From the Roundtable

The Subject of Aging – It’s About Us!

In 2009, the CACM Board of Directors commissioned a study from the Forbes Group. The Forbes Group provides research and evaluation of a specific industry’s market, the challenges facing that market and tools for future positioning. At that time, Forbes identified four specific “markets” that would change the common interest development industry. Those markets included: • The social and physical needs of an aging population • The social and infrastructure needs of mobile workers • The flagging financial security of all households • Water conservation

What are we doing to foster and mentor growth from inside our own companies or through other avenues?

From where we now stand in mid-2013, our industry has already been significantly impacted by two of these four areas. We are just now pulling out of flagging financial security and the resulting collection activity and, while our clients may not have transitioned to mobile workers, they certainly wish to receive information in a “mobile” world (how many management reports are now read on smart phones or tablets?).

Water conservation in California has been a constant concern before the construction of the Hoover Dam – and it does impact our industry, but often gets set aside in light of more pressing concerns. Finally, we are left with the social and physical needs of an aging population. And, much of this issue of Vision is dedicated to that reality.

The reality of an aging population impacts our industry at another level – perhaps a level that is more challenging than upgrading and replacing physical components or addressing the expectations of aging homeowners.

We, as an industry, are also aging. Last year’s survey of the membership indicated that less than 25% of the respondents were under the age of 40 and less than 7% of the respondents were under the age of 30. Where will our “new blood” come from? How do we attract young, enthusiastic professionals to our industry? What are we doing to foster and mentor growth from inside our own companies or through other avenues?

These kinds of challenging questions exemplify what the Board discusses at each annual Strategic Visioning. In late 2012, the Board identified the need for a larger, more professional pool of candidates – and what better way to encourage potential managers by offering an educational opportunity. CACM launched a new class in August, CMM100 Intro to Community Management, which is being made available to support staff and individuals who want to learn more about the various career paths available in the community management industry. This educational opportunity is also ideal for those onsite staff members who are looking for a career direction and don’t recognize how their customer service skills may translate into a professional occupation.

As we know, our colleges and universities don’t yet offer a bachelor’s degree in community association management, but through our internal educational offerings and efforts, we can attract and retain the great talent that is essential to the continued success of our profession.

On behalf of the CACM Board, Melinda Young, CCAM, PCAM Board Chair

The Golden State is beginning to show its age, graying a bit as the Baby Boomers of the 1960 s begin to enter their “golden years.” Already, one in every nine Californians is age 65 or older, and that will increase to one in five within the next 25 years.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: • The older population in the

U.S. (65 +) numbered 41.5 million in 2011, an increase of 18% since 2000. The number of Americans who will reach age 65 over the next two decades increased by 33% during this period. • More than one in every eight (13.3%) of the population is an older American. • Persons reaching age 65 have an average life expectancy of an additional 19.2 years. • About 28% (11.8 million) of independent living seniors live alone.

The elderly are less likely to change residence than other age groups. From 2011 to 2012 only 3% of older persons moved as opposed to 14% of the under 65 population.

Of the 25.1 million households headed by older persons in 2011, 81% were owners and 19% were renters.

Some type of disability (i.e. difficulty in hearing, vision, cognition, ambulation, self care, etc.) was reported by more than 35% of men and women over the age of 65.

Even more staggering are the statistics from the California Department of Aging: • The state’s elderly population is expected to reach 12.5 million by 2040, an increase of 232% from 1990. • The fastest growing segment of the population is persons age 85 and older. • One in five Californians are now 60 years of age or older. • California has the highest number of people age 65 or older compared to other states.

Are we ready for this so called silver tsunami? We need to understand the impact that these aging Californians will have on community lifestyle and policy issues. Continued on page 16

aging-friendly design

Aging-friendly design incorporates physical, social, and technological infrastructures to enhance older adults’ ability to respond to basic challenges of later life. The characteristics of aging-friendly design include efforts to:

Compensate for age-related disabilities. Walk in the shoes of an older person. As we get older, we don’t lift our feet as high when we walk. Raised concrete and uneven ground around a building are bothersome; innocuous thresholds are a nuisance; and slippery walkways are dangerous. Walkers and wheelchairs will need to be accommodated. Make safety a priority.

Create opportunities for connection and

meaningful interpersonal relationships. Plan social activities geared toward your older members. Outings, movie nights and theme dinners will provide opportunities for seniors to meet and mingle.

