CAI-GRIE’s mission is: To make a positive contribution to the Common Interest Development Community through education and networking.
connect A Publication of the Greater Inland Empire Chapter of CAI
ISSUE TWO 2013
Common Area Maintenance Watch Your Step! The Cadam Decision Maintenance Matrix: To Repair or Not to Repair? Money Saving Sustainable Landscape Strategies Traffic Jam on Your Roof Why Hire an Arborist?
CLAC Bill Highlights 2013 How To Connect With CLAC A Successful Legislative Day At The Capitol
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connect Table of Contents A Publication of the Greater Inland Empire Chapter of CAI
www.cai-grie.org
OFFICERS Lana Hamadej, LSM, PCAM...................................................... President Avalon Management Group, AAMC Kimberly Lilley, CMCA, CIRMS..........................................President-Elect Berg Insurance Agency, Inc. Matt D. Ober, Esq., CCAL ............................................... Vice-President Richardson Harman Ober, PC Tiffani Reynolds......................................................................... Secretary
Features 4 Watch Your Step! 27 Title 24 Regulatory Changes for HOA Pools The Cadam Decision By Brian D. Moreno, Esq.
By Chris Bostrom
Weldon L. Brown . ...................................... Weldon L. Brown Company
10 Maintenance Matrix: To Repair 28 Chapter Wins National Award or Not Repair? 29 Learning, Lobbying & By Cang N. Le, Esq. Loads of Fun! By Nancy I. Sidoruk, Esq. 12 Using Sustainable Landscape Strategies to Save Money
Linda Cooley.............................Rosetta Canyon Community Association
By Cathy Galland
Rodent Pest Technologies, Inc. Nick Mokhlessin......................................................................... Treasurer ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance Robert Riddick, CMCA...................................................... Past-President Sunnymead Ranch Planned Community Association BOARD DIRECTORS
Dori Kagan, CMCA, CCAM-Emeritus.......................Pacific Premier Bank Linda Krebs ..................................................... Flower Lighting & Electric Dana Mathey, CMCA, AMS, PCAM....... Euclid Management Company Shelly Risbrudt............................................Pilot Painting & Construction
15 Traffic Jam on Your Roof By Greg Borzilleri
Kristie Rose, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, CCAM.Merit Property Management Alisa Toalson, CMCA, AMS, CCAM
Professional Community Management
Chapter Executive Director DJ Conlon, CMCA Editor in Chief Betty Roth, CMCA, AMS, PCAM...Avalon Management Group, AAMC Publications Committee Tom Carrasco . ..Environmental-Concepts Landscape Management, Inc.
18 Common Area Maintenance By Jim McCarthy, Sr., CCAM, CMCA, PCAM
21 Consequences of Water Conservation By Adam Armit
23 Why Hire an Arborist? By Lucas Mitchell
Lana Hamadej, LSM, PCAM .........Avalon Management Group, AAMC Jan Hickenbottom, PCAM, CCAM . ........................................ First Bank Cang Le, Esq. . ........................................ Fiore Racobs & Powers, A PLC Kimberly Lilley, CMCA, CIRMS............................ Berg Insurance Agency Robert Riddick, CMCA.......................................Sunnymead Ranch PCA Mahendra Sami .................................................................... Union Bank
18 CID Bill Highlights in 2013 By CAI-CLAC Committee
Departments 7 President’s Message By Lana Hamadej, LSM, PCAM
8 Editor’s Link By Betty Roth, CMCA, AMS, PCAM
17 Business Partner Spotlight
26 How to Connect with CLAC By Kimberly Lilley, CMCA, CIRMS
31 CLAC Evening at the Winery Photos
Nancy I. Sidoruk, Esq. . ...........................Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC Jasmine Fisher, Esq............................................ Beaumont Gitlin Tashjian Sheeba Yaqoot, Esq. ................................ Fiore Racobs & Powers A PLC DESIGN & PRODUCTION Kristine Gaitan..................Rey Advertising & Design/The Creative Dept.
All articles and paid advertising represent the opinions of authors and advertisers and not necessarily the opinion of either Connect or the Community Associations Institute–Greater Inland Empire Chapter. Information contained within should not be construed as a recommendation for any course of action regarding financial, legal, accounting or other professional services and should not be relied upon without the consultation of your accountant or attorney. Connect is an official quarterly publication of Greater Inland Empire Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI–GRIE). The CAI–GRIE Chapter encourages submission of news and articles subject to space limitation and editing. Signed letters to the editor are welcome. All articles submitted for publication become the property of the CAI–GRIE Chapter. Reproduction of articles or columns published permitted with the following acknowledgment: “Reprinted with permission from Connect Magazine, a publication of the Community Associations Institute of Greater Inland Empire Chapter.” Copyright © 1998–2013 CAI-Greater Inland Empire Chapter. Advertising, articles or correspondence should be sent to: CAI-GRIE Chapter 5029 La Mart, Suite A • Riverside, CA 92507-5978 (951) 784-8613 / fax (951) 848-9268
The Greater Inland Empire Chapter of CAI hosts educational, business and social events that provide the Chapter’s Business Partners various opportunities to promote their companies’ products and services to Community Association owners and managers serving the Community Association Industry. It is expected that all participants in Chapter events — whether they be educational, business or social — will conduct themselves in a professional manner representative of their business or service organization so as not to detract from the experience of others seeking to benefit from their membership in the Chapter.
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By Brian D. Moreno, Esq.
Watch Your Step! The Cadam Decision Community associations are duty-bound to inspect and maintain the common areas. Failure to comply with these duties can result in deterioration of common area components, property damage or even personal injury. Such failure will no doubt cost an association thousands or in some cases even millions of dollars.
F
or example, if an association fails to properly maintain its common area walkways, a resident could slip and suffer significant injuries. In this regard, community associations need to ensure they are in full legal compliance with their duties relative to inspecting and maintaining common area components and other property under their control. That said, courts in California recognize that not everyone is perfect, not even a community association. A California appellate court ruled recently that a community association’s inspection and maintenance practices need not be perfect and not every minor defect needs to be repaired; however, as will be explained in this article, all associations should be proactive and act reasonably when discharging its duties.
The Decision
In Cadam v. Somerset Gardens Townhouse HOA, a community association was sued 4 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
Common Area Inspections Should Be Frequent and Well-Documented
by a resident (Ms. Cadam) who tripped and fell on a crack in a common area walkway. Ms. Cadam was wearing business attire, including high-heeled shoes at the time of the accident. The walkway was clean and dry, and it was a bright day. With respect to the crack, the difference in height between the two walkway segments was between three-fourths and seven-eighths of an inch. Before the accident occurred, the board president performed an inspection of the development and tripped over a different sidewalk separation that was about one-half of an inch in depth and instructed the gardener to place a warning flag near the crack. Moreover, the board president admitted that any defect over one-half inch in height was probably dangerous. Ms. Cadam suffered significant injuries from the accident and blamed the association for failing to maintain the walkway appropriately. The case went to trial and the jury awarded Ms. Cadam $1,336,197 in damages. However, the judge decided to set aside the jury verdict and ruled in favor of the association in light of the circumstances and the size of the crack. The court found that the defect (i.e., the crack) was trivial and that the association was not obligated to maintain such a minor defect. The Cadam decision stands for the proposition that community associations are not required to maintain common area in a perfect condition and associations are not required to maintain minor or “trivial” defects. While the Cadam decision provides a certain level of protection to community associations, common area defects are not always going to be considered “trivial.” Thus, associations should err on the side of caution when discharging its duties relative to common area inspections and maintenance.
