20C — November 23 - December 6, 2012 — Professional Services — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
P rofessional S ervices F eaturing T he R oad to R ecovery
continued from page 14C Superstorm Sandy and your tax . . .
By Chris Hillmann, Hillmann Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts
– all to expose everything in the apartment to the intense heat. Wall voids are treated twice during the process, at the beginning and at the end, with a different material each time. Once completed, Climb Up In- terceptors are placed under bed and couch legs to monitor bed bug activity between scheduled inspection visits. Bed bugs do not have to be a continual nuisance in multi- family housing. B.I.T.E. Back! ™ Treatments are the perfect solution for a wide variety of people and situations includ- ing not only family housing but seniors, medical equipment and hospital beds and the dis- abled. Corbett Exterminating has always been and will remain on the cutting edge of technological advances in pest management, offering the least invasive and most effective materials and methods available. That is our commitment to our clients and our shared environment. n Jeffrey Hall is the co- chair of the Real Estate TaxAppeals practice at Fox Rothschild LLP. n the notification deadline as an effort to ameliorate the devas- tating effects of that Nor’easter. While lawmakers may step to the plate again, no legislation has been introduced as of the writing of this article. Potential solutions include an extension of the notification date under the current law coupled with an extension of theApril 1 st appeal date. (The appeal deadline had once been August 1 st .) Further, the Correction of Error statute could be amended to include a provision designed to deal with the widespread devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy. Superstorm Sandy was never anticipated by New Jerseyans, including our government offi- cials, and we all earnestly hope that this is a one-time event. However, given its massive ef- fects, legislative relief should be designed to assist those who have lost much and in some cases, everything. In the meantime, the property owner must remain vigilant and seek relief under the current statute by giving notice of property damage to the assessor before January 10, 2013. This article is intended for general information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. The reader should consult with knowledgeable legal counsel to determine how appli- cable laws apply to specific facts and situations. This article is based on the most current information at the time it was written. Since it is possible that the laws or other circumstances may have changed since publication, please call an attorney to discuss any action you may be considering as a result of read- ing this article.
and use a variety of treatment methods in conjunction with the heat process. Chemical use is drastically reduced to about 3% of what is used in a conventional bed bug treatment process. Bed bugs are difficult to kill. It is better to use several strategies that assist each other to the final goal. Using wireless temperature sensors strategically placed in at least 24 locations around the apartment, we monitor the progress of the increasing tem- peratures and redirect the heat as needed using the fans. When the temperature in a room gets to about 100°F, bed bugs start to emerge from their hiding places to look for a blood meal. We reenter the apartment with extraction devices to physically remove every bed bug we see and to inspect for pockets of activity. Furniture is moved and shift- ed, drawers are pulled and bags are systematically opened In New Jersey, the county boards of taxation are an impor- tant cog in the administration of tax assessments. By statute, a board is required to review the assessor’s certified list submit- ted shortly after January 10 th . See N.J.S.A 54:4-46. During that review, the Board may “in- crease or decrease the assessed value of any property not valued at its taxable value….” N.J.S.A. 54:4-47. While the authority of the Board to adjust assessments has been upheld by the courts, the short period of time for the Board to investigate, revise and correct assessments does not effectively allow for widespread application of this mechanism. Further, it is not clear if such re- view would be viewed as an end around of N.J.S.A. 54:4-35.1. Thus, this author does not see this as a realistic opportunity to correct assessments where the taxpayer has not given notice of a loss to the assessor. It is clear from the action taken in 1962 that the Legis- lature can respond to the oc- casion. In amending N.J.S.A. 54:4-35.1, the New Jersey Leg- islature clearly strove for an equitable result in extending was totally consumed by fire in early July. At that time, ap- peals could be filed by August 1st (now April 1 st ) so the tax- payer appealed. The County Board of Taxation ruled in the taxpayer’s favor and adjusted the value for half of the year, but the Tax Court reversed and ruled that N.J.S.A. 54:4-35.1 did not apply as the loss did not occur after October 1 st .
