July 25th 2025
RE: Hurricane Season
Hurricane season is upon us, all associations managed by Newell Property Management have steps for pre-storm and post-storm actions. These plans are based on the specific needs of the community and can be as simple as a manager doing a pre-storm drive-through to confirm there are no obvious unsecured objects, to more complicated items such as securing and parking elevators or securing exterior assets such as furniture. While each association has its own individual hurricane plan tailored for its needs, Newell maintains an overall plan for our company operations.
Newell has learned quite a bit since we began in 1988 and as a result, we have developed very impressive hurricane resources, procedures, and responses. We know that a key component of this is our ability to communicate with you and your residents. Our office has several redundant systems to help keep it online, including four types of internet connections: fiber optic, coaxial cable, cellular, and satellite. Our entire communications system, including our phones, are cloud based. This means that even if the office is completely offline, we can communicate and service our clients from anywhere that we can get an internet connection.
We also have portable internet devices that connect via cellular and satellite so that after a storm, we can break into “storm teams”. These “Storm Teams” allow us to configure ourselves into small groups, located as closely as possible to our clients. This helps reduce fuel usage (fuel is often very difficult to attain) and improve response time on what can be damaged or debris-filled roadways.
Additionally, Newell can provide updates to owners directly both pre- and post-storm. If a storm threatens our area, your manager will confirm with you if you would like these distributed to your residents.
When Southwest Florida is in the 5-day cone of uncertainty we will begin confirming what we may need with vendors and other services to the association. While this is initially done before hurricane season, we do an additional confirmation immediately prior to a storm to make sure our original plans still stand.
Three business days prior to an expected storm, our office will begin our corporate pre-hurricane procedures. This includes testing our backup and mobile systems such as our satellite and cellular internet, we also confirm that all employees can work remotely, in case the office is destroyed or blocked from the storm, that all mobile devices hold a charge, and that all emergency supplies have been secured and are accessible.
We will distribute our internal checklists to our team and you will receive an email from your manager prior to noon with an update on the storm. If your association is sending resident updates those will be emailed out after 12:30PM.
Two business days prior to the expected impact Newell’s office will configure to our pre-hurricane emergency operations mode. This includes working through the pre-hurricane checklist for each association, checking and converting our systems to work on backups such as cellular, and StarLink so we are not relying on the wired connections which are damaged by trees and wind.
We also ensure that all team members have vehicles that are full of fuel and begin following the guides for onsite preparations and issuing preparation instructions to vendors.
In order to determine what we are preparing for we will use the 48-hour wind guide as published by the NOAA/NHC. This guide indicates the probability and speed of winds for each area, we will also communicate this information with you.
One business day prior to an expected storm impact additional emails will be sent out both to yourself and if approved to your residents, as we continue site preparations. By the end of the day, we will have confirmation that all properties are secured.
On the day of the event, depending on storm intensity, we may be able to have partial staff in the office. However, if it is a business day, and the office must be closed due to the storm, we will have at least two Newell Employees who will be located outside of Florida and the storm’s path. These team members help ensure that a level of operations continues even if there is a long-term loss of power, water, and communications in Southwest Florida. Additionally, if needed other team members can be set up to work remotely temporarily during the storm.
Once a storm has passed, and it is safe to begin damage inspections we will form into our storm teams and begin checking each property, an email will be sent to you updating you on the status as we perform these inspections (and to residents if approved). First, we will be working closely with landscapers and local emergency response teams to clear entrances and get access to the property. Once that is accomplished, we will begin documenting any damage, and will make you aware. Finally, we will begin the process of resetting the community to its pre-storm state.
If the area has suffered substantial infrastructure damage, such as what we had following Irma, this can be a challenge. Our solution is in the way our team works. The storm teams that are here are the “boots on the ground” while the team members who are remote have access to steady power and internet to handle communication until Southwest Florida has its infrastructure restored.
I hope that we have a quiet hurricane season and that we do not need to use these procedures, systems, and equipment. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me or your manager.
Best Regards,
– Adoni
Adoni Kokkinos
Chief Executive Officer
Newell Property Management
Adoni@newellpropertymanagement.com