Rather than hire a consultant to find ways of doing things differently and improving board-shareholder relations, I'd brainstorm with your board and mgmt, talk to other boards, and research articles for Habitat, The Cooperator and the CNYC first. This might save you money that could be better spent elsewhere. Also, I'd wonder if shareholders would question a need to spend money for a consultant and if the board/mmgt aren't knowledgeable or creative enough to come up with approaches/idea on their own. Just my opinion.

Seen this advertisement in Habitat for Eric Kornfeld, Consultant...917-991-8127; www.erickornfeld.com.

Mr Rutherford,

I think your building is fortunate to have someone like you
take over. You have come into your new position with the
proper attitude. "How do we do it better"
I have been on my Board for 15 years, 10 as President, I am now retired and would be happy to share my experiences with you! In any case I wish you the best of luck! Best RBG

Board Newbie - Funny you mention this. We just went through this after MANY months of dealing with mice. Exterminators will find areas that need to be sealed but they won't move d/w's, fridges, ranges. Shareholders have to do it or get someone to do it (the super?) and pay for it themselves.

The coop is responsible for sealing common areas but you can't require shareholders to move appliances, patch holes, etc. and pay for it unless conditions in their apt cause problems for others and the building. Also can't require them to sign up for monthly service (far as I know).

I'd suggest a few other things:
-- A notice reminding people to discard garbage promptly, tie it tightly in bags, not leave food exposed, put food from open boxes (esp cereals, grains, fatty foods) in air tight containers, and seal holes esp around baseboards, in cabinets and around pipes/gas lines. (Holes around kitchen pipes/gas lines are the most common way mice get in).

-- Check all common areas and building rooms for holes.

-- Check the building exterior, the backyard, the garage, etc. and put bait stations/traps in those areas.

-- Have your super bag loose garbage in your trash areas promptly and get it out of the building asap.

-- Check indoor/outdoor drain holes for blockages. (Mice, bugs and rats look for sources of water as well as food).

Thanks BP, for all your good info. But I am still not clear on Co-op responsibility for mice in apartment and getting rid of them. As a shareholder in this co-op for 14 years, we never paid for exterminators, Corp. did. Certain apts have more problems than others for no known reason. I am on the Board and one of the owners with a bad mouse problem. We changed managing agents recently and the new one informs us that shareholders are responsible for exterminators and this is news to me. Additionally, it turns out there hae been no monthly exterminator visits to treat the common areas or untis since we changed management over a year ago. So I am on both sides of this and would like to be fair. It seems this would be under the warranty of habitability where one is entitled to a vermin-free apt. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
BN

Newbie, sorry if this is long but I don't know how to reply to your questions in 25 words or less.

If your bldg's had no monthly extermination in over a year, I think that's the first thing you should focus on. Find a good exterm company, decide the level of bldg service you need and include service to apts that request it on a sign-up sheet. If a company wants your business, they may give you extras and negotiate on price. Sealing holes/cracks is critical to keep mice out and you likely have more than you did a year ago. Mice are nibblers. They can chew thru wood, plaster, vinyl, and slip through a hole as small as a dime. You should also get sweeps (barrier strips) for bottom of doors for all bldg rooms (boiler compactor, pump, storage) and doors to the outside. Get metal sweeps. Mice can chew through even the hardest rubber.

Most proprietary leases say shareholders are responsible for keeping the apt interior clean and in good repair. Our attorneys say that includes sealing holes/cracks around pipe/gas lines coming into an apt, in baseboards, etc. Have your attorney check your lease. Exterms find areas that need sealing but shareholders have to empty cabinets and move major appliances. Exterms I've dealt with wouldn't do that. They also don't seal holes/cracks, just locate them.
As I understand it, if any work beyond the scope of service covered in a contract with an exterm company is requested, the coop pays for it in bldg areas and shareholders pay for it in apts. Ask the exterms and your coop attorney. Also, look through Habitat's article archives. You can also type keyword "mice" on the Net and find a lot of info on their habits, food-search patterns, how to get rid of them, etc.

Re: mice, you said "certain apts have more problems than others for no known reason." There HAS to be a reason and it's most likely holes/cracks. It could even be a split in a hardwood floor or a "mistake" hole you made in a wall to hang something and never plastered up.

Mice forage fairly close to their nest, usually not more than 10-25 feet, and they're always looking for food or water. If they find even a tiny hole they explore, and if there's food left out, open boxes of food, food scraps in trash cans, etc. in an apt, you're going to have uninvited (and unwelcome) guests for dinner.

