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Volume 32, Winter 2007
ENHANCING THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS
Solar Energy Pilot Project
Inside President’s Message - The Exodus of Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Member Profile: Deborah Parker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Solar Energy Pilot Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 “Why Did You Ask Me?” - Effective Consultation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Vice-President’s Commentary - “Leadership in Property Management” . . . . . . . . .8
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P r e s i d e n t ’s M e s s a g e
The Exodus of Wisdom
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ver the p a s t year or so in various settings, I have expressed my concern on how many of our seasoned members will be retiring soon. This has two impacts; one being our membership which is the cornerstone of the Institute and the other being the enormous void that will happen in the field with retirement of so many accredited property managers and administrators. From an IHM perspective we are addressing membership and succession
through our 76/26: Blueprint for the Future of IHM (see: www.ihm-canada .com/membersonly/blueprint). On the sector front, with our employers, I have serious concerns on how this void of retiring property experts will be filled. One way is by offering job placement opportunities for IHM students who have or are working towards their property management certification and seeking accreditation through the Institute. This would provide practical learning opportunities which is one of the building tools to being an accredited property manager.
my mind which we can’t teach, is the ”wisdom” that will be lost. I for one, as most of you know, will retire in 2008. I don’t consider myself particularly smart or bright in intellectual terms but I do pride myself on what I have learned through experience and ”street smarts” which I believe constitutes ”wisdom”. Wisdom is what you need in order to live well and cope with the problems of everyday predicaments we find ourselves in both at home and in the workplace. We hope we get wiser as we age!
One thing missing that recently came to
Continued on page 3.
2007-2008 Board of Directors PRESIDENT:
TREASURER:
Greg Grange, FIHM Director, Housing Division Dept. of Community & Family Services City of Kingston 362 Montreal St. Kingston, ON K7K 3H5 Tel: (613) 546-4291 Ext. 1265 Fax: (613) 546-3004 Email: ggrange@cityofkingston.ca
Harry Popiluk, FIHM Victoria Park Community Homes 155 Queen Street North Hamilton, ON L8R 2V7 Tel: (905) 527-0221 Ext.215 Fax: (905) 527-3181 Email: hpopiluk@vpch.com
VICE-PRESIDENT: Deborah Filice, AIHM Co-Chair, Education Committee CityHousing Hamilton Community Services City of Hamilton 55 Hess Street South, 23rd Floor P.O. Box 2500 Hamilton, ON L8N 4E5 Tel: (905) 546-2424 Ext. 7817 Fax: (905) 546-2762 Email: dfilice@hamilton.ca
IHM OFFICE:
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DIRECTORS: Lynn Alexander, AIHM Communications Committee Region of Durham Housing Services P.O. Box 623, Whitby, ON L1N 6A3 Tel: (905) 666-6222 Fax: (905) 666-6225 Email: lynn.alexander@region.durham.on.ca Lee Campbell, AIHM Communications Committee Conference Liaison Dept. of Community & Family Services City of Kingston 362 Montreal St., Kingston, ON K7K 3H5 Tel: (613) 546-2695 Ext. 4916 Fax: (613) 546-2623 Email: lcampbell@cityofkingston.ca
Lynn Morrovat, Administrator Josee Lefebvre, Administrative Assistant
David Chambers, AIHM Chair, Membership Committee CityHousing Hamilton 2255 Barton St., East Hamilton ON L8H 7T4 Tel: (905) 523-8496 ext 7897 Fax: (905) 546-2256 Email: dchamber@hamilton.ca
Deborah Parker, AIHM Communications Committee Girl Guides of Canada 50 Merton Street Toronto, ON M4S 1A3 Tel: (416) 487-5281, ext. 209 Fax: (416) 487-5570 Email: parkerd@girlguides.ca
Terry McErlean, FIHM Co-Chair, Education Committee Regional Municipality of York Housing Services 1091 Gorham Street, Unit #107 Newmarket, ON L3Y 8X7 Tel: (905) 898-1007, ext. 2718 Fax: (905) 895-5724 Email: terry.mcerlean@york.ca
Doug Rollins Candidate Rep - Marketing Committee City of Toronto - Shelter Support & Housing Administration - Housing Unit 365 Bloor Street, 15th Floor Toronto, ON M4W 3L4 Tel: (416) 338-4885 Fax: (416) 338-8228
Kevin O’Hara, AIHM Chair, Marketing Committee Region of Waterloo Waterloo Region Housing #202-385 Fairway Road South Kitchener, ON N2C 2N9 Tel: (519) 575-4800, ext. 1218 Fax: (519) 893-8447
Sennan Vandenberg Candidate Rep - Membership Committee Town Homes Kingston 37 Cassidy Street, Suite #222 Kingston, ON K7K 7B3 Tel: (613) 542-0443, ext. 106 Fax: (613) 542-6305
2175 Sheppard Ave. East, Suite 310, Toronto, ON M2J 1W8 Tel: (416) 493-7382 Ext. 254 • Fax: (416) 491-1670 • Email: ihm@taylorenterprises.com
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Member Profile The possession of wisdom exhibits itself in reliable, sound, and reasonable good judgement. In good judgement you bring knowledge to bear on your actions. Our aging membership represents a collective wisdom gained through respect for one another, diversity of opinions independent of influence, specialization and draw on local knowledge, and the ability to turn private judgement into a collective decision. Our mentoring is important for those coming into the property management industry and collectively we can transfer some of that sector knowledge! “Transfer of Wisdom�, I’m not so sure, however something to think about as the Exodus of Wisdom begins! I have the greatest respect for the Membership and what you do as property managers and administrators and I value your friendship and wisdom, which I hold very dear to my heart. Warmest regards, Greg Grange, B.A., F.I.H.M.
