Monthly Archives: March 2021

Top 4 Tips to Run an Effective Board Meeting in Under 60 Minutes By Tina Larsson, The Folson Group

The Folson Group

One of the disincentives that keeps good, qualified people from joining their building’s condo or coop board is the demand on the board member’s time. Work in between meetings can generally be done at your discretion, but the meetings themselves are at a set time and day, and can often be long, contentious, drawn out and just plain borrrr-iiiing!

Read https://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2014/11/four_tips_for_improving_your_board_meetings   for additional suggestions.

We have heard of many building’s meeting that consistently lasts three hours or more. That’s insane! No one can possibly concentrate that long or be effective. In time, people begin to dread the meetings, and members become resentful and less inclined to participate fully in the board’s overall functioning. Here are a few simple tips to tighten up your meeting, make it more efficient, more effective, and possibly even more enjoyable!

1. Have every meeting at a set day and time. That is, instead of spending time at every meeting trying to find a date that “works for everybody,” have a consistent schedule so that people will automatically have the day and time saved. Say, the third Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm. This keeps people available and so you’re more likely to have a quorum, and it lets them know well in advance how to plan their personal schedule, and also keeps people from “forgetting” that the meeting was “tonight”!

2. Be sure that everyone works during the month. That means committees, special projects, routine matters, etc. People can talk/text/email about what they are doing, and topics for discussion can presented via email so that everyone can review, prepare and be ready for the meeting, and not waste time “getting up to speed.” As Steven P. Covey said in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” be proactive. In many cases, especially simple matters, votes can be conducted through email (and just ratified and memorialized in minutes at the actual meeting).

3. Keep extraneous talk to a minimum and avoid “side-bars” and private conversations. It’s rude, disruptive, and keeps business from being conducted. People can talk about their vacations, grandchildren, how smart and important they are, on their own time: you can still have a friendly and warm meeting while sticking to business.

4. Maintain control of the meeting. Reasonable questions, of course, should be heard, but questions for the sake of delay, argument, and the love of one’s own voice should not be tolerated. It is up to the president to maintain firm, but fair, control of the meeting. When the facts are laid out, a vote is called, tallied, and that’s it, end of discussion, and on to the next item.

Follow these simple tips and have a happier, more convivial and more effective meeting and board!

If your co-op or condo board would like other tips on how to run a more efficient building, The Folson Group provides alternative property management services that helps buildings and boards run more efficiently and can save you up to 40% on the fixed operating costs. Email us at info@thefolsongroup.com or call us at (917) 648-8151 to find out more.

http://www.thefolsongroup.com/

 

Need To Save Energy? Lighting Is A Sure Winner

For many building owners and managers, effort is being made to prepare for the return to “normal”. Rules are loosening and there is the general feeling of optimism that people will soon return to their offices, stores, movie theaters, etc. While it is a separate debate about whether this will happen, many business owners are now gearing for occupancy again. And given the harsh truth that for most businesses it will take time for revenue to return to pre-pandemic levels, it will be crucial to reduce costs. One good way is to reduce energy waste, as energy rates are rising beyond inflation.

A great low hanging fruit to save energy costs is to convert your current lighting stock to light emitting diodes (LEDs). You’ve probably heard of them and, yes, they do produce the same or more light using much less energy, one-tenth the power of halogen lights, one-quarter the electricity of incandescents, less than half compared to fluorescents. LED lamps can be controlled (color temperature, dimness, etc.). Prices have dropped as their market has grown recently. Switching to LEDs is such a good deal that many utilities and agencies are cutting back or eliminating LED incentive programs. Paybacks are so good, why should they spend money on such programs and not other programs?

And there are other things to consider when considering lighting.

Are you lighting critical operations properly? Might you be under- or over-lighting certain areas? For example, I performed an energy audit and when I walked into the office, I was blinded for a couple of seconds, the office too bright. I recommended the company de-lamp; remove some critically-placed tubes. The area was still well lit, yet they saved energy costs (the best energy-saving light is the one not on if unneeded).

Once you decide to replace your current lights with LEDs, you need to take a close look at your ballasts, the equipment that holds your tubes. They use electricity. Do they do so efficiently? Are they compatible with the LED tubes you wish to procure? Many old ballasts damage new LED tubes and suppliers will insist they be replaced or their warranty will not be valid. It’s in your interest to upgrade, if it will lengthen their lifetimes.

Another area to consider is lighting controls. As mentioned above, the most energy efficient lights are those that are off when not needed. Timers turn on and off lights at times of non-occupancy, more than making up their cost. Occupancy sensors turn on and off lights depending on occupancy of the space, ensuring lights are used only when people are present. These are inexpensive alternatives for solid energy cost savings.

Back to LEDs, another significant advantage to switching is that LEDs last much longer than fluorescent or halogen lights. LEDs use less electricity and, therefore, generate less heat, causing less damage. Many LED lights have warranties for 7-10 years, while fluorescents often last only 2-3 years. This means more work for your O&M staff, taking them away from other, important projects, just to change a light bulb. Therefore, if you have lights in hard-to-reach places, LED lights would really be beneficial here. And by taking fewer trips up and down the ladder or cherry picker, health risk drops, too.