H
u r r i c a n e S a n d y slammed into the East Coast on Mon-
protecting worker safety and assuring regulatory compli- ance. Many fuel storage tanks were drowned and breached leaving hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel that must now be pumped out and recycled. Cleaning will occur while struc- tural drying begins. Drying will prevent future microbial growth, odors, and weeping onto and into interior finishes when they are installed. Hill- mann performs a lot of mold consulting but there will be no need if owners act quickly to remove porous materials and begin drying. Another wild card is that in the older buildings, some of the mechanical systems and fireproofing are insulated with asbestos. Remediation contractors are presently mak- ing emergency filings with the city in order to bypass the wait- ing periods. When I arrived at Hillmann’s headquarters in Union, NJ on Tuesday morning, we had no power and 20 percent of the roof was lying in the parking lot. We immediately pulled out our gas-powered generators and re- powered vital communications. We powered the buildings T-1 panel so we could get our e-mail and internet back up as all of our offices are dependent on our Union, NJ e-mail server. We set up a “command post” in a va- cant ground floor office with lots of exterior light, plugged in our laptops and got to work. Our laboratory moved what equip- ment they could down to the command post and proceeded to analyze samples. Michael Nehlsen set up a 24/7 generator watch and scheduled people to shuttle to South Jersey to pick up fuel. Getting fuel in North Jersey remains a significant challenge nearly a week after the storm. Our response team travels into Manhattan via ferry from Jersey City or by car pool due to travel restrictions. The business challenges of this and any large disaster we respond to are twofold; How do we accommodate this vast and immediate influx of work while maintaining the same quality and timeliness of service for our everyday clients? How do we maintain our forward momen- tum with strategic initiatives, oceanfront beach, or used to establish dunes. If communities and private property owners do not cur- rently have a general permit or individual CAFRA permit, please contact the NJDEP Di- vision of Land Use Regulation
marketing and sales, and cash flow during a time when our resources are focused on a na- tional emergency? The answer to the first is long hours. Hav- ing personnel come from our other offices and subcontracting staff from a friendly competitor in the Midwest. The answer to the second rests with me and other senior managers to not get completely drawn into this situation for more than a few weeks. I was drawn into disaster mode for 9 months after 9/11 and we saw a slide in revenue, sales and profit the following year. I managed not to get drawn into our response to Hurricane Katrina and we saw no such drop. At about 8:30pm on Wednes- day night, two days into our response actions, I was in Hill- mann’s makeshift office which was lit by a single lamp as our crews of young hygiensts and environmental scientists came back from the city. They were in such good cheer as they planned the next day’s work, calibrated their equipment, grabbed sup- plies and prepared their re- ports. It is something I will never forget, I had a lump in my throat. I was so proud of these dedicated young people. They were working in such adverse conditions and going home to houses without power, heat or hot water and yet were so deter- mined and focused. They were happy to do something produc- tive in a grim situation. This scene is much like the building engineers in lower Manhattan. They are an ex- perienced and savvy bunch. I’m working with many of the same clients that we became so close to during our 9/11 recovery efforts. These are gritty and determined people that quickly go about the busi- ness of recovery. There will be a local economic stimulus as we rebuild the damaged infra- structure and many engineers are realizing an opportunity to replace outdated systems with up to date and vastly more ef- ficient equipment. New York is a resilient city and will recover with aplomb. Chris Hillmann is the co- founder and CEO of Hill- mann Consulting. n at (609) 292-2953 for an emer- gency permit to perform these activities on the beachfront. Lawrence M. DiVietro Jr., PLS, PP, AICP is president & CEO of Land Dimensions Engineering in Glassboro, NJ. n
day, October 29 and Tues- day, October 30 , wr eak - ing havoc in New Yo r k , New Jersey a n d ma n y other states. The deadly superstorm
Chris Hillmann
brought coastal devastation and produced a record storm surge in Lower Manhattan. Wednesday morning was my first day back in Lower Man- hattan. The city was literally humming with the sounds of generators, pumps and pump trucks. The streets were becom- ing rivers of oil sheen covered flood waters being pumped from the sub-levels of high-rises and small buildings. Drowned cars were on sidewalks and the smell of leaking diesel filled the air. We had alerted clients before Sandy that Hillmann would be ready to assist in their recovery efforts and began receiving calls Tuesday morning just as the winds were easing some. A number of our commercial property clients in Lower Man- hattan had received substan- tial damage with wet lobbies and completely submerged sub-levels. A distinct river had also come up Broad Street and stopped only 2 blocks from the New York Stock Exchange. This was not just flooding, but completely full, subterranean aquariums with all of the me- chanical systems and retail concourses full. Michael Ne- hlsen, Hillmann’s COO, tapped into his extensive network and immediately began arranging resources for our clients. He de- ployed many of the restoration contractors who had mobilized before the storm to our client’s buildings. It’s Sunday night and now and most of the pumping is complete. Power has returned to much of Manhattan but not to most of the heavily flooded buildings. Hillmann has pre- pared protocols and bid docu- ments for the clean-up of con- taminated building materials and mechanical systems while of any remaining dunes) 4. Dune restoration, repair and enhancement 5. Removal of clean sand from streets/parking areas and placement onto the eastern toe of the remaining dune, the
Bed bug management: Technology . . . continued from page 19C
continued from page 17C State of New Jersey’s recovery after . . .
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