07/06/2019
Since the investors want to camerise our community I would like to share some views on that here written by Daryl Vorce on our site oaklandshorescondo.com
More Cameras at Oakland Shores Condominium
The option of putting additional cameras on the Oakland Shores Condominium property has been under consideration for several months - if not years. Many residents, investors and board members are in favor of this option. Some are not. This blog is written to be sure as many owners as possible are alerted to and are included in the consideration. This blog is written to clarify the issues and is not intended to conclude what would be best for the Association. You need to decide that for yourself and then influence the association to make the wisest decision.
The issues considered in this discussion are:
Security
Maintenance
Liability
Cost
Security
Many argue that having cameras is a security issue.
The word "security" refers to "the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime." It also means "freedom from danger or threat, fear or anxiety," It depends on what part of this definition you emphasize as to whether this is a security issue.
If you are concerned about protection from physical danger and crime, you will easily conclude that cameras provide no more security than a sign that says "Be Nice." For cameras to provide "real" security (provide physical and psychological protection) they would have to be monitored in real time. Real time monitoring would provide for a response or intervention to limit or prevent the danger / damage that is occurring. Without real time monitoring, cameras are merely a passive surveillance device. Surveillance has never made anyone physically safer, but it may prompt individuals to feel safer.
If you are concerned about feeling safe, you may conclude that cameras promote that feeling. Feeling safer is worth considering as that is what residents complain about and what has prompted residents to move out of the association.
Maintenance
Cameras can support maintenance needs.
When residents dump trash in the wrong locations, when lights are out, cars are not properly parked, people are using the pool inappropriately, cameras can record the information for review. More accurate and prompt corrections can be made to these problems through fining, fixing and towing. Generally these events / conditions are not considered security issues since these are not situations of damage / injury. Yet cameras can be an additional and reliable help to managing the property and everyone in it.
Liability
Cameras can help with liability issues but also be a liability.
Cameras help with liability issues when they record events that have significant consequences for which someone will be held responsible. There have been occasions where residents have claimed that the Association is responsible and there is no way to evaluate the validity of the claim. Often these get settled with some cost to the Association. A recording of these events would help establish the correct assignment of responsibility and may well save the Association money.
Cameras can be a liability in a few ways.
“Some small associations don't have the resources or a lot of money to maintain these cameras or personnel to review them and so on,” says attorney Howard Goldman of Goldman & Pease LLC in Needham, Massachusetts. “With that said there is some deterrence to have at least the appearance of cameras. However, if something goes wrong the association becomes more liable. They embarked on an obligation they may have not had before to have cameras and do it poorly; that’s negligence.”
Invasion of privacy. What can be viewed and who can review it is an important liability issue that needs to be addressed to determine the number and location of cameras.
The cost.
Cost
A comprehensive camera system can be expensive.
This issue is likely the only issue that would prompt a negative response to installing cameras on the property. For some individuals the benefits are of sufficient value that the cost is immaterial. Others figure the benefits to be marginal so the cost is worth considering. Either perspective uses a cost benefit analysis to come to greatly different conclusions.
Ultimately technology is not cheap. Why? Because it continues to advance at a rate and in directions where it will soon be obsolete. That means that the original investment is lost and needs to be paid again for the upgrade is like an original installation. This is so common these days that it may be accepted by some individuals as the way things are, so just ignore it. However this march toward obsolescence is viewed, it is prudent to get close to installing cutting-edge hardware and software so it doesn't need to be replaced any sooner than necessary. The cutting-edge technology (hard and soft) costs more. Furthermore, if a comprehensive system is not considered, then the eclectic mix of applications and hardware that results from not devising a comprehensive plan from the beginning makes a eventual system cumbersome. Cumbersome systems are avoided and abandoned by users. Those systems highly expensive because they are no longer used. We already have cameras. The gate is rarely viewed because it can only be seen on a tablet. you have to login every time to see it. It takes so long that by the time you can view the gate the vehicle is long gone.
Current estimates of the cost for a system that monitors entry ways, hallways and dumpsters reach about $100,000. This would mean an initial cost between $400 - $500 / owner. This does not account for maintenance, expansion and upgrades. It would benefit all to have maintenance and upgrade costs included in the consideration to have a good idea of overall costs.
Conclusion
The Association belongs to the owners. It is their interests / concerns / opinions that should help guide the Board's decisions. The considerations listed above are to help everyone make prudent decisions or forge reasonable opinions so that we make wise decisions about these matters. Let us hear from you.