While the Davis-Stirling Act requires community associations to conduct visual inspections of common area every three years, obviously, common area inspections should occur more frequently. Even with the protections provided for in Cadam, community associations should implement regular and frequent inspections of common area components – these inspections should be well-documented so that if an accident occurs, the association can prove compliance with the CC&Rs. Likewise, community associations should consider retaining a qualified contractor or other expert who will advise the association about the frequency of the inspections and develop a checklist with respect to the particular components being examined. Indeed, community associations should implement a proactive approach to inspecting and when appropriate, repairing common area components. Whether a resident trips on a crack in a walkway, falls on an item that is left in the common area, or fails to correct a plumbing leak that is continuing to cause damage, the community association must act reasonably and proactively to prevent such occurrences and limit liability. Consistent common area inspections will make the development safer, will lower the risk of more expensive repairs, and will reduce the likelihood of injuries and expensive lawsuits.
Associations Have a Duty to Warn
Obviously, communities should strive to correct defects before residents are forced to complain; however, to the extent a defect is identified and the association is unable to remedy the situation right Continued on page 6 connect with grie • issue TWO 2013
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Watch Your Step! Continued from page 5
away, the association should notify the membership in writing or by marking the area of concern. In Cadam, the board president inspected the development with the association’s gardener. During the inspections, the two of them identified other sidewalk separations that – in their view – required repair. They placed warning flags at those locations. Tellingly, the president did discover
and was aware of the crack that Ms. Cadam tripped over; however, the president determined that the crack was insignificant and did not place a warning flag at that location. While not found in the Cadam appellate court opinion, one can surmise that the justices gave a certain level of credence to the president’s decision not to place a warning flag at the crack on which Ms. Cadam tripped. The fact that the association implemented a system wherein the
walkways were being inspected for cracks presumably helped the association’s position.
Conclusion
Associations can take solace in the fact that – according to the Cadam decision – associations need not be perfect. However, associations must still be reasonable and proactive with respect to inspecting and maintaining the common areas. If significant defects exist and are not repaired, the association can be held liable for injuries that occur. Therefore, associations should err on the side of caution with respect to defects that are identified and otherwise act appropriately to prevent harm.
Brian D. Moreno is a Senior Associate Attorney with the law firm of Richardson Harman Ober PC. He specializes in the representation of community associations throughout southern California.
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PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE
G
reetings and welcome to the second issue of the 2013 Connect magazine. I along with many others have just returned from the CAI National Conference in beautiful San Diego feeling refreshed and energized. I am so impressed by the level of professionalism within our industry and Lana Hamadej, LSM, PCAM the annual conference does a great job in reinforcing that. I want to congratulate our Chapter’s Legislative Support Committee (LSC) for being selected to receive an Achievement Award in the Chapter Management and Development category. Nancy Sidoruk, Committee Chair, Robert Riddick, Immediate Past-President and DJ Conlon, Chapter Executive Director proudly accepted the award on behalf of this hard-working committee. Congratulations to every member of this committee for their dedication. I would be remiss not to acknowledge the hard work of our other committees. Our Billiards Committee put on a great event in March at Stix, with a second Billiards tournament scheduled for later this year. The Business Partners Committee went all out for our CAI-GRIE IE Olympics. The event was moved to GameWorks in Ontario
where we had the entire place to ourselves. It was great fun and I am always amazed at the good natured competitive spirit of our members. And on the education front, the Manager Committee and the Education Committee came through, as always, with their excellent Mini Trade Show Luncheons in March and April. The Education Committee coordinated the everpopular Case Law Update and the Manager Committee staged a Carnival in the Park while reminding us that life is a juggling act, but we really can get it all done. This was great information in our ever-busy worlds. Thanks to all ̶ your hard work and leadership is what makes our Chapter what it is. In closing, I want to remind everyone that CAI-GRIE offers countless opportunities for education, networking and fun. To benefit from your membership, you must participate. I look forward to seeing all of you at a future event. Please be certain to check out our chapter website cai-grie.org for a full calendar of 2013 events. As your 2013 President, please don’t hesitate to let myself or any member of the board know how we can be of assistance to you. Thanks for this great opportunity! Best Regards, Lana Hamadej, LSM®, PCAM®
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EDITOR’s LINK This was a very busy beginning of 2013. We have had so many very fun and valuable events within just the month of April alone. The weather has been so beautiful which was evident when attending the CAI Betty Roth National Conference in San Diego. CMCA, AMS, PCAM Congratulations to our chapter’s Legislative Support Committee who was honored to receive an Achievement Award. As a member of this committee, I am proud to work alongside so many dedicated members of the GRIE chapter. Kudos to everyone on this committee for a job well done. The Billiards Tournament and the GRIE Olympics were especially fun this year. Both committees did an awesome job. Attending the CLAC Legislative Day at the Capitol was especially rewarding. We lobbied our legislators and were able to network with many fellow CAI members. The capitol is beautiful this time of year. This issue presents a series of articles focusing on
8 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
Common Area Maintenance. All the articles that were submitted are very informative. They touch on cracks in the pavement; maintenance matrix; sustainable landscape; roof maintenance; pool and spa maintenance and the advantages of hiring an arborist. We hope you will find the information in this issue of Connect useful and we appreciate your continued support of the GRIE-Chapter and CAI. The topic for our next issue is Board Meetings. We will be bringing you articles on budget tips; meeting protocol; stories from the board room by a board member; board meetings and minutes. We would like your input as well. The deadline for submitting articles for the next issue is August 1st. It is very rewarding to have an article published and can also serve for points in achieving your accreditations. If you are interested in submitting an article, our policy and guidelines are available on the chapter website or feel free to email me at manager@mysunnymead.com and I will be happy to send you a copy.
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By cang n. le, ESQ.
Maintenance Matrix To Repair or Not to Repair?
T
here is a general presumption under California law that homeowner associations are responsible for maintaining common areas and owners are responsible for maintaining their separate interest and exclusive use common areas appurtenant to their separate interest, unless the declaration provides otherwise. (California Civil Code Section 1364.) Whether the declaration provides otherwise can be very difficult to determine. Many declarations and governing documents provide little guidance in determining who is responsible for maintaining specific components. Unless the declaration contains a specific laundry list of maintenance items and states who is responsible for each component, there are usually ambiguities and grey areas when it comes to figuring out whether it is the association or owner who is responsible.