I can't tell you too much on the warrant of habitability. It mostly referred to rentals and gets complex with coops. The standard meaning referred to a tenant being deprived of essential functions to which he/she is reasonaby entitled, such as heat, plumbing, electricity, absence of mold or lead paint. A breach of the warrant depends on the extent of the problem, if it affects health and what, if any, corrective measure have been taken. Not sure where, but I read somewhere that a coop proprietary lease has been deemed to be no different than other (rental) leases and "Courts found that a landlord-tenant relationship is created by the proprietary lease thereby rendering the coop corporation liable for breach of the warranty." (I found that in my notes from our dealings with mice last year.)

Again, it would be wise to consult your coop attorney. I'm not an attorney so don't hold me to anything legal-ish I may have written here. :-) I hope some of this helps you.

help. need the info. It may be that the slate presented on the printed proxy is only the current board that is running for reelection. need help!

We send out a preliminary letter telling shareholders: 1) they'll receive an annual meeting notice as required and 2) to contact our mgmt office by "X date" if they want to run for the board so their name can be put on the proxy which will be mailed with the meeting notice.

Sometimes the letter says anyone who wants to run should send in a resume by "X date" but adds that a resume isn't required to run, and all resumes received will be mailed with the meeting notice. This is a good idea if it's been a very contentious year, if there are many new shareholders or if you have a big building.

The proxy includes names of everyone who indicates by "X date" they want to run. At the meeting, anyone can announce he's changed his mind and isn't running if he wants to. If any proxies are mailed in voting for him, those votes are not counted in the tally. Also note that anyone is allowed to run for the board at the meeting even if they didn't tell the mgmt office in advance or send in a resume.

Not easy , why not try what most do, tell tall untrue tales about your opponents. That should get you on, and when you do get elected prove how good you are by working real hard
and they will all love you for it. Next year then you will be a shoe in. Good luck.

My recommendation.... Have lunch or phone conversation with a fellow Director from another co-op or condo board. It has inspired me in the past in a number of ways:
1- Generate new ideas to invigorate the Board
2- Generate new ideas to handle shareholder issues
3- Provided fantastic feedback for dealing with a weak mgmt. company.
4- Provided a nice "sounding board" for reviewing current and potential challenges.

Soon ending my third term... I hear you : )

Maybe it's time to step back and reassess your reasons for running for the Board in the first place; did you have a plan in place when you started your tenure? Have you been able to accomplish what you wanted, or are you meeting obstacles which are frustrating you (ie., "weak management, apathetic shareholders" etc.)? Is there anything you can do to change those obstacles -- energizing your Board, engaging your Shareholders, challenging your management? Can you mitigate your own frustration in any way?

Being President is draining and time-consuming, especially if your management company or Board has come to depend on your efforts to get things done. Have you delegated enough responsibility for others to feel involved? Have you discussed your vision for the building with them and gained agreement with those goals?

Are you questioning your need for a "reality check" (and your last statement, which you made into a question, may be an indicator of this) because you're concerned that no one else is ready/willing to step up to the plate... ?

Board president burnout is common, especially if no one is helping and things are dragging you down. You're climbing a hill but you've got a rope that's wrapped around a big rock tied to your ankle. You have to cut the rope.

Board members aren't pulling their weight? - Give them more to do, or ask for help and hope they give it. Find out what coop area most interests them (building repairs, finances, legal issues, sublets), make them the point person for that area, and have them report regularly to the board on how things are going. Also, get to knwo your shareholders. Look for potential board candidates, urge them to run at the next annual meeting and get some new faces on the board.

Weak management? - Decide where it's weakest, talk to your property manager and his supervisors, and figure out how it can be improved. Or maybe it's time to start looking for a new management company.

Shareholder apathy? - Apathy often sets in when people feel there's no point to complaints/requests because they don't think it will do any good. If they see positive changes it can make a difference. So can better communication. Have a board member start a newsletter. Make up a simple form and put a suggestion box in the mail room. Distribute a notice that announces it, tells people you want their ideas/input and say every submission will receive a reply. Put a board member in charge of it. Have the board discuss submissions and make sure replies are sent. There are always people who won't get involved but apathy can be turned around if people see changes and know that their voice matters.

As everyone on this message board probably sees by now, I write a lot. I hope my input helps in some cases and thanks to all of you for participating in this forum. I've found a lot of good advice here. It resolves a lot of problems - and it also helps to stave off burnout!

We didn't replace aluminum windows with vinyl, but some of our shareholders used vendors that provided windows from Crystal and all said they are happy with them. I've heard that Crystal is an award-winning company. Board directors in other co-ops have also told me good things about them. We've had no direct dealings with Crystal - just passing this along for what it's worth.

http://www.habitatmag.com/sg2007/glass/jbf.htm. Small company is honest and fairly priced. Redid our 16 unit co-ops 100 windows efficiently and professionally. All our dealings went relatively smoothly from start to finish. At the end of the day we were pleased with the work and the results. That was our expereince. Good luck with your window project.

a really nice thing to do (worth the cost) is to get wooden inside frames and aluminum outside frames . you can give the resident the poption of paying the difference in cost but wooden interior frames are so so so much nicer - plus you can =easily paint them to any color.

