As the manager of an HOA, it's important that you maintain the grounds during the winter months. The following are a few action tips you need to ensure proper winter snow removal.
1. Contract With a Dedicated Vendor
Don't wait until the snow begins to fall to begin calling in removal companies. Instead, interview vendors and sign a contract with a removal service by early fall. Waiting until the last minute can mean that all the local services are already booked up. Further, entering a contract early allows you to negotiate a better price and be pickier about where you do business.
2. Develop a Proactive Schedule
When to remove snow is also important. There are no hard-and-fast rules, so it is best to discuss this with your removal service before the first snowfall. Most removal services have certain guidelines they follow. In other words, they deploy plows and personnel when a certain amount of snow has fallen and when temperatures are predicted to remain beneath a specific threshold. It's important to make sure that the schedule recommended by the removal service matches up with the HOA guidelines on snow removal.
3. Have a Backup Plan
Always be prepared in the event that there is a delay with snow removal. Even the most dedicated service may become overwhelmed in the event of a major snowstorm, so it will be up to the HOA to have a backup plan in place. This can be as simple as having a snowblower and ice melt sprinkles on hand so that your onsite maintenance workers can quickly clear the most important parts of the property. This equipment will also allow you to maintain walkways between essential services in the event of an ongoing winter event.
4. Plan for Building Safety
Snow removal is more than plowing roads and clearing public walkways. You may also need to remove snow from the roofs of buildings in order to decrease the weight load. Which roofs may require this service varies. In the event of a condo HOA, you may need to remove the snow from the entire building. For a single-family home community, the HOA may only be responsible for removal from shared buildings, such as a recreation center. Further, roof snow removal is usually only necessary on low-sloped roofs.
5. Review and Adapt Often
After each snow event, review how the snow removal went. This will enable you to adapt your removal plan to meet your needs. For example, if you currently have the service come out only when accumulation is more than 2 inches but this leads to icy roads, you may need to adjust your service plan so that the service plows when accumulation reaches 1 inch in depth.
Contact an HOA snow removal service to learn more about your winter options.