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The case of Dover Village Assn. v. Jennison, (2010) 191 Cal. App.4th 123, provides one means to interpret whether a declaration provides otherwise when it comes to maintenance responsibilities. That case stood for the proposition that the specification of one thing impliedly excludes another: “expressio unius est exclusio alterius.” For those that may have slept through Latin 101, that simply means that if some things are specifically included, then it may impliedly exclude everything else. For example, a declaration for a condominium project may specifically identify patios, balconies, and garage doors as exclusive-use common area and provide that the owners are responsible for maintaining such exclusive-use common area. By expressly stating that patios, balconies, and garage doors are exclusive-use common area, the Dover Village court reasoned the declaration impliedly excludes all other components for such definition. Thus, one interpretation may be that owners are only responsible for those items specifically identified. But not all declarations and definitions are created equal, and ambiguities abound. Even if a component such as a patio is defined within exclusive use common area, does that mean every part of the patio is the owner’s responsibility? Does that mean the inside and outside surfaces? How about the walk way that leads to the balcony or an entry gate to the balcony? An association’s past maintenance practices may also help resolve some ambiguities within the declaration. (See Starlight Ridge South Homeowners Assn. v. Hunter-Bloor (2009) 177 Cal.App.4th 440, 447-448.) Other considerations may include whether an association has reserved for such maintenance, whether a component only serves a single unit, or whether the owner has undertaken
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modifications or improvements to the component. The foregoing is a small illustration of the complexities in figuring out who is responsible for maintaining a specific component. While the legal jargon and analysis may be fun for lawyers to discuss at the firm holiday party, I suspect the average owner would rather watch paint dry on the common area walls than try to figure out what a declaration does or does not provide when it comes to maintenance responsibilities. Without trying to sound too much like a late-night infomercial, a very handy-dandy tool and guide is a maintenance matrix. Like declarations and associations, a maintenance matrix can come in many shapes and sizes; but the general idea is that a maintenance matrix provides a list of components and sets forth whether the owner or association is responsible for its maintenance. A maintenance matrix is generally put together by a lawyer (hopefully one with some experience in dealing
with homeowner associations and maintenance issues) after a thoughtful review of the declaration and project. A maintenance matrix can be specifically tailored for a project and list specific components within a project. Having the association's attorney meet with the board, walk the project, and discuss past and current maintenance practices can be part of the process in preparing the maintenance matrix. While a maintenance matrix may not answer all the existential questions of the universe, it can provide a useful guide for homeowners and managers when it comes to determining who is responsible for a specific component within a project; and may save some headaches down the road. Cang N. Le is an attorney at the law firm of Fiore, Racobs & Powers, and handles both transactional and litigation matters for homeowners associations.
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By cathy galland
Using Sustainable Landscape Strategies To Save Money Most HOA properties have “ornamental” landscapes, meaning they require many resources: Water, money, fertilizer, chemicals, fuel and labor. Ornamental landscapes also create costly exterior maintenance issues: Damaged pavement, rotted wood fencing, faded curb paint, algaestained sidewalks, and waterstained windows. The good news is that sustainable landscaping offers a positive alternative,
12 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
encompassing both landscape and exterior maintenance concerns. In a sense, sustainable landscape is a holistic approach to property management – all elements factor into finding solutions. For example, addressing overwatering problems can eliminate potential slip and fall liabilities, save money on water and plant replacement, reduce pest control infestations, and reduce exterior maintenance costs.
Sustainable Landscape and Your Budget
Your maintenance cost is directly tied to these resources: Water: High-water-use plants like Star Jasmine result in high water bills, and sometimes water penalties. Fertilizer: Many drought-tolerant plants need little fertilizer due to horticultural needs. Chemical Pest Control: Minimize or eliminate plants susceptible to pest control problems in order to reduce costs, and public exposure/waterway pollution. Fuel: Plant designs that require constant trimming use a lot of fuel for equipment. Labor: The more you trim, the more time you need in the contract.
reducing color, where a perennial that has similar water requirements is used to replace part of the annual color, and still provides interest. Turf can be replaced with various materials: Perennial shrubs and groundcovers; rock or mulch; hardscape; and of course, meadow
grass and artificial turf. Depending on your water district, you may be eligible to participate in turf removal rebate incentive programs. Most water districts that work with the Metropolitan Water District provide a $1 per square foot rebate, although every district has different maximum Continued on page 14
The Path to Sustainable Landscape
There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit in landscape that will reduce costs, and conserve resources. Remember – in water conservation, it’s WHAT you’re watering and HOW you’re watering it. Annual color requires plenty of money, water, fertilizer and care. By using perennials to modify the colorscape, you can reduce these resources. This requires attention to several key factors: Irrigation: Different plants require different water regimens and occasionally irrigation renovation to accommodate new, low-water-use material. There is usually a cost to renovate irrigation, which can be avoided if the new material has similar requirements. Signage: Some plants that are taller may block signage, so care must be taken in design to avoid this. Interest: Whatever plants replace annual color, they must provide a similar effect – constant interest in the form of color, flowers or texture. Options include eliminating annual color completely in favor of perennials such as Roses or Lantana, as well as
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Using Sustainable Landscape Strategies Continued from page 13 allowable rebate amounts. In terms of plant replacement, it’s difficult to replace your entire landscape at once (unless your HOA has just won the lottery), so the best recommendation would be to take a look at your overall property, put together a plan which identifies the weak areas, and address them over time as your budget allows. Options here include removing turf in small parking lot islands, berms or unused areas, as well as replacing highwater-use plants like Star Jasmine, Agapanthus or Daylilies with low-
Doing an audit of your irrigation system is not usually free, but is inexpensive and will identify all inefficiencies and weak spots. water-use plants on an ongoing basis as your budget allows. Often you end up with money in your landscape budget at the end of a quarter or year, and this can be used to renovate a small area.
The Low-Hanging Fruit of Irrigation
Much money and water can be saved by taking a look at your irrigation controller and making minor timing adjustments according to the weather. This costs nothing, and usually can save at least 10-15% on water right away. Doing an audit of your irrigation system is not usually free, but is inexpensive and will identify all inefficiencies and weak spots: Broken or leaking heads, lateral lines and valves, improper coverage, flood irrigation, etc. Once this has been completed, you can sit down with your landscaper, discuss which areas are highest priorities, and 14 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
prepare a plan of attack to address the issues in order of importance and budget allocation.
Irrigation Renovation
Once you complete the lowhanging fruit of irrigation cost savings, you’re ready to look at more substantial irrigation enhancements: If you have had an audit prepared, this will guide your renovations to the irrigation system. It may be most feasible to budget for the repairs over several years, doing whatever your reserve study and budget will allow, whether its $2,000 per year or $10,000 per year. Smart Controllers have been touted as the water conservation savior. However, prior to purchasing any “smart” controller, make sure your irrigation system has been renovated as much as possible, bringing the system to an 80-90% efficiency rate. Smart controllers usually cost from $1,500 to $6,000, and if you don’t renovate your irrigation system before putting in a new controller, your landscape may suffer with the reduced water allowed. As noted above, most water districts participate in rebate programs. Rebates are generally offered for sprinkler heads, rotors, and irrigation controllers. Rebate amounts will vary by district, and may require inspections prior to application. In the end, sustainable landscape is not about living in a world without flowers or grass. It is about using plants and practices that make sense and allow you to get the most bang for your buck on the resources available to you.
Cathy Galland, LEED AP O+M, is a Business Development Associate with The Brickman Group. She joined Brickman in July 2012 after having worked in Orange County as an HOA manager and landscape account manager. She is active in CAI-GRIE, & a member of several Southern California chapters of IREM and BOMA. Mrs. Galland has spoken at BOMA and IREM events, taught classes for BOMA-OC and BOMA-GLA, and serves on the Board of Directors for BOMA Inland Empire.
