Page 38 - New England Condominium May EXPO 2019

38 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM —MAY 2019 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM Management Solutions for Condominium Associations We’ve got it all ! MAINTENANCE EXPERIENCE ACCOUNTING COMMUNICATION sennemanagement.com | 617.314.9400 City. “Some treat you with respect, and some assume that you are out to ruin their lives. Admittedly, architects at large are not a homogeneous group; some are sensitive to the broader context of things, while others are not. I think that you have to treat \\\\\\\[design committees\\\\\\\] with respect if you want to get respect. Listen to their concerns, and try to have a dialog – which isn’t always easy in the short time that you have to present. It also isn’t helpful that clients aren’t always sensitive, and will oft en put their own interests in front of the greater good. I know that I try to im- press upon my clients that there isn’t just one way to get them what they want, and sometimes they listen.” “Design by committee can water ev- erything down, and you may end up with the most boring option,” warns Summer Th ornton, Principal and an interior de- signer with Summer Th ornton Design in Chicago. “Th e best thing to do is empower a couple of people on a board to make the decisions. Th e end result of 10 people with varying viewpoints voicing their opinions is that your building could look generic and boring, instead of highlighting how beautiful it could be; and that doesn’t bode well for resale, or the owners’ enjoyment of the space. “If the whole board wants to be in- volved, let them be involved in the ap- proval of which design fi rms to interview,” she continues. “Aft er that, try to cull down the participants to a smaller group to se- lect the fi rm, and then empower one or two people to approve the vision/concept from the design fi rm selected. Th e entire board should not be involved in the details of the design, or specifi c fabrics, or paint colors. To help the board trust their peers, the best thing to do is align on an overall vision fi rst, wherein the board comes to consensus on a broader concept or mood. Th en, when specifi c choices are made, they can be run by a smaller audience so that there’s more focus and fewer opinions that only muddy the waters.” “I’d advise committees to have crystal- clear parameters for the project from the board, and provide these to the designer, including things like budget, priorities, el- ements that need to be retained, etc.” sug- gests Jana Manning, Principal of Manning Design Group in Asbury Park, New Jersey. “Th e committee should be sure to have a clear process for reaching consensus. Th is is critical to ensuring that the designer receives timely and reliable input. Inspi- ration images proposed by the various committee members must be edited by the committee before being passed to the designer as reliable insight from commit- tee preferences. Also, the designer should have one primary contact – usually the property manager – and there should not DESIGN... continued from page 8 be any other unoffi cial communication with other members.” Sensible delegation of tasks and proj- ects is one of the best things boards can do – not only to reduce the sheer amount of work they have to do alongside their regular jobs and obligations, but to get non-board residents involved and en- gaged with their building or community association. While the old adage about not being able to please everyone goes double for anything aesthetic-related, smart use of a design committee can help make sure your residents feel heard when it comes to the look and feel of their common spaces. Mike Odenthal is a staff writer/reporter with New England Condominium. lems with narrow-gauge plumbing lines dating back to when the building was built in the 1930s. Then about two years ago, without any major change to the plumbing lines, washer/dryers mysteri- ously were once again permissible. Kaye attributes the change to a shift in build- ing demographics toward young families, rather than a sudden miraculous change in the ability of the building’s plumbing to handle the additional wear and tear of in-unit laundry. Types of Alteration Agreements Sacks says she uses three different types of alteration agreements in the buildings she manages: a decorative al- teration agreement, which applies to such things as painting and window treatment installations that require outside person- nel; a minor alteration agreement, which covers such things as ‘in-kind’ kitchen replacements (meaning projects not re- quiring architectural plans where every- thing is basically replaced in situ); and a major alteration agreement, used for major and gut renovations which do re- quire plans, licensing, contractors, and so forth. She also keeps a running log of all work done in all apartments in the build- ings she manages, so she can pinpoint the origin of any problems that arise. “Residents should be able to do their own work, if they’re handy,” Sacks says. “But not if they imperil their neighbors, themselves or the property. Alteration agreements protect everybody, and are meant to keep the building safe.” Why They’re Critically Important Regardless of what you call them, documents in multifamily communities governing how alterations are made, as well as when and by whom, are critical. “It sets out the rights and obligations of both sides and avoids any ambiguity,” says Weisberg. “Without the agreement, the co-op or condominium would be un- able to properly control the job. For ex- ample, how can you claim the job has run over the allotted time if the time limits ALTERATIONS... continued from page 10 See us at Booth 303 See us at Booth 232