Let me categorically state that as a board member in my co-op I have access to anything and everything, except the waiting list for parking spaces. Why no view into the waiting list of parking spaces? Because parking is a sensitive issue and as board members we stay out of the way and never influence a resident’s position on the list.

Other than the above, we have access to everything.

By the way, we have a line of credit and every board member is aware of the terms of the line and when we draw down and when we repay it. In point of fact, we always repay the line of credit within our financial fiscal year and never carry a balance to the new fiscal year.

So in this case, suggest the following:
1. Phone call to the president.
2. Letter to the president copy to all board members.
3. Letter to the co-op attorney.
4. Letter to the holder of the directors and officers insurance, copy to the co-op attorney.

I agree with the Ted that you should first speak with the board pres to ask (again) for a copy of the loan agreement. If he/she says no, write a letter to the board pres, stating his/her previous refusal, and asking again to see the documents -- and cc the entire board, managing agent (and his/her boss), and the corp atty.

Our board recently increase its line of credit, and to do so the board had to vote in favor of it. Unless your l.o.c. was acquired without board approval, I can see no reason why the information should be withheld from the entire board. (And if it was acquired without board approval, well, then you definitely need to get the lawyer involved.)

Remember, too, that the board's attorney works for the ENTIRE board, not just the president. The board's atty, therefore, cannot withhold a corp document if a majority of the members ask for it.

-- a board treasurer

This is precisely what the lawyer has told me that I must get approval from the majority. In my case this will never happen as the majority will say no. What do I do then. I still maintain that I do not need board approval to get copies of documentation ehich we are all entitled to see. The latest objection from the secretary was that "her signature is all over these documents & I would forge her signature as I had done before in trying to access her business accounts". Of course this is false. Another issue with her at the moment.

There's the crux of the issue: a nonfunctioning board. If the secretary feels free to state that you have committed felonious fraud (which, I believe, is called "libel per se" and may be strong enough to sue over if she says it publicly), you have a board that cannot function.

I'm beginning to think that perhaps you should cut your losses and resign -- and not because the other members won't play fair.

If they won't let the board see this agreement, I wonder what else they're trying to get away with. Even assuming they're doing nothing illegal, any breach of fiduciary duty committed by a few members applies to all (I'm no lawyer; this is my interpretation). You don't want to be dragged down by something you fought against.

If I felt my board was not open, fair or acting on behalf of ALL shareholders, I seriously consider resigning. (This happened to my mother, when she served on a non-profit board (not a co-op); too many hints of impropriety and her lawyer advised her to resign in writing and destroy her personal notes.)

Good luck.

No board director should operate unilaterally or have power over any other director. Opinions will vary and "majority prevails" - but a majority can't refuse you access to what all directors are entitled. A board is a team of equals. The pres/secretary have certain specific duties, but if you are flatly denied the right to see/approve documents, know how an LOC/other finances are handled or have legitimate questions answered, your coop has a serious problem.

I disagree that you should resign. IF you can support your position as a fair, honest board director and are denied the right to act in that capacity, you do your coop a great disservice by walking away. The problem continues, maybe gets worse, and everyone may suffer consequences.

If coop matters are being mishandled and you get nowhere with the pres/secretary, manager or attorney, take this to the people who can effect change: the shareholders. Present the facts at an open meeting...ask questions and don't let the pres/secretary/attorney brush them off...encourage others to speak, get involved, run for the board. You will stir things up, but you can't avoid it if you want to get the board and the coop back on the right track.

If possible, get non-divisive board directors to stand with you and don't let emotions rule. Work with the shareholders and do it responsibly and professionally.

Problems don't go away if people who can help resolve them go away. You joined the board to improve your coop and to make a positive difference, didn't you? From what you've said, it doesn't sound like you will have a better chance to do that than now.

Very well said!

I have put my request for a copy in writing to President & all board members. The objections came from Secretary & president which are the only board members privileged to see these loan documents, although 2 minutes before the end of a board meeting I was passed the 200 page document to review. When I said I would have to copy it & or view it at my leisure, I was told NO.

I have written the attorney as well but no answer. By the way I do not expect an answer from the attorney as I have written him before in other issues & in speaking with him I was told that If the board does not give approval, I cannot see documentation. To further clarify, I have written our lawyer about 70,000 missing in our accounts & to date no response.

Why not go to the managing agent and view the documents? I feel something fishy is going on when a board member can't get copies of documents pertaining to the building they represent. Keep the pressure on! Don't give up.