Page 18 - New England Condominium September 2019

Please submit Pulse items to Pat Gale at patgale@yrinc.com 18 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -SEPTEMBER 2019 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM INSURANCE See Our Display Ad on Page 7 RISK STRATEGIES COMPANY (RSC) Bernard Gitlin, C.I.C., L.I.A. 15 Pacella Park Drive, Suite 240 Randolph, MA 02368 (781) 961-0330 • (781) 336-4452 bgitlin@risk-strategies.com Located Throughout New England Servicing the Northeast, Free Estimates Fully Insured, Certified by NADCA 1-800-442-8368 customerservice@ductandvent.com www.ductandvent.com Duct & Vent Cleaning of America, Inc. CONDOMINIUM MARKETPLACE “Th e Directory to Everything You Need” MARCUS ERRICO EMMER & BROOKS, P.C. Representing Over 4,000 Condominium Associations... One Association at a Time 45 Braintree Hill Park, Suite 107 Braintree, MA 02184 (781) 843-5000/Braintree (508) 791-2120/Worcester (401) 351-2221/Rhode Island www.meeb.com | law@meeb.com MEEB_NEC_June14.qxp:Layout 1 5/19/14 12 ACCOUNTANTS Goodman, Shapiro & Lombardi, LLC Concentrating in condominium and real estate law in MA & RI www.goshlaw.com (877)-241-1600 NECondoClassifiedAd7-7-17woNH.indd 1 7/7/2017 1:09:16 PM Flynn Law Group 185 Devonshire St., Suite 401 • Boston, MA 02110 617-988-0633 “Quality Representation at Reasonable Rates - $150/Hr.” Contact Attorney Frank Flynn Frank@fl ynnlaw-ne.com www.fl ynnlaw-ne.com ATTORNEYS Merrill & McGeary 100 State Street, Suite 200 Boston, MA 02109 617-523-1760 • Fax 617-523-4893 Contact: Mike Merrill, Esq. mmerrill@merrillmcgeary.com DUCT/DRYER VENT CLEANING INDOOR AIR QUALITY • VENTILATION • DUCT CLEANING AIR DUCT & DRYER VENT CLEANING 800-893-1117 www.continentalcleanair.com Property Managers • Multi Units • Associations • Condos Continental clean:Layout 1 12/22/09 David A. Levy, CPA, P.C. Certified Public Accountants 20 Freeman Place Needham, MA 02492 Tel: (617) 566-3645 (866) 842-0108 Fax: (866) 681-2377 www.DALCPAPC.net DAL CPA See Our Display Ad on Page 17 BetterVent is a NEW kind of Indoor Dryer Vent. www.adr-products.com 1-888-609-5512 Condominium and Real Estate Law Phone: (781) 817-4900 Direct: (781) 817-4603 Fax: (781) 817-4910 We may be dressed up, but we aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty. www.lawmtm.com See Our Display Ad on Page 5 Solving your problems today & strengthening your association for tomorrow. 6 Lyberty Way, Suite 201 Westford, MA 01886 (978)496-2000 www.perkinslawpc.com restriction must be rationally designed to accomplish a legitimate association objec- tive. Th e process undertaken to adopt or create the restriction must comply with pro- cedural requirements. And the rule cannot confl ict with laws of higher priority such as fair housing laws, telecommunications laws, etc.” What Can You Do About It? Th ere are plenty of options for owners when they fear their board has overstepped. “You’ve got the governing docs,” says one attorney, “and the master deed and bylaws, and rules and regulations and resolutions. You’ve also got state law. What’s the best way to deal with it? Obviously, you have to communicate the issue. Th at should always be in writing. An unhappy unit owner can also attend a meeting and address the prob- lem there, yet always put things in writing to create a record. Sometimes though, sim- ply bringing the matter to the attention of management will help to resolve it. An audi- ence with the board might also be necessary to point out in the documents where what they’re doing isn’t permitted.” Shapiro off ers some evergreen, universal advice: “Board members should remember that their positions on the board are only as secure as the votes that got them there.” Unit owners can always resort to their ultimate remedy and fi guratively say, ‘Off with their heads!’ by voting them out of offi ce. n AJ Sidransky is a staff writer for New Eng- land Condominium and a published novelist. CONDOMINIUM... continued from page 17 A “Massachusetts General Laws Sec 183A is silent as to what times of the day a Condominium may hold board meetings. Additionally, many times the condomin- ium documents are silent as what times board meetings may be held,” says Daniel Lopez, Associate at Perkins & Anctil in Westford, Massachusetts. “Despite these facts, condominium board members are not powerless as to what time future meet- ings will be held. “Many condominium boards are actu- ally moving away from having night meet- ings and are instead holding early morning meetings. Since the condominium statute and many times condominium documents are silent, this is perfectly legal. If however you as a board member are unhappy with the times that board meetings are held, you have a few options: “You can simply make a request to board members to hold the meeting at another time which is more convenient for you and potentially other board members; “You can move to have the condomini- um documents amended so that all future meetings are held on certain times or dates; Q&A continued from page 5 “You can also move to have the docu- ments amended to allow for electronic attendance (teleconference, Skype, Face- Time, etc.); and “As you suggested, you can vote the board members out of offi ce and have them replaced with people who will have the meetings held at a more reasonable time. “Th erefore, if you are concerned with the current board’s motives, you have a few options. Some of these options take longer than others, but politely asking for the meeting to be held at a diff erent time so that you may attend may potentially be the quickest solution to this issue.” n Write to The New England Condominium and we’ll pub- lish your question, along with a response from one of our attor- ney advisors. Questions may be edited for taste, length and clar- ity. Send your questions to: patgale@yrinc.com. Q&A Disclaimer: Th e answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your specifi c circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other qualifi ed profes- sionals with any questions you may have regard- ing technical or legal issues. would consist of 34 condos and an outdoor courtyard space along with on-site and off - site parking for 29 vehicles along with space for bike parking. In a fi ling, the developer stated that the project would create “a more pedestrian-friendly Aspinwall Road by im- proving the streetscape with an improved sidewalk and landscaping.” Developer Cancels 1000 Boylston Street Tower Project Plans to build a 484-foot condo tower over the Massachusetts Turnpike were scrapped by developer Weiner Ventures, Curbed re- ported. Th e project, called 1000 Boylston Street, would’ve consisted of 108 condos along with two fl oors of retail and restaurant space and two levels of parking. In a state- ment published by Boston Business Journal, Weiner Ventures said: “While disappointing to have to make such a decision, we believe it is the correct one, and still paves the way for other future air rights projects to come to fru- ition.” Curbed noted that to build a tower over the Pike would’ve been a rare feat, though it would have also presented logistical and fi - nancial challenges. n PULSE continued from page 4 See Our Display Ad on Page 17 Accounting • Auditing • Taxes • Consulting Worcester 67 Millbrook Street 508-797-5200 Grafton 80 Worcester Street 508-839-0020 Holden 795 Main Street 508-829-5544 M Love Associates, & LLC Certified Public Accountants Serving Condominium Associations mlove 2.25 x 2.5 condo association color 9.19.2017.indd 1 9/19/17 12:59 PM