Page 11 - CooperatorNews Chicagoland Winter 2022

CHICAGO.COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS CHICAGOLAND — WINTER 2022 11 MyQ Business Safely indentify guests Manage facility access Activity monitoring Convenient database management Accessible 24/7 > > > > CAPXM Scan for More Info Scan for More Info High definition display > > Integrated video Weather & scratch proof MyQ App interface > > > Intuitive Interface CAPXM Smart Video Intercom REMOTE MANAGEMENT with MyQ Bussiness Serving the Chicago Area Over 30 years ISS Chicago Sound & Communications inc. 773-528-4070 We Control Doors > www.intercomsecurity.us tial buildings, any online communications um fi nds that his or her air conditioning unit module for co-op and condo communities isn’t working. Maybe they moved in during should include the same fundamental com- ponents: “Th ere should always be a market- place to post items for sale,” he says, “and a the management, who may say it’s not their space for announcing community events. It problem, or that it’s a construction problem should be monitored, and must never turn and you need someone in the trade to cor- into a gripe board. A cutting edge app of this rect it. But the owner of the unit has no idea type would also include something akin to a who to call. Th is new app will function like newsfeed for the community—again, prop- erly moderated, of course.” Disconnecting the Megaphone Th e nastiness pointed out by Schuster etc., and then determine who can help you. and Kestenbaum that so oft en infects social It’s algorithm-based, and designed to short- media discourse can hurt more than just circuit the negative complaint loop. It allows feelings. In the world of real estate, a long list everyone to get to the right person before \[an of complaints about a building on sites like issue\] gets to the point of a negative com- Yelp may make a prospective buyer think plaint that lives forever on the internet.” twice about purchasing a unit in the building or HOA—and that’s the last thing any co-op thing for condo owners and cooperators to or condo community wants. To prevent frustration over internal is- sues like maintenance needs or a less-than- responsive board from getting aired out in ing sense of satisfaction in the moment, but public, says Schuster, “we are working on a everything on social media lives forever— project right now called Antenna that will and could eventually erode not just commu- off er a whole new dimension to online- based community interaction. Residents will value and saleability of your own unit. be able to leave comments on a closed so- cial platform that can then respond to their problem, so it doesn’t get to the point where they just leave an angry, negative review” on a public forum. “For example,” Schuster says, “say the owner of a recently purchased condomini- the winter and never checked it. Now it’s hot. So they call the super, and then perhaps a customer hotline. Antenna will link your address and identity to determine whether it’s a sponsor problem, a management issue, And that, perhaps, is the most important remember: Writing a scathing review of your building, or publicly venting your spleen at your board or management, may give a fl eet- nity spirit between neighbors, but the actual n A.J. Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter with CooperatorNews, and a published novelist. He can be reached at alan@yrinc.com. could be a conflict of interest. Further- more, if there is a transaction involving have explained to clients that that is not the director or the director’s family—say necessarily a conflict; there could just a contract for some type of work for the be different interests at play. In the end, association—under Illinois law, ‘family’ it might not be a conflict of interest, but includes any member of the director’s it still might not be okay.” What it really household with an ownership interest of breaks down to, says Brooks, especially in 25 percent or more, \[and it\] must be dis- closed. The director must notify all own- ers in that case of intent to do business. engineer,” he says. “If the board member The owners have a right to file a petition or the board member’s cousin is an en- and vote on the situation.” “A board member has a conflict when qualified?” he or she has a financial interest in the subject matter being decided,” explains situation is not automatically a problem— Mark Hakim, an attorney with New York- based law firm Schwartz Sladkus Reich the recommended person or entity fits Greenberg Atlas. “Examples include a the bill for what the board is looking for.” board member (or possibly someone in a This could pertain to a board member, a board member’s immediate family) hav- ing an interest in the building doing busi- ness with a specific company, or a board firm or a brokerage company as well. “If a member who is also a broker handling board member is the best snow plow guy sales in the building. Such conflict must you can get and the price is competitive, be disclosed, and can be waived by the let him do it,” says Brooks. “As long as it’s board—but disclosure is the key. Board on the up-and-up. If he charges a premi- members must disclose their conflict, and um—well, that’s a problem.” if it’s not waived or waivable, must recuse themselves from the matter.” Richard Brooks, a partner with law firm Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks in Braintree, Massachusetts, expands fur- ther: “It’s not always as simple as it looks,” he says. “A board member may want to be involved in a multimillion-dollar re- quest for proposal (RFP). In the past, I a co-op or condominium setting, is who has the necessary expertise. “You need an gineer, the question then becomes: Is he Brooks goes on to say that “this type of if the board member discloses it, and if contact of a board member, or even a di- vision or subsidiary of a managing agent’s A Matter of Optics While boards and their advisors CONFLICTS... continued from page 1 continued on page 12