Page 11 - CooperatorNews New York 2022

COOPERATORNEWS.COM
COOPERATORNEWS —
AUGUST 2022
11
ROSENWACH TANK
THE FIRST NAME IN QUALITY CEDAR WOOD TANKS
WE ARE CERTIFIED and IT MATTERS!
718.729.4900
43-02 Ditmars Boulevard, 2nd Fl., Astoria, NY 11105
www.rosenwachgroup.com
Rosenwach is proud to announce that Rosenwach’s tanks are certified to NSF/ANSI 61 by NSF
International, a leading global independent public health and safety organization. NSF/ANSI 61
addresses crucial aspects of drinking water system components such as whether contaminants
that leach or migrate from the product/material into the drinking water are below acceptable levels
in finished waters.
To receive certification, Rosenwach Tank submitted product samples to NSF that underwent rigorous
testing to recognized standards, and agreed to manufacturing facility audits and periodic retesting
to verify continued conformance to the standards.
The NSF mark is our customers’ assurance that our prod-
uct has been tested by one of the most respected indepen-
dent certification organizations. Only products bearing the
NSF mark are certified.
room to get to a final outcome. Involving the
broker from day one to quarterback is the key
to getting a final outcome everyone wants.”
Increasing Understanding, Speeding
Up the Process
“There are few industries that require a
license,” says Fleming, “but for some—like
insurance—it’s essential. Boards and man-
agers don’t require a license in insurance,
so anything they’re communicating may be
presented incorrectly. In light of that, many
boards rely on or demand that their brokers,
attorneys, etc., put together education ses-
sions for their communities. This is good
policy. We do unit education sessions twice
a year for our clients. Rely on your licensed
insurance agent to do the job.”
In the final analysis, insurers and insureds
want the same thing: to settle claims quickly
and fairly, with as little conflict as possible.
Understanding who covers what is the first
step in quick resolution.
n
A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for Co-
operatorNews, and a published novelist. He can
be reached at alan@yrinc.com.
or credentials for board service, anyone in-
terested in serving on their board should at
minimum be able to read and understand
their community’s governing documents
and to apply reasonable judgment in making
governing decisions.
“The expectation is that you come with
a basic intelligence and ability to analyze
problems,” says FirstService Residential
New York vice president and general coun-
sel Ben Kirschenbaum. “You’re not expected
to be an expert, so your role is to seek the
expertise and guidance of your profession-
als—accountants, attorneys, engineers, in-
surance brokers. You’re the ones who make
the decisions, and if you use good business
judgment, your decisions will be upheld le-
gally”—an important assurance in our ag-
gressively litigious society.
Arguably, the most significant profession-
al relationship for a board is with its manag-
ing agent. While boards set policy and make
decisions for their buildings or communities,
the managers are there to carry those deci-
sions out—and for that interdependency to
work smoothly and efficiently, a board has
to be able to communicate, collaborate, and
trust their management professionals. The
relationship between boards and managers
“should be looked upon as a partnership,”
Kirschenbaum says. “How management
works with our boards to achieve both our
goals and theirs is critical. A good relation-
ship makes it easier to get things done.”
Key to that good relationship, adds Ali-
son Phillips, vice president, multifamily
and commercial for FirstService Residential
Massachusetts, is respect: respect among
board members themselves and between
the board and management. “Not everyone
is going to agree on every issue, and that is
WHO’S A GOOD...
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fine,” she says, “But if there is a lack of respect fessionally—they are also increasingly relying to work with board members who are re-
for other people’s opinions, that creates an on their managers to liaise with other build-
ineffective, unprofessional environment for ing professionals and to get the day-to-day way we’ve always done it,’” she says. “I think
everyone involved.” When a manager sees business done. This, says Kirschenbaum, is that personalities that tend to be open to new
a board member or members being disre-
spectful toward other board members or to
the manager or staff, that is a clear indication
that that board is not going to be easy to work boards is becoming complacent—either by ing assessments at the same level for years is
with, notes Phillips.
Kirschenbaum has been interacting with the buck” to future boards to make difficult run,” she continues. “While homeowners
residential boards for the better part of four or unpopular decisions. This type of mental-
decades, and has seen an evolution of sorts ity, say the pros, is also indicative of a “bad in a budget crisis when large projects need to
over that time which he characterizes as board.”
moving toward “higher expectations on both
sides of the equation.” While boards are in-
creasingly made up of professionals—and, Aurora, Illinois, has seen such patterns play
perhaps unsurprisingly, operating more pro-
how it should be.
Change is Good
One pitfall for even well intentioned board members who understand that keep-
blindly deferring to precedent or by “passing not beneficial to the homeowners in the long
Tina Straits, vice president and general
manager of Baum Property Management in happen because the board hasn’t been proac-
out, to detrimental effect. “It’s very difficult
sistant to change, simply because ‘that’s the
ideas work best on a board.”
For example, “It is important to have
may love this initially, it may ultimately result
be done but funding has not been set aside.”
Phillips agrees. “Special assessments often
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