is is a well-deserved award to all of the individuals who participate on the Arizo- na Lac, including our Southern Arizona Delegates Carolyn Goldschmidt, Richard Kronberg, and Jena Carpenter, who work tirelessly with CAI and our State Legisla- tors to recognize and support the best in- terest of Arizona’s community associations and their members. Jena Carpenter and Daryl Larson will be in attendance this month’s 2014 CAI National Conference in Orlando, along with other representa- tives from the Central Arizona Chapter of CAI, to formally accept the LAC of the year award. We invite our members to be creative and take a selfie at the 2014 national confer- ence with other industry members and those they have made new professional networks with. Congratulations to our past President Jena Carpenter for receiving her PCAM, and to our Legislative Action Committee team for receiving the LAC of the year award. At the conference, Jena Carpenter will re- ceive the Professional Community Associ- ation Manager (PCAM) designation. e PCAM designation is the highest profes- sional recognition available nationwide to managers who specialize in community association management and is recom- mended for experienced managers who demonstrate advanced skills and knowl- edge in the nation. Jena has been with the Lewis Management Resources, Inc. for over eight years. She started her career doing data entry in the inspection (CCI) department. After mov- ing through several positions at Lewis, she now manages one of the branch’s master- planned communities. She is the immedi- ate past–president for the Southern Arizo- na chapter of CAI and was recently elected to another three-year term as Board Di- rector. In addition to the PCAM, she also holds the CAAM, CMCA, and AMS des- ignations. (520) 870-7759 PO BOX 66082 TUCSON, AZ 85728 COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE Chair, Daryl Larson CMCA, AMS Kim DiStefano PCAM Robin Coulter CMCA, AMS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR To Be Determined President’s Report ...............2 May Educational Luncheon ..3 To Rent Or Not To Rent ........5 2014 Event Calendar ..........7 Board Removal Elections .....8 Do We Communicate Effectively?.......................10 Sponsor Recognition......4, 11 IN THIS ISSUE... published four times per year May 2014 Newsletter of the Southern Arizona Chapter of CAI, Inc. community connection National Conference Please email your selfies as well as your conference feedback to Daryl Larson at daryl.villas-west@qwestoffice.net. is information will be posted on our website and upcoming newsletter. Visit our new designed website at www.soazcai.org The Arizona Legislative Action Committee (LAC) has been recognized as the Country’s best LAC in 2014.
Transcript
This is a well-deserved award to all of the individuals who participate on the Arizo-na Lac, including our Southern Arizona Delegates Carolyn Goldschmidt, Richard Kronberg, and Jena Carpenter, who worktirelessly with CAI and our State Legisla-tors to recognize and support the best in-terest of Arizona’s community associations and their members. Jena Carpenter and Daryl Larson will be in attendance this month’s 2014 CAI National Conference in Orlando, along with other representa-tives from the Central Arizona Chapter of CAI, to formally accept the LAC of the year award.
We invite our members to be creative and take a selfie at the 2014 national confer-ence with other industry members and those they have made new professional networks with.
Congratulations to our past President Jena Carpenter for receiving her PCAM, and to our Legislative Action Committee team for receiving the LAC of the year award.
At the conference, Jena Carpenter will re-ceive the Professional Community Associ-ation Manager (PCAM) designation. The PCAM designation is the highest profes-sional recognition available nationwide tomanagers who specialize in community association management and is recom-mended for experienced managers who demonstrate advanced skills and knowl-edge in the nation.
Jena has been with the Lewis Management Resources, Inc. for over eight years. She started her career doing data entry in the inspection (CCI) department. After mov-ing through several positions at Lewis, shenow manages one of the branch’s master-planned communities. She is the immedi-ate past–president for the Southern Arizo-na chapter of CAI and was recently elected to another three-year term as Board Di-rector. In addition to the PCAM, she also holds the CAAM, CMCA, and AMS des-ignations.
(520) 870-7759
PO BOX 66082
TUCSON, AZ 85728
CommuniCations Committee
Chair, Daryl Larson CMCA, AMS
Kim DiStefano PCAM
Robin Coulter CMCA, AMS
exeCutive DireCtor
To Be Determined
President’s Report ...............2
May Educational Luncheon ..3
To Rent Or Not To Rent ........5
2014 Event Calendar ..........7
Board Removal Elections .....8
Do We Communicate
Effectively? .......................10
Sponsor Recognition ......4, 11
IN THIS ISSUE...
published four times per yearMay 2014 Newsletter of the Southern Arizona Chapter of CAI, Inc.
communityconnection
National Conference
Please email your selfies as well as your conference feedback to Daryl Larson at [email protected].