Make meaningful contributions. Utilize the expertise of your senior members by appointing them to committees. Set goals within your community for increasing older adult participation in event planning, strategic planning and volunteer efforts. Many older citizens age 65 to 69 are still gainfully employed and have much to offer.

Provide challenging, enlivening, growth-producing experiences.

Implement a variety of structured and unstructured physical activities to increase endurance, strength, flexibility and balance. Group-based physical activity increases participation and motivation in older adults. Graying in the Golden State Continued from page 15 Learning to be Aging-Friendly

In recent years, a movement of sorts has begun to emerge – a growing recognition that our communities need to become more “aging friendly.” As forecasted in the economic scan preformed for CACM by the Forbes Group in 2008, a number of communities are developing innovative initiatives to prepare for the aging of their members and transform communities, whether through carefully designed new developments or rehabilitation of existing facilities. This requires that we view the current environment through eyes that may be older than our own.

What do most older adults want? Simply put, they want to reside in private spaces that support their physical, psychological and social wellbeing. They want the option of continuing to live in their homes, rather than being forced to move simply because they are experiencing the expectable personal changes that come with age.

In aging-friendly communities, services and programs exist to ensure residents’ basic health and service needs are met. These communities are designed to enable individuals to overcome potential barriers to independent mobility and social interaction, as well as to provide ample opportunities for older adults to develop new sources of fulfillment, productive engagement, and social interaction.

Eighty-five percent of adults 65 and older can live independently, and many of them are living in the common interest developments that we manage. We must face the new challenges that an aging population brings. The key is to start thinking today about how your HOAs will respond to aging residents – socially, in your governance and in the operational aspects of the HOA. A community’s ability to prepare for an aging population will depend on innovative efforts by management, boards of directors, service providers, community representatives and older adults themselves.

Bobbie Gaffney, CCAM, PCAM, is President of The Gaffney Group, Inc. in Palm Springs.

Lead-Based Paint: Facts & Figures

It has been three years since the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations regarding lead-based paint became effective. Unfortunately, there continues to be some confusion and uncertainty surrounding the issue. The question of the age of a community and whether or not it has been tested for the presence of lead-based paint (LBP) has not yet been firmly imprinted in the mindset of many community managers. When doing job walks for painting or construction work, the question seems to come as a surprise to many community managers and, most frequently, testing has not been done.

This presents an obstacle for projects because the presence or absence of LBP must be confirmed before accurate pricing can be developed and the work performed. In most cases, the presence of LBP will mean additional costs due to the extra work that will be required. Be cautious of contractors who make light of the need for testing or dismiss it altogether. This will be at their own peril because the EPA is actively fining companies who fail to comply with the regulations.

Test your knowledge of this “aging” issue by seeing how many of the following facts you know:

July 2015

The EPA has agreed to sign a proposed rule covering Renovation and Repair and Painting (RRP) program for Commercial and Public Buildings, unless the agency determines that these activities do not create lead-based paint hazards. This could mean commercial and public buildings that have otherwise been exempt may have to be tested for LBP and treated similarly to residential buildings if they are shown to have LBP.

The percentage of homes built between 1960 to 1978 that contain lead-based paint. The closer the date of construction is to 1978, the less chance the building has lead-based paint.

Children Under Age 6

This is the age group that is

most affected by accumulation

of lead in the bloodstream,

including damage to the brain

and nervous system, hearing

loss, kidney and liver damage,

hyperactivity and, in extreme

cases, death.

Lead-Based Paint: Facts & Figures

Earth Day 2010 April 22, 2010, is the date the EPA Regulations (Section 402 of the Toxic Substance Control Act) regarding lead-based paint took effect nationwide.

1978

$37,500

The daily fine that can be imposed for not complying with the law.

Residential buildings, with some exceptions (i.e., senior housing), built prior to this year must be tested for the presence of lead-based paint if more than 20 square feet of the exterior or six square feet of the interior will be disturbed.

Indefinitely...

The preserve sho Those necessity issue length of time you want to copies of test results w no presence of lea d-base documents will eliminate to have to deal with again . that d paint the this Third-Party Testing

Testing for the presence of leadbased paint must be done by a State-Certified Lead Inspector/Risk Assessor. If testing is not performed, contractors must assume that target buildings have lead-based paint and work accordingly. The cost of the additionally required work will most likely exceed the cost of testing.

Provided by Bill Butler, Director of Business Development for PrimeCo Painting & Construction, based on information from the EPA and EPA Discussion Guide (Background and Discussion Areas for Public Meeting on EPA’s Proposed Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule for Public and Commercial Buildings – May 2013).