Condo Media - March 2018 - 32

Working with

FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS

LANDSCAPERS
IS IT BETTER TO COMBINE SNOW REMOVAL
AND LANDSCAPING SERVICES OR TO HIRE
TWO DIFFERENT VENDORS?
The primary benefit, apart from the convenience of dealing with a single vendor, Butts says, is "you avoid the
finger-pointing" about whether the snow removal crew was
responsible for damaging the grounds. Cleanup and repair
will be part of the landscaping duties and included in the
contract fee.

IS IT BETTER TO CREATE A MULTI-YEAR
LANDSCAPING CONTRACT OR AN ANNUAL ONE?
Butts and McGowan both recommend a multi-year contract.
"There's a learning curve whenever you hire a new vendor,"
Butts notes. "One year doesn't give a landscaper much
time to learn the property and to learn what works best."
McGowan suggests a one- or two-year contract with an
option to extend for another year or two. "That prevents a
vendor from bidding low the first year and then jacking up
the prices, but it doesn't lock the association in if it wants
to bid the contract again."

SHOULD BOARDS CREATE VOLUNTEER
LANDSCAPE COMMITTEES?
Butts likes to see a committee in place, because it indicates
that the community "puts a high value on its landscape."
Properly structured and well-managed, he says, a committee "can keep everyone focused and well-informed, so
things don't slip through the cracks." The operative phrase,
McGowan says, is "well-structured." Like any volunteer committee, he says, the landscape committee should have a clear
mission that defines its tasks and the limits of its authority.

HOW DO YOU CREATE AND MAINTAIN A GOOD
WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH A LANDSCAPER?
McGowan and Butts have several suggestions.
■ Communication tops the list. Make sure the board and
landscaper start out on the same page and stay on
it. Agree up front on specific goals and standards for
measuring them. Schedule periodic meetings to discuss
concerns and priorities. Butts suggests quarterly meetings at a minimum, but he sees benefits to monthly
meetings. "It doesn't have to be the entire board," he
says. "And it doesn't have to be a lengthy session-just a
quick walk-through or a brief discussion standing at the

CONDOMEDIA

bottom of a driveway. The important point, he says, is to
identify small problems and address them before they
become major concerns.
■ A good working relationship requires transparency on both
sides, Butts emphasizes. Boards need to be clear about
their expectations and landscapers need to be equally clear
about what they can and can't do, he says. "If your regular
foreman can't be on-site for some reason, you don't just
send a backup and hope no one notices. You tell the board
what you're doing and why." Transparency builds trust,
Butts says, "and with a high level of trust on both sides,
you can overcome some pretty challenging hurdles."
■ "Be fair with them," McGowan suggests. That involves,
among other things, creating a payment schedule that is
comfortable for them. For example, he explains, monthly
payments may not work well for a small company that has
to order a lot of supplies up front. "Ask what makes sense
for them."
■ Designate one person as the primary contact for the landscaper with responsibility for overseeing the landscaping
work. This can be a member of the board or a member
of the landscaping committee, if the association has one.
"You don't want the landscaper to have to jump through
hoops" to figure out who has the authority to give instructions and approve projects, Butts says. A single contact
also avoids the problems that result when different people
are giving potentially contradictory instructions.
■ Establish realistic expectations for what the landscaper
can accomplish. In an older community, Butts observes, it
may not be possible to make the landscape look fresher
and newer without replacing mature shrubs. "You can't
always put a shine on a sneaker," he says. Board members
need to recognize that the limitations they don't like may
be related to the landscape and not to the landscaper.
■ Develop a comprehensive contract. The contract should
describe clearly and in detail everything you expect the
contractor to do, the frequency with which the work is
to be performed, and the equipment and products to
be used. Most relationships between association boards
and landscapers fail partly because their assumptions and
expectations don't match.

Condo Media - March 2018

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