This information will be posted on our website and upcoming newsletter.
Visit our new designed website at www.soazcai.org
The Arizona Legislative Action Committee (LAC)
has been recognized as the Country’s best LAC in 2014.
page 2 | www.soazcai.orgconnectioncommunity
As any community association manager, at-torney or volunteer can tell you, many of the biggest (and most expensive) disputes between and among homeowners, their neighbors, and their associations begin with simple miscommunication.
The words “community “ and “communi-cation” both originate from the Latin word “comoenus.” The general meaning of this word is often understood as “common” or “ordinary,” but to the speakers of the day, it also expressed feelings of familiarity, cour-tesy, and the act of sharing.
When we think about some of the disputes that we all have either heard about in the news, or unfortunately been a part of, I think that what we can take from them all is the lesson of how the concepts of “com-munity” and “communication” are essential to each other, and to the purpose of build-ing better communities.
Perhaps it common to think that a com-munity association’s interests are limited to protecting and increasing home values-through enforcement of the CC&Rs and maintenance of common areas and facili-ties. However, community associations can and do accomplish so much more than budgeting and landscape care. Commu-nity associations can foster neighborhood collaboration for leisure activities, facilities improvements, dispute resolution, and even grass roots political and social involvement on issues effecting community associations and their residents.
All of this is possible only through effective communication. Your Southern Arizona Chapter of CAI Board of Directors thanks all of the community association profession-als and volunteers who work so diligently throughout Southern Arizona to improve their own communities as well as to provide assistance, advice, counsel and mentorship to others to do the same for their communi-ties as well.
I want to continue to encourage our mem-bers to attend our educational luncheons, to participate in our 2014 Southern Arizona CAI Expo coming this fall, to volunteer for Chapter leadership and activities, and most importantly to share what you have learned and experienced with others who may also benefit and succeed if given the same op-portunity.
Michael S. Shupe, Esq., CAI Southern Arizona Chapter President
We are always looking for volunteers to serve on the Chapter committees. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact the CAI Office
at 520-870-7759 for more information
Click here for our Chapters Newsletter Assessment Survey.
communityconnectionpage 3 | www.soazcai.org
Please join Southern Arizona CAI for our May Educational Luncheon: Managing Community Safety, Security & Liabilities. The program is intended to heighten the awareness of safety and security measures and best practices for community associations, including discussion about identifying areas of association responsibility, avoiding common pitfalls, and minimizing exposure to liability.
OUR SPEAKERS: G4S Security: Manny Fimbres CAU: Scott McLaughlin Labarre/Oksnee: Jeff Leane
VISCOUNT SUITESWednesday • 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
MAY EDUCATIONAL LUNCHEONMAY 14, 2014
ManagingCommunity
SafetySecurity &Liabilities
communityconnectionpage 4 | www.soazcai.org
dia
mon
d sp
onsors
page 5 | www.soazcai.orgconnectioncommunity
Q: What should an HOA require from a unit owner/tenant, who requests to rent the clubhouse for a private event? What are the HOA’s exposures?
I am often asked this specific question from board of di-rectors and community managers. First, the HOA should require the following documentation:
• Hold Harmless Agreement: An agreement or con-tract in which one party agrees to hold the other free from the responsibility for any liability or damage that might arise out of the utilization of the com-mon area.
• Certificate of Insurance: Naming the HOA as an additional insured with limits of insurance, of at least, $1M – per occurrence.o HO3/HO5: homeowners insurance policy for a
single family home unit ownerso HO4: renters insurance policy for tenanto HO6: homeowners insurance policy for condo-
minium unit owners• Clubhouse Rental Agreement: Contract between
the renter (unit owner/tenant) and the HOA, which outlines the requirements and restrictions of the fa-cilities and event.
In regard to the HOA’s property and liability exposures resulting from the rental of the clubhouse facility; I would like to share the following ‘real life’ claims.
SCENARIO I:A few years ago, George, a unit owner, rented the HOA’s clubhouse for his daughter’s wedding. Similar to many HOA’s, the HOA only required a deposit ($50) to rent the clubhouse for an event. The wedding ceremony was elegant and beautiful, each of the 35 wedding guests commented on how wonderful the clubhouse looked. There wasn’t a detail that was overlooked for this special day. As the wedding night progressed, many of the guests advanced to the dance floor. One of which, was an elderly gentlemen, who was dancing and slipped and fell – dislo-cating his elbow and breaking his ankle. The injured guest was then rushed to the nearest hospital for treatment of his injuries. Upon arrival, it was discovered that he didn’t have medical insurance. As a result, the guest sued the
HOA for all of his injuries in conjunction with pain and suffering damages. Since the HOA didn’t have a signed hold harmless agreement or a certificate of insurance from the unit owner, the HOA was on the hook for all costs.
