Building Management Hawaii - May 2020

INSIDE

A PANDEMIC GUIDE » MEET A MANAGER: SAMANTHA KAWELO

MAY 2020 | $5.00

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Like many of you, we are not insulated from the economic effects of COVID-19, we understand the situation. Unfortunately, emergency calls, water leaks and sewer issues will not stop.

We are committed to our community and we’re here to help if you need us.

Hawaii Plumbing Group is taken the National Contractors Pledge, we are committed to reducing the spread, by implementing CDC guidelines and working safely through the COVID-19 Pandemic

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BEATING COVID-19

EDITOR’S DESK |

DON CHAPMAN

Another Disaster

Mailed and Distributed on the 10th of Every Month

Last month in this space I wrote: “One of the most interesting aspects of this ‘beat’ is that whatever happens in the big wide world happens in building management, whether you’re responsible for a condominium or a commercial property, from birth to death and everything in between.”

That was an understatement, wasn’t it?

Welcome to the COVID-19 issue of BMH. Our May coverage in recent years has been mostly devoted to surviving a hurricane.

Then last year, in light of floods on Kauai and Oahu, fires on Maui and a volcano on the Big Island, we expanded to include surviving those sorts of disasters as well. Now we’re looking at life in another new light, and what we’re seeing is the scariest threat of all.

With the situation changing daily, and sometimes minute-to-minute— locally, nationally, internationally—providing readers with the most helpful information possible has been challenging.

We turned to building managers, and in part one of our BMH Asks feature polled several on how the virus crisis is impacting life at their properties and how they’re dealing with it. It reminds me why I am often in awe of property managers and the leadership they show every day under great stress—though never before stress like this.

In part two of BMH Asks, we reached out to property management companies and asked their executives for the best advice they have for building managers and what proactive steps they’re taking. BOMA and IREM leadership also provide input. Again, these are people who take their jobs seriously and feel the weight of their responsibilities to so many people and their quality of life.

Despite there being no public gatherings to cover, our popular Faces photo pages remain, though with building management folks wearing masks.

As for my mask here? Sometimes, pardner, you just have to roll with what you got. ❖ don@tradepublishing.com

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Phone (808) 539-9777 Fax (808) 521-2714 Call (808) 539-9502 to request a proposal

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M

ahalo to everyone that visited our booth at the Hawaii Buildings, Facilities & Property Management Expo. We always enjoy building relationships with our new and long-time clients, reputable vendors, and fellow industry participants.

We hope to see you again next year.

FREE SEMINAR PRESENTED BY HAWAIIAN PROPERTIES, LTD.

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awaiian Properties also hosted a seminar at the Expo on March 11 titled, “What new AOAO Board members need to know (and experienced ones need reminding of).” The session was designed to clearly define the obligations and objectives of a Community Association Board and how to become an effective member by promoting good business practices and avoiding bad ones. Thank you to our esteemed panel of speakers for their informative presentations and board members for attending the seminar.

Stay healthy, take care of yourself and each other.

Honolulu Office: 1165 Bethel Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Kailua-Kona Office: 75-240 Nani Kailua Drive, Suite 9, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740 www.hawaiianprop.com

contents May 2020 | Volume 36 | No. 5

VIRUS CLEANUP 24 — Anthony Nelson A practical guide to decontaminating your building’s surfaces and even air

PROTECTING LABORERS 28 — Dana Bergeman Personal protective equipment is taking on a whole new meaning at jobsites

FEATURED 4 — Editor’s Desk Another disaster 10 — BMH Asks: Building Managers We poll condo managers on the impacts of the coronavirus on their properties and how they’re responding 14 — BMH Asks: Management Companies Leaders of Hawaii’s top condominium management companies share their approaches to dealing with the coronavirus crisis 18 — Meet a Manager Samantha Kawelo had a big dream as a college student and made it come true at Crosspointe 45 — Legal Matters: Jane Sugimura Fiduciary issues for association boards abound under our new reality 46 — Masked Faces People throughout Hawaii’s building management industry are suddenly working in masks

REPIPING IN A VIRUS 30 — Eric Lecky How one company responded to the crisis while keeping its plumbing renovation projects on track, and employees and customers safe

PLANNING/RESPONSE/RECOVERY 32 — Matt Steele A guide to community association emergency planning, response and recovery when the next storm hits

JOBSITE SANITATION 34 — Guy Akasaki Establishing new handwashing sites and social distancing reminders for workers

DISASTER PLANNING

48 — All Things Condo: Carole Richelieu During the pandemic, understanding a building’s governing documents is more important than ever for managers, boards

36 — Vincent Miyoi The pandemic has catapulted businesses from condos to commercial properties into the “response” phase. You no longer have the luxury of standing idle

49 — Community Corner BOMA and IREM statements, Cofran leaves Ala Moana for Hughes, new hope for condo-bound seniors

FIRE ALARMS

RISK ASSESSMENT 22 — Aaron Poentis Operational Risk Management offers a decision-making tool to identify, assess and manage risks by reducing the potential for loss

38 — Rodney Hatanaka Preparing your ‘fire alarm system activation response plan’

DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS 40 — Lad Panis The modern walkie-talkie offers greater clarity and distance coverage, and should be an essential part of your property’s emergency communications

FIRE-SAFETY EVALUATIONS 42 — Wendell Elento Best practices for conducting a fire- and life-safety evaluation

STORM WINDOWS/DOORS

14 Copyright 2020 with all rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. Building Management Hawaii is published on the eighth day of each month by Trade Publishing Company, with offices at 287 Mokauea, Honolulu HI 96819.

Unsolicited materials must be accompanied by self-addressed, stamped return envelope. Publisher reserves the right to edit or otherwise modify all materials and assumes no responsibility for items lost or misplaced during production. Content within this publications is not to be construed 6 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

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Debi Balmilero, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Executive Mike Hartley, CMCA Allen Wilson, Executive Vice President Vice President President, Operations & Debi Balmilero, CMCA, AMS, Legislative Affairs PCAM, Executive John Bouchie Allen Wilson, Executive Vice Vice President Vice President President, Operations & Lois Ekimoto, PCAM, CPM, RP Legislative Affairs John Bouchie Vice President Beverly FeBenito, CMCA, Vice President Training AMS, COS, C3P Director Jon McKenna, AMS, PCAM Lois Ekimoto, PCAM, CPM, RP Vice President Housing Vice President Bambi MasonBeverly FeBenito, CMCA, Training Jon McKenna, AMS, PCAM Director AMS, COS, C3P Director Justyna Fic Marc Udoff Vice President Property Management Housing Director Director, New Sherwin Gasmen, CMCA, Property ManagementBambi Mason Development Activities Director AMS, COS, C3P, Director, Justyna Fic Marc Udoff Property Management Propert y Management Director Director, New Thomas Heiden Sherwin Gasmen, CMCA, Property Management Development Activities Director AMS, COS, C3P, Director, Venissa Ah Sam, George Yamasaki Property Management Propert y Management CMCA, AMS, Senior Director Thomas Heiden Management Executive Property Management Director Venissa Ah Sam, George Yamasaki Bob Wilson, CMCA, CMCA, AMS, Senior Property Management Director AMS, PCAM, Senior Management Executive Michael Kennedy, CMCA Property Management Debbie Adams Management Executive Senior Management Senior Management Bob Wilson, CMCA, Executive Lourdes de Armas, CMCA, Executive AMS, PCAM, Senior Michael Kennedy, CMCA Management Executive AMS, Senior Management Debbie Adams Executive Senior Management Senior Management Alan Blades Lourdes de Armas, CMCA, Executive Executive CJ Wratchford, CMCA, Senior Design Review & Ed Robinson, LSM, PCAM AMS, Senior Management AMS, PCAM, Senior Covenant Specialist Executive Management Executive Management Executive Alan Blades CJ Wratchford, CMCA, Senior Design Review & Ed Robinson, LSM, PCAM AMS, PCAM, Senior Lynn Uyenco, CPM Covenant Specialist Management Executive Management Executive Senior Management David Thomson, PCAM, Kelly DelMar, CMCA, AMS Executive AMS, Senior Management Management Executive Executive Lynn Uyenco, CPM Gena Salonga, CMCA, AMS David Thomson, PCAM, Senior Management Senior Management Kelly DelMar, CMCA, AMS Executive Executive AMS, Senior Management Management Executive Executive Layne Owen Gena Salonga, CMCA, AMS Nathan Christensen Angela Kaiwi Management Executive Senior Management Management Executive Management Executive Executive Layne Owen Nathan Christensen Angela Kaiwi Management Executive Management Executive Management Executive Lisa Bortle Craig Bode Richard Roberts, CMCA, AMS Management Executive Management Executive Management Executive Lisa Bortle Karen Fleming, CMCA Craig Bode Richard Roberts, CMCA, AMS Management Executive Management Executive Management Executive Whit Van Blargen Management Executive George Wong Sherri Thomas Management Executive Karen Fleming, CMCA Management Executive Management Executive Management Executive Whit Van Blargen George Wong Sherri Thomas Management Executive Management Executive Management Executive Nora Rhodes CMCA, AMS John Schick, CMCA, Management Executive Amy Payne AMS, PCAM Management Executive Management Executive Nora Rhodes CMCA, AMS Lisa Kahae John Schick, CMCA, Management Executive Management Executive Amy Payne AMS, PCAM RJ Cagaoan Maria Westlake Management Executive Wesley Troyan Management Executive Management Executive Lisa Kahae Management Executive Management Executive Management Executive RJ Cagaoan Maria Westlake Wesley Troyan Management Executive Management Executive Management Executive Alison Labrec Management Executive Terry Langham Steven Leone Management Executive Management ExecutiveAlison Labrec Marni Ramirez Terry Langham Management Executive

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BMH Asks

BEATING COVID-19

BMH Asks: Building Managers Condo managers discuss the impacts of the coronavirus on their properties and how they’re responding.

Capitol Place

Milton Miyasato, Operations Manager Capitol Place How has the coronavirus changed your day-to-day operations?

By completely changing our focus from general safety, security and residential services to primarily health safety.

What plans did you have in place for dealing with a major health event like this, and what changes have you instituted?

I don’t believe there was a “plan” in place for a major health event like this.

The closest plan for any type of event similar to this was our disaster preparedness plan which is pretty much the industry and FEMA recommendations. The major changes we have implemented have been in following all local and CDC recommendations and guidelines, particularly in intensifying our disinfectant and sanitizing efforts and shutting down certain amenities and promoting self-protection practices, such as hand washing and social distancing.

How involved is your board in handling this, and in what ways?

This board of directors (BOD) has been very involved from the beginning.

They have been trying to stay ahead of the situation by soliciting recommendations from a variety of resources then providing that information to the management team. They then took quick and decisive action to implement our COVID-19 mitigation protocols.