Finally, LEDs are “cool” in two regards. They use less electricity and thus, emit less heat, reducing a room’s heating load. In some cases, switching to LEDs reduces the fuel used for heating a building or space by 2 to 3%. And LEDs are particularly good for providing lights at low temperatures, even well below freezing.

Good luck in trying to reduce your energy usage and costs as you return to “normal”. Do a thorough analysis of your energy and lighting needs. Consider upgrading to LED lights and other tips, too. If you do decide to do so, do it soon – before incentives disappear.

CCES has the experts to help you assess your total energy needs and lighting needs and recommend beneficial changes to save you energy costs and still provide for your staff and customers. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

Give Your Energy Systems An Annual Checkup

Going to the doctor for your annual check-up is smart because even if you feel well, the examination can catch problems before they become serious. One certainly would like to know and take small steps to control high blood pressure or cholesterol which you may not “feel”. Similarly, your operational systems, and specifically those involved in energy may appear to be operating well. You press the ON button, and the equipment works. However, energy systems degenerate over time and they need regular check-ups to not only continue reliable operation, but also to know when to replace them.

Why you need to check on your energy system regularly:

Hard work and time. Your systems that use energy, like your boilers, chillers, etc., work hard, over long periods of time. And in most cases, under far from ideal situations, such as high temperatures. Assume that even though they are operating proficiently (delivering to you the heating, cooling, light, mechanical power you need), that they lose efficiency and effectiveness over time. Therefore, it is a good idea to give your systems an annual checkup every year by a professional in the field. Ensure that the components of the equipment are still in good operating shape and there is minimal degradation. Besides the individual components looking and operating properly, look into the system as a whole. Is it working together effectively? This includes controls. Your equipment should be operating well together with one another. Again, the annual check should include runs of your entire system with proper monitoring readings to ensure that not only is the ultimate job done by the equipment (i.e., heat or cool a space, etc.), but that the individual components are regulating matters properly. Therefore, for a boiler system, one needs to monitor temperature, air and fuel feed rates, O2 and CO2 levels to ensure all is in order.

Your changing needs. You purchased that equipment for certain anticipated needs. Are these assumptions still true? Did the growth that, perhaps, you planned for come through? Perhaps you even contracted (certainly true for many in the age of COVID). And of course, changes in operation must be implemented suddenly (also, in many cases, because of COVID). So therefore, it may be necessary to change the way you operate equipment to adjust for changes. Is your equipment ready to change its operation to adjust to necessary changes? This is another reason to have a “checkup”.

Why wait for a checkup? Monitor key activities. Nobody wants to be poked with needles to take blood and all. But are there devices to monitor key factors to indicate potential problems even before a checkup? Consider installing technologies to monitor factors, such as fuel usage and energy generation continually throughout the year to assess the effectiveness of your equipment. This can enable you to perform repairs or replacements of certain equipment before they “go down”, which always seem to happen when we least can afford it, right? This is another example of an investment to reduce the risk of problems and failures down the road like regular health checkups achieve, as well.

So as the heating season is wrapping up, consider giving your equipment a “checkup” shortly and take a holistic view of that system one takes for granted, the equipment that uses energy to supply, heating, cooling, light, movement, etc.

CCES has the experts to help you manage your energy systems, whether it is auditing to determine ways to save energy usage and cost or the upkeep of your equipment. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.

Focusing The Power of Finance for Sustainability

If 2020 taught us little else, it taught us that life and the global economy are vulnerable to the forces of nature. Proof is the COVID-19 pandemic which reduced life expectancy in the U.S. by one full year in just a year’s time. And it clearly damaged and set back so many sectors of our economy. Imagine the impacts of global upheavals of nature should we not be sustainable and climate change impacts farflung economic sectors.

At a recent conference, Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action & Finance and a former Governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, says finance can play a pivotal role in addressing the climate crisis, focusing on three points:

First, Mr. Carney argues that now is the time to lay the groundwork for a more sustainable financial system to address climate issues while also preparing for sustainable growth.

A new organization, The Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System has grown to over 70 central banks, with the US Fed having announced its intention to join. This would enable 80 – 85% of global GHG emissions to occur in areas with regulators in this organization. This enables a consistent approach to investment and strategies.

The signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) asks each nation for concrete commitments to follow the terms of the Paris Agreement, like reducing GHG emissions and assisting poorer countries to grow sustainably. Mr. Carney sees this as a cycle. These commitments provides the opportunity for certainty and planning of projects and financing, which better enables success in such initiatives, which leads to meeting climate goals.

Second, is how can market forces be used to make headway in solving the climate crisis. As has been said, a forest has no market value until the trees are chopped down. What can change to encourage (financially) forests from not being chopped down, for instance? Mr. Carney believes that strengthening the carbon offset market can be such a vehicle.

The third factor revolves around risk. The financial sector needs to quantify risk and put their money behind opportunities of excellent projects and avoid funding those that add risk in terms of climate. Quantification of risk and reward, of course, cannot occur without open, public determination of and reporting of climate change risks.
If these issues can be resolved, then Mr. Carney is optimistic that the market will drive climate solution in a successful and beneficial way.

And finally, we are seeing in the US major moves and discussions led by major financial sector leaders (i.e., BlackRock) that climate change is the pre-eminent issue of our times with great human and business implications.

CCES has the experts to help your firm find its footing with Climate Change and sustainability and begin to assess technical risk. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.