Traffic Jam on Your Roof! It’s Not the 91 Freeway… It May Be Worse! By Greg Borzilleri
O
rdinarily people would not associate roof and gutter systems with the traffic jams many of us experience on a daily basis on California freeways. However, at times, building roof and gutter systems can have a great impact on our daily lives. In general, everyone understands that freeway traffic is a way of life for Californians. If you could earn a degree in traffic, most Californians would have earned a Ph.D. by the time they finished high school. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about our understanding of the traffic flow of water on our roofs. One of California’s greatest perks is our weather. However, it is also one of our biggest detriments when we start talking about our roofs and gutters. Everyone has heard “it never rains in California.” That statement is true… until it does… El Niño anyone? And yet the average amount of rainfall in cities such as Riverside (10.3 inches per year) classifies that city barely above the “desert” category. This has caused us to fall into the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality when it comes to our roofs and gutters. We don’t think about them until there is a problem, or in most cases – a leak. Just like our freeways, our homes and buildings are designed with designated “on and off ramps.” Areas such as ridges, hips or the “field” of the roof would be considered “on ramps” where the roof Continued on page 16
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Traffic Jam on Your Roof Continued from page 15
is designed to have rainfall enter onto the roof surface. Areas such as valleys, crickets and gutters would be considered “off ramps” that are designed to channel water off of the building. And just like on our freeways, it is imperative that we have very limited interruptions in the “traffic flow.” We need to have the water get on the roof, get channeled down the valley, to the gutter, to the downspout, down the building to be ultimately pushed away from the structure as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our buildings are created with multiple independent components working hand in hand to form one waterproof system or shell. You can pick any “on- or off-ramp” any backup in our “traffic flow” is going to cause damage – usually to another component. Many times a clogged valley, cricket or gutter will force water to go back up the roof surface 16 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
When we are at the point of having an interior leak, no competent, licensed roofing company can go out and just remove debris without identifying and fixing the actual water entry point. until it creates another “off ramp.” Eventually that exiting water will result in an interior leak. Although the original problem was caused by the debris on the roof, the roof may have had nothing wrong with
its components – the water simply needed an exit. The roof/gutter debris caused the traffic jam and the leak was the resulting accident… and we all know accidents cost money! Now we run into several different issues with the above scenario. When we are at the point of having an interior leak, no competent, licensed roofing company can go out and just remove debris without identifying and fixing the actual water entry point. So we now have to remove the roof tiles (or shingles) to check the felt and trace the water intrusion to the source. Sometimes we are removing up to 1200 lbs. of material just to find out that the leak was caused by roof debris, or by a vent pipe’s sealant that wasn’t maintained. So the leak that cost the association $850-$1200 dollars to repair (not to mention the interior component damage repairs that can be in the thousands as well), could have been prevented just by having the association’s roofs and gutters inspected and maintained for a fraction of the cost. We have all seen the car broken down on the side of the freeway. How much money did that driver lose by not performing the preventative maintenance necessary to keep his car running? The same is true for our roofs and gutters. By having our roofs and gutters inspected on an annual basis, and performing the necessary maintenance regularly with licensed professionals, you will save your associations money and possibly have your components out-live their life expectancy, rather than having them break down prematurely on the side of the road.
Greg Borzilleri is Director of Marketing and an Estimator with PCW Contracting Services and can be contacted at gregborz@pcwservices.com
Robert - Okay, so let's start at the beginning. How did South Shore Building Services come about? Vickie – It was actually an idea that my husband, Ty (Eubanks), came up with, fresh out of high school. He started the business back in 1979 as a maintenance company, with just a bucket and a handful of tools, and built it up slowly over the years. Almost 34 successful years later we specialize in not only commercial window cleaning, but a lot more.
business properties. Second, we realized that there were significant opportunities for Business-to-Business (B2B) relationships being built with both management companies and other CAIBusiness Partners, and third, we saw an opportunity to showcase some of our newer services, like restoration and protection services, that we felt would have real benefit-impacts on our clients. Robert – I see. So you really saw a benefit to partnering with CAI as a means to significantly expanding your business?
Robert – Like what, for instance? Vickie – Well, we specialize and provide to the industry, services that include waterproofing, pressure washing, steam cleaning, restoration and protection, sealants and hardscape maintenance, and even bird abatement. We are one of the leading companies in the country that now offers restoration and protection services to the commercial industry that is unsurpassed in quality and duration.
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outh Shore Building Services, Inc. is one of our many business partner companies who made the decision in 2011 to join our chapter as new members. In business since 1979, South Shore Building Services provides the commercial building industry with professional window cleaning, pressure washing, steam cleaning, waterproofing, metal cleaning and restoration as well as many other exterior building maintenance services. Our interview was conducted with Ms. Vickie Eubanks, VP of South Shore Building Services, Inc. and wife of its founder and President, Mr. Ty Eubanks. and conducted by Robert Riddick, immediate Past-President of the Chapter, and member of the Connect magazine committee. Robert – So Vickie, first, thank you, for taking the time to do this interview. I know we’ve been trying for a while to schedule the time, and I can't believe we're finally doing it! Vickie – Not a problem, Robert. As you know, that flu-like bug that was going around recently really kept a lot of us from doing a lot of things we had already planned, including this interview. And, like you, I'm glad we're finally doing it.
Robert – I'm impressed. So, let me get this straight, your husband started the business right out of high school with almost nothing, and today you guys are nearly at the “top of your game” in the services you provide? Vickie – Absolutely! Robert – Okay, so how did you get involved with CAI-GRIE? Vickie – We had heard about CAI and checked it out, and found out that it just made good business-sense to partner with an organization like CAI. We contacted the office and ended up doing a “Breakfast-in-the-Park” presentation as a new business to introduce to the members who attended that breakfast meeting. From that presentation, which I later found out was really well-received, we knew that partnering with CAI was a good decision. No, it was a great decision. Robert – So, having made the decision to join our Chapter, what did you see that you could offer CAI, as a new Business Partner? Vickie – Well first, we saw that there was a real need for our services within the HOA industry, as opposed to primarily looking at just commercial
Vickie – Most definitely. And, before you ask, we also had expectations from CAI, in the way of South Shore Building Services becoming a member of the CAI family. We expected, and weren't disappointed, by the support CAI offers us through being able to showcase our company at the monthly CAIsponsored educational luncheons put on by the Chapter, and we appreciate the advertising opportunities offered by CAI through the Chapter magazine, as well as through the various sponsorships offered to us. Robert – So, it sounds like the partnership with CAI-GRIE has proven to be a good investment after all? Vickie – Almost, except I would take away the word “good”, and replace it with the word “great”! We have absolutely no regrets having made the decision to become members of CAI-GRIE, and expect to be with you guys for a long time. Robert – Well, with that, I think we've reached a great way of ending this interview, and let me just add that even though it took a while for us to finally 'connect” for this interview, it was IMHO well worth the wait. Thank You, Vickie, and we'll look for you and your company at an upcoming CAI-GRIE event. Vickie – Robert, you're welcome, and you can count on seeing us there. Robert Riddick is the immediate Past-President of the CAI-GRIE Chapter and currently serves as President on the Board of Directors at Sunnymead Ranch PCA.