Milton Miyasato

What is your management company, and how have they been able to support you?

We are fortunate to have Associa as our management company. They have also been actively engaged in our preparations.

We’ve heard of some buildings that have been overwhelmed by Amazon deliveries for worried residents who order online what they can’t find in local stores—has that been an issue for you and

10 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

how have you handled it?

Fortunately, we have not had any such spikes in parcel deliveries at this time.

That has remained pretty much consistent with normal delivery patterns.

Does a building manager have a role in calming residents?

I believe the building manager has the most critical role in reassuring residents that all that can be done is being done. And that, because we are following all recommendations by the authorities, we will be successful in preventing or mitigating the spread of this disease within our property.

Joseph Yamaoka anad Anina Carmack

pre-approved all notices regarding our building amenity shutdown and social distancing protocols to help protect our community from spreading any virus as much as possible.

What is your management company, and how have they been able to support you?

Hawaiiana Management, and they are still available via phone and email to help us process invoices being paid and payroll, which is crucial in keeping our employees stable.

ONE Ala Moana Anina Carmack, Executive Assistant ONE Ala Moana How has the coronavirus changed your day-to-day operations?

I am now working from home to protect and care for my 2-year-old, whose school has been cancelled, and my 85-year-old father-in-law, whose senior day care has been closed.

What plans did you have in place for dealing with a major health

event like this, and what changes have you instituted?

As of March 21, we shut down all of our terrace amenities and cancelled all reservations through April. We are working with our essential employees to continue limited services and control limited guests and vendors on-property to secure the building as much as possible.

We’ve heard of some buildings that have been overwhelmed by Amazon deliveries for worried residents who order online what they can’t find in local stores—has that been an issue for you and how have you handled it?

I have not seen an increase in mail deliveries yet, but can see how that can be a future issue for us to prepare for.

Does a building manager have a role in calming residents?

Our General Manager Joseph Yamaoka has been the front line in sending out notices regarding our amenity shutdown and social distancing protocol rules and regulations.

The GM is the most valuable player in professionally communicating with our homeowners and residents and replying to their complaints, calls and emails in regards to our mass email notices.

How involved is your board in handling this, and in what ways?

The board has supported and

www.tradepublishing.com/building-management-hawaii 11

Bill Richardson, General Manager Makena Surf Resort AOAO How has the coronavirus changed your day-to-day operations?

COVID-19 has affected many areas in property management.

Here are some of those items that have modified and/or changed how we operate: 1. Departmental duties (landscaping, maintenance, housekeeping, management and security) 2. Communication 3. Policies and procedures 4. Scheduling 5. Security and safety, property access 6. Amenities 7. Vendor services and construction projects 8. Deliveries, mail, parcels etc.

9. Rentals and guests This has changed the way of life here at Makena Surf Resort. We have

Bill Richardson

Makena Surf Resort AOAO rewritten our day-to-day operations manual but focusing on the safety of our homeowners and staff, and how we will be maintaining our property daily. Telecommuting is a term that we now utilize by managing our property from a locked management office where we operate via email and telephone to communicate with our homeowners, guests, vendors

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and our staff.

We modified our daily duties with our landscapers and maintenance by having them focus on the “need,” not the normal functions. This helps keep our staff in minimal contact with all occupants on-property, and also keeps our vendors that come on-property safe while servicing our property.

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What plans did you have in place for dealing with a major health event like this, and what changes have you instituted?

Makena Surf Resort has a very detailed disaster preparedness program that we have in place here. Our management team will communicate to our staff during monthly meetings any changes to our preparedness program and we always attempt to improve, so that times like this we know how to adjust regarding the emergency we are experiencing. I mentioned above that the changes are telecommuting with our homeowners, guests, vendors and staff to continue to manage and operate at a high level.

How involved is your board in handling this, and in what ways?

Management is in constant communication with our BOD relating to this crisis. I communicate daily on any changes to our state or county orders and what we have done internally regarding how we operate. The BOD has

given me the full support and space to make those critical decisions for our property.

What is your management company, and how have they been able to support you?

Makena Surf Resort has Associa Hawaii for fiscal services only, and we work with ProService Hawaii relating to our HR, payroll and medical benefits. Both vendors support us with constant communication relating to our fiscal responsibilities and the support for our staff that would relate to medical, vacation, sick leave and payroll during these uncertain times.

We’ve heard of some buildings that have been overwhelmed by Amazon deliveries for worried residents who order online what they can’t find in local stores—has that been an issue for you and how have you handled it?

Makena Surf Resort management

utilizes Amazon Prime when we order numerous items for our departments.

We also receive many parcels for our homeowners that are on property.

Fortunately, we haven’t had issues with items ordered or haven’t experienced any concerns or complaints from our homeowners. Because Maui has limited stores to find materials, parts, supplies and paper goods, we use Amazon Prime more than most properties.

Does a building manager have a role in calming residents?

Absolutely. Building managers wear many hats, and one of them is a liaison for the media—in this case, the health department, law enforcement, security and, sometimes, a counselor. In this specific crisis, it’s so unknown, none of us has gone through anything like this. The building manager needs to communicate in many ways such as being firm, compassionate, blunt, informational and, most of all, understanding and calm. Your attitude and your delivery will set how that message is received. ❖

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BMH Asks

BEATING COVID-19

BMH Asks: Management Companies Executives at four of Hawaii’s biggest management companies discuss how the coronavirus is affecting their employees and operations.

Neil Ross, Senior VP of Operations Associa Hawaii Neil Ross

How has the coronavirus changed your day-to-day operations?

We are proud to say that so far the impact on our operations has been mainly behind the scenes with minimal impact to the services we provide our clients. For a long time, we have been setting up our systems to allow for flexibility and remote working. That has allowed the transition at this difficult time to be easier on our team.

What plans did you have in place for dealing with a major health event like this, and what changes have you instituted?

Regardless of the type of emergency situation, be it a health emergency or hurricane, we have to remain flexible and ready to react as the situation and circumstances surrounding us develop. In the case of COVID-19, events change day by day, hour by hour, and

so adaptability is crucial. Our past experience with emergency management allowed us to be better prepared for this event, but each situation presents unique circumstances that we learn from and add to our future planning.

is here and ready to support our staff 24/7. We also provide wellness and mental health resources to our employees at all times, year-round, regardless of the situation.

Please describe technology you’re using to communicate with managers and owners.

Mike Hartley, President Hawaiiana Management

Associa Hawaii has a broad suite of software that we use for both internal and external communications. One of our best tools is TownSq, our fully integrated management software.

TownSq allows us to communicate with boards, residents, tenants and even multiple associations at once. It also allows residents to communicate with one another and their board members, post concerns and questions, review their maintenance fee account and view documents.

Does your support of managers include emotional support for them as they deal with worried residents?

Our dedicated human resources professionals and our leadership team

14 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

How has the coronavirus changed your day-to-day operations?

Mike Hartley

As an essential employer, we are open for business. We have had to adjust the way we do business, but we are still providing service and in some cases, more due to the unique challenges of responding to COVID-19 and keeping clients informed of resources that may be available to them.

What plans did you have in place for dealing with a major health event like this, and what

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changes have you instituted?

We did not have any specific plans in place for a pandemic. However, we did commence a program immediately and continued to develop it based on directions from the federal and state government. Examples of some of our changes: visits to the office by our clients or the public is controlled, employees’ shifts are flexible to allow for fewer people in the office, and some employees are working remotely to reduce the number of employees in the office.

Please describe technology you’re using to communicate with managers and owners.

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Remote access for managers, web portals, video and phone conferencing, and email and phone for owners.

Does your support of managers include emotional support for them as they deal with worried residents?

Emotional support is available with our employee assistance program. We have re-distributed material to assist our employees.

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How has the coronavirus changed your day-to-day operations?

Initially when the impending threat of COVID-19 became clear, we closed our offices to the public to ensure the continued health and safety of our employees and guests. We’ve increasingly adjusted our various departments’ schedules to ensure a mixture of remote work and staggered hours while in the office along with adhering to all social distancing and increased

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BEATING COVID-19

precautionary sanitation measures. All previously scheduled annual/board meetings during this time period have been rescheduled in order to protect everyone involved.

What plans did you have in place for dealing with a major health event like this, and what changes have you instituted?

We already had a long-term, strategic task force in place prior to this event. This allowed us the twofold ability to focus on the following critical processes: • 1) Adapting in real-time to the constantly evolving city, state and federal health-related directives.

With fine-tuned implementation and deployment of daily/weekly departmental and company-wide changes as necessitated in order to continue to provide the highest levels of service to all of our clients despite the increasing logistical challenges.

• Forward planning to continue

to stay ahead of the curve, and foresee likely upcoming scenarios that would further impact our employees, site management teams and properties we oversee. Being proactive, especially in times of crisis, is of the utmost importance to us.

have worked around the clock to ensure our daily office functions continue to run smoothly, payroll is processed and vendors paid on schedule, and all correspondence is handled in a timely manner.

We have rolled out Microsoft Teams to all of our employees, which offers them the ability to work and communicate remotely within their previous groups, as well as follow company-wide updates. Another feature our team members can utilize is the ability to use a virtual network to remotely access their full workstations while off-site. Capabilities include remote calls and video conferencing internally, as well as with our site management teams and building residents.

Despite the current obstacles, we

Yes, our site managers and their teams have always been the ones we work closest with. All of our property managers are in regular communication with their on-site counterparts, and continue to provide all necessary professional assistance, guidance and support to them.

We have been creating and sending continually updated relevant association-related information for the ongoing COVID-19 situation to our site managers for their reference and to assist in responding to the questions and concerns of residents.

Does your support of managers Please describe technology include emotional support for you’re using to communicate with them as they deal with worried managers and owners. residents?

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A

Over the years, we’ve implemented various technologies so our managers

Our managers have remote access to our server, accounting system, phones and email. The main change in communication is the person-to-person contact. Our office still accepts calls, emails, mail and messaging through our website.

I’ve utilized video conferencing more in the last two weeks than in the past two years. Video conferencing has immensely helped to meet with our various clients, managers and

Yes, we are working with our managers daily as they are dealing with concerns from residents. We’ve found that regular communication is very helpful to remind residents of the cleaning and safety measures implemented by staff. It’s important for residents to know that the building is taking these additional measures.

If you are regularly disinfecting elevators, door handles and other common elements, be sure to remind the residents that you are doing so.

We’ve found that this regular communication can relieve the concerns of many worried residents. ❖

CLE

What plans did you have in place for dealing with a major health event like this, and what changes have you instituted?

Please describe technology you’re using to communicate with managers and owners.

Does your support of managers include emotional support for them as they deal with worried residents?

LY

The coronavirus significantly impacted the way we do business.

