Page 30 - CooperatorNews Chicagoland EXPO 2021

30 COOPERATORNEWS CHICAGOLAND —EXPO 2021 CHICAGO.COOPERATORNEWS.COM THE BEST TIME TO FIND AN EXPERT IS BEFORE YOU NEED ONE. NAVY PIER, CHICAGO THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 10AM-4:30PM FREE REGISTRATION: ILEXPO.COM to the business judgement rule, which re- quires board members to make informed decisions based on their business judge- ment.” As previously mentioned, this is a and commitment to serve their commu- deferential standard that insulates board nity. Claims are common—but if direc- members from liability, as long as their tors are acting in good faith and within decisions are based on a reasonable in- vestigation and are not self-interested or plicable laws and the governing docu- made for a discriminatory or other im- proper purpose. Keep Bylaws Up to Date According to Greenstein, “It’s also im- portant to review what indemnification provisions are in the bylaws of a coopera- tive or condominium. Many of the older cooperatives do not have the more mod- ern indemnification provisions provided in the Business Corporation Law (BCL). They are very expansive, and should be included by an amendment to the by- laws. Further, cooperative corporations may seek to amend their certificates of incorporation with shareholder approval to provide for eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors to the cor- poration or its shareholders for damages for breach of duty, provided there is no bad faith or similar acts by the director.” In the final analysis, board members are unpaid volunteers giving their time the authority granted to them under ap- ments of their co-op, condominium, or HOA, they should be afforded the maxi- mum coverage and protections available. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for CooperatorNews, and the author of several published novels. PROTECTING... continued from page 10 “Specific policies will have specific exclusions of other claims that are not covered. Claims by the corporation against a director or officer are often excluded, as well as claims by one officer or director against another." —Jeremy A. Cohen absorb heat but rather reflect the solar radiation back into the surrounding mi- croclimate, negating other mitigation ef- forts. That reflective heat melted a car in California—and too many glass façades are reflecting heat back and forth and driving the heat index up in Chicago as well.” Zimmerman observes that an intrinsic problem in dealing with the impending effects of climate change in our commu- nities is the very structure by which our communities govern themselves. “The problem is that with most condo and co-op communities, the boards are com- posed of volunteers, and in some cases, those serving on boards have term limits. Planning of this kind is looking down the road 10 to 15 years —and no board wants to assess neighbors today for monies the building or HOA will need 15 years from now. The process is too short-sighted right now.” “And,” adds Keating, “no one predicts these things. You don’t know what you don’t know. In many cases we react to what’s out there historically—but that’s a reaction to something that’s already hap- pened. We are now talking about things mandating the reduction of individual that haven’t happened before—and there’s carbon footprints through more effi- little political will to react to future prob- lems. We tend to only react to what we’ve peratures are increasing energy use,” says seen.” Based on the UN IPCC’s projec- tions however, it’s becoming obvious that use more energy to combat the changes, even if we haven’t yet seen what’s coming, which perpetuates the cycle. For example, the picture is getting clearer—and it isn’t steam-generated systems need more elec- pretty. Countermeasures All of this begs the question of what efficient. We must start planning and re- can we realistically do to counter the tooling now, not only to achieve our cli- troubling trends that are clearly coming. mate goals, but to also not be penalized In the context of multifamily co-ops, con- dos, and HOAs, most of the answers fall sil fuels to more sustainable, renewable into three broad categories: floodplain sources like solar energy is what’s needed management, energy efficiency, and ap- propriate capital im- provement planning. According to Ma- han, regular inspec- tions and evaluations of building systems are needed as well. Among other things, these assessments should look for struc- tural changes like new cracks in walls, or any- thing that’s moving or sagging. “The thing is that we are seeing this rising water table and heavier rains and melts,” he explains. “The footings are moving and there are big cracks appearing. We have to evaluate whether the building is at risk. Every po- tentially affected property needs ongoing of roofs, facades, and infrastructure hap- evaluation, and must be prepared to ad- dress any issues immediately. If you wait gotten 30 years from a roof before. Now 15 years it’s not recoverable—as was dem- onstrated through the tragedy at \[Cham- plain Towers condo\] in Surfside, Florida. fect on the built environment—again re- Boards must be proactive. The most im- portant step to take is regular monitoring ties to have an appropriate capital reserve of the physical plant and structure.” Another major concern is reducing the environmental impact of residential buildings. Many cities are enacting laws based Jomavi Contracting, observes that cient energy use. “Ironically, rising tem- Varsalona. “Sadly, the impact is that you tricity—so we must come up with ways to update old systems and make them more by the new laws.” Retreating from fos- —but it’s certainly not easy. In terms of maintaining and preparing our buildings for worsening condi- tions, the pros say it’s critical to put capital improve- ment plans in ef- fect now. Zim- merman stresses that circumstances have changed. “We might not see the effect in the short term, but over the long term, driving rain, hotter heat, and colder cold has a corrosive effect on all me- chanical systems. We will see it in the deterioration pening that much sooner. We might have we will get 20 or 25 years. It’s a harsher environment—and that has a very real ef- inforcing how critical it is for communi- plan in place. Practical Applications Edwin Suarez, president of New York- “Planning of this kind is looking down the road 10 to 15 years or more. No board wants to assess their neighbors for monies they need 15 years from now. The process is too short- sighted right now.” —Howard Zimmerman CLIMATE CHANGE... continued from page 20