CooperatorNews Las Vegas Fall 2021

Fall 2021 NEVADA.COOPERATORNEWS.COM continued on page 8 sibility is to make sure the property is well and eff ectively managed. Th e second duty, the duty of loyalty, “requires adherence to confl ict of interest obligations.” In simple terms, that means that a board member must put the community’s welfare before their own. A good example would be that if your brother-in-law owns a roof- ing company, you shouldn’t recommend him for roof repairs to the building. In the more abstract sense, Davidson points out that ad- continued on page 6 Th e reality of climate change is upon us. Weather patterns have changed, and seasons have been altered. We experience more in- tense heat, more frequent, destructive storms, wide-ranging wildfi res, and more destructive cold. Tornadoes—the spawn of confl ict- ing hot and cold air masses—touch down in places they were once almost unheard of. What was scientifi c prognostication only a few years ago has become reality. It’s also a reality that most of the structures that house our homes—particularly high-rise multifam- ily buildings—were not designed for these types of changing climate events. While that’s a chilling thought, today’s communities have no choice but to deal with that reality, as well as plan for what may be ahead. The New Reality For communities built along the nation’s coasts, two of the most pressing and dramatic ramifi cations of climate change today are the rise in sea level and the increasing intensity and frequency of severe storms. More con- cerningly, these two events oft en overlap, causing even greater peril—and now such threats extend even to inland and landlocked communities. In the western half of the country, severe droughts and out-of-control wildfi res compound to cause destruction not just of individual communities, but of entire towns, regions, and natural habitats. One of the unique aspects of life in a condo community is that a building or HOA is in many ways a microcosm of the larger world outside. It can suff er from the same fac- tionalism and partisan bickering as any political entity, only on a much smaller, more in- timate—and therefore potentially more damaging—scale. Confl ict and divisions in condo communities can and oft en do bleed into the community’s administration: the manager and board of directors. Even a seemingly minor confl ict can upend a residential commu- nity if it’s not dealt with diplomatically—so boards and managers must be prepared to step up, step in, and do their part to defuse such issues before they turn into something worse. Board Obligations Michael Davidson is the president of BoardCoach.com, a New York City-based com- pany that specializes in nonprofi t board development and management support, including coaching. Davidson explains that board members of nonprofi t entities (including condo and homeowners associations) have three main duties to which they must adhere: “Th e duty of care, the duty of loyalty, and the duty of obedience.” With regard to the fi rst, the duty of care, “Board members must basically understand what’s going on in terms of the building,” Davidson says, adding that their primary respon- Paper, or electronic? It’s now a choice for everything, from the books we read for pleasure to the books we keep on our asso- ciations and corporations. Even restaurant menus are digital today in the wake of the need for ‘touch-free’ environments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With that said, con- do, co-op, and HOA communities generate volumes of information and data every year, from minutes of meetings to receipts for ex- penses and payments to fi nancial informa- tion on unit and share buyers. But how much of all that really needs to be kept, and for how long? And is there anything that should be kept specifi cally in paper form, as well as digitized? The Practical Approach “We manage many diff erent types of property of varying ages,” says Marty Mo- ran, vice president of Th e Building Group (TBG), a property management fi rm based in Chicago. “Th e newer properties are fully digitalized, including everything from archi- tectural drawings to manuals for equipment systems; but older properties—especially pre-1900 vintage co-ops—are not. Th e blue- prints for these buildings are still essential for us when work needs to be done, so we encourage these properties to digitize their vintage drawings. “Digitization is not expensive and has proven essential for projects like roof re- placements and boiler upgrades,” Moran continues. “Generally, when converting a property’s records to a digital format, we start with the most critical things. One building from the 1920s had the actual minutes from the very fi rst meeting they held when the ownership was formed, as well as photos of the fi rst board, etc. It was all very historical in nature and needed to be preserved. Th ey digitized all those records and have a shadow Managing Confl ict When Boards and Residents Take Sides BY A J SIDRANSKY Climate Change & Residential Communities A New Reality Raises New Challenges BY A J SIDRANSKY Digital Documents Balancing Safe Storage with Accessibility BY A. J. SIDRANSKY 205 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016 • CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED LAS VEGAS’ BIGGEST & BEST COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION EXPO! LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER - LAS VEGAS, NV — WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 10-3:30 FREE REGISTRATION: LVCONDOEXPO.COM LIVE AND IN PERSON continued on page 10