During the early stages of the pandemic, we regularly amended our procedures to follow best practices recommended by the CDC and state Department of Health. With the current “stay-at-home, work-fromhome” order, we have provided several of our employees the necessary tools to work from home.

For those essential employees who cannot work from home, we’ve implemented staggered work schedules so that employees can work safely and implement social distancing while at work. Our employees in the office are provided disinfectant and other cleaning materials to regularly wipe down work stations and shared office areas.

Access to our office is currently limited to employees only. To minimize the exchange of paper from person to person, our building managers are submitting invoices and documents for our accounting department to process electronically.

We’ve shared our internal practices with our clients and resident managers so they can implement safe working procedures in their work environment as well. We’ve also implemented recommendations from our clients based on changes they’ve made to promote safety in their work environments.

vendors. We are utilizing UberConference for our electronic meetings.

There are many platforms for videoconferencing like Zoom, Go To Meeting and Cisco.

AL

How has the coronavirus Keven Whalen changed your day-to-day operations

can work remotely and efficiently.

However, much of our daily work life includes direct human contact—from meeting with board members, resident and general managers, homeowners, co-workers, vendors, and conducting board meetings. Like many businesses, our main challenge has been adjusting our daily work routines to continue working safely.

HA

Keven Whalen, Vice President Touchstone Properties

E N E RGY

www.tradepublishing.com/building-management-hawaii 17

MEET A

MANAGER |

SAMANTHA KAWELO

The Power of Setting Goals Samantha Kawelo had a big dream as a college student and made it come true at Crosspointe.

BY DON CHAPMAN

18 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

Samantha Kawelo

BEATING COVID-19

TITLE: Resident Manager, Crosspointe Community Association in Halawa

U

nlike many people who end up in property management through some twist of fate, Samantha Kawelo knew from a fairly early age that’s what she wanted to do with her life.

“Attending Kapiolani Community College, I was inspired by one of my goal-setting instructors, Terry Wong, who always encouraged her students to think outside the box, and to think big, anything is possible,” Kawelo says.

“She asked us to set a five-year goal, and to state where you would be and what you would be doing. She had us focus on a view that you will be at the top of anything you decided to do.”

Kawelo was definitely thinking big.

“I wrote that in five years I would be a property manager, managing one of the largest properties on this island, and people would know me by my nickname, Sam.” And then she set about doing more work to make it happen.

“I started my journey and career into management by first attending a few trade schools, Cannon Business College and KCC, where I majored in hotel management, travel agency, tourism and office technology,” she says.

“I continued my education and received my ARM certification, resident manager’s training certification, security training certifications, IREM certification, M-100 certification, CPO certified pool operator certification, master shingle applicator, CPR, first aid and BLS Certifications.”

So what about that plan she wrote down at KCC? “Five years passed and Terry wrote to me at Crosspointe, and my eyes were nearly in tears. I had accomplished that goal,” Kawelo says. “I will never forget how she inspired me to really think of the impossible. I am so grateful for her inspiration and encouragement that goals can truly come true.”

By the way, residents, staff, vendors and colleagues all know her as Sam.

How long have you been at Crosspointe?

I am truly blessed to be have been here for 30 years. I started in 1990 as an office assistant and then became the manager.

What first stirred your interest in this profession?

When I was growing up, I would always want to mimic flight attendants as passengers boarded the plane. I was fascinated with the way they went over the safety instructions for the passengers, how they catered to every passenger—they really had a lot of aloha

and kindness in what they did. Same as the hotel operations I observed— I just love the feeling of their hospitality. As I got older, I decided that we are on an island, and what better job could there be than in tourism and building management.

Please tell us about Crosspointe.

Crosspointe is a 546-unit townhouse condominium complex near Aloha Stadium, built in 1985 by one the popular developers, Gentry Homes. The property is 23 acres, with six parking phases, over 1,000 residents and a staff of 17.

www.tradepublishing.com/building-management-hawaii 19

MEET A

MANAGER |

SAMANTHA KAWELO

Amenities?

The community has a large recreation center facility, an aqua-tiled pool—40,000 gallons, solar-heated and energy-efficient heat pump system, with the latest Tiger cleaning system. Also, an automatic jet-relaxing heated hot tub, great party areas, commercial-style outdoor grills, a beautiful gazebo, kitchen with bar, microwaves, refrigerator, cable TV setup, Wi-Fi internet service, a staging area for events, air-conditioned fitness center with commercial-grade fitness equipment, sand volleyball, tetherball and a Tot Lot playground for kieki to enjoy, including a slide, see-saw, jungle gym and stair climbing.

There’s so much to enjoy at Crosspointe, a terrific central location, close to shopping malls, schools and grocery stores.

The most important qualities in a condominium always have been prime buying opportunities, attractive ameni-

ties, location, unique model designs to choose from, spacious sidewalks to get your morning or evening exercise and being a pet-friendly community, with nearby shopping and schools.

Which management company do you work with?

Associa Hawaii. Tom Tobacco is our manager. He’s a dynamic entrepreneur, has great management strategies, is able to compromise in tough situations and get things accomplished. We are truly blessed to work with him.

What about your board?

Crosspointe has nine board directors, all with great talents and able to utilize their unique skills, which helps them make great decisions for the property. We have a monthly meeting and have the best dinners ever. (Full disclosure: Barry Redmayne, BMH senior advertising director, is a longtime board member.)

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What do you like about building management?

Leadership, gaining knowledge, problem solving, customer service, listening to residents’ complaints and concerns, having a working relationship with my residents, getting projects done and creating great results, meeting all requirements requested by the board and networking with vendors. I continue to set goals and use that as a tool to get bigger things accomplished in our community. I have always been in sports and love to compete and conquer any type of challenges at hand.

Do you reside on the property and, if so, what are the advantages?

Yes, I’m the resident manager. It means I am able to provide extra services and security. I can understand and relate to a lot of the residents’ concerns or complaints, and am able to assist as needed. And I like having that caring and loving ohana connection, as we all have to live in peace and harmony.

How has the coronavirus impacted life at Crosspointe?

The quarantine has been a real challenge for all on-site managers to maintain cleanliness and to seriously adhere to all state and federal requirements for the health and safety of all residents, guests and employees.

Regarding our daily operations, we are doing a lot more extra TLC, making sure we keep a social 6-foot distance, and keeping our hands clean. Our residents have been making more effort to exercise, appreciate nature and spend more family quality time.

And we have a lot of volunteers helping to pick up debris, trash, dog poop and keeping our property clean.

Also, we have more neighborhood security watch volunteers and fewer complaints. I think even though our world may feel like it is upside-down, we can make it through these tough times and survive. Challenges are what make life more meaningful. ❖

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CONTRIBUTORS | RISK ASSESSMENT

BEATING COVID-19

Assessing Virus Risks Operational Risk Management offers a decision-making tool used to identify, assess and manage risks by reducing the potential for loss.

AARON POENTIS

T

he rapid spread of the coronavirus has caused significant concerns over how to prepare for the possibility of having an infected individual impact your commercial or residential property.

COVID-19 has caused thousands of fatalities around the world. It is a relatively new disease and information about COVID-19 is constantly evolving.

Currently there is no cure or vaccine available.

It is spread primarily person-to-person, and evidence exists that a person can become infected by touching their mouth, nose or eyes after contacting a contaminated surface. Every state has a confirmed case of COVID-19, and most states, including Hawaii, have issued mandates that people shelter in place or stay at home.

All businesses rely largely on person-to-person interaction. If you are in an industry that relies on significant per-

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sonal interaction, there is a greater risk for your employees, customers and business being impacted by COVID-19.

One basic operational principle of business is to assess financial risks with reward of financial gain. A business response to a COVID-19 incident must be viewed as a risk assessment and analysis, commonly referred to as Operational Risk Management. ORM is a decision-making tool used to identify, assess and manage risks by reducing the potential for loss. Using ORM increases the probability of a successful business operation during a crisis such as COVID-19. It encompasses the activities involved in identifying hazards and evaluating risk to a business throughout the life cycle of a task or operation. ORM functions to assure that risks to a business, employees and customers are controlled within the business’s risk tolerances. The correct application of an ORM process enables businesses to make informed decisions that will reduce losses and associated costs and, as result, will lead to a more efficient use of resources.

The first step in conducting an ORM is to identify and understand the COVID-19 hazard and its potential impacts to customers, employees and operations. An assessment of the COVID-19 hazard is then conducted where a determination of risk in terms of probability and severity is made. In basic terms, the following questions should be addressed:

BEATING COVID-19

• Would the business be impacted by limiting an extended close and prolonged exposure to potentially infected individuals?

• Are employees at risk from the existing business operations?

• If the business is COVID-19 impacted, can it continue to operate, and will customers continue to have a good experience?

Once the hazards have been identified and assessed, the business must evaluate the risks against potential benefits with the hopes of maximizing success. Balancing costs and benefits is a subjective process and some hazards may be acceptable without any actions.

Therefore, experienced personnel at all levels of the business operations or task must be engaged when making risk decisions. If through this evaluation the risk and potential impacts to the business is substantial, controls must be developed and implemented to mitigate this risk.

The form of these controls can be structural or non-structural. Structural controls are typically physical and can represent features such as barriers, walls or roped-off areas. Non-structural controls include education, social distancing or self-quarantine. These controls can affect long-established business models. As an example, if a fine dining restaurant is being forced to stop having patrons eat in the establishment and is being instructed to provide take-out only, should they adjust to try and accommodate the instruction, or should they close completely while the mandate is in effect? This is a complex issue where closing for the duration of the mandate may be more cost-effective than providing take-out meals at a fine dining establishment not efficiently suited to do so.

Lastly, while implementing the controls, the business must continually evaluate its effectiveness and incorporate any adjustments as appropriate.

An important aspect for the success of ORM is early planning and anticipating risks to enable effective management. Integrating risk management into planning efforts at all levels and as early as possible provides the

greatest opportunity to make well-informed risk decisions and implement effective risk controls. This enhances the overall effectiveness of ORM and generally yields the greatest cost efficiencies. Comprehensive planning should identify associated hazards and the appropriate steps necessary to ensure business flexibility and success.

The concerns related to COVID-19 are real, constantly evolving and demonstrated to have tremendous business impacts. Early preparation to address proactive, routine general disinfection as well as a reactive response to a confirmed COVID-19 incident is critical to business success.

The severity of business impacts from a COVID-19 incident is directly related to the business’s proactive and reactive response. How a business reacts to adversity enables it to instill confidence in both its employees and customers through its foresight to predict, plan

and execute protective measures.

Implementing ORM in response to this pandemic is essential to ensure businesses are provided the best opportunity to succeed during these challenging times. ❖ Aaron Poentis is senior vice president, civil/environmental engineering, of Interstate Hawaii. As a member of the Interstate Restoration Hawaii team, Poentis leverages over three decades of professional environmental engineering experience, formerly working for the Hawaii Department of Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Prior to that, he was employed by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, serving the last 15 years as program director and senior environmental engineer for the Navy Region Hawaii, and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Hawaii. Reach Interstate at www. interstaterestoration.com or 484-4095.