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BY JIM McCARTHY, SR., CCAM, CMCA, PCAM
Common Area Maintenance Common interest developments (CIDs) or homeowner associations are responsible for the elements of that particular community that are held in common with all of the owners. For that reason the association’s primary responsibility is to provide common area maintenance to those elements.
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any homeowner associations hire a community association management firm to act as the managing agent for their community and at the board’s direction provide oversight for the common area maintenance of the community. Therefore, it is important for the community association manager to development a working knowledge in a number of different trades such as landscape maintenance, pool maintenance, roofing, painting, structural repair asphalt maintenance as well as the infamous — people, pets and parking. Speaking from the perspective of a community association manager, we must all fully understand the role that we play in assisting the board of directors in providing the 18 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
common area maintenance necessary to maintain the common elements. While not being an expert at any one of the aforementioned trades it is inherent upon us as community association managers to develop a working knowledge of those trades in order to facilitate the maintenance of these items through the contracted vendor. Periodically conducting a walk-through or “property inspection” is one means of overseeing the general conditions for which the association is responsible to maintain. Working with many different vendors in many different areas of responsibility is a task that is undertaken by the community association manager and it is necessary that in accordance with the standards established by the community that the manager work
towards maintaining and improving on those standards. While several homeowner associations may have very similar responsibilities relative to common area maintenance, it is important to identify the standards and expectations of each community as they can vary greatly. Community association managers must keep abreast of the latest maintenance techniques, new products, and services available to the community. Continuous interaction is required for the community association manager to successfully oversee a number of different vendors at the same time. The best way to accomplish this is through two-way communications between the manager and the board as well as the manager and
It is very easy for a community association manager to fall into the trap of being perceived as the “expert” on all subjects related to the maintenance of the community.
the appropriate vendor. It has been my experience that many vendors’ level of service is of a much higher quality and consistency when the community association manager provides consistent and continuous oversight of their work. It is also very important for community association managers to remember what they are not and that is that they are not to develop job specifications for contracts for trades which they are not licensed to represent. It is very easy for a community association manager to fall into the trap of being perceived as the “expert” on all subjects related to the maintenance of the community. This is certainly not the case nor is it the role of a community association manager to assume. A good
community association manager will avail themselves of the opportunities for continuing education as it relates to community associations in general and common area maintenance in particular. Working hand-in-hand with the numerous vendors in the community association industry is certainly one of the best ways to gain experience and knowledge. Most of the vendors in this industry are very anxious to assist the community association manager in gaining knowledge about their particular trade so as to be able to understand the nature of the services provided and therefore to be able to work better towards resolving issues of maintenance. In a sense, the community association manager holds the vendors’ job in his or her hands
and must be aware at all times that they are the link between the board of directors and themselves and as a result, the manager is responsible to communicate on a regular basis, the wishes and directions of the board of directors to the appropriate vendor. Conversely, the maintenance vendors also hold the community association manager’s job in his or her hands as managers go forth and request proposals and are responsible for recommendations to the board for each vendor who wishes to provide a service to that community. In that sense, we are graded on the basis of the performance of each individual vendor. In the mid 1980s the state of California mandated that community Continued on page 20 connect with grie • issue TWO 2013
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associations conduct a reserve study. This “study” is intended to provide boards of directors with information on the requirements for the maintenance of the common areas of the community. This report identifies the estimated remaining life and the projected cost of replacing any element that has less than 30 years of useful life remaining. These studies have become a very important guideline for homeowner associations to use in budgeting and for the scheduling of necessary repairs or replacement of those common elements listed. Boards of directors face a very daunting task in the current economic times to be able to meet the maintenance requirements of the common area elements. The cost for the maintenance and replacement of these elements continues to escalate even in a down economy. In addition to that, many of these common elements are beginning to approach or have reached their maximum useful life and are in need of replacement. Many of these such as roofs represent significant expenses for the community associations today. Additionally, we have seen significant increases in the cost of water and this significantly impacts the association’s ability to maintain its lush landscaping. For this reason, for the last several years — associations and their community association managers have been reviewing the ability of their associations to introduce more drought-tolerant landscaping into the community. As many of the associations in this area continue
to age and become in need of major common element replacements, it is necessary to ensure that the funds are available for these items. We all continue to look for ways to maintain and improve the common area in keeping with the current standards.
Mr. McCarthy is the owner and President of Condominium Management Services, Inc. Located in Claremont, California, Condominium Management Services currently represents 180 Homeowners Associations, totaling over 15,000 residential units. A Community Association manager since 1982, Mr. McCarthy holds the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) designation from the Community Association’s Institute (CAI), the Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM) designation from the California Association of Community Managers (CACM), the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) from the National Board of Certification of Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM). Mr. McCarthy is a Past President of the Community Associations Institute Greater Inland Empire Chapter and is a founding member of the Chapter as well as a member of the Chapter Hall of Fame. Mr. McCarthy is a member and Past President of the Claremont Kiwanis Club. Mr. McCarthy lives in a Homeowners Association in Chino, California with his wife of 44 years, JoAnn. He is also very proud of the fact that his two sons, James Jr. and Michael are Community Association managers with his firm.
Steven G. SeGal InSurance aGency, Inc. Over 33 years of experience specializing in: Condominium Associations • Planned Unit Developments • Hard to Place Associations Earthquake Coverage • High Rise Condominiums • Workers Compensation
Toll Free: 800-345-8866 • Toll Free Fax: 800-262-0973 Email: SSegal@farmersagent.com • www.farmersagent.com/ssegal 20 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
Consequences of Water Conservation By adam armit
Let’s face it: ten years ago most landscape contractors overused irrigation water. Water was cheap, board members and property managers desired our inland landscape to look as lush as their coastal counterparts, and our irrigation systems were woefully inefficient. You see, the moderate overwatering of a landscape will result in very few ill effects, but poorly managed or drastic reduction in water use to reach conservation levels, well that is a different story. Seemingly overnight, our economy crashed, water rates soared, and the cost to irrigate nearly tripled in some areas. The demand was extremely high to reign in all costs and the water bill at most associations was the single largest line item to cut. The landscape industry took note. We corrected much of our gross overwatering and many of us hired true water managers, started water management divisions, and we all began to tout our water-saving abilities. The only problem was, that in most well-established landscapes, the plants had grown accustomed to overwatering and their roots were shallow. Without a long-term plan to slowly reduce water coupled with a solid agronomic plan, plants and trees may have suffered. Many symposiums, lunch-and-
learn presentations, and board meetings later, talk about water management, discussions of rebates, ET Controllers, and high efficiency-nozzles has almost become cliché to the experienced property manager. Rather than writing another “water savings” article, it is about time we look at the other side of the issue and discuss the consequences of underirrigation and drastic reductions to reach conservation levels in the Inland Empire.
Consequence Number One
Your landscape just doesn’t shine anymore: Plants are thirsty and they need water to grow and thrive. When they do not get enough water, they wilt. If left in a wilted state too long, the plant will die. However, if the plant is allowed to wilt, but is revived repeatedly, it will trigger a host of reactions from the plant. One response is the stimulation of root growth. If the soil is dry on the surface, a plant will grow roots downward in an effort to find more water. Given that most mature landscapes had shallow roots (due to overwatering), the severe reduction of water was a shock to them. The plants had to adapt or perish. Another reaction Continued on page 22
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Consequences Continued from page 21
by some plants is to shed some of its leaves in an effort to reduce the loss of water. (Side note: the loss of water through the leaves of a plant is called Transpiration. (That is the “T” in the often talked about “ET” Irrigation Controllers.) If this plant cannot gain enough water through root production, or conserve enough through leaf drop, it will put up defense number three, and that is to go dormant. This is where it will drop all its leaves and go into a sort of suspended state, in hopes that water will return later. Simply put, if your landscape is underwatered, the plants will look wilted, or even lose their leaves. The landscape just won’t look as good as it once did. Properly managed and timed irrigation schedules will minimize these issues even at conservation levels.
