While the work of an association manager or superintendent is never truly done, there are certain times of the year when things get even busier, with various details that require specific attention (i.e., more work!) The arrival of spring, for example, means an end to shoveling snow and sprinkling salt, but warmer weather brings a host of other tasks with it, like repairing winter damage and preparing outdoor amenities like pools and athletic courts for busy season.

With so many things to worry about, maintenance and HOA administrative professionals suggest that boards and their managers keep a checklist of to-do items for each season, and use it as a guide when walking their property and planning for maintenance and improvement projects. With a comprehensive list and a little help from a few experts, you can ensure that your building or HOA is ready for any season and always ahead of schedule.

Spring Into Action

When the snow is finally over with and weather becomes warmer, the work of your association's building maintenance team picks up tremendously. Come spring, association administrators find themselves with a full roster, working to repair the toll winter may have taken on their properties while simultaneously getting the jump on summer, planning and even getting some larger projects underway. What couldn't be done in the winter becomes top priority as the warmer weather approaches, and preparations for summer get underway.

David Lane, property manager at Society Hill Condos in Cherry Hill, was the development's maintenance supervisor for more than a decade before taking his current position. According to Lane, seasonal maintenance jobs keep him and his staff busy year-round. “Some of the things we do in-house on a seasonal basis include gutter cleaning twice a year in June and December, for example; cutting our grass, obviously; snow removal; getting our pool ready for the season."

Springtime is also time for readying other outdoor amenities for heavy use in the warmer months. Recreational amenities like tennis courts offer huge benefits to residents: they provide an easy way of keeping in shape, and they increase property values in the community—but courts also take a beating over the winter, and need particular TLC to get ready for heavy use in the warmer months.

According to Kurt Vollherbst of Kurt's Kourts in Pennington, “In the spring, you need to go out and see what your court looks like: have cracks developed over the winter? Cracks typically develop over the winter because of the freezing and thawing of the ground and the asphalt. If you do find cracks, the thing to do is have them filled and maintained so that the court not only looks good, but also doesn't start deteriorating rapidly.”

It's important for HOA administrators to realize however, that while most court-care companies will inspect an HOA tennis court and give a free estimate, that doesn't mean they're immediately available to fix whatever damage they find. That's why it's so vital to get court-repair technicians out as early as is reasonable to examine your courts and remedy any problems. "When people wait until that first person goes to hit a tennis ball and complains about it to call us, we're usually booked up for a while because most people make decisions about contracting with us over the winter," says one tennis court specialist in Fair Haven. "We start cleaning and reconditioning tennis courts in April, and we go until Halloween. There's a lot to be done."

Tasks include power-washing the court surface to clean it, checking for and filling in cracks, and making sure the net is properly installed and in good working order. You also need to reinstall windscreens that are usually taken down during winter months.

Lane also notes that spring is planting time. Landscape needs for the summer are finalized and arborists or landscape companies contracts are being drawn up now. "Right now, our landscapers are in the process of fertilizing our plantings, mulching our beds, fertilizing our grass with some pre-emergents for crabgrass. We plant our annuals in May, and do tree-trimming, pruning bushes—we do that once in the spring, once in the fall."

Spring is also the time to finalize plans and contracts for large projects that will be executed in the summertime. If one of your buildings needs a new roof, this may be the time to do it—and that takes a lot of pre-planning and consideration.

Summer—Season of the Project

"In New Jersey especially, summertime is the time of year for projects that require good weather in order to be completed," says Scott Dalley, senior vice president of Access Property Management in Flemington. "We do as much as we can during the warm months, like paving, concrete and asphalt repair, roofing, painting, windows and fences and any major 'reserve' item on the list."

Indeed, if your HOA has a long-range "five year plan" for major capital improvements, renovations, or other big projects, summer is the time to check a lot of those items off the to-do list. It's also a good time to do any repairs or replacements of heating systems and boilers, since they're not being used in warm weather.

Pool maintenance is clearly a big job in the summer, and Dalley cautions that in New Jersey, a certified pool operator must manage each condo or HOA pool. Necessary permits must be in place before the pool can be opened and enjoyed—as well as following all code compliances and federal, state and local regulations.

If your HOA is fortunate enough to be adjacent to a golf course, summer may be your favorite season—but it means weekly, sometimes even daily maintenance of the course to keep it attractive and playable.

Making sure irrigation systems are kept in good working order is crucial of course, but you also must spray pesticide and re-spray every three weeks or so, says one course superintendent in Cranbury. Upkeep of the golf course is critical. "Fairways are maintained twice a week and the rough about once a week. [But] the greens must be maintained on a daily basis because they're the most important—that's what golfers talk about when they come to a course; they talk about the shape of the greens."

Fall Into Winter

Along with springtime, the fall season is one of the two busiest times of year when it comes to maintenance needs. In order to prepare for the winter season, much of the building and grounds must be surveyed for possible hazards. According to Dalley, autumn is a time for cleaning up what Mother Nature casts off. "Branches and leaves are big enemies in the winter because they can cause ice damming. So as the leaves fall, we get in the gutters and remove debris." He also notes that the fall is the time to clean and winterize pipes—anything having to do with water should be looked at, including buttoning up any swimming pools on the grounds.

