PRESIDENT'S LETTER

We are half way through a Colorado summer and I hope everyone is enjoying it. 

As everyone knows, real estate property taxes are the biggest issue facing the Colorado self storage industry.  There are some horror stories out there.  I’m sure you have heard some of them.  COSSA is closely monitoring this issue and staying in touch with a number of parties which have a stake in the game.  We will be working very hard over the next few months to bring about some type of relief.  I urge everyone to attend COSSA’s Fall Meeting on Friday, October 13, 2023.  We will have a presentation on this issue which will address the options that are available to our industry.  Other details about the Fall Meeting can be found elsewhere in this newsletter.

The National Self Storage Association is very interested in Colorado, and we are in close communication with them about this issue.  It should be noted that all commercial property owners are very concerned with the possibility of burdensome tax rates that could be imposed in Colorado. 

The State of the State of the Colorado Self Storage Industry which we have at all of our meetings will be very thorough in addressing all issues facing our industry, including the higher tax issue, at the Fall Meeting.  That session will have information that all parties in the self storage industry will find very helpful.

Our industry needs to come together and address this as an industry-wide community.  If we can do this, we will emerge as a stronger and more unified industry. 

We should also keep in mind that there are many good things in our industry right now that speak well for the future. 

Thanks for all your support of COSSA.

Jackson White, President

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RV STORAGE GROUP - THE HEAT IS ON!

A very big THANK YOU to Ace Storage and Bo Chastain for hosting the annual RV Storage Group BBQ Sponsored by KIWI II Constuction held on July 19^th. Bo has a fantastic facility, and everyone in attendance had a great time touring the property, talking shop and enjoying the great food and company among colleagues.

As was the case at the BBQ, the sun is shinning and the heat is on! After what appeared to be an endless winter with some record snow falls, it was only a matter of time before it got hot. And as we all know here in Colorado, with the heat can also come severe weather.

Hopefully everyone has escaped any of the numerous severe weather events the Metro Area has experienced throughout the summer.

It is often bantered that the best part of our industry/business is the relatively low risk involved, and that ultimately all we really have to “worry about” is theft, vandalism and severe weather. This may be true to a certain extent, but in no case should any one of these realities be taken for granted.

Severe weather for example can be particularly devastating to a storage facility and owners and operators should have a plan in place for various severe weather events including blizzards, flooding, tornados, and hail.

Each severe weather event will likely require a slightly different plan specific to the event. For instance, a tornado may cause damage significant enough to jeopardize the integrity of the security of the facility such as blown down fences and gates, etc. Whereas, a blizzard and flooding may not cause such damage, and therefore may require a very different response. The goal of owners and operators is to be both proactive and reactive to these events in an effort to protect the property, as well as, provide critical customer service. A well thought out (and written!) Emergency Plan is a great way to be prepared in advance.

In addition to an Emergency Plan, owners need to be certain that the facility and business are properly insured. Aside from the typical property loss policy, it is recommended that lost revenue (or business loss) insurance be in place. It is an almost certainty that a devastating severe weather event will result in some form of business loss. Imagine again, a tornado that damages storage spaces to the extent that they can’t be immediately rented, etc until repairs or other remediation is completed. This inevitably will translate to lost revenue for some period of time that can be recouped through a proper insurance policy.

Although severe weather is out of human control, it is not enough for owners and operators to simply say “oh well, it was an Act of God”. True as it may be, there is still much to be done in the aftermath of severe weather, and the better prepared a facility is, the smoother and faster the recovery will be. Remember, severe weather often happens quickly and without warning. Plan ahead!

The mission of the RV Storage Group is to focus on specific topics, ideas and trends generally applicable only to RV Storage Owners and Operators, and ultimately providing more value and a greater knowledge base to our Members.

If you would like to be included on emails regarding the RV Storage Group, please contact Maggie today!

Jeff Hopkins, Front Range RV Storage

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Wednesday, August 23rd at 11:30am:  Join us for a webinar discussing "Tenant Protection vs.Tenant Insurance, What's the Difference?"  Nate Kinet, CRO of SafeLease will give us insite to what that difference is.  Click on title on sidebar to register and the link will be sent to you the morning of August 23rd. 

The RV Storage Group has a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 20th from 9:00-11::00am.  The topic will be "Rent Collections".  Please plan on attending.  The Zoom link will be provided as we get closer to the date.

Have you registered for COSSA’s Annual Meeting and Trade Show taking place on Friday, October 13^th?  We have a jam packed agenda with AJ Osborne, Gary Wojtaszek, and we can’t forget about the State of the State of Colorado update from Ben Vestal and Adam Schlosser and Ben Hall, moderated by Jon Suddarth. Click here to register.                                            

                ONLINE MEMBER FORUM

Have you checked out the Member Forum on COSSA's website?  We have had members taking advantage of this member benefit, but we need members to not only ask the questions, we need members to post answers to them.   Make it a habit to check it out at least once a week to see what new question might be up there.  Who knows, maybe it's something you have thought about yourself and perhaps a member has given a reply that you would find helpful. 

Login to the COSSA website, click the Membership tab and select Member Forum from the drop down menu to see the questions.  If you would like to submit a question, "Click Here to Submit Question” and complete the form that comes up with your information and type the question you would like to ask.  The question will be sent to the administrator (Maggie), who will approve and post to the website.  Once the question is up there, those visiting the Member Forum page will have the opportunity to post a response to the question(s). Responses will be posted and the person who posted the question will be notified that a response has been given.  Questions and answers will be anonymous on the website, but there is the ability to select “contact me directly”, when posting and/or answering questions. 

We continue to build on the Topics so be sure to check out this member benefit.  . 

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