Consequence Number Two Your landscape is now more susceptible to pests and disease:
Just like us humans, when plants are stressed they are more susceptible to a plethora of diseases and pests. Aphids, borers, Xylella fastidiosa (Pierce’s disease), fusarium, mites, and others have all become more and more prevalent in our landscapes. This has led to the use of a broader range of chemical treatments, changes to some of our horticultural practices, and made us become more proactive in our pest and disease management. Not only are stressed plants more susceptible to these issues, they are also less capable of mounting a defense. Unfortunately, it is no longer an uncommon sight to see large, mature plants and trees, in the middle of routinely under-watered landscape environments, die due to some sort of pest or infection that was not caught in time. Bottom line, the loss of mature specimens is sometimes more expensive than the properly managed water that could have kept them healthy.
Consequence Number Three
Your soil will become sodic. Without properly managing your water in an effort to reach conservation levels, your soil will build up sodium (salt) to a level that hurts your plants. In very simple terms, soil contains nutrients that hold electric charges like calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. In the right quantities, all are required for healthy growth. Just like in a human, sodium is needed, but when the level gets too high it causes many ill effects. Excess sodium can burn the root hairs that are responsible for nutrient and water uptake in the plant, and too much can also lead to poor nutrient penetration into the soil. The best way to reduce the buildup of sodium in soil is through a process called cation exchange. This is done by watering heavily. The idea is to flush the soil and push the salt lower than the root zone of the plants. Easy to do, when water was cheap, however, now not having that luxury, we must utilize various cycle and soak irrigation schemes, and add amendments to the soil to exchange with the sodium. Sodic soils are not usually apparent to the naked eye. Ask your landscape partner to sample your soil and have it checked at a lab at least once per year. If your sodium “base saturation” level is approaching (or over) 5%, ask your landscape partner to develop a plan to manage it. Plants with damaged roots and grown with poor soil structure due to high sodium levels will wilt faster, require more water and nutrients, and are more susceptible to pests and disease. If the sodium is not properly managed, they will eventually die.
Adam Armit is the Vice President of Client Relations at Environmental Concepts Landscape Management. He also serves on the Board of Rosetta Canyon HOA, a 975 unit community in Lake Elsinore.
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Why Hire An Arborist? By Lucas Mitchell
The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) defines an arborist as “an individual trained in the art and science of planting, caring for and maintaining trees.” Hiring an arborist is a decision that should not be taken lightly. Proper tree care is an investment that can lead to substantial returns. Poorly maintained trees can be a significant liability. We have seen local situations where lack of pruning a palm tree resulted in the death of a sunbather by a pool. We have witnessed the cutting of roots causing instability and a tree to fall. Protect yourself and your investment – cheap is not good and good is not cheap. Arborists are people who specialize in working with trees. There are arborists who are specialists in certain species of trees or in different types of pests and diseases. Some arborists come from schools and Universities and some come from the ‘field’ as working arborists. Everyone who obtains an arborist degree has to pass the same written test, though the tests do change periodically. Regardless of where these people, both men and women, get their education, all arborists must continue their education with a certain amount of CEUs (continuing education units) bi-annually and are obtained in many different ways. Most CEUs come from different types of workshops, both in classroom lectures, to outdoor workshops in which small to large groups of people
walk grounds of places like The LA Arboretum, The Huntington Library, Descanso Gardens, or even parks or universities. It is up to the individual to take the classes with the topics in which that person feels the need to learn. There are even classes that deal only with the safety and effectiveness of climbing and pruning trees to classes which can be taken online. Most classes are taught not only by arborists, but by professors of universities, scientists, agriculturists, etc. The purpose of all of these different types of classes and CEUs is to assure that we, as arborists are constantly learning, as pests, diseases and bacteria are constantly changing, and since it is us working in the trees we are the first line of defense against serious disorders. The professors and scientists are not in the field working on the trees – we are. The general public is not even aware of the fact that Southern California is in serious jeopardy of losing all of its avocado trees to an insect about .001 size of a penny, or that the citrus is being treated for an insect called Asian Citrus Psyllid which could greatly affect us. Did you know that a bug called the Red Palm Weevil recently arrived to our west coast from the Middle East and is capable of killing all of the Canary Island Date Palms, and has already taken out handfuls in one major orange county beach city? These are just some of the issues that have been and are continuously
Checklist for Hiring Tree Trimmers Verify the license. Tree trimmers must carry a D49 (for trees) and not just a C27 for landscape. Only hire state-licensed contractors and check their status first. Get at least three bids. Don’t assume the lowest bid is the best. It might not include everything you asked for and they may not carry insurance! Ask the contractor to provide you with copies of certificates of insurance and workers compensation before the job begins. Make sure all project expectations are in writing. Ask to see work performed by the companies and get references.
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Why Hire an Arborist? Continued from page 23
being dealt with by the people who are passionate about learning and staying involved with our industry. These are issues which are similar to issues we have always dealt with – with little to no knowledge from the public. Some battles are won and some are ongoing struggles. Think about all of the knowledge a guy with a chainsaw and a truck has about the spreading of bacteria and disease to all of the general public, not to mention how much he may or may not know about YOUR simple ornamental trees and what is best for them. This is why trained, knowledgeable professionals may cost a little more to care for your trees than just that “pro” with a chainsaw and truck.
Lucas Mitchell, Certified Arborist, CLS Landscape Management, Inc.
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This comprehensive community association management course provides a practical overview for new managers, an essential review for veteran managers and an advanced course for board members. You’ll receive a 400-page participant guide filled with dozens of sample forms and time-saving tips for working with homeowners, vendors, managers and other professionals. Successful completion of this course is the first step in obtaining a professional designation in community association management. ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED Call (888) 224-4321 (M–F, 9–6:30 ET) or visit www.caionline.org/pmdp.
CID Bill Highlights in 2013 By CAI California Legislative Action Committee
in their association’s democratic process will be expanded with the success of this bill. How often have we had to put elections off to the next month because we cannot reach quorum? How much money do we spend sending out the double-envelope ballots over and over again? Do we really want to trap board members into their positions – not “allowed” to leave because a legal election cannot be held to replace them? That does not sound like the democratic process we want to perpetuate! Electronic balloting will allow for more member participation and a reduction in overall costs.
Elections for Small Associations
AB 968 (Gordon) is focused on elections for small associations. When there are only three units and three positions on the board, is a double-envelope ballot really necessary? This bill attempts to remedy that situation within smaller associations.
