SFL Cooperator Fall 2020

Fall 2020
SOFLCOOPERATOR.COM
Securing Air Quality in
the COVID-19 Era
HVAC, HEPA Filters, and UV Disinfection
BY A J SIDRANSKY
restaurant in Wuhan, China.
Drawing on what we know about how tuberculosis—another
deadly airborne disease—is spread, Dr. Edward Nardel, an in-
fectious disease expert affiliated with Harvard University, sug-
gested recently in an interview for
The Harvard Gazette
that air
conditioning use across the southern U.S. may well be a factor
in that region’s periods of surging COVID-19 cases. But while
205 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016 • CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
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While residents of condos, co-ops, and
HOAs do their part to prevent the spread
of COVID-19 by staying in their homes
as much as they can, they rely on the su-
pers, porters, valets, doorpeople, janitorial
workers, handymen and -women, security
personnel, managerial staff, maintenance
workers, and others to leave their homes to
keep these multifamily communities safe,
clean, and operational.
But over these last six months, as the
world has been in the grips of the coro-
navirus crisis, property service workers
around the country have been dealing with
heavier and more intense workloads, ever-
shifting regulations, and supply line short-
ages making it harder to carry out their
essential duties—all while dealing with the
same fear and uncertainty that this virus
and its outcomes have inflicted on all of us.
Meanwhile, boards and property man-
agers have been adjusting to new gover-
nance procedures; incorporating the shift-
ing regulatory guidance from multiple
levels of government into their policies;
dealing with pressure from residents to
reopen amenities; and figuring out how
to incorporate personal protective equip-
ment (PPE), foggers, gallons of disinfec-
tant, and plexiglass partitions into bud-
gets that in many cases were already tight.
Given all of these challenges—and in light
of the tough, important work that they do
for the communities they serve—it is more
important than ever to ensure that prop-
erty workers continue to feel safe, secure,
and supported.
In the Beginning
At the beginning of the coronavirus
crisis,
The South Florida Cooperator
spoke
to Carolina González, New York regional
communications manager for 32BJ SEIU,
COVID-19 has caused more far-ranging, persistent anxiety than any other event in
recent history. It has affected our jobs, our living situations, and the way we interact
with others, and it’s not done with us yet. Scientists and public health experts are still
refining their understanding of the way the virus spreads, but one thing they have de-
termined for certain is that the novel coronavirus spreads through the air—especially
within enclosed spaces—and does so far more easily indoors than outdoors or via
surface contact.
“Outside is better than inside” has become a refrain among health experts. And
fortunately, Floridians can go outside safely on most days. We can maintain social dis-
tancing to provide protection from infection. We can wear a mask. But what happens
when the weather is just too hot for outdoor activities or open windows? And what
happens when the weather turns inclement, and open windows and outdoor forays
become impossible for the opposite reason? Among the seemingly endless questions
we all have about the virus is how it behaves in more or less enclosed spaces when
HVAC equipment is running to either heat or cool those spaces.
Air Conditioning and COVID-19
Transmission of the novel coronavirus is thought to happen mainly through large
droplets expelled from a carrier’s mouth and nose during coughing, sneezing, or talk-
ing. Evidence also suggests that at least some cases of COVID-19 occur via airborne
transmission. That happens when virus particles contained in smaller droplets don’t
quickly settle out and fall to the ground within six feet of the carrier who expelled
them, and instead hang in the air and drift around on currents—posing a threat to
anyone who happens to walk through one of those currents. Airborne transmission is
thought to have been a factor in the coronavirus’s spread among members of a vocal
choir in Washington state, through an apartment building in Hong Kong, and in a
It’s a question we’re asked all the time:
“Can we use reserves to cover an oper-
ating fund shortfall?” Under normal
circumstances, our standard response
would be an emphatic “No!”—because
reserves are for major repair and re-
placement projects. But now, in a time of
(inter)national crisis, reserves may play
a valuable additional role at your asso-
ciation.
In March, our country went into
various degrees of ‘lockdown’ to prevent
the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pan-
demic. The resulting rapid spike in un-
employment means associations are, or
will soon be, experiencing higher than
normal assessment delinquencies. With
most communities running on tight
budgets even in good times, rising owner
delinquencies put the short-term finan-
cial health of associations at risk. Yes, the
roof might still need to be replaced in
five years, but management, insurance,
and trash bills all need to be paid now.
In times like these, reserve contributions
and the reserve fund can also be used to
help offset a disruption to essential op-
erating cash flow—but it must be done
with caution and care.
Even in the midst of uncertainty,
boards still need to act and make wise
financial decisions to lead their associa-
tion. Faced with difficult decisions, the
‘right’ answer may not be clear, because
standard best practices simply may not
apply. Fortunately, by following a three-
step process that flows from the Business
Judgment Rule, boards can limit their li-
ability exposure when making what may
seem like unorthodox decisions, if docu-
mentation shows that those decisions are
made:
• In good faith
• In the best interests of the associa-
tion
• After appropriate due-diligence
(seeking wise counsel)
What Do We Do First?
First, it’s important to remember that
trying to solve the problem with reserves
Supporting Essential
Building Workers
How to Show Your
Staff You Care
BY DARCEY GERSTEIN
Tapping Reserves in a
Time of Financial Crisis
An Option to (Carefully!)
Consider
BY ROBERT NORDLUND, PE, RS
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