While winter may be the toughest season on athletic courts, Vollherbst says there are a couple of simple steps that can be taken in the fall to minimize the amount of cleaning and repair work necessary come springtime. "Typically there are at least a few trees around a tennis court, and in the fall, you need to make sure to remove any leaves that fall onto the court itself. Decaying leaves will stain the court, and when they get wet and sit there, they'll mildew, which can get slippery. Pine trees in particular will drop sap and needles onto the court, so sometimes it's even a good idea to pressure-wash the court so that it's safe for the residents to play. Also, some associations take the nets down in the fall, or just loosen the net [so there's] not pressure on it all winter. But besides getting rid of fallen leaves and taking the tension off the nets, there isn't really anything extreme that needs to be done."

Many management pros agree that the most important job in the autumn season is finalizing plans for snowfall. Waiting until the first flakes fall puts unprepared HOAs behind the eight-ball when it comes to getting rid of snow and ice, and usually winds up costing more in supervisor fees and emergency service charges. By making arrangements for snow and ice removal before they're actually needed, and using in-house staff for snow-and-ice detail rather than calling in a contractor every time, managers can save their properties thousands of dollars.

As with any service contract, it's never a bad idea to re-examine the process your association has in place to see where it could be improved—but you can't start that project in late November, says Dalley. "Snow removal looms large in the fall," and a smart manager will make sure all his or her contracts are in line long before the first winter storm. "You should have cell phone numbers for all your snow removal contractors," he says. "And communication with residents is key—the more residents know about plow routes, parking and where to get snow updates, the less chance there is for slips, falls or blocked-in cars."

Fall is also a time to look at your trees—but not just to watch the leaves change color. Lane says his association does a fall pruning and tree examination before cold weather sets in, which helps prevent branches from breaking under heavy loads of snow and ice. As for landscaping, Dalley suggests that when the property's plants go dormant, some decorative kale or similar cooler weather plants can be utilized to make the common areas look pleasant.

Winter is No Time for Hibernation

If your building's snow removal system is well thought-out, with contingencies planned for in advance, winter storms will certainly be easier to navigate. But wintertime in New Jersey isn't really the time to undertake large projects like roof repair, still requires special maintenance attentions. Experienced managers watch weather reports closely and send their maintenance staff out to salt, shovel and snow-blow at the optimum time during snowfall to make removal efforts as efficient as possible. They're also prepared for anything—be it a heavy snow, freezing rain, or a paralyzing ice storm.

And as the snowy season draws to a close and spring (finally) hints at its arrival, the cycle starts again, says Dalley—and it's time for more cleanup. "When spring is around the corner, you should look for damage," he says. "Look for damage to roadways from snow removal, as well as areas where snow was stockpiled - there may be damage to the turf done by salt and chemicals. Also check flora and fauna for breakage, and decide on pruning or removals." Dalley says that the thaw reveals the effect the winter had on the building itself, once the ice melts. "Look for any damage to shingles caused by ice damming, for example. You want to take in the appearance of the community on the whole after the winter passes," he says. "It's a restorative and recuperative time."

A Job for All Seasons

Dividing up maintenance by season is part necessity, part convenience—it's nice that Mother Nature helps space some of the work out for the busy manager. But pros like Lane stress that while you're doing preparation for the next season, all the regular maintenance jobs still need attention. "Residents demand a quick response," he says. "We have a five-man maintenance staff full-time, and we try to get to things as quickly as possible. Obviously leaks are a priority, light bulbs are a priority. We try to respond depending on what priority it is in a certain amount of time, usually pretty quickly."

No matter the season, or the job at hand, cooperation and communication between boards, management, and staff is crucial to getting the job done as quickly and economically as possible, Lane says. "Planning is definitely the key to budgeting the right amount of funds for each project. Right now I'm looking over our reserve study that we had done, in which [a] company comes in and looks over our property and gives us a projected plan of what we're gonna need now and in the future. We have [been] talking to the community about what we're working on right now and publishing a quarterly newsletter that informs the community on what's going on. Communication is a big thing. The more you communicate, the more you know what's going on, and the more ways you can find to cut costs."

Dalley agrees, and adds that a good management company will do its best to insure attention to detail by doing frequent walk-throughs of all its properties. "We've got full time on-site managers as well as portfolio managers who do inspections constantly and look with an eye toward maintenance and 'risk analysis,'" he says. When a branch is hanging low over a walkway or there are potential sidewalk problems, good property managers can take proactive steps before, say, snow causes the branch to break or ice causes cracks in the sidewalk to expand and cause sidewalk heaving.

By following a checklist, you can ensure perfect harmony with the changing seasons each year—or, at the very least, never complain that you have nothing to do.

Mary Fons-Misetic is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to The New Jersey Cooperator. Additional research by David Chiu and Keith Loria.