Fire Prevention & Suppression Fees
Six bills that have to do with the Fire Prevention Fees implemented by the state last year have been introduced in the legislature. AB 23, AB 124, AB 929, SB 17, SB 125 and SB 147 range from a complete repeal of the fee to some minor language changes. The outcry against the fee has had a lot to do with the controversy over whether this fee actually qualifies as a tax or not (and therefore would need approval of two-thirds of the legislature), but the California Legislative Action Committee (CLAC) has been seeing a different problem with the implementation of the fees. The agency that is in charge of interpreting how the fee is to be applied has been focusing on charging “per owner” as opposed to the “per structure” language in the original bill, which states in section 4212 (a)(1) that the fee is “to be charged on each structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area.” For an apartment building there is usually only one owner per structure, no matter the number of units, so that fee seems to be applied fairly. For a condominium project with potentially hundreds of units per structure, and therefore hundreds of owners per structure, charging $150 for each owner is not an equitable application of this law.
Electronic Balloting for HOAs
AB 1360 (Torres), sponsored by CAI-CLAC, would allow common interest developments (CIDs) to have an option available to their members to vote electronically. The goal of making sure that every association member is involved
$75 Recording Fee
SB 391 (DeSaulnier) is being called the California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013 and is using a $75 recording fee to fund low-income housing, among other things. While low-income housing is something we all want to support, the legislature may not be aware of the impact on associations of charging an extra $75 for every recording – every time we file a lien to encourage a homeowner to pay the assessments they promised when they bought their home, an extra $75 is tacked on! These are people who are probably already having problems paying their bills, and now they will have to have those extra charges added on. To those people it may very much feel like “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” and we need to be sure that the legislators know of the impact this bill may have.
Other bills we are looking at this session include: SB 752 (Roth) – Commercial and Industrial Common Interest Developments, which is an attempt to split out the DavisStirling Act into separate “Commercial” and “Residential” applications. SB 454 (Corbett) has to do with Electric Vehicle Charging Stations being made public and AB 746 (Levine) would prohibit smoking in multifamily units. AB 637 (Torres) seeks to define more clearly who maintains exclusive-use common area and who replaces it and SB 298 (Wyland) allows associations to contract with local law enforcement for supplemental services.
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LA's last Essentials class or California North's famous Casino Night. Get ideas for your own events and see who is active in each of the chapters. It's a great way to remind ourselves that we are all on the same team, and have a lot we can share with one another. TWITTER: Ah... who cares, right? Well SOME people love to tweet, so we want to be sure we have something to tweet about! @CAICALIF is just the place for those folks to go.
How to Connect with CLAC Online Isn’t the “End of the Line” By kimberly lilley
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ou might have been hearing about some of the great new ways that the California Legislative Action Committee has to connect with people interested in learning more about what is going on in the California legislature that affects HOAs and other common interest developments (CIDs). The WEBSITE: www.CAICLAC. com has been launched! Some of the "look" and functionality has changed: CLAC Moments now have their own section in our Resource Center, and we have brought our “look” more in line with CAI National branding. We are working on making our website a "hub" for a lot of our other methods of digital communication as well, so bear with our "dust" as we make changes to improve your experience. 26 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
The BLOG: www.caiclac. wordpress.com has been an important part of getting the word out about new legislation this past year. Recently an enhanced functionality was added, namely, the Hot Bills blog page where you can track along with us the bills that we are watching during the session. As bills are introduced next session, we will start up our 2012-2013 Legislative Session Hot Bills page, so be sure to look for that when you visit the blog. Remember, if you want to be alerted when updates are posted, you can sign up by entering (and confirming) your email address on the lower right hand side of the blog. FACEBOOK: Want to see what's going on in Chapters all over California? Facebook CAICALIF page is the place to do it! Get updates on
CLAC-TRAC (E-Mail Blast): E-mails don't really feel like being "on line" do they? CLAC-TRAC is the email blast that you can sign up for to be alerted of important legislative items that require your immediate attention, such as law changes that affect how your association(s) is run, announcements from CLAC about signups for legislative events, and grassroots calls to action! You can always go to our website (see above) to sign up for these alerts if you have not already. But don't think that’s it! We go way beyond on-line, with articles in your local chapter’s magazine, CLAC Moments that are announced at chapter events, and visits to your chapter by our lobbyist, Skip Daum! Make sure that you know when Skip is coming to town, so you can be sure to shake his hand and thank him for over 21 years of service to the California Legislative Action Committee... we wouldn’t be where we are without him!
Kimberly Lilley, with Berg Insurance Agency, is the PR Chair of the California Legislative Action Committee and can be reached at Kimberly@ berginsurance.com
Title 24 Regulatory Changes for HOA Pools By CHRIS BOSTROM
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n September 1, 2012, the state of California adopted a group of amendments to the California Code of Regulations, Title 24. Most of the changes affect the pool area only when building or renovations are being performed, but one aspect, signage, requires immediate updating in all common pool areas. The current 8-way all inclusive sign found in most pool areas is still acceptable and covers most of the current prerequisites in one sign. It contains the mandated: CAUTION, NO DIVING, CAPACITY, NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY, RULES, and CPR with instructions and the correct lettering height requirements. In addition to the above mentioned signs, the pool area must now also have the following additional signage: A location information and emergency service sign, directional flow labeling on all recirculation equipment piping, KEEP CLOSED gate signage and the infamous DIARRHEA notice. As we are now completely reliant on our cell phones, it is difficult to remember a time when we didn’t have them and, when out and about, we actually required the use of a public pay phone. Often HOAs would have a pay phone installed on site to reduce liability by providing a conduit to contacting emergency services. 911 was easily able to provide a location to emergency services as the phones provided instant address information to the dispatcher. Now with cell phones we can connect with 911 faster than ever, but the locational indicator takes longer and is less precise as it requires satellite triangular coordination. Hence the need for the location and emergency service information sign. This sign needs to have 911, the name and physical address of the pool facility, and the phone number for the nearest emergency services, all in 4” contrasting letters. It is recommended to use the phone number for the nearest hospital emergency room, as many of the local urgent care facilities or clinics are not as permanent as the local hospital. If there is more than one pool area, each area needs it’s own actual physical address on the sign. All recirculation equipment must have the direction of flow clearly labeled with arrows on the piping. If the pump room contains equipment for more than one body of water in it, then all equipment needs to be marked indicating which pool system it serves. The pool service provider for the community should be able to get directional flow labeling kits that contain weather and chemical resistant stickers for the equipment, and installation will require a thorough cleaning of the equipment to assure proper adhesion. The KEEP CLOSED sign needs to be posted on every entry gate into the pool area. Even if the gate is an emergency-exit-only gate, the sign must be posted on the
entry side. More important than the sign itself, is what the sign represents. According to the CDC, drowning ranks 5th among the leading causes of unintentional deaths in the US for all age groups. Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children ages 1-4 than any other cause except birth defects. It only takes seconds for a small child to drown and it can take very little water for it to occur. Communities are usually concerned with the nuisance of keeping nonresidents out of the pool area but do not even think of the dangers of unsupervised accidental entry of small children. Gates should open out of the pool area, be self-closing, self-latching and must have KEEP CLOSED signs on the exterior. The final sign is the least appealing in language but no less important. It is the sign that reads: “All persons having currently active diarrhea or who have had active diarrhea within the previous 14 days shall not be allowed to enter the pool water.” Lettering must be 1” high and this sign must be posted at every entrance to the pool area. When this sign is combined with the KEEP CLOSED sign, it must actually be posted on each entry gate. The reason for this sign is basic but very significant. Contained within diarrhea can be a parasite known as Cryptosporidium. Crypto as it is referred to, attacks the lining of the small intestine, and cannot be eliminated with the typically found safe levels of chlorine present in the pool. The typical chlorine level Continued on page 28
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Title 24 Regulatory Changes
CAI-Greater Inland Empire Legislative Support Committee Receives National Award of Excellence in Chapter Management & Development
By the CAI-GRIE Legislative Support Committee
During the April 19, 2013 general session of the CAI National Conference in San Diego, the CAI-Greater Inland Empire (CAI-GRIE) legislative support committee (LSC) was honored with a chapter excellence award in the Chapter Management & Development category. Accepting the award on behalf of CAIGRIE were LSC chairperson and CLAC delegate, Nancy I. Sidoruk, Esq., CAIGRIE past-president Robert Riddick, and CAI-GRIE executive director DJ Conlon.
