Winter Tips

“No winter lasts forever. No spring skips its turn.”

- Hal Borland

The leaves are turning, the sweaters are coming out, the wood stoves are getting heated, and the snow is coming. In condominium associations that can lead to problems if communication is lacking. So, what follows are some tips to help fend off problems before they arise which should give you more time to curl up on the couch with a good book and a hot chocolate.

Define who is responsible for what. Clearly, snow that falls on the common area is an association responsibility. But make clear to the owners that in between times when the plowers and shovelers are on site, the owners need take some responsibility and spread salt/sand on the walkways and not notify the association if ice is forming in an area where it could lead to slip and falls, places such as near a community mailbox.

Put salt/sand buckets on each doorstep and simply ask owners to spread a little in between times when the association's snow removal contract does not require them to be on site.

Get used to snow. Remember, no matter what you do, some will want the parking lot and walkways to look like Ft. Lauderdale in July. I never argue with such people. I let them know the association will be happy to comply and hire a company that will be on site 24/7 from November 1 through the last freezing night, usually sometime in April to make sure the grounds are immaculate and nary a flake will touch the pavement.

But I also let the owners know such contact will cost the association a lot of money, perhaps raising the condominium fee by $200 per month or more. I then ask for a vote on how many owners would like to raise the fees by that amount.

The point is, we live in New England, and to some extent we all have to know and understand that and learn to live with snow and ice in the winter, even in condominium associations. Help out a little. After all, an ounce of prevention.

Architectural changes. Some owners have been allowed to enclose their limited common area deck and create a 3-season room. That's a wonderful thing for boards of directors to allow. At the same time, the owner needs to know it is still part of the limited common area. Consequently, if the association has to pay to have snow removed from that roof, the owner is financially responsible. Obviously it's better to let owners know this before any snow removal bill comes along.

Document, document, document. It's important. Slip and falls happen. When someone gets injured they will likely sue. Sometimes no one is at fault, which is why they are called accidents. Sometimes someone is, and sometimes someone, shockingly, is just out to make some money.

To help associations show they did what they reasonably could to prevent such accidents, it's important to have a snow log that details not what the weather forecast said fell in your town ,but what actually fell at your association. Note what fell, over what period of time, when the contractor was on site and for how long and what the contractor did. Most contractors are very good and this simple, not very time consuming step can help protect the contractor and the association from frivolous suits and defend legitimate ones.

Weather Repairs. Keep a different log for repairs caused by winter, such as which units suffer ice dams, or what areas pool with water that turns to ice. You can then address these matters in the spring maintenance season to prevent future problems.

Communicate, communicate, communicate. If you have not yet drafted a snow removal policy, now is the time to do so. It should note when plows will arrive (usually when a minimum amount of snow has fallen as noted in the contract) and when they will not (usually not during freezing rain, sometimes not until after a storm has ended), what they are doing when on site (clearing walkways throughout a storm or only at the end), and how moving cars out of the way of the plow is to be handled.

Vacation Plans. Some people go elsewhere for the winter; most south, some north. (I once asked a Maine contractor why he took time off to go ice fishing in the winter and never took time off in the summer. “To go fishing,” he replied, “Too many black flies in summer.”) Remind owners that if they are to leave at all, they need to shut off the water and drain the pipes, leave a key to the unit with a neighbor, let the board know when they will be gone, lower (but not shut off) the heat, and who will have a key to each car to be moved for the plows.

And remember, spring is coming.