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CONTRIBUTORS | VIRUS CLEANUP

BEATING COVID-19

Cleaning Up Contamination A practical guide to decontaminating your building’s surfaces and air.

W

hen you’re dealing with virus or bacterial contamination of any sort, whether it’s related to COVID-19 or not, recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and our own professional industry association (Restoration Industry Association) remain the same. Here is a quick outline on what could be done by an outside contractor or by using your own in-house maintenance staff.

Decontamination Procedure 1. Establish an area to be cleaned.

The first thing you will want to do is decide on the area in which you have concerns. Typically, these are high-use areas such as lobbies, shared restrooms, mail rooms etc., but they can be as specific as tracking where a specific contagious individual went.

2. Establish a decontamination area.

This will be a space adjacent to the area to be cleaned to be used for the purpose of donning and doffing personal protection equipment, decontaminating tools and equipment, or general storage of debris prior to load-out.

3. Remove potentially contaminated waste. Examples include items and building materials that may have come into contact with bodily fluids, normal rubbish with tissues and other disposables, etc.

4. Consider the use of scrubbers.

An air scrubber is a portable filtration system that removes particles, gasses and/or chemicals from the air within a given area. The use of air scrubbers will ensure that bio-soil, dust or other organic material will be filtered out should they become aerosolized during cleaning.

5. Clean touchpoints. Emphasis will be placed on cleaning surfaces more likely to be touched by building occupants, commonly referred to as “touchpoints.” Cleaning of touchpoints

will extend past the focused item by 3 to 12 inches. Touchpoints will vary by the type of facility being cleaned. For this reason, proper touchpoint cleaning will include developing a facility-specific detailed checklist of critical touchpoints. This checklist will be provided to the workers with training on the selected products and application methods to be used. Key examples include door handles, bathrooms, front desks, mail boxes etc.

6. Pre-clean all identified touchpoints, building components and contents. Plan to remove all soil from the items to which you plan to apply disinfectant. This ensures an effective removal of viruses with an applied disinfectant. This can include a variety of cleaning methods to include wet-wiping with a detergent, vacuuming with a HEPA vacuum or carpet and upholstery cleaning.

7. Disinfectant application. Please note that the application of a disinfectant is in addition to pre-cleaning.

You cannot wipe with a disinfectant and do both in one step. The selection of a disinfectant isn’t crucial.

Ideally, you’ll select something that will work in conjunction with your existing cleaners. Pay particular attention to how your disinfectant is labeled. Most disinfectant will specify the length of time it should remain wet. Always use a product consistent with the way it’s labeled.

8. Waste disposal. Any contaminated items or waste generated by cleaning activities should be removed from the site and disposed of in accordance with local regulations.

Whether you perform the cleaning yourself or rely on an outside vendor, the cleaning will be subject to some limitations. a. The space is only clean the moment you’ve finished cleaning it. Once the building population

24 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

ANTHONY NELSON

re-occupies the space, the possibility is always there for it to become contaminated again. b. We always advise everyone to secure any clutter or personal effects. In the example of an office space, having clean and clear desk surfaces only helps to quicken cleaning. While we recommend cleaning up the clutter, leave hightouch items (phones, computers etc.) so that we can clean and disinfect those items as well. The intent is to remove items that historically are not touched (photographs, decorations etc.). c. Know that most bacteria and viruses have a half-life and will eventually die if left on a surface long enough without a host. If a space has been unoccupied for a period of time, complete disinfection may not be necessary. d. Consider hiring an independent environmental testing company to oversee your or a contractor’s work.

They can help guide you on which practices are best and if there are any options available for testing that can validate the space is clean. For issues specific to COVID-19, there is no testing available at this time, but there is testing available for a whole host of other viruses and bacteria. ❖ Anthony Nelson is senior VP of operations and certifications at Premier Restoration Hawaii, as well as applied microbial remediation technician, applied structural drying technician, carpet cleaning technician, carpet repair and reinstallation technician, color repair technician, commercial drying specialist, fire and smoke restoration technician, health and safety technician, odor control technician, resilient flooring inspector and water damage restoration technician. Reach him at anthony@ premhi.com.

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SIMPLY SAFER. WHEN COVID-19 STRUCK HAWAII, SAGEWATER RESPONDED. Reliable plumbing is essential during a global pandemic.

SageWater responded by implementing process changes to ensure the safety of our crews and all the residents of the communities we serve. By enhancing our use of personal protective equipment, performing daily health screenings, and improving our daily cleaning processes, we have proactively taken steps to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 on our jobsites. That’s not just simply smarter pipe replacement, but simply safer pipe replacement too!

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CONTRIBUTORS | PROTECTING LABORERS

BEATING COVID-19

Construction Adjustments in the Age of COVID-19

DANA BERGEMAN

Personal protective equipment is taking on a whole new meaning at jobsites.

T

he novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, has brought new meaning to the colloquialism “fluid situation.” Recommendations for protecting against the virus are literally changing by the hour. The evolving situation is truly unprecedented.

As this article is being written, construction and construction-related services continue to be generally designated as essential, and therefore often exempt from the various “shelter-inplace” orders that have been issued due to the COVID-19 situation. But that too could change. Regardless, the construction industry has a responsibility to help “flatten the curve” and stop the spread of this vicious virus.

Follow CDC recommendations Thankfully, construction has been allowed to continue, but COVID-19 necessitates that the construction industry in general deploy reasonable precautionary measures as may be necessary following the recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as federal, state and local governments.

These recommendations include the expanded use of personal protection equipment (PPE), new recommendations for workplace social distancing, and continuation of existing safe-work practices for employees, jobsite personnel and contractors.

These recommendations continue to evolve. As I write this, there are news reports of yet another pending change in CDC recommendations being forthcoming and, further, some building departments are beginning to issue recommendations too, so contractors should stay up-to-date on the latest

guidance.

Construction management firms like ours are now asking contractors to provide written COVID-19 safety plans—including enforcement protocols—to help ensure that their personnel are following the latest recommended best practices of the CDC for the workplace. These plans will need to be updated regularly to include the latest recommended procedures from the CDC, federal, state and local governments around this issue.

PPE Whether a project is in the pre-construction or the construction phase,

28 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

it is recommended that employees, clients and contractor personnel follow the health and safety guidelines of the CDC and OSHA, including but not limited to: • Wear safety glasses at all times.

• Wear latex, vinyl or nitrile gloves when appropriate.

• Wear clothing appropriate for the work activities, including appropriate footwear.

• Wear hard hats when any overhead hazards may exist or as otherwise appropriate.

• Wear approved clothing or an ID badge identifying the individual’s employer.

BEATING COVID-19

• Wear, deploy, use and engage all other PPE as appropriate for the activity being performed as required by OSHA. • Wear masks and respiratory PPE as appropriate: • N95 or other masks and respiratory PPE rated as appropriate for the activity being performed should be worn at all times by construction personnel when performing activities where such PPE is required or may otherwise be necessitated by the contractor’s site-specific safety plan and OSHA. • General use of facial masks (dust, surgical or otherwise) covering the nose and mouth should be implemented at all times following current CDC recommendations and/or state/local jurisdictional recommendations and require-

ments applicable where the worksite is located.

Workplace symptoms and indications of illness Many contractors are deploying common-sense measures such as taking the temperature of all their jobsite personnel with a contactless thermometer each morning. Any personnel found to have a fever are removed from a project and not allowed to return until they are well. Similarly, many contractors are voluntarily removing personnel from worksites that have run-of-the-mill seasonal cold or flu-like symptoms.

Even though these personnel likely do not have COVID-19, removing them from jobsites for 14 days (or as otherwise may be directed in writing by medical professionals) provides reassurance to workers, clients and residents that coronavirus prevention is a top priority.

Of course, any worksite personnel having been diagnosed with COVID-19 should not be permitted to return to work until they have been cleared by a doctor in writing to return. Clients are also asked to assist with reducing the risk of COVID-19 at project locations by following similar procedures for owners, residents, tenants or client employees suspected of having contracted COVID-19.

COVID-19 protocols have added a new—and rapidly evolving—set of requirements to construction worksites, but these efforts will enable construction projects to continue moving forward in a way that helps protect the health and safety of jobsite personnel, owners, residents and the general public. ❖ President and CEO of Bergeman Group, Dana Bergeman brings over 25 years of experience in the architecture, engineering and construction industry.

Reach him at info@bergemangroup.com.

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CONTRIBUTORS | REPIPING IN A VIRUS

BEATING COVID-19

Working Through the COVID-19 Scare

ERIC LECKY

How one company responded to the crisis while keeping its plumbing renovation projects on track, and employees and customers safe.

W

e are navigating a new world, living in unexpected times with significant shifts in our daily way of life, both personally and professionally. COVID-19 has undoubtedly caused the country, and Hawaii, to make extraordinary changes in how we interact with family, friends, customers and colleagues.

This uncertainty raises numerous questions about emergency preparedness, continuity of operations, what’s safe and what’s not, how to keep workers employed, companies afloat and customers feeling reassured and secure.

When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, along with local state/county orders, provided guidance on critical infrastructure services, replacing failing plumbing fell within the definition of an essential service.

As this article is being written, this categorization has allowed SageWater to continue working on projects during these challenging times. It also validates the urgent need to shore up unstable plumbing and provide reliable water service to clients at a time when public health and sanitation is of the utmost importance.

Due to the nature of its business, SageWater is in a unique position because it works inside people’s homes. Typically when it works inside a condominium unit, residents are at work during the day. But with the stayat-home or shelter-in-place orders, SageWater is faced with working in

units where residents are home, and more people are onsite at the communities all day, every day.

As you can imagine, the company had to be very proactive to stay ahead of mandates, acting quickly to communicate with employees, clients, inspectors and local government officials about how it planned to continue operations during COVID-19 while protecting their employees and the communities they serve. They focused on a few key areas: providing leadership in a time of uncertainty, ensuring the safety, health and welfare of their employees, as well as the residents in every unit workers enter, reviewing and handling contractual matters, providing project continuity to meet client needs, and ensuring an ample pipeline of not only plumbing materials, but the newly required personal protective equip-

30 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

ment (PPE) necessary to enhance the safety of everyone involved.

Though SageWater’s response to COVID-19 is continuing to evolve, the following list outlines what company leaders have learned and put in place to support and protect their employees and clients during this time, while enabling repipe projects that provide critical infrastructure to continue.

• Identified and designated an internal crisis management response team to serve as the primary resource for developing company communications for employees, clients, residents, partners, inspectors and other key stakeholders.

• Communicated and disseminated information quickly and clearly to everyone affected.

