A 2007 graduate of Nichols College, he holds the Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) designation. He previously worked with Fred C. Church, Knapp Schenck & Company, and Rodman Insurance. In his new position, Shields will be work- ing with Bernie Gitlin in RSC’s Randolph, Massachusetts o ce, and will continue to perform educational workshops that relate to real estate and community association insur- ance issues. RHA Honors Karen Fish-Will Karen Fish-Will of Hingham, Massachusetts, Principal and CEO of Peabody Properties, was honored with the 2018 Rental Housing Association (RHA) President’s Award for Industry Excellence at the organization’s annual reception in Boston on November 28, 2018. Robert A. DeLeo, Speaker of Massachusetts’ House of Representatives, was given the 2018 Rental Housing Association President’s Award for Excellence in Public Service at the event as well. e RHA President’s Award for Industry Excellence and Excellence in Public Service are the organization’s most prestigious awards. Fish-Will was recognized for her community and civic involvement and professionalism in all aspects of multifamily development, ownership, and management of the com- pany founded by her father, Edward A. Fish. Over the last two years, RHA noted, Peabody Properties has added more than 2,400 apart- ment and condominium homes to its proper- ty management portfolio, bringing its overall total to more than 13,000 units. Fish-Will is a member of the Greater Boston Association of Realtors; member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board; member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board Government A airs Committee; and member of the MassHousing Community Services Advisory Committee and Board for New Lease for Homeless Families. She has worked in the industry for over 35 years. Lawrence, MA Project Earns National Award e National A ordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) recent- ly selected Duck Mill, a once-abandoned mill property in Lawrence, Massachusetts, for a 2018 Vanguard Award as the nation’s best example of a major rehabilitation of a historic structure into a ordable housing, the New England Real Estate Journal reported. Once a vibrant manufacturing center that produced heavy canvas along the banks of the Merrimack River, Duck Mill was later abandoned. e property was acquired by Lawrence CommunityWorks (LCW), a non-pro t community development corpo- ration committed to the ongoing revival of the former mill city along the banks of the Merrimack River. LCW began a multi-mil- lion dollar e ort to convert the structure into 73 much-needed a ordable one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and 10,000 s/f of commercial and retail space, according to the Journal. First Realty Management (FRM) of Boston has managed LCW’s residential property portfolio for more than 10 years. As LCW’s property management rm for 11 years, in addition to handling the property’s initial lease up, FRM has served as a resource to LCW throughout the entire development, planning, design and construction process to rehabilitate the historic structure and trans- form it into new housing. e $29 million rehabilitation project has resulted in 30 percent of the apartments being reserved for families that meet extremely low-income guidelines as determined by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Duck Mill contains seven one- bedroom, 37 two-bedroom and 29 three-bed- room apartments. LAW & LEGISLATION Mass. Court Says Rented Parking Spaces Can Be Taxed Parking spaces in Boston that are rented out or sold can be taxed by the city like any other real estate parcel, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled last November. e Boston Globe reported that Boston has been taxing parking spaces as separate pieces of property since 2002. But Michael Rauseo, owner of a number of parking spaces at a Boston condominium, challenged that prac- tice before the state’s Appellate Tax Board. Rauseo argued that “\[ e city\] should be sat- is ed with the money it collects by taxing the common areas of a condominium. A second payment was unjusti ed,” according to the Globe. e Appellate Board sided with the city, and in November, the Appeals Court sided with the board. Where “the parking easements are physically located is a part of the limited common areas of the condominium, the ease- ments themselves were reserved by \[Rauseo\] …and are not (and never were) part of the condominium common areas,” Chief Justice Mark V. Green wrote. e Globe reported that city records show that Rauseo’s parking spaces are assessed at $71,000 each and the tax bill is $372.04 per space. ■ Wednesday, January 16, 2019 IREM: Economic Forecast Luncheon, Past President Recognition, and New Member Installation Flemings Prime Steak House and Wine Bar 217 Stuart St., Boston, MA 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Guest speakers: Jim Elcock, Colliers International President; James McDonough, President, CEO Envision Bank; and Ed Chazen, Professor, Boston College will take a look at the year ahead. To register, visit www.iremboston.org. Thursday, January 17, 2019 8th BSA Design Awards Gala BSA Space, 30 Congress St., Boston, MA 5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Once a year, the Boston Society of Architects gathers to recognize design excellence, the strength of our community, and the many people who make the Boston AEC industry so dynamic. Then we party! Hosted at BSA Space, the hub of the Boston architecture scene, the BSA Design Awards Gala is a chance to reconnect with colleagues, meet your competition, and aspire to do great things in the year to come. For more infor- mation, visit www.architects.org/gala. Friday, January 25, 2019 BOMA: Ski Trip at Loon Mountain Ski Resort 60 Loon Mountain Rd., Lincoln, NH 8:00 a.m. Join BOMA Boston for a great day at Loon Mountain in New Hampshire! Hit the slopes with an all-day ski lift ticket or an activity pass, including snow shoeing, snow tubing, ice skating, zip lining, and cross country skiing. Relax with BOMA friends in a private event space and enjoy a breakfast, a buffet lunch, and an après-ski reception with cash bar. For details, visit www.bomaboston.org. Saturday, February 2, 2019 CAI-CT: Condo, Inc. 1 Belfor Property Restoration 30 N. Plains Industrial Rd., Wallingford, CT 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Do you serve on the board of your association? Are you considering serving? Whether you are a seasoned board member, a recently-elected board member, or unit owner seeking to understand more about how your association runs, this course is for you! CAI Connecticut has gathered together a group of industry professionals—legal, insurance, maintenance, financial and capital planning—to share their expertise. Visit www.caict.org to register. CAL EN D AR J -F 2019 years, in addition to handling the property’s Board Won’t Hold Elections! Q My board has not held an election in 10 years! ey keep re-appoint- ing themselves and appoint their friends when there is a vacancy. How can I stop this abuse of power by my HOA? — Frustrated Owner A “Under Massachusetts law, how a condominium is oper- ated depends upon its bylaws,” says Henry A. Goodman, Partner in Good- man, Shapiro & Lombardi LLC in Dedham, Massachusetts. “Great leeway is given to the dra sperson. erefore, there are some docu- ments that do not provide for elections but rather for remaining board members to ll seek an injunction against them failing to call vacancies. Most documents do provide for such a meeting. elections at speci ed times. Some documents provide that if an election is called and there is fying the date time and place of meeting and no quorum, the remaining board can appoint naming an alternative person to give notice a person to ll a vacancy. “If, however, your documents require an lawsuit they asked the court to reimburse its election and your board never has a meet- ing for such election, then they are breach- ing their duty to the rest of the unit owners. A demand should be made upon to call such a meeting within the time period speci ed in your documents, if any. In the event that the board fails to comply with such a demand (as- suming it is required to do so), then aggrieved unit owners have the right to bring a deriva- tive lawsuit against the board members to “A lawsuit should also seek an order speci- and call the meeting. e person bringing the legal fees and court costs although whether the court will do so is discretionary with it.” ■ PULSE/CALENDAR/Q&A Disclaimer: e answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your speci c circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other quali ed professionals with any questions you may have regarding technical or legal issues. Legal Q A&