REOPENING OF CONDO COMMON ELEMENTS

Lots of effort is required to control and manage the common element during these pandemic times and especially so for the larger condominium corporations. Consistent and regular communication is key to keeping the condo owners safe, healthy and hopefully content as we progress from lockdown to a gradual reopening to an eventual new normal. As an example of this type of communication, check out our News Update feed on the CCI Manitoba homepage for the item titled Covid and Common Elements- PM Letter to Unit Owners at https://cci-manitoba.ca

As an example of a success story, here is how unit owners collaborated and respected the public health orders and common element requirements.

Hello CCI, from the Secretary of WCC #517

Our owners have been really wonderful in practicing physical distancing and following all the restrictions that COVID-19 has placed on us by the various levels of government. We have a fantastic group of owners. Here is a photo of our TUESDAY HAPPY HOUR in our beautiful courtyard.

The folks who sit close to one another are couples and the others retain the 2 meter distancing. This morning we held our first 9:30 am coffee hour in our MPR. We sanitized before and after - only allowed 20 owners - placed doilies at each place setting where residents could sit and had everyone bring their own coffee cups. Slowly but surely we are reopening and I must congratulate all our owners for co-operating 100%.

CCI NEWSLETTER DELIVERY DILEMMA

We’ve had a number of inquiries about the possibility of transitioning to electronic delivery for your quarterly Condominium News and Views instead of continuing with paper copies. Just recently, we received this one from one of our members

I would like to suggest that CCI discontinue the magazine copies of the Condominium New and Views. In this day and age, where we should all be concerned with the conservation of our ecosystem, I for one would much rather read it online. It must be a huge expense to print and deliver these magazines to all subscribers. Not to mention, it is a bit of a pain to deliver them to all unit owners!

Thanks for listening and keep up the good work!

The member raises valid points, especially with concerns for the ecosystem. As well, our cost at CCI Manitoba to print and deliver it to all members using both couriers and CanadaPost is one of our larger expense items, and this cost has to be passed onto our members through their membership fees. As well, deliveries for many Condo Corporations are drop-shipped to their already busy Property Manager, who then have to take time to deliver to the unit owners, and are likely passing on this extra distribution cost to the Condo Corporation.

We had started working on our Spring 2020 edition in April, during the height of the pandemic lockdown and completed deliveries to members by the end of May. Through the process we were concerned about whether the delivery addresses on file would be open to receive the newsletters, so we contacted all members asking for direction. The sample email below is what was sent out for condo corporations.

Dear <Property Manager / Condo Corporation>,

CCI Manitoba is planning for the production run of the spring newsletter with delivery by the end of May. Given the current situation with COVID-19, we are looking at possible alternate delivery options, including:

• NO CHANGE TO DELIVERY: We will deliver the newsletter as per usual.

• DELIVERY DIRECT TO CONDO CORP: Delivery of newsletters directly to the Condo Corporation with an address provided by you, along with the name and unit number of the person accepting receipt (with phone# and/or buzz code if required for the property), who will then deliver to the unit owners.

• REDUCED COPIES DIRECT TO CONDO CORP: Delivery of a reduced quantity of newsletters directly to the Condo Corporation with an address provided by you, along with the name and unit number of the person accepting receipt (with phone# and/or buzz code if required for the property), who will then place in the lobby for unit owner pickup.

• ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION: Forgoing a delivery of the physical copy of the spring newsletter edition, we would provide you with an electronic copy for you to forward through your normal electronic distribution list, and an electronic copy will also be available on the CCI website (we will provide login information).

Based on the responses we received, fewer than 10% of the recipients had interest in changing the delivery method for the Spring Edition, so for this Summer Edition we reverted back to normal with the previously used methods.

So what do you think about the idea of receiving the newsletter electronically for your office or Condo Corporation? Doing so could potentially remove the pressure on CCI to raise membership fees in the future. If you are a Condo Corporation receiving the newsletter via your Property Manager, what would you think about the direct delivery option? While it would require someone to do the onsite distribution, it would probably save you a bit of money by not having the Property Manager doing it.

If your Condo Corporation or office is interested in changing the delivery method for your Condominium News and Views, please contact us by phone 204-794-1134 or email ccimanitoba@cci.ca.