Dear Constituents:
Ghertner & Company is taking the issue of COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) very seriously, and we have ramped up our efforts since the first cases were reported in the mid-state area. We are monitoring the development daily and want to inform you of the steps we are taking internally and externally to protect our team and minimize any service disruption.
We amended our internal staffing policies to protect our team, including enhanced office cleaning, expanding our ‘work from home’ policies, and creating tight restrictions on any staff member that travels, has known contact with anyone infected, or shows any signs of the illness. For those of you with on-site staff, we are advising our teams in best practices regarding personal protection and encouraging enhanced cleaning and maintenance of common areas. Please note that our office at 50 Vantage Way, Suite 100 is closed to the public until further notice. At the entrance of our building is a lockbox for any HOA payments owners may want to drop off.
We have temporarily suspended staff meetings and Board and manager education programs, and encourage you to do the same by critically considering the benefits of cancelling or postponing Board meetings, annual meetings, and community events. We are encouraging our community managers to work with you closely to aid in remote decision making via video conference, conference calls and, when appropriate, unanimous decision making via e-mail; as a company we will support our individual managers’ decision to attend Board meetings via video conference or conference call.Community Managers are still visiting properties twice a month to check on safety issues and common area maintenance. Violations will be kept to a minimum, but homeowners are expected to maintain their properties to the best of your ability. If you are currently unable to do so, please contact your manager.
Ghertner & Company is not a COVID-19 expert; we offer guidance based on published CDC and Dept of Health guidelines. Using the link below from Centers of Disease Control (CDC) and the voluminous information available, we recommend you familiarize yourself with the recommendations of the experts, take the necessary precautions to protect your community, and set community specific guidelines. Ghertner & Company strongly cautions against opening any amenities, i.e., basketball/tennis courts, clubhouses, fitness rooms and pools as recommended by the CDC and/or the Tennessee Department of Health.
It is likely that this issue, the precautions we and our clients are taking, and the potential of increased use of PTO by staff members may result in a change in turn-around time for certain services. We ask for your support, and understanding, that as a company we are doing everything we can to proactively deal with this situation, while also minimizing any disruptions, as we continue to provide services to each of you.
You may contact our accounting and support staff at hsr@ghertner.com or 615-255-8531; your community association manager by email at firstname.lastname@ghertner.com (e.g., mary.smith@ghertner.com); and, if there are any emergencies after hours, please do not hesitate to contact our 24 hour answering service at 615.255.4736.
Respectfully,
Ghertner & Company