Deborah Parker, AIHM
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eborah is an accredited member with Institute of Housing Management for 7 years, receiving her accreditation in 2000 from Humber College, North Campus with honors. As a member with IHM for 7 years, Deborah wanted to take a new direction in the role of a volunteer and was recently appointed to the IHM Board of Directors this year, Deborah will work with the newsletter committee and is looking forward to working with the board on various projects.
Deborah started her career working with Girl Guides of Canada, Guides du Canada in 1982 in the area of Office Services, to her current position as Facilities Co-Coordinator.. In the past 25 years at Girl Guides of Canada, Deborah has worked on many projects such as building renovations and relocations of the National Staff, implemented a new digital telephone system and is now currently working on a building assessment project. Recently Deborah was presented with a gold watch for her dedication to the
Organization for 25 years of service. Deborah enjoys her position at Girl Guides of Canada and working with many Staff and Volunteers over the years, giving her the opportunity to work on a variety of different building projects. Some days in this field Deborah is quoted as saying “there is never a day when I am bored in this job, someone needs something�. In Deborah’s personal life, she has sat on the Board of Directors with the Diabetes Association for two years and is a Member with her local Lions Club for 18 years serving on many positions within her Lions Club and on the District level. This year Deborah will serve as President of her club, the York Mt. Dennis Lions Club, effective in July. In her spare time, Deborah spends time with her husband Shawn and children, Karen and Jonathan, up north at their trailer, enjoying the outdoors and spending time on the water in their boat. Deborah is looking forward to working with IHM Board of Directors.
Season s Greetings!
On behalf of everyone at the IHM office, we wish all of our readers a wonderful Holiday Season and a Healthy and Successful 2008!
Kindly note that the IHM administration offices will be closed for the holidays from Monday, December 24th through Tuesday, January 1st. The office will re-open on Wednesday, January 2, 2008.
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Feature
Solar Energy Pilot Project General Submission by Quantum Renewable Energy
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n October 2007 the Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation installed a solar system to heat the hot water for the facility at 176 Wilson Street in Kingston. Scott VanderSchoor, Manager of Technical Services with the support of the General Manager, Francyne Givogue and the Board of Directors, decided to go ahead with a solar hot water heating system as a pilot project, to see how much energy it would save the corporation in energy costs and in the reduction in green house gas emissions annually.
The Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation is a not-for-profit housing corporation whose sole Shareholder is the City of Kingston. It owns and operates 1016 units including 10 low to midrise buildings and 2 high-rise buildings designed for singles and seniors and 27 modified apartments or houses. The portfolio includes family, senior, single and disabled suites. The housing units are scattered throughout the City of Kingston and Verona. It also administers 496 private rent supplements with private sector landlords. Scott VanderSchoor worked with Rick Rooney of Quantum Renewable Energy, a solar and wind energy company in Kingston. A site analysis was completed at 176 Wilson Street which provided
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information for an international energy software program to produce a printout for the Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation giving it pertinent information for the proposed solar system. The software program RETScreen shows the cost of the system, federal and provincial funding, gives a list of all the equipment used in the installation, amount of kilowatt hours produced per year, number of metric tonnes of greenhouse gases eliminated per year and the annual cost savings.
System Details • 16- 4x8 Solcan solar collectors supply heat for domestic hot water for 53 apartments • EcoEnergy and Provincial Funding • Return on Investment 18.0% The solar system at 176 Wilson Street is in operation. The Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation will be keeping data on how the system is working. Quantum Renewable Energy services the system once a year to ensure it is working at capacity.
System Output • 36950 kilowatt hours per year • greenhouse gas production of 10.6 metric tonnes per year
This Article is being published by IHM as a general interest item for the Membership and is not to be considered an endorsement of Quantum Renewable Energy.
