~~~~~~The Traits of a Highly Functioning Board~~~~~~

          

Today’s Blog is part III of an analysis of Boards of Directors that was written by one of South Florida’s most important Condo Attorneys—Donna DiMaggio Berger— a Managing Partner of Katzman, Garfinkel and Berger, a fine firm that was, at one time, our attorneys. She is also Executive Director of the Community Advocacy Network (CAN) and has graciously allowed me to reprint her work.

  What are the Traits of a Highly Functioning Board?

                                                 The Award Winning Board!

In Part III of our series on the traits of a highly functioning board we at last come to our ideal board; the vision of what a community association board can and should be doing.

-This board operates at the highest level of transparency possible without compromising privileged information. The membership and board meetings for this kind of community are held on a timely basis, are properly noticed and tend to run smoothly. Unfortunately, the meetings run by the highly functioning board are usually not well attended since most owners feel the board "knows what they're doing";

-This board has a working knowledge of its governing documents as well as the pertinent statutes but on issues that could subject the association to potential liability they reinforce that knowledge with a legal opinion;

-This board takes a proactive approach before a potential issue becomes a real problem. For example, the highly functioning board will have rules in place outlining owner inspection of books and records and owner participation at meetings well BEFORE such requests are made. This board will also have a hurricane shutter rule in place and, if it is a condominium association, will have an updated Question and Answer Sheet on hand;

-This board routinely reviews its governing documents to ensure that they have kept pace with the changes in the Statute and are amended/updated to both comply with statutory changes as well as to address the changing needs of the community;

-This board has clearly defined expectations of its manager/management company and has a system of checks and balances in place to ensure that neither the manager nor any one board member becomes comfortable with making unilateral decisions on behalf of the association;

-This board utilizes technology and various forms of communication to reach out to the community members and conveys not only what has been done and is being done on their behalf but also to take the community's pulse in terms of long-range planning and goals. This can be done via an association website, newsletters, a community-wide cable channel and regular "townhall" style meetings;

-This board realizes that it must follow all statutory and documentary guidelines when dealing with the association's finances including seeking proper membership approval as needed, when waiving or partially funding reserve funds, using reserve funds for non-specified purposes, and when reducing the financial reporting requirement level;

-The highly functioning board of directors realizes that part of its role is to enforce the terms and provisions of the governing documents. At times, this will require that enforcement action or collection efforts be commenced against a neighbor. This board is fair but tough;

-This board knows its limitations and does not pretend to be an expert in every area that impacts the community whether it be filing an insurance claim or overseeing a capital improvement project. The highly functioning board employs the proper experts needed to lend a guiding a hand;

-This board avails itself of all available educational resource materials to ensure that it knows about the changes in the law which impact the manner in which it operates and administers the community.

If every community was tended to by a highly functioning board, we would undoubtedly see an increase in real property values and a huge decrease in the number of complaints filed with the Division of Florida Land Sales each year. Whether you find yourself serving on a board or living in a community operated by a poorly functioning board or even a functioning board, there is always the ability to encourage your board members to take their level of participation up a notch in order to become a highly functioning board. Highly functioning board members endorse a "best practices" policy and always seek to fulfill their responsibilities to the membership who put elected them for the job.

 Donna DiMaggio Berger

Katzman, Garfinkel & Berger 

http://www.kgblawfirm.com 

954-486-7774 

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I hope that the new board, will aspire to improve. Donna's classes and guidelines will help all Board member's to improve their performance to the betterment of Southpoint. 

 

Your comments are appreciated.

Please be sure to attend the Special Meeting 

Thursday, March 1 -- 7:00 PM

 ````````````````````````````````````

Michael E Katz

Director

Southpoint

954-563-0959

Katz8356@comcast.net

Functioning Boards

Today’s Blog is part II of an analysis of Boards of Directors was written by one of South Florida’s most important Condo Attorneys—Donna DiMaggio Berger— a Managing Partner of Katzman, Garfinkel and Berger, a fine firm that was, at one time, our attorneys. She is also Executive Director of the Community Advocacy Network (CAN) and has graciously allowed me to reprint her work. There will be one more part tomorrow.

