is solid advice. “The lowest bidder isn’t always the best vendor for the job.” Says
Flanagan, “The Board needs to take in all available resources into consideration. As
far as seeking out bids against a current vendor-it is okay, but again the Board needs
to bear in mind that bids are not always apples to apples. Plus, if you have a good
relationship with a vendor, why would the Board seek to end that relationship?
Those are hard to come back to if the new vendor doesn’t work.”
Boards are responsible for
maintaining the common areas to
protect the assets of the community-
this is usually better done by investing
in quality. Accordingly, relationships
with trusted, preferred vendors, can be
very beneficial indeed.
John Barnes,
CCAM, is President
and Senior
Manager at West
Coast Management
Firm, Inc.
Kieran Purcell, Senior Attorney with the law firm of Epsten, Grinnell and Howell,
agrees “…It does not make sense to go out to bid on every project, the challenging
part is where to draw the line.”
Purcell also advises there could
be another argument against boards
going out to bid against preferred
vendors-their costs may actually
increase! He notes, “A potential
downside to going out to bid with a
vendor who has worked with the HOA
for a number of years is the current
vendor may not have updated its rates
for a few years, but now if it’s forced
to re-bid the job the HOA will get 2019
labor and material rates when it may
have been paying 2017 rates.” The 2017
rates are almost certainly going to be
much lower due to increased labor
costs and mandatory increases in the
minimum wage.”
The key to avoiding these issues
is the relationship with the preferred
vendor. Sergio Bortolamedi, of Bemus
Landscape, Inc., confirmed this was
where the true value to the community
is realized. He explained that preferred
vendors enjoy good communication
with their boards and management.
Bortolamedi says Bemus
communicates honestly with their
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