Matthew Winton's Condo & HOA Blog

Associations and disaster preparedness

In light of the recent Katrina and Rita effects, and the continued threat of terrorist acts, the issue of disaster preparedness is one that each association board should put on their agenda.

Associations may be able to serve as an important information source about their community and residents in the event such information becomes crucial in times of disaster. Further, the association may serve as a conduit for reminding residents of important contact information for relief, recovery, and emergency services.

For ideas on how your association may act to prepare its residents for emergencies, take a look at the following resources:

Disaster recovery articles and resources

Ready.gov

Association disaster management publications

Matthew L. Winton, Esq.

Records and Requests

Often, the issue of document retention and inspection arises within a community association.  An association board might consider the question from a business practices standpoint as well as an opportunity to provide a service to members. A clear document retention and inspection policy will be one that communicates the recordkeeping practices of the association and provides a member a reasonable outline for making a records request.

For a short article on the topic and a sample recordkeeping and request resolution, see this Article and Sample Resolution: Download 1.pdf .