SCENARIO II:Another HOA required a signed rental agreement (which included a hold harm-less agreement) in addition to a deposit ($30) for rental of the HOA’s clubhouse facility. Susan, a unit owner within the HOA, satisfied the HOA’s requirements by offering payment and signed rental agreement. The clubhouse was rented for a ‘going away’ party for her son, who is in the military and was deployed overseas for service. Unbe-knownst to the HOA, the attendees of the party brought a plethora of wine, spirits and micro brewery beers to the festive event. After many hours of alcohol consumption, one of the guests decided to leave the party and retire for the evening. Unfortunately, the guest was inebriated and accidentally drove his automobile directly into the clubhouse, damaging the structural integrity of the build-ing in addition to injuring himself. Since the HOA didn’t procure a certificate of insurance (COI) from the unitowner, naming the HOA as an additional insured for the event; the cost to repair the property damage to the club-house was the responsibility of the HOA. Subsequently, the driver filed a lawsuit against the HOA for medical payments in addition the damage to his vehicle. It was later discovered that the hold harmless agreement wasn’t created or authorized by an HOA attorney, rendering the document invalid.
SCENARIO III:On a warm summer day, the HOA authorized the usage of the swimming pool area for a unit owner to hold a family barbeque. The HOA didn’t require a certificate of insurance, signed rental agreement, hold harmless agree-ment or a money deposit to utilize the common area. The utilization of the swimming pool area was viewed
by scott mclaughlin
a case study :
Scott moved to Arizona from Pennsylvania in 2006, focusing on Pima County in conjunc-tion of the surrounding south-ern Arizona counties. Since arriving in Arizona, Scott cur-rently insures more than 300 community associations.
to rent or not to rent
(Continued on Page 6.)
page 6 | www.soazcai.orgcommunityconnection
a case study : to rent or not to rent
(Continued from page 5.)by all the members of the HOA, “As a privilege of each unit owner, who pays assessments to the HOA”. The unit owner and family members, totaling 20 guests, used the barbeque grill, picnic tables and chairs in addition to swimming in the pool, which measured 8 feet deep, at its deepest end. As night came upon the party goers, many of the adults lost track of monitoring a few of the younger children. Consequently, a 4 year old child, was walking around the perimeter of the pool, stumbled and fell into the pool. Unaware of the situation, none of the attendees of the party were able to respond in time for the child to be saved. NOTE: Statistically, drowning is the leading cause of death for children under 5 years old in the United States. As a result of this horrific event, the HOA was sued by the parents of the deceased child for damages upward of $3 million dollars. Regrettably, the HOA didn’t properly require a COI, from the unit owner’s homeowner’s insur-ance policy, naming the HOA as an additional insured in addition to the requirement of a signed rental agreement/hold harmless agreement.
In summary, every HOA that offers their common area for the private usage of a unit owner or tenant should follow these simple steps:
Require a certificate of insurance from the unit owner’s homeowner’s insurance policy, naming the HOA as an ad-ditional insured with limits, at least, $1 million, per occur-rence for the event.
Educate the unit owners within the HOA on the ‘Rules & Regulations’ of the HOA; which should include safety precautions, usage restrictions and rental agreement/com-mon area.
Never allow the distribution or consumption of alcohol without a ‘stand alone’ liquor liability policy for the event.Transfer the liability exposure from the HOA to the unit owner/tenant that rents the common area via the rental agreement/hold harmless agreement – placing the ac-countability of the event on the renter to act in accordance to the rules and regulations.■
WATCH for Final details in our July 2014 issue for our up-coming annual 2014 Expo-Legal Forum in Oct.
Join us Wednesday, July 9, 2014 event on “Post-Legislative Session Update”
communityconnectionpage 7 | www.soazcai.org
Wednesday, 14th
Educational Luncheon
Safety & Security
Speakers:
G4S Security-Manny Fimbres
CAU-Scott McLaughlin
Labarre/Oksnee-Jeff Leane
Viscount Suites
11:30 AM – 1 PM
For Details See Pg 3
NOEVENT
NOEVENT
Wednesday, 9thEducational LuncheonPost AZ Legislation UpdateScott Carpenter, Esq.Viscount Suites11:30 AM – 1 PM
Wednesday, 12thAnnual MeetingPEACE AwardsViscount Suites11:30 AM – 1 PM
Date TBDSOAZCAI EXPOTradeshow/Legal Forum)Several SpeakersLocation TBDAll Day Event
The Chapter is an affiliate
of Community Associations
Institute, Inc., a national
organization devoted to
serving the interests of
community associations
and the professionals who
support them.
