Journal Notes—June 2020

by Jeff Fehlberg / Published June 2020

     June is busting out all over, and 2020 will be unlike any community association season in history. Residents have been staying in their Florida homes around the clock even as many of our traditional snowbird residents are remaining here instead of risking travel out of state to their summer homes. This means ever greater demands on the essential services your community association is expected to flawlessly provide. Community managers and staff must adapt to this new reality, and Tim O’Keefe of KW Property Management & Consulting shares important COVID-19 best practices on page 42 that every board member and manager must consider.

     Technology in the 21st century is omnipresent in our personal and professional lives. However, these advances come at the cost of growing complexity and vulnerability in the safe and secure delivery of services to our communities and is in greater demand than ever as residents shelter in place.

     Cybersecurity begins with your own personal practices, and Diane Braswell of Leland Management covers the essentials of protecting your own data on page 14.

     Your residents are placing unprecedented demands on the internet coming into your property as they work, learn, and play remotely. If data speed and reliability are important to your property owners, then check out the Q&A on fiber optics technology by John Von Stein of QXC Communications on page 8, along with mini-articles about negotiating internet service improvements starting with Jean Simmons of Communications Consulting Group on page 26.

     Is the long line of food and package deliveries creating a backup at your front gate? On page 60 Envera’s Brie Shouppe delves into new technologies for the physical security of gated communities using automatic verification to speed trusted residents and visitors through the gates while improving protection against unauthorized entry into association properties.

     Finally, keeping the rooftops and roads in your neighborhood in shape are two of the most important investments in maintaining the property values in your association. Casey Crowther of Target Roofing shares sage advice for minimizing risks in your roofing projects on page 64. Don’t let the streets and parking lots on your property throw you for a curve when Jim Fernandez and Tom Fairfax of Asphalt and Concrete Parking Lot Maintenance can keep you on the straight and narrow with answers on page 52 to your restriping and seal coating questions.

Jeff Fehlberg