• Ensured they were complying with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization best practices, as well as all federal, state and local guidance and executive orders.

• Implemented procedural changes to safeguard clients and workforce to reduce the likelihood of spreading disease, communicating those requirements openly and effectively so that everyone involved felt confident and safe. Internal procedures included: • On a jobsite, required strict social distancing, including staggering of crew breaks, arrivals and departures to avoid having more than 10 people in one place at one time.

• Every morning before starting work for the day, SageWater required all employees to undergo a non-in-

BEATING COVID-19

vasive health screening, including a visual inspection by a manager and a temperature reading. Anyone with an elevated temperature (more than 100.4) or who showed signs of being sick was immediately sent home and not allowed to work until they’re without a fever for at least 24 hours.

• All employees in the field were required to wear a protective mask and protective gloves at all times while working on the jobsite to help mitigate the potential of an employee being asymptomatic and coughing, sneezing or otherwise contaminating their surrounding environment unintentionally.

• Project managers employed additional sanitization procedures to disinfect any surfaces that may have been touched during the work in each unit each day.

• All employees were required to follow CDC recommendations for strict social distancing and self-isolation outside of work, minimizing exposure by limiting movements to the

home and the jobsite, staying out of bars, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters etc., and going out only in limited circumstances as advised by the CDC. • Any subcontractors supporting SageWater projects were held to the same standards as employees.

• For office-based workers, SageWater strongly encouraged all employees to work from home and made sure they were all technologically enabled to do so.

The feedback from some of SageWater’s clients to their emergency preparedness procedures emphasized that the approach seemed to be successful. “SageWater is the gold standard for how to handle communications and continuity of operations during a time of crisis,” said Ron Falter, board president at Yacht Harbor Towers, a current SageWater repipe client.

While far from over, the impact of the COVID-19 virus has reinforced the importance of emergency pre-

paredness and crisis response and communication.

One key lesson learned so far: You must be agile and willing to adjust your response during a continually evolving situation, and communicate often and with transparency any changes to your procedures to all critical parties.

SageWater is continuing to evolve its response to COVID-19 as needed, and trusts that while we all are currently facing unprecedented challenges, we will collectively come out on the other side of the wave, having learned important lessons in emergency preparedness that we can hopefully apply to the next major catastrophe, whenever that may come. ❖ Eric Lecky is an executive vice president with SageWater, one of Hawaii’s leading pipe replacement contractors.

Since 1988, SageWater has successfully replaced more than 35 million feet of pipe in over 100,000 occupied residences.

Reach him at elecky@sagewater.com.

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CONTRIBUTORS | PLANNING/RESPONSE/RECOVERY

BEATING COVID-19

When the Next Storm Hits Here’s a guide to community association emergency planning, response and recovery.

Be Prepared • Maintain important documents and ensure that they are accessible digitally, including insurance policies and occupant lists.

• Have a communication system in place for owners (TownSq, Volo, website).

• Maintain a contact list of emergency response contractors for water extraction, boarding up, security and utilities.

• Make sure that you have employee emergency contact numbers and set up a protocol for them to check in.

Control the Scene • Inspect the site for areas that could present a hazard or potential hazard.

• Determine whether elevators need to be shut down.

• Is there a risk of debris falling? If so, remove it.

MATT STEELE

• Is access to the property being controlled to block unrelated parties, looters, media, contractors looking for work, nosy neighbors?

• Determine whether access to certain areas of the building and grounds needs to be restricted.

Insurance • Have a list of the insurance coverage in place.

• Which policies are applicable? Wind? Flood?

• What are the deductibles and how will they be funded?

• What are your options under the governing documents to pay for the deductible or uninsured losses?

• Will you need to do a special assessment, get a bank loan?

• Is there coverage for code or ordinance of law?

• Are there items not covered by the association’s policy that an owner can submit to their H06 carrier?

• Will owners’ H06 policies cover any assessments levied by the association?

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• The board should immediately work with management to select a licensed and vetted contractor in a timely manner to commence recovery efforts.

• Time is of the essence since owners’ additional living expense insurance coverage is limited.

• Beware of signing any authorizations presented by contractors who may show up to your site uninvited shortly after a loss.

• Be sure to check a contractor’s references, work history, licenses and insurance prior to engaging in a contract.

• Understand the association’s obligation for non-covered items.

• Create a cadence for communicating with owners regarding the status of repairs, access to their units and contractors who will be on the property.

• Hold regular progress meetings for the board to report to owners and listen to homeowner concerns.

• Agree on a time schedule for repairs ❖ Matt Steele is senior vice president of Associa, responsible for the oversight of several Associa service entities throughout North America. He was formerly senior VP of branch operations for the west/southwest region, VP of field services, and president of Associa’s Real Property Management in Ohio. Reach him at msteele@associaonline.com or visit www.associaonline.com.

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• Don’t be a guinea pig with new app conversions • TownSq app has been successfully up and running in Hawaii for over 2 years • Nearly 30,000 happy Hawaii TownSq subscribers • Easy, user-friendly accessibility • Make maintenance fee/dues payments

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CONTRIBUTORS | JOBSITE FJDSKAJFSANITATION

BEATING COVID-19

Jobsite Sanitation Stations CRW establishes new handwashing sites and social distancing reminders.

C

ommercial Roofing & Waterproofing is providing mobile sanitation stations at every on-going job site to provide easy access to hand-washing for work crews to help with promoting safe and healthy work environments throughout the work day.

Workers accessing buildings will be able to sanitize their hands before, during and after work being done to maximize safe and healthy conditions.

The mobile sanitation stations are equipped with fresh water, soap and catchment for hand-wash wastewa-

GUY AKASAKI

ter to allow our men to follow CDC guidelines to wash hands with soap for a minimum of 20 seconds. Each mobile station also posts a 6-foot distance marker to be positioned for social distancing reminders.

The stations were designed with the intent for zero impact to the job site. Hand-wash wastewater will be removed from each job site and disposed of properly to minimize the spread of unnecessary potentially harmful material.

Every day seems to bring a new challenge in fighting the coronavirus

spread. Limited supplies of personal protection equipment that first responders and front-line medical professionals desperately need are scarce.

But in light of limited supplies, CRW is finding creative ways to do its part in protecting both crews and clients. â?– Guy Akasaki is the president and CEO of Commercial Roofing & Waterproofing Hawaii Inc., bringing to the table nearly 40 years of roofing and construction experience. He has served three terms on the Hawaii Contractors Licensing Board. For more information, 748-8423 or service@commercialroofinginc.com.

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CONTRIBUTORS | DISASTER PLANNING

BEATING COVID-19

Why You Need a Disaster Plan The pandemic has catapulted businesses from condos to commercial properties into the ‘response’ phase.

You no longer have the luxury of standing idle.

N

o business, unfortunately, is totally immune from disaster. When a major weather storm threatens Hawaii, local residents scramble to the store in search of the essentials—it has become somewhat ritualistic. The reality is that a hurricane has not delivered a major catastrophic impact to our Hawaiian Islands since Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

In 2017, the high-rise fire at the Marco Polo killed four people and injured 13, causing millions of dollars in heat, smoke and water damage to 130 units.

Only a year later, the Kilauea volcano eruption wreaked havoc as it flowed through neighborhoods and spilled into the ocean while causing lasting economic, social and physical damage.

So what do these events have in common? They certainly weren’t predictable. Even if they were, they all necessitated a plan in order to respond and recover. Disasters, whether natural or manmade, big or small, can strike at any time and without notice.

Fast forward to 2020 and the potential emergencies we are preparing for at this time of year are not only the hurricane season and the seasonal flu, but also a worldwide pandemic declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11. Whether it is preparing for a natural disaster, a fire in your building or a global pandemic, it is absolutely necessary to have a response plan.

Not only do we rely on our employers to safeguard our employees, we ask of them to do the same for clients and customers as well as the general public.

As we are witnessing today, these events are not only limited to natural disasters. We face unprecedented work

and life scenarios with the current pandemic emergency declaration and can no longer remain in the preparedness stage. We have been catapulted into the “response” phase. We no longer have the luxury of standing idle.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided a tremendous amount of information about coronaviruses, which typically cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illness. Those affected exhibit flu-like symptoms. However, the most recent coronavirus is causing a more serious disease known as COVID-19.

This is not the first time a coronavirus has been deadly—both the SARS and the MERS outbreaks were caused by coronaviruses. This disease continues to spread throughout the nation and the world at an astronomical rate.

Certainly, the current spread and number of COVID-19 cases in Hawaii makes the “response” step even more critical. Whatever happens, you and your employees may need to continue to serve your clients. In the event of business interruption or a work-fromhome scenario, here are a few key areas to consider for making sure your operations continue in the most seamless way possible: • Deploy the critical infrastructure necessary to maintain business operations.

• Provide technological logistics such as Internet, phone service, laptops and/or tablets.

• Ensure data access and accuracy on the website in order to maintain proper communication lines.

• Employee considerations regarding necessary personnel and job tasks such as telecommuting.

• Implement critical policies and

36 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

VINCENT MIYOI

procedures: IT, HR, security, facilities, supply chain, travel, risk management, legal and ethical issues, purchasing etc.

• Review business insurance coverages in regard to infectious disease pandemics.

• Expand or create ways to continue your business (e.g., online services, curb and delivery services, shorten hours etc.)

Implementing a communication strategy plan is key. Historically, communication failures have plagued organizations in their ability to respond to and minimize human, operational and financial impact of critical events and emergency incidents. So keep in contact with your employees, clients and your supply chain. Hopefully, you’ve created critical internal and external contact lists or communication trees to aid in updating stakeholders with current information.

Your employees will need to know essential responsibilities and will need all of the support possible in dealing with this response as their lives are upended.

The goal is an emergency preparedness plan that allows you to focus on recovery and service, not piecing together critical data or scrambling at the last minute. ❖ Vincent Miyoi is Atlas Insurance Agency’s senior vice president of client consulting services and organizational management, responsible for the development and management of the agency’s strategic organizational development program. He has been with Atlas Insurance since 2000.

Reach him at 533-3222 or vmiyoi@ atlasinsurance.com.

CONTRIBUTORS | FIRE ALARMS

Why Your Building Needs a FASARP

RODNEY HATANAKA

Preparing your ‘fire alarm system activation response plan.’

L

ights are flashing and there is a piercing alarm seemingly coming from everywhere.

The building’s fire alarm system has activated. There is confusion, concern, even panic. Or worse, irritation as people try to ignore the alarm thinking, “There it goes again!”

Fortunately, you as a building manager and your staff have a fire alarm system activation response plan (FASARP). And more importantly, you are all trained and know exactly what to do in this situation.

Unfortunately, there is no one-sizefits-all plan. Regardless of the building,

occupancy classifications or type of fire alarm system, fire alarm systems are designed for one purpose: notify the occupants of the building of a possible fire so that they may evacuate. Period.

