HOAs in the Digital Age Continued from page 5
Another potential pitfall can occur where, through use of a website or social media account, the association unintentionally burdens itself with the requirements of ADA compliance by inviting the public to the community. How can this happen? Does your community use the clubhouse as a polling place for the community and surrounding areas? And do you use the association website to announce the polling place to the community? If so, this could potentially require the association to comply with ADA regulations since the public is invited into the community. As a note – “public” as used here does not mean personal guests, family or invitees of owners. For these reasons, the association should consult with the association’s legal counsel to address any potential legal pitfalls associated with the community website, both before it is launched and when there is a stated claim against the association. After the board has evaluated the issues referenced above, the board will need to identify who will be responsible for maintaining the site. The next step is to decide in advance what will be posted to the website and who has the authority to post to the website. Sample recurring items that should be updated on the website would be meeting agendas, meeting minutes, and newsletters. These documents should be updated regularly, in addition to the association’s documents such as rules and regulations, architectural applications, etc. The board should also consider having a standing policy posted to the website that any notice that is sent by “general delivery” or “general notice” to the community, in addition to announcement on upcoming projects and events should be added to the website. This may seem like a fairly simple task, however what happens when a disgruntled committee or board member demands that their statement be posted to the 6 |
ISSUE FOUR 2016 • CONNECT WITH GRIE
website? Setting the standard postings in advance with a requirement that all other items require board approval at a noticed board meeting can help avoid placing the website administrator in a difficult situation trying to balance requests from owners with competing interests and avoid airing the association’s dirty laundry to the community. Remember, online postings should be positive and used as a tool to communicate information to owners and provide resources to the community. Last, the association needs to ensure that the website is kept up to date and timely. There is nothing worse than a website that has documents from two years ago. Association members will quickly become disinterested in a site that provides no value, which makes it difficult to re-gain interest. Once the site is launched, be sure to regularly communicate the presence of the site to members so that it becomes the “go-to” location for up-to-date community resources. Generally, websites are the most common form of online presence for communities, other social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have also become options for increased communication to owners. If you use these social media sites in your personal life, you are probably familiar with the negative postings and rants that sometimes overwhelm social media. The same cautions and predetermined posting rules for websites apply to social media sites, as well. However, social media moves much more quickly than a website page. The postings that can be made by others to, for instance, a Facebook page must be addressed quickly by the association if they are negative in nature. Whomever is authorized by the board to maintain and monitor the site, should have appropriate notifications in place so that postings can be monitored and addressed promptly. Additionally, if the board will be posting photographs from a community event, a disclaimer
should be included with the event invitation notifying the residents that an association photographer will be taking pictures of the event and posting to the association’s website. This will allows guests the opportunity to notify the photographer if they do not want their pictures posted. There are many factors to consider when deciding whether to launch and maintain an association website or social media sites including the association’s brand or image, maintenance responsibilities, security issues, and potential legal pitfalls like defamation and harassment claims. Even if the association does not intend to open a website or social media sites, the board should consider claiming the association’s name for websites and social media accounts to prevent other parties from opening sites potentially leading to their posing as official association communications. In any event, boards should consider securing their association name in the name of the association in case a future board decides to pick up where the current board leaves off. Always consult with legal counsel before making the leap into the digital world because once association content is on the internet, it may be there forever. Farrah Esquer, CMCA, AMS, PCAM Cardinal Property Management, AAMC
Sandra L. Gottlieb, Esq., CCAL SwedelsonGottlieb