Journal Notes—April 2018

by Michael Hamline, Editor/ Published April 2018

       The April issue is focused on caring for the exterior of your building and grounds. As such, this issue contains articles that help communities consider proper maintenance for their roofs, lakes and ponds, asphalt, patio furniture, and concrete balustrades. We also address concrete slab edge spall repairs on post-tensioned (PT) buildings, on helping communities determine whether to take out a loan for repair or replacement projects, and what communities need to consider in signing a crane swing license agreement.

       In Kathy Danforth’s article “Heads Up for Roofs” on page 6, Ed Williams with Ed Williams Registered Roof Consultant talks about the importance of having the community association’s roof or roofs inspected annually. He provides some guidelines on how to determine when the roof needs to be replaced instead of repaired. “The time to replace is based on the frequency of leaks,” Williams comments. He also mentions the helpfulness of roof coatings and hiring a roof consultant.

       Michele C. Ammendola, Esq., with Becker & Poliakoff, writes an article about “Ten Things Community Associations Need to Know about Crane Swing License Agreements” on page 42. What is a crane swing license agreement? Ammendola answers, “A crane swing license agreement is the document whereby the association is allowing a developer or others to operate a crane over, above, or along the association’s property, including the association’s air space, grounds, buildings, and other physical structures. Crane swing license agreements are growing in popularity as more developers are trying to mitigate their risk of committing a trespass into a neighboring owner’s air space.”  Some of the elements to consider in a crane swing license agreement are what happens if there’s an interruption of services (i.e., utilities and telecommunications services) and what measures the developer is willing to take to protect the association’s property from damage and to protect the association’s residents and invitees from danger.

       We know there will be many great takeaways from this issue that will help CAMs and boards of directors to better care for their communities. Have a wonderful April!

Editor