Because of this, many elements in fire alarm systems are similar.

Knowing what elements are in your fire alarm system will help you understand how it operates to formulate the FASARP. Ensuring that the fire alarm system is properly tested, inspected and maintained is key to the plan. A properly maintained fire alarm system will reduce/eliminate nuisance alarms so

building occupants will not simply ignore it and will choose to evacuate the building.

The occupancy classification and the size of the building affects the complexity of the FASARP. Buildings with higher occupancy loads (hundreds) will require more staff and coordination than smaller buildings with only a dozen or so occupants. Do any of the occupants require assistance such as in a hospital or care home? Who will assist them? How will they be assisted?

It is important to have clearly defined roles for all of your staff, and that everyone understands that role.

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The next steps are evacuation and investigation, which may be performed concurrently depending on the size of your staff and building. It may be beneficial to have a designated “personin-charge” of each step to maintain/ organize goals.

The main purpose of the evacuation plan is to have everyone safely evacuate the building. A significant part of a safe evacuation is that everyone remains calm, especially those in charge of the evacuation. And the essential part of remaining calm is knowing exactly what to do before it happens—“be prepared.” A headcount at the designated evacuation area will verify that everyone has evacuated. Having an alternate evacuation area is part of good planning, provided that everyone has an understanding of the circumstances under which this change will occur.

Almost all modern fire alarm systems installed within the last 10 years have a digital display in the fire alarm control panel. This display provides critical information about the system, such as which smoke detector activated and its location. This information will direct

the investigation team to the location of the activation.

But it is important to only investigate if it is safe to do so. It is not safe if the corridors or rooms are filled or are filling with smoke. If the activation was an inadvertently activated manual-pull station (accidentally pulled), reset the manual-pull station, announce the “all clear” and reset the fire alarm system.

Some fire alarm systems are monitored 24/7 by a monitoring company that will call the local fire department to report the alarm activation in the building’s fire alarm system. If the system is not monitored, it is the responsibility of the person in charge of the FASARP to make the call.

When to make the call depends on the building and its occupancy load.

At a minimum, the call should be made as soon as it is verified as a real fire event. It is always wise to err on the side of caution, especially when an activation of the fire alarm, a life-safety system, is involved—keeping in mind the importance of a properly-tested, inspected and maintained fire alarm system.

Finally, training your staff is important. Staff who are well trained in FASARP will have greater confidence to know what to do and remain calm in times of crisis. The building’s occupants will look to them for guidance, and their response should be automatic and reflexive.

Everyone involved in the plan should be clear in their role, know what to do, and drill. And drill. Practice makes perfect.

Having a functioning fire alarm system is the first step in protecting the lives of the people in your building.

Effectively responding and implementing the Fire Alarm System Activation Response Plan ensures their protection and safety. ❖ Rodney Hatanaka has over 25 years of experience in the low-voltage electronic systems contracting industry. He is the sales and engineering manager for ProTech Fire and Security, which specializes in fire alarm and mass notification systems. Contact him at 520-0721 or rhatanaka@protechhawaii.com.

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CONTRIBUTORS | DISASTER FJDSKAJF COMMUNICATIONS

The Evolving Walkie-Talkie Digital two-way radios offer greater clarity and distance coverage, and should be an essential part of your property’s emergency communications.

KEN LAD KEMPA PANIS

I

n Hawaii, we enjoy the beautiful surroundings found on land and sea. Living in the Islands, we also know that we can sometimes face extreme weather, including hurricanes and tsunamis, and other challenges that may disrupt our lives. These conditions can affect the daily management and operation of your property.

Communication is an integral component to have available during emergency situations. Two-way radios should be a part of your property’s emergency preparedness plan.

Two-way radios are handheld, portable and wireless, and interact via radio waves on a single, shared frequency band. Walkie-talkies, as they are also known, are capable of transmitting over short and medium distances.

Unlike cellular phones, their operation is not reliant on a tower. This makes two-way radios a more reliable communication source in an emergency event when an electrical blackout may occur, or in the aftermath of a severe storm when traditional communication infrastructure may be down on your property or in the surrounding area.

Two-way radios offer a very simple

“push-to-talk” way to communicate with your staff during emergency situations. They provide reliable radio-to-radio communication with rechargeable lithium ion or alkaline battery packs.

Two-way radios are a long-term communication solution with technology that is simple and reliable yet continues to evolve as the needs of the market-

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place change. Radio technology has continually improved from the analog radios of the past to radios using newer digital technology. Eventually, FCC regulations will require the discontinued use of analog radios and everyone will have to move over to digital radio technology.

Digital radios now offer up to 30% better coverage than their analog counterparts. Digital two-way radios offer static-free communication, wireless Bluetooth technology, batteries that hold their charge longer, caller ID of each radio, panic-distress button and text messaging with an LCD screen radio.

A standard analog radio’s signal will decrease as the distance between radios gets further away. At their maximum range, you may only hear white noise or static. On the other hand, a digital radio’s transmission is going to remain consistent in sound quality regardless of the distance between radio units.

Even at their maximum distance range,

you will find the transmission from a digital radio to be clear, crisp and clean.

If a digital radio is not in range, the user will immediately know, as the unit will not transmit at all.

Another key benefit of using a digital two-way radio in your daily operations and to include them in your emergency plan is that a commercial-grade twoway radio will be able to work in heavy concrete areas, such as the basement or below ground parking garage and in any other similar types of areas. Digital two-way radios give you reliable coverage throughout your property—in and out of buildings and everything in between. Areas where cellular phones struggle with reception, digital two-way radios maintain a solid signal.

Starcomm Wireless, for example, has assisted many hotels and condominiums on all islands with their communication needs. These properties are now able to easily communicate throughout all parts their facilities and buildings with no problem for both their daily operations and during emergencies.

Here are some best practices for the use of digital two-way radios during emergency situations: • Organizations should have emergency kits containing fully-charged sets of walkie-talkies stored in convenient locations.

These emergency kits should be regularly checked. Staff should have training concerning how to access and use the radio devices.

• Having a communication plan in place for disasters is also important. Your organization should have a detailed plan for communicating around the property in the event of a disaster. Two-way radios can be a huge asset in emergency situations, as they can transmit important information to all members of your staff at the same time, no matter where they are on your property.

• Y our organization’s walkie-talkies should be inspected at regular intervals throughout the year.

Personnel should test them to see if they are in good working order.

Drills should be regularly scheduled and done at least quarterly.

Batteries should also be changed on a regular basis to ensure the

device has power and to keep old batteries from corroding the radio.

Getting your property ready for an emergency situation before the next emergency occurs will be a critical step in surviving a difficult time.

Remember, communication is key in an emergency situation, so a reliable

communication device, like a digital two-way radio, is required. ❖ Lad Panis has been selling commercial radio equipment to all major Hawaii industries and buildings since 1994.

He is president and owner of Starcomm Wireless. Reach him at 845-7827 or www.starcommwireless.com.

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CONTRIBUTORS | FIRE SAFETY EVALUATIONS

A Common Story at Unsprinklered Buildings

WENDELL ELENTO

Best practices for conducting a fire- and life-safety evaluation.

M

y last meeting with the resident and property managers of an unsprinklered high-rise residential building did not start well. I was early to the meeting, so I found parking and connected with the property manager who apologized and told me she totally forgot about our meeting.

I had 20 minutes, so I returned phone calls and was checking emails when the resident manager called out to me to follow him. Disheveled and sweating, he walked me quickly to their electrical room and proceeded to tell me he did not have time to understand his fire alarm system and the requirements to upgrade his system. “I already gave the property managers all of those proposals and then the previous property manager leaves and the new replacement manager tells me to get revised quotes, and I tell them I did that. I am so frustrated. I don’t understand what I need to do. I thought it was their job!”

When I started to explain what is required, he became angry and shouted, “I don’t have time to decipher all that legal stuff. I got other things to do!”

The property manager arrives, jumps into the conversation and tells the resident manager:“Please be open to Wendell, he is trying to help us sort out the fire alarm upgrade process and help us understand it and get to first base.

Can you hang in there?”

The resident manager quieted down and a cool breeze seemed to blow itself into our conversation. Fifteen minutes later both the resident and property manager felt relieved and encouraged in having both a high-level view but also a first-base view for their fire alarm system upgrade journey. The property manager asked me to call her boss and

do this training for him and her fellow property managers. “We all need your training. It is different and you helped us figure out what is our first base and what it will take to get to home plate.”

The journey is complex, and the route riddled with legal potholes, twists and turns. But if I can at least provide some tips, guidance, a couple of best practice ideas and a little fruit from hundreds of hours of sweat equity to save you angst and frustration to simplify the fire alarm system upgrade journey for you, then I think we did our part to make a part of Honolulu a safer place to live. Honolulu County is where I live and work, too, and if we can make one building fire- and life-safety-fit, it helps everyone in Honolulu. Fire- and life-safety needs to be everyone’s high priority, all the time and not only as a reaction to the recent grave tragedy back in 2017.

There are several key aspects of the Honolulu City and County’s Ordinance

42 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

19-4 that should be in the discussion

by AOAO boards, property managers, licensed design professionals, electrical contractors and fire alarm system vendors.

The story about the site and property manager is real, and all too typical.

The following are a few best practices that I’ve picked up: 1. Pick the right professional.

They should be a licensed design professional with an authorized seal or stamp and be authenticated under Hawaii Administrative Rules. Look for professional engineers or architects who have fire safety knowledge and experience.

2. Schedule the fire- and life-safety evaluation as soon as possible.

If your building is 75 feet or taller and is unsprinklered, the first thing you should recommend to your board of directors is to get a quote from a professional engineer with stamp to conduct the fire- and life-safety evaluation

(FLSE). Please keep in mind that there are only a few companies that do FLSE and there are 300 or so more buildings that need to complete their FLSEs. Important note: I will take a couple of months to complete a FLSE. The early you get this going, the better.

3. New fire alarm design. The fire- and life-safety evaluation will provide the key information needed by professional engineers to provide you with the right quote for fire alarm design drawings. The other important item is your original permit set electrical and fire signal drawings. By providing those original permit set drawings to the professional engineers, this will reduce research and drawing fees.

Bottom line, the new fire alarm design is the most important part of this entire process.

4. Decide to bid to electrical contractors, or to fire alarm system providers or design-build.

With the new fire alarm design drawings in hand, now you can go out to bid. You can either go the route of design-build and choose the fire alarm manufacturer and local dealer

for that manufacturer to help your board navigate this electrical construction project. Your partner (local dealer) can help you put out the bid to three electrical contractors so that the board can meet its three-proposal due-diligence requirement. Or you can put out the drawings and bid specifications to three fire alarm system service providers and have them bid on the project to include electrical, patch and painting, hazard abatement, permitting, fire alarm design and HFD final inspection. With the new fire alarm system drawings in hand, you will have more control and success in managing either process.