Southern Arizona Chapter
promotes education and
community excellence
among all types of home-
owner associations in
Pima, Santa Cruz and Co-
chise counties, as well as
designation and certifica-
tion of community man-
agement professionals.
CommunityConnection designed by
www.AffinityForDesign.com
page 8 | www.soazcai.orgcommunityconnection
by Carolyn B. Goldschmidt
a case study : board removal elections
Board Removal Elections are controlled by the Arizona Con-dominium and Planned Communities Acts [A.R.S. §33-1813 & §33-1243]. For communities that are neither condominium nor planned community, the governing documents and/or Ari-zona Non-Profit Corporations Act would govern the process. I will address the statutory procedure later in this article, but first some commentary.
Reasons Removal Petitions Happen. Although sometimes justified, a removal election is never a good occurrence in a neighborhood and should be avoided where possible. These are the underlying reasons for the removal elections that my law firm has handled over the past 27 years:
1. The Board made decisions that angered a number of home owners (e.g., raising the assessment, installing speed humps, changing management company or firing a popular staff person, more diligent assessment collection,).2. Board member sued HOA for lax enforcement of restritions (and was then removed from the Board by the members).3. Board members are not acting in accordance with the governing documents.4. Board members are not holding meetings.5. Minority faction wants control due to its ongoing disagreement with Board actions and procedures.
Avoiding the Removal Petition. There are a number of cases where the removal effort may be misguided and is a strong reaction (bolstered by rumors) to a Board working on changes and improvements in the neighborhood. In such situations, there often is a split in members’ opinions on whether the improvement should be made (like building a new office for man-agement staff or becoming a gated community). And, just as often, there is confusion on the part of the members on their rights to make decisions on behalf of the Association.
In these instances, many removal petitions can be avoided if the Board seeks owner input before moving forward with an expensive improvement project for the common area. Even if there is no basis for a vote of the members, it is advisable to take a non-binding advisory vote and hold one or more “town hall” meetings of the members to discuss the proposed project. The Board can then gauge community resistance to the project and adjustments that may need to be made.
In other cases, the removal effort is justified. For example, In the case of the removal petition that was being circulated because the Board had not held a meeting (including an annual meeting) for at least two years, I counseled the Board to call an immediate special meeting of the members, and have me there to provide guidance on proper procedure. The Board offered to step down, explaining that they stopped having meetings due to rampant apathy
(Continued on page 9.)
Carolyn Goldschmidt is a part-ner in Monroe, McDonough, Goldschmidt & Molla, PLLC, and heads up the firm’s HOA Law Division. Carolyn has been practicing community as-sociation law in Tucson for the past 27 years, and is currently one of our Chapter’s delegates to the Arizona CAI Legislative Action Committee . Carolyn is certified as a real estate special-ist by the State Bar of Arizona.
page 9 | www.soazcai.orgcommunityconnection
by Carolyn B. Goldschmidt
board removal elections
in the neighborhood, and were tired of doing all the work of this self-managed association. A transition plan was negoti-ated at the meeting with the community leaders who started the removal petition and the removal election was avoided.
It also seems that some Boards that are subjected to a removal petition have been lax in communicating with the members. To make matters worse, in such communities, there may be a dissident faction with a website and/or extensive e-mail list that is putting out more information to the members than the Board is. By the time the Board responds with its own rebuttal and information, it already is on the defensive and at a disadvantage. In the 21st century, a website is the best overall communication hub for a homeowners association, and allows the Board to keep the members up-to-date when there is a big (i.e., “expensive”) decision needing to be made. (For HOAs with small budgets, there are several organiza-tions that offer free website set-up and training for an admin-istrator; see Google or some other web browser.)
Procedural Difficulties. Once the removal petition is served, under the Condominium and Planned Communities Act, the Board has 30 days in which to hold a special meeting for the purpose of a removal election. Needless to say, there are difficulties caused right from the outset because the subjects of the removal election are responsible for organizing and holding the election. Oftentimes, the petitioners will make demands on how the removal andreplacement elections are conducted. However, according to the statutes, the Board calls and provides written notice of the special meeting. There is no further guidance in the statutes on procedure; however, this is a meeting of Associa-tion members; therefore, the Bylaws provisions in this regard would govern. If the President is the subject of the recall pe-tition, he/she probably will not want to lead the meeting. Thus, a manager or the Association attorney may do so.
