This guide to navigating a major capital project helps community association leaders understand the connection between financing, communication, meetings, bids, the project team, and more.
The book comes at a time when community associations across the country face mounting costs to repair and maintain aging infrastructure with underfunded reserve funds. Local and state mandates as well as federal lending requirements are putting more pressure on community association board members and managers to complete critical capital projects.
Deciding how to pay for a large, critically necessary, and structurally significant capital project is difficult. Options include drawing on reserves, borrowing, insurance, third party recovery, increasing regular assessments, levying a special assessment, or combining two or more methods.
In a capital project, the board’s immediate concerns will likely be structural or financial, but perhaps the more important issues are convincing owners that it is necessary and making the case for how it will be funded. For that, you will need political capital.
Through how-to information and anecdotal tales of tragedy and triumph from the author’s personal experience, Capital Projects: A Case Study helps readers successfully start and finish their next big undertaking.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Funding a Capital Project
Reserves
Borrowing
Insurance
Third-Party Recovery
Special Assessments
Chapter 2: Keeping Everyone Informed
Chapter 3: Reviewing and Maintaining Documents
Chapter 4: Capital Project Meetings
Project Status Meetings
Virtual Meetings
Meeting Minutes
Chapter 5: The Capital Project Expert Team
Attorney
Professional Manager
Insurance Agent
Reserve Specialist
Third-Party Advisor
Chapter 6: Bids and Contracts
Develop Bid Specifications
Get as Many Proposals as Appropriate
Select Finalists
Sign a Contract
Conclusion
Appendix 1: The Political Capital Checklist
Appendix 2: Sample Notice of Special Assessment
Appendix 3: Sample Meeting Minutes from The Towers
Appendix 4: Sample Attorney Opinion Letter
Appendix 5: Sample Contract Specification Checklist
About the Author
Author's Notes
©CAI Press, a Division of Community Associations Institute. All rights reserved.
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