5. Level the bidding playing field.

To help you to better analyze the above proposals, it is a best practice to do at least these two things (which I borrowed from Douglas Engineering Pacific). Tell each fire alarm system service provider that in their quotes they should list each device, its cost and its unit installation cost. Then ask each for a five-year warranty that includes parts and labor. The former

will prevent price gouging (and change orders by identifying the entire bill of materials up front) and the latter will prevent lowball upfront quotes that turn into runaway maintenance cost headaches. Just requesting these two items will help you level your request for quote process and put you and your board in the driver’s seat. In other words, it will give you that apples-to-apples scenario missing from many bid scenarios.

6. Execute now! Simply, do something. As of March 12, according to HFD, only 30 properties have completed their fire- and life-safety evaluations. That leaves 327 properties the balance of one year to get their FLSE completed.

7. Call your fire alarm system service provider. ❖ Wendell Elento is the director of sales at Island Signal & Sound, a local 40-year fire alarm system sales and service provider. He spent the last 20 years in technology integration, sales and service. Reach him at 845-1351 or wendell@islandsignal.com.

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Here is a quick list (not comprehensive and in alphabetical order) of companies and their respective contact information who make themselves available for Fire and Life Safety Evaluations and the subsequent, Fire Alarm System Design Drawings to meeting current building and fire codes: Allana Buick and Bers is an A/E Firm Specializing in Mechanical Engineering and Design—Eamonn Kinsella, Director, Business Development-Hawaii; email: ekinsella@abbae. com; phone: (808) 218-6112

Coffman Engineers, Inc. is a Full Service Multi-discipline Engineering Services—Robert Bigtas, P.E., FSFPE; Principal, Fire Protection Engineering; email: bigtas@coffman.com; phone: 808-526-9019

C2C Engineering is an A/E Firm Specializing in Mechanical Engineering and Design—Alex Mench, P.E., Mechanical Engineer, Principal; email: amench@c2c-engineering.com; phone: (808) 726-1545

Douglas Engineering Pacific is a Full Service MEP Fire Protection Firm—Douglas Buhr, P.E., Electrical Engineer, specializes in Fire Safety; email: dbuhr@douglasengineering. com; phone: (808) 808) 524-2434 and Nate Wilbur, P.E., Electrical Engineer; email: nwilbur@

douglasengineering.com; phone: (808) 687-6886 Notkin Hawaii Inc. is a Consulting Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Engineering Firm—Keith M. Chan, P.E., LEED® AP, President and Principal-in-Charge; email: keithc@notkinhi.com; phone: (808) 941-6600 The Bergeman Group is a Construction Management and Project Management Consulting Firm –Dana Bergeman, CEO, email: dana@bergemangroup.com; phone: (808) 492-1119

www.tradepublishing.com/building-management-hawaii 43

CONTRIBUTORS | STORMWINDOWS/DOORS

Windows Ready for a Storm Modern windows and doors are rated for their ability to withstand wind-blown hazards.

A

s we are learning with current events affecting the citizens of the world, no one is exempt from unexpected emergencies, as Hawaii people know only too well. They include, of course, extreme weather emergencies.

The building envelope is the most critical part of your structure. The building envelope is what separates you from wind, water, heat, light and noise transfer. You want to research the building materials before you start your new construction or renovation project and make certain that the products used to construct these areas will last several decades.

What people often do not realize is the many affordable options for impact

When your projects call for concrete admixtures, concrete color hardeners, liquid bonding adhesives, water-proofing systems and sealants or fire /

rating your windows and doors so that your building envelope can withstand an extreme weather emergency. Several manufacturers such as Milgard, Andersen, Loewen, Marvin, Western, Quaker and Simpson all offer windows and door products rated for extreme weather.

When choosing your new windows and doors you want to look critically at the following factors.

DP Rating: The most universally accepted method of rating products currently used is design pressure (DP), the strength of the window or door.

DP ranges from 15-70. The higher the rating, the stronger your product.

Frame: The window frame is its structural support. The most common

safety products, count on us. For new construction & restoration projects, our large inventory and fifty years of experience in this industry are ready to help.

BONDED MATERIALS COMPANY Kailua Kona (808) 326-2477 / Honolulu (808) 832-1155 / www.BondedMaterials.net

44 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

TRISHA EGGE

exterior frames are made from vinyl, composite, fiberglass, metal and wood.

You can find impact-rated windows and doors in each of these frame types. Homeowners should start by talking about their budget with a window and door expert, who can narrow down the manufacturers who offers products in their price range.

Glass: Most manufacturers offer Low-E glass coatings on their standard product lines with various upgrades from this for more energy efficiency. Low-E glass reflects heat in the summer and helps keep heat inside in the winter. I recommend upgrading to a Low-E impact-rated glass to protect your home and family. Most low-impact-rated glass is made up of clear plastic laminate sandwiched between two panes that resist impact, forced entry and unwanted noise, which can be added to most window manufacturers products.

Waterproofing and Installation Methods: Waterproofing material and installation methods are critical to ensure the product meets the manufacturer’s rating. It does no good to install an impact-rated window without the proper waterproofing and fasteners. Following your manufacturer’s installation guide will ensure the product will perform as expected and maintain the warranty. Verify that your installer is licensed, insured and certified to do the work. ❖ Trisha Egge has been ordering and installing windows, doors, roofing and waterproofing for over 20 years throughout Hawaii. As vice president of Maui Windows and Doors, she is currently heading the commercial projects department. She also serves as an executive board member with the Construction Industry of Maui and as a board member on the Maui County Planning Department’s Board of Variances and Appeals. Reach her at 808-633-1686 or trishaonmaui@gmail.com.

LEGAL

MATTERS |

JANE SUGIMURA

BEATING COVID-19

Condo Living in a Pandemic Legal issues for association boards abound under our new reality.

T

he COVID-19 pandemic that has affected Hawaii since mid-March has created huge challenges for condo residents, association boards of directors and the property management companies that manage the day-to-day operations of their projects. The governor and Neighbor Island mayors have issued their respective “social distancing” requirements or “stay-at-home, work-at-home” emergency orders, which have resulted in statewide school closures and business shutdowns (except for essential services), resulting in more residents staying in their units on a daily basis.

Condominium staff and contractors provide “essential services.” The good news is that maintenance of residential condominiums is deemed to be “essential services” under the governor’s emergency orders. This means that condominium resident managers or site managers, condominium staff and contractors providing maintenance and security services to the project can continue to provide management, housekeeping, maintenance, groundskeeping and security services to condominium residents.

Property management companies— Hawaiiana Management, Associa Hawaii, Hawaiian Properties, Touchstone—are deemed to be essential businesses, and continue to provide services to condominium boards and residents.

Since most residents are staying in their units most of the day due to the emergency orders, the housekeeping and maintenance services are necessary and required to keep the buildings clean and sanitary, and to handle the disposal of increased amounts of rubbish that are accumulating.

Most condominiums have closed their amenities—pools, basketball courts, tennis courts, fitness centers/ workout facilities and community meeting rooms—to comply with the governor’s “social distancing” requirements.

I have heard that a small condominium (less than 50 units) has established a registration and queuing system where residents can sign up to use an amenity and sign an indemnity/release in favor of the association.

Cancellation of annual meetings and board meetings. The governor’s emergency orders were issued in midMarch—almost at the end of the annual meeting period for condominiums. As a result, many annual meetings were cancelled or rescheduled for a later date.

Most condominiums have monthly board of director meetings, but many condos cancelled their March and April board meetings. Some boards continued to have their meetings via telephone conference calls or video conferencing.

Maintenance fee delinquencies.

As a result of the emergency order that caused the shutdown of many businesses including those in the state’s primary tourism industry, which resulted in thousands of lost jobs, associations were naturally concerned that the job loses would result in late charges and enforcement of late payments (dunning letters from the property managers or demand letters from attorneys), reduce the maintenance fees across the board until the pandemic is over or take a “wait-andsee” position to see how long it will take for the withdrawal of the emergency orders.

Condominium associations are being advised to maintain administrative control over their maintenance fee issues and not to negotiate and/or approve payment plans for specific unit owners who are claiming economic distress.

Approval of separate, multiple payment plan arrangements do not treat all owners equally, which may be a breach of the board’s fiduciary duty.

Richard Emery, a vice president at Associa, says that condominiums should take a proactive approach in

dealing with possible maintenance fee delinquencies. He suggests: • Amend the annual budget to temporarily suspend reserve contributions, which will treat all owners equally and provide enough cash for the association to pay its regular monthly expenses. This immediately reduces maintenance fees for all owners and covers basic operating costs. The budget can be amended again in the future to restore reserve contributions when the economic reality is better understood.

• Extend the payment grace period until the 20th of the month.

• Borrow from the association’s reserve fund temporarily as permitted under HRS Chapter 514B to fund cash shortfalls. Interest earnings on these funds are low and will go lower. This plan provides immediate cash relief at the lowest cost to the association.

• Defer any major capital expenses that can be delayed without damage to the project to preserve cash.

• Ask banks to temporarily pay interest only on any loans.

• After amending the budget, continue to charge late fees (boards can always waive them later). Otherwise, the associations will be put at the bottom of the owner’s payment list. Relax the period that delinquencies are referred to the attorney for formal collection.

Condo associations should not expect the economy to resume at preCOVID-19 levels after the governor’s emergency orders are lifted. It will take time for the economy to recover. Remember that the COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide phenomenon, and tourists in Asia, Europe and the U.S. Mainland will be in recovery mode to pay their own debts for a while before they will have funds for traveling. ❖ Jane Sugimura is a Honolulu attorney specializing in condo law. Reach her at ysugimura@paclawteam.com.

www.tradepublishing.com/building-management-hawaii 45

FACES

BEATING COVID-19

Masked Faces

People throughout Hawaii’s building management industry are suddenly working in masks, and at our invitation submitted these photos. Yes, masks are the latest thing in accessorizing.