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found in a pool is 1.0-3.0ppm (parts per million, measurement). The health department will close a pool that has a level of 10.0ppm or above. Crypto requires the pool be brought to 20.0ppm and maintained there for 24 hours. The pool cannot be re-opened until the level of chlorine is brought back down to safe, which is a difficult task to undertake. Often it is more cost-effective, safer and faster to simply drain and refill the contaminated body of water. All regulating governing bodies have adopted these regulations and are beginning code enforcement. All of the signs can be made custom to match communities existing color schemes as long as the lettering requirements are met and the colors are contrasting. While the absence of any of these signs will not result in closure, all of the signs will reduce the liability to the HOA in the event of an accident or litigation. Understanding and following the above mandates help bring the community pools closer to being a trouble-free environment which ultimately leads to a fun and safe swim season.
The broad goals and objectives of the CAI-GRIE LSC are to support the efforts and strengthen awareness of CLAC. The LSC strives to provide CLAC with high-quality consistent, coordinated support at the chapter level, including fundraising, education/information sharing, and grassroots efforts. Success in reaching, or even exceeding, CLAC fundraising goals is an extremely visible annual financial initiative for CAI-GRIE. With respect to this initiative, the CAI-GRIE LSC seeks to meet or exceed CLAC expectations and establish a multi-year history of profitability, while at the same time establish a foundation of excellence in legislative-related activities and programming that makes volunteer, grassroots and financial support of CLAC an easy decision to make. “I’m absolutely thrilled. This award means a lot – to me, our entire committee, and the GRIE chapter,” says Sidoruk, who has chaired the LSC since 2009. “A lot goes into putting on our premier fundraising event, the Evening at the Winery, which is now in its fourth year. And we’ve been working hard to ensure that CAI-GRIE members are informed about legislation that impacts community associations – through regular legislative updates and special programming, and encouraging interest and involvement in the legislative process.”
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Chris Bostrom is the Chief Technical Training Officer and Director of Operations for 1 Stop Pool Pros, Inc. He is a Certified Pool Operator Instructor and has been in the pool industry for 15 years specializing in commercial pool and spa systems.
Learning, Lobbying & Loads of Fun! CAI-CLAC 20th Annual Legislative Day by Nancy I. Sidoruk, Esq.
CAI-CLAC educational programs, networking opportunities and lobbying efforts were once again in full swing at the 20th Annual Legislative Day at the Capitol, April 28-29, 2013. On Sunday, April 28, CLAC delegates, Chapter liaisons and executive directors met to finalize our positions on pending legislation and prioritize lobbying objectives. At the same time, community association managers, homeowners, board members and business partners experienced a wealth of educational programming. For the first time, session attendees received CAI continuing education credit for participating in this special learning opportunity. CAI-GRIE members were actively involved all day as program attendees and speakers, with presentations by attorneys from Epsten Grinnell & Howell (Nancy I. Sidoruk, Esq.), Richardson Harman Ober (Matt Ober, Esq. and Kelly Richardson, Esq.) and Fiore Racobs & Powers (John R. MacDowell, Esq.); a bill implementation roundtable moderated by our own Connect magazine editor Betty Roth, CCAM, CMCA, AMS, PCAM (Avalon Management/Sunnymead Ranch Planned Community Association); plus, a special briefing on “hot” bills by CAI advocate Skip Daum. Sunday evening’s Dine with the Delegates was again a program highlight, held at the “comfort and eclectic urban restaurant” Cafeteria 15L. Attendees mixed and mingled after the day’s educational and working sessions and kicked the enthusiasm level into high gear for the following day’s lobbying. And when the announcement was made for CAI-GRIE members to gather for their annual participant photo, it was rewarding to see so many of us step forward – both returning participants and firsttimers alike – ready to exercise the region’s political muscle! Continued on page 30
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Learning, Lobbying and Loads of Fun Continued from page 27 On Monday, April 29, our lobbying day began with a welcome from CLAC Chair and CAI-GRIE member Pamela Voit, PCAM, followed by an update on national issues from Dawn Bauman, Senior Vice President, CAI Government & Public Affairs. CAI advocate Skip Daum and CLAC delegates then presented updated bill briefings to provide participants with information needed to effectively lobby that afternoon: • AB 1360 (Torres) – Would provide electronic voting option for community associations. Position: Sponsored by CAI-CLAC; Support. • AB 968 (Gordon) – Would simplify voting process for very small associations while preserving secret ballot process. Position: Support. • AB 391(DeSaulnier) – Would have unintended consequence of burdening financially-challenged homeowners by imposing additional $75 recording fee on dozens of documents regularly filed by associations. Position: Oppose unless amended. The group was then treated to remarks by Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski, author of last year’s AB 2273 and recipient of CLAC’s legislator of the year award. A pleasant luncheon followed, along with more lobbying tips, an update on CLAC’s growing internet communications, promotional and media relations activities and the 2012 CLAC awards. CAI-GRIE past-president Robert Riddick was recognized as the CAI-GRIE nominee for CLAC volunteer of the year and CAI-GRIE was acknowledged for reaching more than 100% of its 2012 fundraising goal. CLAC award recipients included two CAI-GRIE members: 30 | ISSUE TWO 2013 • Connect with grie
Lisa Tashjian, Esq., Beaumont Gitlin Tashjian (volunteer of the year, nominated by CAI-Greater Los Angeles), and Voit Management (3rd place, top management company producer). After a quick group photo on the Hyatt Regency staircase, it was time to head to the capitol building for an afternoon of individual and group meetings with legislators and staff, paving the way for ongoing grassroots efforts on behalf of community associations. The day concluded with a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception and debriefing session at which attendees described how they – and the positions they advocated – were received by their elected representatives. On behalf of CLAC and the CAI-GRIE Legislative Support Committee, many thanks to those who participated in and sponsored these important and most enjoyable 2013 Legislative Day events. We look forward to seeing you in Sacramento next year and ask in advance for your help when grassroots “calls to action” are issued. For more information, including details on how to support CLAC through its “buck-a-door” program and to sign up for occasional grassroots alert emails, please visit the CLAC website at www.caiclac.com. Nancy I. Sidoruk is an Attorney with Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC, and serves as CAI-GRIE Legislative Support Committee chair and CLAC delegate.
CLAC Wine Event
5029 La Mart, Suite A Riverside, CA 92507-5978