East Side vs. West Side Continued From Page 15





has with their landscaping partner can make or break how we are viewed by our boards and the homeowners. If the irrigation isn’t right, the weeds are taller than the trees or tent caterpillars are wreaking havoc in your critical areas, your phone is going to ring.


Bring me a proposal for landscaping services from March-October with snow removal November-February.


So, I asked, “Why don’t you give me a one-year contract with landscaping services from March to October with a snow removal scope for November through February? Then, each September, you can give me a scope and proposal for the next year.” The company owner was perplexed, so asked, “And then we just stay on in March?”  so, yes. We now have a handful of landscaping business partners who have embraced my lazy ways and now draft twelve-month agreements for our communities.


All Real Estate Attorneys


Are NOT Created Equal Stop me if you’ve heard this one. At the invitation of one of the board members, I recently attended a meeting of an association who wanted my advice on how to choose a good attorney for their HOA. At this meeting, their current attorney attended. When asked about the statutory obligation for an association of their size to have an annual audit, their attorney began to quote contract law. Another  to collect a severely past due account. The balance had  over management, they were facing a special assessment.  all required a high retainer before they’d even meet with this board. “If we had the money to pay the retainer, we wouldn’t need the lawyer!” the treasurer exclaimed.


16 Community Associations Journal | March 2024


“If we had the money to pay the retainer, we wouldn’t need the lawyer!”


Have you seen this great resource on the WSCAI website? There are lawyers here. REAL ones that understand your  they are fair and experienced. Of all the things that I am the proudest of as a management company owner are the number of our clients that we have partnered with good legal representation.


Critical Areas, NGPA, Surface Water


Management and Retention Ponds Nope. We don’t have those either. Western Washington is blessed with waterfront views, Puget Sound and about a  protections and increasing code requirements for the construction of new projects.


In King County, surface water mitigation is the norm, from injection wells  and retention vaults.


If a King County project is built, then all the water that runs from impervious services within that area must be mitigated within the plat. From injection wells, green roofs and retention vaults, expensive infrastructure is the norm now. As density increases in the urban areas of Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma, city planners are increasing pre-construction and permitting requirements to protect sensitive critical areas that are at risk. However, as the state passes more statewide environmental requirements, Spokane is beginning to catch up. This past summer, Spokane County  surface water mitigation infrastructure. Now. If we could just 


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