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Feature
“Why Did You Ask Me?”
Effective Consultation By Cheryl Hitchen
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consultation process is complete, a report written, a recommendation goes forward. Some of those consulted look at the recommendation, don’t like the outcome because it doesn’t reflect their viewpoint, and ponder “Why did you ask me?” This question may be a result of an ineffective consultation process or from a misunderstanding of consultation. Having personally worked in all three levels of government and in the not-forprofit sector, it is apparent that some within the public service and in the community do not fully understand the purpose of consultation and do not use it as effectively as they could. It is extremely rare, if not impossible, to get a hundred percent agreement on any issue. If there is a great deal of consensus on an issue, it certainly makes the decision-making process easier; but like in other aspects of life, the old adage holds true, “you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.
Effective consultation should have a strong influence on decision making, but should not dictate it. Decision makers need to decide how to deal with conflicting points of view and what weight to give the results of consultation against other factors such as available resources and statutory requirements.
When to consult? It is especially important to consult when making major policy decisions for which opinions are not well known; controversial decisions where there is a high level of public interest; service decisions that could have a significant impact on stakeholders’ quality of life; new service development; or services that account for a significant portion of spending.
Consultation should never be used when, in reality, it isn’t “consultation” at all; but in fact “information sharing”. The difference is important. This kind of “cosmetic” consultation is not only a waste of resources, but can leave stakeholders disillusioned, angry, and reluctant to participate in future consultations. Effective consultation presumes that no final decision has been made and that the inputs will be considered in the decision making. Information sharing is important for good communication but not a substitute for consultation.
How to consult? Choosing consultation methods is a critical key to its success. Different methods are needed for different purposes.
What is consultation? So let’s start with the basics. The Cambridge Dictionary defines the verb consult as “to discuss something with someone before you make a decision”. Effective consultation works towards gathering information in order to inform decisions that will affect those consulted. But the outcome of a consultation is just one factor, albeit an important one, in the decision-making process.
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Consultation can range from, at one end of the spectrum, open “brainstorming” sessions, where the starting point is an issue with no predetermined options, to the other extreme of getting input on the choice of two specific detailed finite options. Those engaged in consultation also range from the general public to one-to-one interviews with specific stakeholders. Determining “who to ask” and “how to ask” is as important as deciding “what to ask”! The key is to use consultation mechanisms that do not allow a minority of people to dominate the process and to ensure a broad cross section of people participate. Traditionally, governments rely heavily on “public meetings”, largely due to legislative requirements to have them as part of the decision making process. However, public meetings are much more likely to be dominated by an unrepresentative minority and should be used with care and preferably in combination with other methods. It is also important to choose appropriate methods based on factors such as the time available before a decision is required, the resources available to carry out the consultation, the availability of the key stakeholders to participate, and the importance of the issue to those consulted.
Keys to Effective Consultation ➤ Early – Consult as soon as possible in the process when there is more flexibility to make changes to address issues raised by the interested and affected persons. ➤ Transparent and Purposeful – Be clear about the intended outcome and the linkage of the consultation to the decision-making process. Identify any issues that are not open for debate, such as the resources available or the time frame for decision making. ➤ Varied Methods – Consultation is rarely “one size fits all”. When appropriate use a mix of methods (meetings, surveys, emails, open houses)
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The key is to use consultation mechanisms that do not allow a minority of people to dominate the process and to ensure a broad cross section of people participate. that allow for widespread involvement. ➤ Accessible – Consider factors such as time of day, location, child care, disabilities, and transportation when planning consultation. Reach out to those who may be less inclined to participate in formal methods. As someone once articulated, “hear the soft voices”. ➤ Balanced & Open Minded – Consider and acknowledge all input. Consultation does not mean that all parties have to agree, but it is expected that everyone will make a genuine effort to try and reach consensus. If consultation is done well, points of difference in the end will be clearly articulated and specific. ➤ Ongoing – Although consultation is not meant to be never-ending, it needs to be viewed as more than an item on a “check list” of the decision making process. It may be appropriate to plan for consultation using different methods throughout the decision-making process before a final decision is made.
How Can You Gauge the Effectiveness of Consultation? Consultation is an important component of a decision-making process, especially within the public service. The time, energy, and thought required for effective consultation should not be underestimated. At the end of the process how will you know that your consultation was appropriate and effective? One way to gauge is to base your determination on the response of those who you know disagree with the recommendation. Do they feel they had an opportunity to be “heard”, that their views were given due consideration by the decision makers, and do they understand the contributing factors that led to the final recommendation? Even though the end results were not what they may have wanted, they should not feel the need to ask the question “Why did you ask me?” They already have the answer.