Pauli Wong, Associa Hawaii

James Giangarra, Associa Hawaii

Charles Iaone, Associa Hawaii

Bernie Briones, Associa Hawaii

Dianne Gatmen, Associa Hawaii

Zee Manolo, Associa Hawaii

Bill Nakamatsu, Associa Hawaii

Phyllis Okada Kacher, Associa Hawaii

Sam Kawelo, Crosspointe

Sandra Galdeira, Associa Hawaii

Cherry Rose Medina, Crosspointe

46 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

Steven Myhrer & Brittney Lekaulike, Associa Hawaii

Tiffany Mancao Ohana, Associa Maui

BEATING COVID-19

Gio Camuso, SageWater

Jayna Alameda-Obrero, Hawaiiana Management

Rue Linuma, Hawaiiana Management Naina Ogden, Hawaiiana Management

Miguel Rentas, SageWater

Elena Cazinha, Hawaiiana Management Mike Hartley, Hawaiiana Management

Mele Heresa, Hawaiiana Management

Jennifer Gaura, SageWater

Kevin Agena, Hawaiian Properties

Daniel Kent, Hawaiian Properties

Guy Akasaki, Commercial Roofing & Waterproofing

Glen Suzuki, Hawaiian Properties

Kristi Hirota-Schmidt, Hawaiian Properties

Dass Ramadass, Hawaiian Properties

Birgit Holcom, Touchstone Properties

Ashley Nolan, Touchstone Properties

Joel Bulusan, Touchstone Properties

Jan Moore, Touchstone Properties

www.tradepublishing.com/building-management-hawaii 47

ALL THINGS

CONDO |

CAROLE RICHELIEU

BEATING COVID-19

Pandemic Complicates Running a Condo Understanding a building’s governing documents is more important than ever for managers, boards.

R

unning a condominium association is not easy, even on the best of days. Now throw in a worldwide pandemic to complicate things.

Governing documents (declaration and bylaws) are critical to understanding what role and authority are held by condo associations and boards in addition to Chapter 514B, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) and the non-profit statute, if applicable. (See section 514B-104, HRS, for association powers, and section 514B-106, HRS, for board powers). Board members owe the association a fiduciary duty, including acting in good faith, best interest, loyalty and the care an ordinarily prudent person in like circumstances would act. Associations should always check with their attorneys regarding parameters of action and procedure.

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Meetings With state and city declarations limiting human gatherings to small groups and promoting social distancing, holding an association board meeting just got more complicated.

Statutorily, associations must meet at least once a year, while governing documents may dictate more often. (See Section 514B-121, HRS.) Fourteen-day advance notice of the meeting is required. If permitted by the governing documents, meetings may be conducted by any means that allow participation by all unit owners. The meeting must be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.

Thus, where the documents permit telephone or video, statutory owner participation is satisfied. Parliamentary procedure also has various remedies, including amending an issued notice, rescheduling, continuance, adjournment, ratification and special meetings. If necessary, a minimum quorum can social-distance to handle an essential item like the tax rollover resolution. Many governing documents provide for board members to serve until successors are chosen. Townhalls are not annual meetings subject to the usual legal strictures.

Board meetings likewise must be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order and meet at least once a year.

(See Section 514B-125, HRS.) All meetings of the board (other than executive sessions) must be open to association members, who must be permitted to participate in accordance with board rules. Subject to the governing documents, however, directors may participate by any means through which all directors may simultaneously hear one another and subject to the board, owners may as well.

Additional Considerations The board owes the association a fiduciary duty at a minimum to maintain the condo. Thus, it may wish to limit repairs and construction to vital items such as leaking roofs or burst pipes.

In addition, the association should be wary of conduct involving alleged discrimination or harassment of owners, tenants, employees and contractors.

Please review our website for a searchable copy of Chapter 514B, HRS, as well as some general information on cleaning buildings, social distancing in condos and meetings. ❖ Carole R. Richelieu is senior condominium specialist in the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Real Estate Branch. Contact her office at 586-2643 or go to www.hawaii.gov/hirec.

COMMUNITY

CORNER Commercial Properties Pulling Together On behalf of BOMA Hawaii, we would like to share this update with BMH readers: To respond to the COVID-19 crisis in Hawaii, BOMA has: • Worked with Gov. David Ige and Mayor Kirk Caldwell to ensure the safe continued operations of commercial facilities as critical infrastructure during this time of crisis.

• Transitioned educational programming to webinar formats and online services.

• Established a job board for open positions and job seekers in the commercial real estate sector.

• Provided information about commercial cleaning related to high-touch office areas.

The stay-at-home orders have affected some segments of the commercial real estate industry more severely.

BOMA Hawaii supports companies that continue to operate in the face of risk to promote the safety of the broader community and supports companies that have chosen to or been forced to suspend operations. The COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented, but the ability of the commercial real estate industry sectors to work together collaboratively is well-developed.

BOMA Hawaii is confident that Hawaii’s hiki no (can do) spirit is alive and well, and that the industry will emerge stronger than ever.

Holly Morikami President, BOMA Hawaii

Holly Morikami

BEATING COVID-19

IREM Updates Help for Managers Residential and commercial managers have increasingly become more important than ever as they navigate through the many challenges and changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to make a difference in the lives of so many people.

The Institute of Real Estate Management’s (IREM) No. 1 focus at this time is to help real estate industry professionals manage through the coronavirus crisis by providing education, content and industry resources.

IREM has added a Coronavirus Resource Page to its website, irem.org. There are Kristi Hirota-Schmidt invaluable resources made available to the public such as: • The Pandemic Guide for Real Estate Managers (in English and Chinese) which was developed to assist in COVID-19 planning efforts and future pandemics.

• CARES Act Summary.

• Select on-demand courses, 10- to 15-minute videos and live webinars.

• IREM advocacy: According to IREM International, “IREM has signed on to several letters to the White House, Congress, the Treasury and IRS advocating for aid to residents and businesses, as well as extending the deadline for 1031 like-kind exchanges and Opportunity Zone participants.”

In addition, “IREM is participating in a Call to Action as part of a broad coalition of real estate providers representing the entire industry to ask for additional relief for the real estate industry.”

• IREMs Community Room which is an online forum to connect real estate professionals with each other.

Our IREM Hawaii Chapter Board of Directors has been meeting more frequently via Zoom to properly plan for future educational offerings and events. We started hosting a webinar series titled “COVID-19: A Call to ARMs,” which are panel discussions to provide timely information on managing one’s property during the COVID-19 crisis.

We’ve also launched WhatsApp, a cross-platform mobile messaging app, for our ARMs and CPMs to collaborate, ask questions, share information and provide recommendations to each other. This has been a great communication tool for our managers, especially during this time.

In addition, we’ve needed to make the following changes to our calendar of events: • April 15, General Membership Meeting at Hale Koa has been postponed to a date TBD. • I REM Scholarship Golf Tournament at Hoakalei Country Club is tentatively rescheduled to Sept. 25.

• ARM (Accredited Residential Manager) Track scheduled for May 4-9 on Oahu and May 11-16 on Maui will now be held as a virtual live classroom on May 4-9. IREM and CCM scholarships are available.

• Waiea property tour scheduled for May 21 has been postponed to a date TBD. IREM will continue to provide updates and valuable resources to help our fellow managers locally and around the world. For more information about IREM, contact IREM Hawaii’s president Kristi Hirota-Schmidt at 539-9502 or IREM’s executive director Lauren Kagimoto at (877) 447-3644 or iremhawaii@gmail.com. www.tradepublishing.com/building-management-hawaii 49

COMMUNITY

CORNER

BEATING COVID-19

Condo Sales Mixed Before the Virus

Cofran Leaves Ala Moana for Ward Village

The Howard Hughes Corporation has hired Francis Cofran as vice president of management and operations at Ward Village.

Most recently, Cofran served as senior general manager at Ala Moana Center, where he worked on the Hoʻokipa redevelopment and Nordstrom and Ewa Wing expansions, Francis Cofran adding a total of 930,000 square feet of new retail space to the state’s largest shopping center.

At Hughes, Cofran will oversee the master-planned community’s commercial real estate operations.

“Francis’ thoughtful leadership and vast commercial real estate experience will be invaluable to Ward Village as our community evolves,” said Doug Johnstone, president of Hughes’ Hawaii operations. “He has a remarkable track record of creating successful shopping, dining and experiential destinations, and we look forward to having his vision to help steward our growing neighborhood.”

Said Cofran: “We are in unprecedented times where close collaboration, respect and perseverance will be integral to the success of our community.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to be at the forefront of the retail, restaurant and entertainment scene in this unique neighborhood.”

Born, raised and a resident of Kailua, Cofran attended the University of Hawaii. He has more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate.

Sales of Oahu condominiums during March were down 12% from the previous year, and experts foresee sales plummeting further in coming months as effects of the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the Islands.

On March 24, the Honolulu Board of Realtors advised its members to cease open houses for the time being.

Some Realtors report showing homes in protective gear and establishing sanitizing stations outside front doors, a trend likely to continue. Several owners pulled units off the market for fear of potential buyers possibly infecting their property.

The actual numbers showed 410 condos being sold on Oahu in March, down from 467 in March of 2019. The median cost, meanwhile, was up 1.4%, from $429,000 a year ago to $435,000 this year.

On the Big Island, condo sales were down 8.9%, from 71 a year ago to 64. The median cost, though, was up 8.3%, from $375,000 in 2019 to $410,000 this year.

On Kauai, condo sales were up 14.7%, from 34 to 39. The median rose 34.2%, from $521,750 to $699,950.

In Maui County—including Lanai and Molokai—sales volume was up 3.2%, from 154 last year to 159, while the median price jumped 9.1%, from $508,500 to $555,000.

The median is the price point at which half of condos sold for more and half for less. Sources include the Honolulu Board of Realtors, Kauai Board of Realtors, Realtors Association of Maui and Hawaii Island Realtors.

CRW Hire

Commercial Roofing & Waterproofing of Hawaii Inc. has hired Kevin Pelka as a project managing estimator.

Pelka will be responsible for working with CRW’s AOAO and commercial clients, as well as consultants and general contractors. In addition to estimating projects, he will be providing management oversight for all phases of the Kevin Pelka construction projects, as well as client relations He previously was a project manager at ICC Hawaii Industrial Structures, and prior to that he worked in the solar industry for REC Solar as a sales engineer.

Pelka brings over 20 years of experience working on the Mainland in the automation and manufacturing industries. With his first 10 years in the automation industry, he helped engineer automation solutions for companies such as Tesla and Amazon. He comes from Decra Roofing, with his final years here as a plant manager.

AGING IN A CONDO

New Help for Homebound Seniors

Gregory Kim

Help Is On the Way is a new Hawaii nonprofit that arranges for its corps of volunteers to deliver needed food and supplies to kupuna and others who would otherwise go hungry.

Founded by Gregory Kim, a corporate attorney with a penchant for volunteering, Help Is On the Way is a grassroots program that is growing quickly because of the current health crisis. Kim says the group is seeking volunteers to make deliveries, and for connections to kupuna in need.

“Perhaps you’re out shopping anyway and can pick up supplies for

50 BUILDING MANAGEMENT HAWAII | MAY 2020

an elder,” says Kim. “Maybe you can make a delivery once a week. Anything will help.”

To request delivery service or to volunteer, visit hihelpisontheway.org or follow the group on Twitter (@HIHelpontheWay), Instagram (@HIhelpisontheway) or Facebook (facebook.com/hihelpisontheway/) or email hihelpisontheway@gmail.com.

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