Category: seasonal reminders

Posted on

Daylight Savings — Fall Back

Picture1Daylight Saving Time occurs on Sunday, November 3rd at 2:00am and everyone should turn their clock back one hour. No worries if you forget, you will just get to work an hour early!

Things to remember with this time change:

WINTER OFFICE HOURS

Switch out your Summer Office Hours signs for the Winter Office Hours (some properties may only have 1 sign)

In order to prepare for the change in hours, please review the following:

  • Signs in and around common areas such as the clubhouse or laundry facilities
  • Telephone Recorders
  • Printed Advertisements

EXTERIOR LIGHT TIMERS

Adjust your exterior lights if they are on timers due to the fact that it will be light earlier as well as get dark earlier. As we progress toward the winter solstice, the timers may need slight adjustment to keep pace with the shorter days. Of course, on the other side, they’ll need to be adjusted back as the days grow longer.

EXTERIOR LIGHT CONDITION

Take this time to check for any exterior bulbs that may be burnt out, broken and check the general condition of your exterior lighting. Resident safety is very important to all of us and they’ll appreciate having well lit parking lots, walkways, and patios during this dark time of year.

If you have any questions or concerns about the above policies, please contact your Property Supervisor.

Posted on

Fall Into Action

Have you read your Fall Into Action mailer yet?  Now is the time to review this information with your staff and start getting prepared for Fall!

Fall Into Action

This packet includes:

If you did not receive the mailer or have any questions, please contact your supervisor.

Posted on

Ice Melt Products

ice melt productsAlthough it may seem a little premature to talk about ice melt products, I noticed an advertisement advertising bulk pricing for it on the front page of the October flyer from a supplier that is familiar to all of us. Since all of our sites receive this flyer, I decided it’s an appropriate time to remind everyone of our policies regarding ice melt products.

All Cambridge properties should not use ice melt products whatsoever. These products, while effective in melting ice away from sidewalks and stairways are destructive to the surfaces in which they’re applied over a period of time. If you ever notice a sidewalk with a surface that looks pitted and crumbling, there’s a good chance that the damage was caused by ice melt products. Not only is ice melt damaging to exterior surfaces, it can also damage carpets if tracked inside.

Many manufacturers will make claims that their product will not damage walkways or stairways, but when we’ve pressed them for a written guarantee, we have not yet found anyone willing to do so.

Our belief is that spreading sand and/or pea gravel on walkways and stairways is the best method to help prevent slips in icy or snowy conditions while still protecting the property from permanent damage. Sand and pea gravel can be purchased from Home Depot, or if larger quantities are desired, contact your landscaper, and have them deliver some. If there an inconspicuous place to store the sand or gravel, it’s always a good idea to store it in more than one area on the property, so it can be distributed without having to transport it over longer distances.

If you have any old bags of ice melt tucked away in storage, please contact me at the information below to discuss ways to properly dispose of the product.

Thank you,

Scott Busch

Direct: 503.919.1670

Email: sbusch@cresapts.com

 

Posted on

Fall Flags Arriving Soon!

The Fall Flag order is being shipped from Elmer’s Flags today, and should arrive within a week! We are very excited to be introducing a new design this Fall, and again in the Spring. Please do not mis-match with the old flag versions. The new flags have orange waves with teal and light orange polka dots. Please have your maintenance team switch your flags as soon as possible. To learn more about the marketing flags, including how to install them click here. Any questions or concerns? Please feel free to contact Kelsey Schneider.

Enjoy!

Posted on

When Should We Close Our Pool For The Season?

This is a friendly reminder about pool closures:

When should we close our pool for the season?

  • Not before Labor Day Weekend
  • At the latest September 17th

How do we know when to close our pool for the season?

  • When average daily temperatures drop below the 80’s
  • Pool use drops to the point it’s no longer an actively used amenity

 

We appreciate your attention to this and please contact your supervisor if you have any questions about this topic.

Posted on

July 4th Holiday and Holiday Pay

Thursday, July 4th is a Holiday! Except for a few special circumstances all offices, sites and support office will be closed in observance of the holiday.

As a reminder, if an employee’s regularly scheduled day off is Thursday, another day during the pay period should be taken as the holiday. Whether the holiday is taken on Thursday the 4th or another day, the holiday should be listed with the appropriate number of hours in the holiday column on the time record with no in or out time.

For those few sites that will be open on the holiday and therefore have staff working, please make sure to show the total of the hours worked and the holiday hours in the “Total Hours Pay Due” column to receive holiday pay in addition to hours worked. Otherwise payroll will assume that the holiday was taken and not noted on the time record. Contact your property supervisor if you are unsure as to whether your office will be closed.

Holiday Pay:
• Employees who work 20 or more hours per week are eligible for holiday pay after their first 30 days of employment.
• To receive holiday pay employee must work both the scheduled day prior and after a holiday; except if was pre-approved time off by the manager.
• If an employee was scheduled to work the day before or after and cannot work (except in an emergency situation) they will not receive holiday pay.

If you have any questions please email or call Jasmine Kwatra.

Posted on

4th of July Reminders

With the approach of the holiday we have attached a couple of helpful flyers for you to utilize:

Please remember that fireworks are not permitted at our communities due to the risks they pose to our communities and residents.

Also, many of you will experience high volume of questions regarding rent payment.  The holiday does not affect the policy we have in place and rent is still due on the 1st with a 4 day grace period.  If a resident is unable to personally hand you their rent check they should all be aware of the drop box on site they can use to submit their payment.

As always, communicating with your residents in advance can prevent a lot of confusion or frustration on everyone’s behalf.

Thank you and we hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!

Posted on

BBQ & Grill Policy Flyer

It’s getting to be that time of year when our residents get BBQ Fever. We have created a flyer that you can print off for distribution to residents and post in common areas for visibility. This will be a helpful reminder to residents so (fingers crossed) we don’t have to distribute as many patio violations.

Click here to view and print the flyer.  This flyer has been created in color, however, it also prints well in black & white. Please contact your supervisor with any questions regarding these policies.

Hamburgers

 

 

Posted on

All pools should be open by May 24th at the latest

If you haven’t already opened your pool, make sure to get it ready for residents to enjoy by Friday, May 24th at the very latest.

life preserverPlease assess your pool in the following particulars:

  • Do you have the appropriate safety signs?
  • Do you have the appropriate safety equipment (life rings, ‘the hook’, etc)?
  • Does your pool gate automatically close and latch securely?
  • Can you lock your pool gate each evening with an efficient lock and chain or similar arrangement?
  • Do you have a functioning filter?
  • Do you have a functioning Kreepy Crawler?
  • Is your pool furniture in good shape?

If you have any questions about your pool preparation please contact your supervisor.

Posted on

Spring Flags are shipping today

The Spring Flag order is being shipped from Elmer’s Flags today, and should arrive within a week! These are the pink flags with blue and yellow polka dots. Please have your maintenance team switch your flags as soon as possible. To learn more about the marketing flags, including how to install them click here. Any questions or concerns, contact Kelsey Schneider.

*Please disregard if your property does not have flags