b'Congratulations to our 2022Community Association of the Year,Harbour Hill Condominium Apartments Associationin communicating this to our residents and the feed-back was mostly positive and constructive to approvethe assessment. Residents are beginning to purchase electric vehiclesso our building undertook a year-long study to deter-mine the best way to adapt our 50-year-old building tothis new technology. The result was to install a commu-nity charging station which meets the current needs.We have been very fortunate to have willing andable volunteers so that we are self-managed. We appre-ciate the services Associa gives us with the financialaspects. Our association was nominated for this honorby T.J. Evans, with Associa Gulf Coast managementwho said their quality oflife is in large part due toThe following was submitted by Joan Karins, the the self-management of aAssociations Board President: great group of volunteers. We just celebrated our 50th year anniversary andwe believe we have demonstrated our forward thinking Passing of the Gaveland consideration of the associations well-being with At the close of ourseveral actions this year. Recognition Breakfast,We responded to the tragic collapse in Surfside by we thanked our 2022obtaining a 50 year inspection by our engineer. As part Chapter President,of this process, we discovered that the cost of a major Lorraine Thomas, and wel-roof replacement was more than our projected cost comed Bill Martin as ourwhich led us to a special assessment. We were successful2023 Chapter President.THE RESERVE STUDY: A CRITICAL FACTOR IN PROTECTINGAGING INFRASTRUCTURE CAI advocates for laws that allow governing obligating the association to a long-term as well as to provide a baseline evaluationboards to determine the appropriate reserve bank loan. Either way, homeowners eventu- and to determine the useful life of alllevel and method for funding long-term ally foot the bill. components.maintenance, repair/replacement of facili- To prevent such costly events, regard- One of the takeaways from thisties/equipment and disclose the reserve less of state requirements, associations need investigation is the need for an engineeringstudy used to their community. to plan for and conduct regular and com- or architectural inspection that wouldReserve studies or a reserve schedule prehensive reserve studies.To be of value, a reveal common area integrity concerns.for condominium associations is required in reserve study should be conducted and Such an inspection, performed less fre-Florida. Reserve funding for condominium managed by an experienced engineer or quently than periodic site-visit reserveassociations is required in Florida. infrastructure specialist who will inspect study updates, would help the associationReserve studies are at the core of plan- and determine the useful life expectancy of anticipate and prepare for major issuesning for the long-term maintenance of each building system and structure within outside the scope of cyclical reserve projects.building structures and the systems within an association. Similar to major medical issues,them. In states where reserve studies are not A comprehensive reserve study is well early detection is key to minimizing andrequired, many associations reached this worth the cost; it is, after all, an investment managing major aging infrastructure-typeconclusion on their own because of unad- in the future health of the associations deterioration. dressed and costly repairs. Unexpected but physical components. Reserve studiesnecessary remediation of an unplanned cap- should be conducted on newer structuresital project often requires either assessing even those built in the last decadeto Sources: Community Associations Institute and thehomeowners a high special assessment or assess for any possible construction defects Foundation For Community Association Research8 - Suncoast Review Spring 2023 www.SuncoastCAI.com'