If less than the entire Board is being recalled, the remaining Board members typically are authorized in the Bylaws to ap-point any needed replacements. However, if the entire Board is being recalled, there often is confusion on how and when the replacements will be elected. Some Boards undertake a
quick nominating process and send out a slate of replace-ment candidates for the members to vote on, with the under-standing that the results will be counted only if the removal election is successful. Other Boards leave organization of a replacement election to be done at the removal meeting, if re-moval is successful, and plan the election in the same manner as the annual Board election. This can be tricky as all non-profit corporations must have boards of directors. Therefore, if there is not a manager in place to handle the administration of the Association on an interim basis until the new Board is elected, the old Board may need to stay in place until their successors are elected and qualified [A.R.S. §10-3805(E)]
Avoidance Techniques. This article would not be complete if I did not mention Association Boards who refuse to hold a removal election after being served with a petition. I have seen this happen on two occasions: in one case, there was a Bylaws provision that divested any member of his voting rights if he was in violation any provision of the governing documents. The Board took the position that many of the petitioners were in violation and, therefore, not eligible to vote or sign the removal petition. (A Superior Court Judge disagreed with this position.) In another case, the Board took the position that the members who signed the petition were given inaccurate information and, therefore, the petition was void. The petitioners opted not to take the matter to court, even though they believed (more than ever) that the petition was justified and valid. To avoid giving credence to this posi-tion, it is best if there is a concise statement of grievances on every page of the petition so signing members are all given the same information.
It is certainly understandable for a volunteer director, who gets wind of a removal effort against him to react negatively. However, in a perfect world, directors might avoid a removal election or mitigate divisiveness in the community by doing some self-examination and striving for better communica-tion and understanding of dissident members’ position.■
(Continued from Page 8.)
communityconnectionpage 10 | www.soazcai.org
Kim Lax relocated from Or-egon and was hired by Cadden Community Management in 2002. Kim started as a front desk clerk and quickly moved up the ranks to assistant man-ager, association manager and now holds the title of Direc-tor of Operations. She is a Past President of the So AZ CAI Chapter and holds the fol-lowing designations: Certified Arizona Association Manager (CAAM), Certified and Asso-ciation Management Specialist (AMS). Kim has also earned our profession’s highest certifi-cation of Professional Commu-nity Association Management (PCAM).
The definition of effective communication, according to, Business Dictionary is: “A two way information sharing process which involves one party sending a message that is easily understood by the receiving party. Effective communication by business managers facilitates information sharing between company employees and can substantially contribute to its commercial success.” Sounds good, but how does this translate to our daily actions?
As Association Managers, Board Members, Business Partners or Homeowners, we communicate in a variety of ways.
Verbal communication immediately comes to mind. As Managers, most of the communication we deal with is telephonic and is often negative. How many thank you calls have you received for sending that letter? Give these person your undivided attention. Allow them to explain each and every reason why they are upset. Often, just getting the chance to explain their concerns to someone who will listen to them will ease the tension. Some have found it helpful to place a mirror in the vicinity of the phone so they can see themselves.
But what about at a Board meeting or in the office with the person is upset? Now you must rely not only on your verbal skills but your body language. What message are you sending? 55% of our communication is received through body language. It is very hard to control your body language when someone is “in your face”. What you say doesn’t matter as much as what the listener perceives. To diffuse anger here are some tips: Listen, don’t talk. Don’t interrupt
– allow them to get things off their chest. Keep your body language open – avoid crossing your arms and leaning back in your chair. Maintain eye contact without staring. Treat them they way you want them to treat you.
Now to the common way of communicating in our industry – E-MAIL! Email is a blessing and a curse. It is a fast and easy way of distributing information in an instant. But there are drawbacks. It is very easy to sit behind a computer and type an email and often the composer of the email can become brave because they are not face to face with the recipient. On the flip side, sometimes we may read an email based on our present mood – not necessarily in the manner in which it was sent. Sometimes it is best to take a step back when reading email after a tiring day or phone call. Go back and respond later. Always keep in mind that all email correspondence becomes a record for the Association. Make sure you don’t put anything in an email that you would not want to be read in a court of law.
Communicating is an important part of what we do in this industry. We deal with people’s property and they get frustrated when they can’t do something. This is an emotional issue. I think when communicating we can go back to what we were taught growing up - treat others the way we would want to be treated.
by kim lax
a case study : do we communicate effectively?
We communicate on a daily basis. The question is do we communicate effectively?
