Upcoming Board Elections

There are two major issues facing the incoming Kenwood Board of Directors: (1) parking garage renovation and (2) general maintenance and management of our building, including supervision of the contractors hired to maintain it. We need a more accountable Board. But, a new Board will not solve our problems. Kenwood Residents will also have to make some changes. We must learn how to organize ourselves and claim the authority that is rightfully ours to live in a well-managed, well-maintained, safe and pleasant home.

Here is one suggestion. Insist on different arrangements for structuring the management of our building and monetary resources. At present, General Manager is supervised by Kenwood Board. There are multiple problems with the current arrangement.

• Board is not a person, it's an entity. An entity is not a supervisor who can adequate respond to Resident requests and valid complaints/observations about matters that affect satisfaction and quality of life in our homes.
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• Board members are volunteers; supervising General Manager and Management Office is a full-time job that ought to be performed by someone who is professionally qualified to do so.
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• Board is not accountable to anyone, least of all Unit Owners. There are few, if any, mechanisms by which Unit Owners may hold Board accountable to act in Owners' best interest in maintaining the building, selecting contractors, supervising employees, and monitoring maintenance needs.
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• Board is not compelled to remedy Unit Owner dissatisfaction with building services as there are few, if any, mechanisms available for Unit Owners to demand satisfaction in exchange for monthly condominium fees, which are ostensibly collected in part to pay for General Management.
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• Strong management structure will become ever more crucial to maintain a sane and peaceful quality of life at our Kenwood homes as we enter into the garage renovation project.

As long as Kenwood Board is General Manager's designated supervisor, Kenwood Residents will continue to be plagued with mismanagement of Unit Owners' resources. Poor outcomes of our current management structure include continuing property deterioration, poorly managed employees, unsupervised contractors, and no service at all or service without a smile.

What We Can Do

1. Attend the upcoming "Meet the Candidates" event to and ask each candidate how she or he might address the problem of lack of effective management structure at Kenwood.

2. Pose questions to potential Board candidates about how she or he might address a hypothetical event based on a specific incident of dissatisfaction you have encountered while living at Kenwood.

3. Consider how you might be prepared to promote more satisfactory management arrangements at Kenwood. Be specific.