Page 23 - CooperatorNews New York Expo 2021

COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS — OCTOBER 2021 23 BEST LAUNDRY ROOMS AND SERVICE FOR THE BEST BUILDINGS CALL OR E-MAIL US TODAY 24/7 FOR AN INSTANT QUOTE www.AcesLaundry.com (646) 663-4ACE | ask the experts ACES Laundry is proud to be the exclusive Laundry Expert for LandlordsNY and Habitat Magazine’s “Ask the Experts” • Full Laundry Room Transformations & Machine Installations • Exceptional Machine & (Human) Customer Care • Personalized Laundry Room Solutions • Powered by Our App • Ease of Operation Machine Installations Exceptional Machine & (Human) Customer Care Personalized Laundry ence, we will talk it out, but likely won’t work with that vendor again. We then will inform the board in any event. If the board says ‘go ahead,’ we will make clear our prior experi- ence. The board makes the ultimate decision.” “All managers have their preferred ven- dors,” says Wolf. “We do too—many of them are long-term relationships. We trust these guys, so we use them. I’ve had issues where vendors get angry because they bid many times but don’t get the jobs. I tell them to bid better. It’s not a big issue for boards if you al- ways bring in the same people, as long as ev- erything’s done fairly. We get more guff from one contractor than the others,” says Wolf. the vendor side than the client side.” Inside Job Should board members insinuate them- selves into the bidding process? Should they recommend their cousin or brother-in-law for a major capital improvement job or a reg- ular, on-going contract? It depends on where that recommendation is coming from. According to Schlossberg, “It has never happened in any building I manage, but hy- pothetically, if a board member recommend- ed someone, we would let them bid—it would be up to the board whether they got the job. Board members come from all walks of life; some are engineers, and I would take recom- mendations directly from them—but from their cousin’s cousin, not so much. If they have the proper background, it’s one thing. If not, it typically doesn’t work out well.” Bid Farewell? All of this may beg the question: does ev- ery contract or project need to be bid out? According to Richard Brooks, a partner at the law firm of Marcus, Errico, Emmer, & Brooks in Braintree, Massachusetts, the short answer is no—at least not legally speaking. He says it’s really more an exercise in common sense. Small jobs often don’t merit taking the time and effort to solicit multiple bids, and in an emergency situation, obtaining bids just isn’t practical. Cutolo agrees, though he does add that “while the body of law does not address the competitive bidding of contractor vendors, it’s my opinion that the best practice for com- munities depends on the circumstances. As a general practice, it is wise to solicit multiple bids when the board is seeking to contract with a vendor. However, where a project is emergent, it is not always reasonable to solicit bids,” he says. “Due to the time-sensitive na- ture of emergent projects, such as remediating water intrusion, it may be necessary for the as- sociation to enter into a contract immediately. To ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the community, the association may not have the time to solicit numerous bids.” Brooks adds that when it comes to longer- term contractual relationships like with a manager or an attorney, “there’s no reason to go out to bid unless things aren’t going well.” In fact, those relationships benefit from their longevity, where institutional knowledge, per- sonal comfort, and familiarity with the prop- erty have value that likely outweighs saving a few bucks by switching to a different provider. What if your Association Is Self-Managed? Wolf suggests that self-managed buildings can solicit and analyze bids as efficiently as buildings with managers. He says, “Don’t be afraid to bring in the expertise of an engineer or architect if necessary. If not, be as detailed as possible to get a contract that meets your expectations. Meet with the contractors on site and walk through and express your ex- pectations. Communicate the details. Com- munication is the key.” What to Watch Out For “Be suspicious if a price is much lower for “There’s something wrong there. In today’s market, if they say they can start tomorrow, ask why, because it’s just impossible today. If they say they have an opening because of a cancellation, be careful. It can be a problem. If they pull up in a landscaping vehicle to do a roofing job, it’s a problem. Always ask if they actually have insurance. It’s very important. Your association doesn’t have coverage for hiring an uninsured contractor.” n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for CooperatorNews, and a published novelist. community’s bylaws. Although some states require some level of training upon election to a board, many leave it up to members themselves to understand their role and acquire the information they need to decide on the matters before them ef- fectively and ethically. But as “fiduciaries”—a term with the same Latin root as “fidelity,” or “faithfulness”—board members automati- cally have the legal responsibility to uphold the duties of care, loyalty, and trust on behalf of their building or association as a whole. (In fact, in many localities board members are known as “trustees.”) Of course, with legal responsibility can come liability. Boards are empowered with broad authority—especially in cooperatives, where board decisions exercised in good faith are protected by the Business Judgement Rule. In condos and HOAs, on the other hand, many capital questions require the assent of a majority of unit owners. In the New York Law Journal, attorneys Dale J. Degenshein and Phyllis H. Weisberg of Manhattan-based law firm Armstrong Teasdale point out that “almost every condominium bylaw we have ever seen contains a provision ... \[that\] pro- hibits a board from spending more than $X in one year without the approval of a su- permajority of unit owners.” Some bylaws extend these provisions to repairs, “so that the board could not, without unit owner ap- proval, authorize virtually any work for any reason (even to preserve safety) if the cost exceeded the amount specified in that build- ing’s particular bylaws.” In the wake of Surfside, there has been ample talk of how stymied a condo board can BUILDING BETTER... continued from page 1 continued on page 24 See us at Booth 553 See us at Booth 320