Cheryl Hitchen has worked for the City of Kingston since 1995 and is the Manager of Community Programs Administration. As a result of the integration process, in the NewYear she will have oversight for Housing, Child Care, and Ontario Works Intake. Previous to her employment with the City, she was the Executive Director of the Interagency Council for Children, and held positions with Employment and Immigration Canada, Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture and the Ministry of Labour. She is also the local Chapter President for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. She has an M.P.A. and B.Ed. from Queen’s University, and a BSW (with a specialty in Community Development) from Ryerson University.
➤ Acknowledged – The final product or decision should reference the results of the consultation and be shared with those who participated. The role consultation played in the decision-making process should be evident.
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Vi c e - P r e s i d e n t ’s C o m m e n t a r y
Education
Leadership in Property Management
IHM Certificate in Property Management - Course Completions Property & Building Administration
Deborah Filice, A.I.H.M. Vice-President, IHM
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here is no shortage of challenging opportunities in the business of Property Management. Each one of these challenges presents an environment where the skill of leadership is essential. In addition, each one of us must be accountable for the leadership we demonstrate by accepting the responsibility of our actions or lack thereof. Clearly, leadership is present at all levels of an organization, whether it’s the front desk staff at our housing communities or as a member of a management team. Exemplary leaders know they must: • Encourage innovation and embrace change • Build trust, foster collaboration and build teams • Recognize contributions and celebrate achievements • Lead by example with honesty & integrity Leaders are measured by the consistency that they demonstrate and sometimes the outcome of these crisis situations. Success in this regard involves nurturing a culture of self-confidence by increasing staff responsibility & accountability. So, mention the outcomes, share the stories and do it with passion. The most effective change management process is a consistent celebration of the small incremental wins. Collectively they become strategic change and as property management staff, the best that we can be.
Welcome to Our New Members New Candidate Members Sharona Bookbinder Diane Faragher Adele Gretzinger Donald Jones Claudette Mason Jeff Miron Tania Ormshaw Marcele Peana Amira Reubeni
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Michele Shears-DeDieu Michelle Waye Sandra Weir
New Accredited Members Roy Budgell Chantal Duguay Debbie Lunan Lorraine Pelletier Mashkoor Sherwani
Sheri Adam Mitchell Grange Tina Grignard Michael Pyzhov Michelle Waye Bianca Zdraila
Human Relations for Property Managers Angela Bach Gary Bennett Alma Buyco Florence Carbray Kwok Tat Chiu Maria Cionca Daniela Ciontu Luan Danaj Daniela David Phaedra Demangelos Rosemarie Di Carlo Christopher Gabriele Sondang Hutapea Ivan Kanazirski Aleksandar Karapancev Olivera Kenic Olga Lubardic Jaroslaw Martynuik Rodante Mendonca Bardhok Ndreca Habibar Rahman Shanti Rattiram-Maharaj Valeria Rucsandescu Deborah Santen-Lemay Bogdanka Stojanovic Evgeniy Zolotarenko
Building Maintenance for Property Managers Sheri Adam Md Badre Alam Dagmar Auerova Sabine Behnk Randolph Blake Cynthia Boem Leona Boutot Iladia Bove Valentyna Chernoloz Jody Degagne
Deidre Ericksen Susan Harrington Sondang Hutapea Simeon Ivanov Dusan Janjanin Ivan Kanazirski Vasilina Mir Mostafa Ahm Ziaul Mollah Jesus Morante Dacian Nanu Eunice Ng Robert Ninciuleanu Luka Pribicevic Claudio Ricci Valeria Rucsandescu Michael Schingh Cathy Shafe Santhosh Zacharis
Strategic & Financial Planning Roger Bedard Tracy Bolce Donna Charbonneau Amol Chhitta Beatrice Clivet Jacqueline Cooper Dona Gamage Cliff Grimwood Igal Har-Even Arthur Harutyunyan Simeon Ivanov Emilia Ivanova Alexey Karpov Vasilina Mir Mostafa Robert Ninciuleanu Luan Peci Helenio Petricca Yuliya Pranko Ilir Pulaj Irena Pulaj Marina Puscasu Michael Pyzhov Samuel Wong
Certificate In Property Management Program Completions Linda Hunter
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I H M Annual Educational Conference
Wednesday April 23rd to Friday April 25th 2008 Holiday Inn Sarnia-Point Edward Hotel 1498 Venetian Blvd. Sarnia, Ontario
Be the Bridge
Mark Your Calendars! Sessions include: Safe Communities/Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Mental Illness Awareness Bridges Out of Poverty Maintaining a Work/Life Balance Public Speaking Asbestos - What Building Owners and Managers Must Know Preventive Maintenance 101 …and more!
See the Preliminary Program and Registration Form with this issue of IHM News!