Aerial view of Big Sky Town Center. PHOTO BY MICHAEL RUEBUSCH.
Posted By Jen Clancey
“Are you in an HOA?” Chris Crigler, CEO of CAP Management, asked while on the phone with Explore Big Sky this week.
The prompt was in relation to a workshop that CAP Management, a Denver-based HOA management company, will host on Thursday, April 4 at the Wilson Hotel as they discuss how HOAs can empower themselves as leaders in environmental sustainability. The workshop will run from 1 to 4 p.m. followed by a cocktail hour, and will allow professionals to collaborate on climate solutions in HOAs, as well as educate anyone in the public in best sustainable practices in the homes of their community.
HOAs, or homeowners associations, are organizations that govern housing communities and set standards for residents. For cities like Bozeman, local governments can hire sustainability directors to oversee environmentally-friendly standards; however, in unincorporated areas like Big Sky, power and responsibility for standard-setting in neighborhoods rests in organizations like HOAs, especially when it comes to climate action.
“If we’re going to implement actions to prevent the worst effects of human-caused climate change, we need to get HOAs involved,” Jerome Tinianow told EBS in a phone call.
Tinianow resides in Denver, Colorado and works with towns all over the West to create local sustainability and climate action plans. He’s been brought on by Big Sky SNO (Sustainability Network Organization) to help Big Sky achieve its Big Sky Community Climate Action Plan, and connected with CAP Management to lead the sustainability workshop.
According to Tinianow, all four of Big Sky’s biggest HOAs have expressed openness to implementing sustainability into their communities. Those HOAs are in and around the Big Sky Resort area, the Yellowstone Club, Lone Mountain Land Company and Spanish Peaks. So far, 27 people have signed up but Tinianow expects at least 30 to attend the event.
“I will say HOAs historically have not necessarily been tapped into for sustainability efforts, simply because their governance structure is so virtually unique and secondly, complicated,” Gabrielle Fuerst, sustainability director at CAP Management said.
Fuerst is excited to see the conversations between different players in HOAs. She notes that discussions like this can help align a property manager’s responsibilities and an HOA boards’ sustainability priorities.
“Really making it easy for property managers and boards to do this on their own is one of the biggest things that we can do,” Fuerst said about CAP Management’s goals in Thursday’s session.
Crigler notes that empowerment to spark change starts in HOA committees. And with this solution, even second home owners can get involved. To those interested in getting involved, he recommends joining a committee or forming your own. From there, a certification program with CAP Management will allow HOAs to move from bronze to gold certification depending on how they align themselves with a sustainability goal.
“Your HOA can choose one thing that they’re really passionate about, that they’re already excited about, and their members are ready to contribute to, and really get certified in that one realm,” Fuerst said.
Crigler and Fuerst are optimistic that Big Sky HOAs will rise to a new challenge of sustainability in Big Sky.
