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Is Your Community Ready for a Safe Summer? | HOA Summer Prep Checklist

It's more important than ever to ensure your community association is prepared for a safe and productive summer. Summertime preparations for your community
Jennifer Harvey | Mar 18, 2024 | 4 min read

Summer is coming and for any homeowners' association, that means prepping for summer activities. Not only will you need warm-weather maintenance, but your members will be emerging from their homes to enjoy the nice weather and traditional summer celebrations. As the HOA, it's your duty to prepare the shared properties for public use and to ensure that your community population remains safe through the warm social months.

With the current COVID-19 situation, we have a little more to think about this year. Summer can still be a time for fun and frolicking in the sun, as long as we also implement careful social distancing and cleaning protocols. Help your community enjoy this summer with the right COVID-safe summer plan.

**In preparing to reopen amenity areas, it is recommended that the board of directors review all updated CDC Guidelines, as well as local and state orders/restrictions, additionally the board should consult with the associations legal counsel with regards to associated risks and protocols specifically necessary to reopen the pool.**

COVID-19 Summer Safety Considerations

Start by holding a meeting with your HOA council on COVID safety concerns. Cover the CDC facts on transmission and cleaning requirements. Consider how businesses are making it safe for customers to safely enjoy public spaces and how to emulate their best practices. Talk about the amenities and your normal summer activities and how to make them safe. It's important that the entire HOA team is on the same page. If necessary, hold meetings with your service crews as well to talk about their plans and yours to make this a successful, safe community summer.

Send out fliers or emails (whichever is more effective) to every home with the most important safety information. Talk about how families can mingle as long as they maintain a physical distance-bubble between members of different families. Outline in bullet-points the key forms of COVID transmission.  An informed population who are all working together has a much higher chance of preventing any transmission in the community.

Invite Members to Permit Their Summer Projects

Home improvements are the perfect activity for families this summer, as they keep people busy at home instead of going out to mingle. Of course, your HOA likely needs to permit each home improvement plan. So instead of waiting for permit applications this year, invite them. Let everyone know those home improvements are encouraged during summer at-home time, and your office is ready to help push those permits through.

Summer Prep Maintenance and Upgrades

Naturally, you'll also need to address the usual summer maintenance tasks. Get your sprinkler system up and running. Clean the pool and prepare it for swimmers. Touch up the clubhouse and make sure all the amenities are in place for community events. Get your summer lawncare teams ready for the warm-weather grass explosion and have your community playgrounds safety-inspected.

Prepare for Sanitizing and Re-Sanitizing

Anywhere there are people, there must be sanitizing. HOA meetings? Sanitize before and after. Private clubhouse party for one family? Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. Have your supplies and routine ready. Address all surfaces, especially those most-often-touched like countertops and doorknobs. It's also handy to know that if an area is locked up for 5 days, all the virus cells will have died on their own.

Family Bookings for Summer Amenities

Don't close your summer amenities like the pool and clubhouse. Instead, book them for private parties only. Let your members know that if they have a birthday or anniversary or just want to throw a party, individual households are welcome to book the venues for a private event. This will keep our immunity-bubbles intact while allowing your community to continue enjoying the amenities that are part of their neighborhood membership package.

Make Plans for "Curbside" Summer Parties

If your HOA often throws a few parties in the summer, or just one big party for the 4th of July, you still can. But it'll be a little more like Halloween this year. To throw a neighborhood-wide event, invite everyone to hang out on their own front lawns and curbs, toasting neighbors at a distance. Bump music down the street, shoot fireworks if it's legal in your area, and have a wonderful time. You can even pass out sealed refreshments or send this year's BBQ meats to members to cook on their own grills.

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*It is important to note that RealManage, LLC is not a primary source of information and guidelines related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our goal is to provide information as it relates to Community Associations and we attempt to provide the most accurate data possible at the time of posting, but for more up-to-date and primary resources we recommend you visit Centers For Disease Control or World Health Organization.

Rules and Regulations Download - CTA

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