Page 6 - New England Condominium March 2020

6 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -MARCH 2020 NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM MAINTENANCE Spring Cleaning Preparing Your Property for Warmer Weather BY COOPER SMITH With the end of winter comes re- lief—gone are the grey skies and slush- puddles, and the promise of balmy days and the like. Specifications need to be way behind the eight ball,” he says. “You and sunshine is in the air. But the board drawn first, and those can either be done can sacrifice both value and quality of of a condo, cooperative, or homeowners by a property manager or an outside con- association cannot be content with sim- ply waiting for April showers to bring cuts we’re going to need during the sea- the long-awaited May flowers. Amenities son, whether the vendor will handle aer- don’t maintain themselves, and neither ating, seeding, weed control; will they nature of the work. A landscaping project does landscaping, pavement, or any of the turn over the ground and the flower beds? undertaken in the fall can literally bear host of other elements a board of trustees Are they going to do seasonal plantings? fruit, or at least the desired effect of your has to keep tabs on. The board that waits We take a look at the budget and review planning, when the spring arrives.” until the last minute to line up its vendors what we did the year prior to determine or survey its property to ascertain what what needs be done now.” work needs to be done can find itself in a tight spot as contractors are booked and Company in Brookline, Massachusetts, en for letting their on-site pool or pond unit owners grow increasingly antsy to advises boards to seek scheduling flex- get outdoors and enjoy their community’s ibility from vendors, when possible. “A lot ier months. But as soon as it gets warm amenities and features. Vendor Vacancies No matter the size or demographic he says. “I think that we’re currently three ing the pond sparkling and pristine, or of your community or building, most weeks ahead of when spring historically the pool open for cooling off. pros recommend getting a head start on started. You need flexibility in agreements springtime projects and maintenance with vendors, so that if you call them and maintenance, or fail to properly aerate around the beginning of the new year— and that includes connecting with the not going to run into push-back because sue is bird control—primarily geese wan- vendors and contractors involved well a contract’s specifications get in the way.” before snow is out of the question. This gives your association a leg up on secur- ing quality work at a fair price. “We start shopping for vendors in Jan- uary or February, when the bidding is a start preparing for the upcoming season the birds don’t come back, at least for a little less competitive,” says Randy Rosen, six months in advance. “If you wait un- president of Rosen Management Services til springtime to engage with landscaping smart enough to stay gone.” in Chicago, Illinois. “This applies to pool vendors, or to consider an improvement management companies, landscapers, project on your grounds, then you will be sultant. We need to anticipate how many ample, you may want to be starting a year Ed Hofeller, president of The Hofeller the winter, an association can be forgiv- of vendors have set start dates, but spring out, owners are going to be hankering for is coming earlier and earlier each year,” these amenities, whether that means hav- say, ‘We need to get started earlier,’ you’re around one,” notes Rosen. “Another is- And Scott Dalley, executive vice presi- dent and chief operating officer of Ac- cess Property Management in Fleming- ton, New Jersey, suggests that boards actually chase them away. And it works; work. For a big planting project, for ex- in advance, as you may want to get ma- terials in the ground, depending on the A Pool and a Pond As water usually freezes over during drift far from their thoughts during chill- “Boards occasionally overlook pond dering around and leaving ‘presents’ on the lawn. There are companies that will police and get rid of ill-behaved birds. Sometimes they will have dogs come and while—although sometimes they’re not In New Jersey, says Dalley, a board must employ a certified pool operator to handle various aquatic business. “When you’re closing an outdoor pool after La- bor Day, it’s important to not only put the cover on the pool to prepare for win- ter, but to do an evaluation of the pool’s systems—the pumps and the assorted lines connected thereto—because, if you need to have work done, or you need to have the pool resurfaced, you’ll want to schedule that so it’s on the pool operator’s agenda for as soon as weather permits,” he says. “The pool season is limited—it typically extends from Memorial Day to Labor Day—and you want your residents to enjoy their amenity. If you have pool maintenance going on halfway into June or until the end of that month, you’re go- ing to have some unhappy homeowners wondering why you scheduled mainte- nance so far into the operating season.” And this extends from actual pool maintenance to aesthetic concerns in and around the pool area. Everything should be handled well in advance. “When you go to your vendors, you want them to do a lot of preventive maintenance, a lot of that pre-check very early on, so anything that’s found as a problem can be resolved before the season actually starts,” says Hofeller. “You’d be surprised how often people are saying, ‘We should put a shrub next to the pool!’ come June. By then, the heat is rolling in, and it’s not a time to plant shrubbery.” Little Wimbledon Some associations, especially those outside of the big cities, where space is more readily available, go big on ameni- ties, installing play areas, or even tennis courts. In order to have these up and run- ning come spring, associations need to (all together now): Start Planning Early. “In the fall, when tennis season has come to an end, the court should be in- spected,” says Rosen. “When the snow starts to melt in late winter, you go over it again, to best ascertain what deteriora- tion may have befallen the amenity dur- ing the winter; like whether the asphalt or the surface has held up.” If a board can have an idea in the fall of what work will need be done prior to re- opening the court the next spring, it can and should schedule that as soon as pos- sible. “If you’re going to do something like resurfacing a tennis court, your window continued on page 12