"Now let's turn our attention to the Functioning Board. This board takes the steps necessary to comply with the requirements of both the Statute by which it is governed as well as the terms and provisions of its governing documents. This board functions but may not have the foresight necessary to allow the community to achieve its most lofty goals.

. . .
 

This board may be take on projects and commit association resources to such projects without first gauging the community's sentiments. An example would be when the Board hires an engineer to draw up plans for an improvement project which requires membership approval before being assured that such approval will be forthcoming. A straw vote of the community either through the association's website, newsletter or other mailing can often help boards to determine whether or not to head down a certain path before association funds are spent.
 

The common areas are maintained and repaired but this board may be reluctant to embark on any sort of upgrades for fear of community reprisals. This kind of board may also be reluctant to encourage the members to fully fund reserves and may, in fact, be reluctant to make some tough decisions required by their position as board members. These decisions can include pursuing delinquencies, enforcing architectural standards and other use restrictions, etc.

The functioning board does not play favorites, it just fails to strictly and uniformly enforce the covenants and resists making unpopular but necessary decisions.

Tomorrow in Part III of this blog series, we will at last discuss the attributes of that sometimes rare entity: the highly functioning board."

Donna DiMaggio Berger

Katzman, Garfinkel & Berger 

http://www.kgblawfirm.com 

954-486-7774 

````````````````

I hope that the new board, will aspire to improve. Donna's classes and guidelines will help all Board member's to improve their performance to the betterment of Southpoint. 

Your comments are appreciated. After Donna's remarks on Boards are complete I'll publish some excerpts of your responses.

 ````````````````````````````````````

Michael E Katz

Director

Southpoint

954-563-0959

Katz8356@comcast.net

Board of Directors -Donna DiMaggio Berger

The Dysfunctional Board

Today’s Blog was written by another of South Florida’s most important Condo Attorneys—Donna DiMaggio Berger— a Managing Partner of Katzman, Garfinkel and Berger, a fine firm that was, at one time, our attorneys. She is also Executive Director of the Community Advocacy Network (CAN) and has graciously allowed me to reprint her work.

Whether you serve on behalf of a condominium, cooperative or homeowners' association, there are several traits (good and bad) that these volunteer boards share. It is important to remember that boards of directors for (Condominium) communities in Florida are made up of your neighbors who take time away from jobs, families and hobbies to serve their communities. The experience level of any given board is typically varied and can run the gamut from school teachers, tradesmen, former CEO's of Fortune 500 companies to stay-at-home parents.

The vast majority of these folks volunteered to serve on their board in order to safeguard their largest asset, their home. Despite scattered media reports on directors treating the association coffers as their personal piggy bank or generally acting as despots, most directors conscientiously undertake the duties and responsibilities attached to board membership. It is important to remember that board members are held to a "reasonable businessman" standard (also known as the business judgment rule); they are not held to a level of absolute perfection.

Board members should not be expected to act as quasi-accountants, engineers, attorneys, etc. They should know and understand that certain elements of the association operations will be beyond their level of expertise and, at that point, they should seek counsel from experts to guide them in the decisions they make on behalf of the association. Some boards seem to know both their responsibilities and inherent limitations from the outset and others have to learn it the hard way. Let's take a look at the traits which make up three different types of boards: the poorly functioning (aka dysfunctional) board; the functioning board and the highly functioning board.  { Today, only the dysfunctional Board will be described.  MEK.}

The Poorly Functioning Board : These boards are not hard to spot and woe to the persons living in a community served by this kind of board as well as to the board members who know better who find themselves sharing duties with directors who do not.

-Board meetings are held sporadically and without proper notice. Actions which would typically require a fourteen (14) day advance meeting notice (such as for special assessments or changes to rules) are passed with only forty-eight (48) hours or less notice since they are always "an emergency";

-When board meetings are held unit owners are not allowed to participate and, in some cases, even attend. As a result, these meetings often deteriorate into chaos and are quickly adjourned. There is little to no transparency in terms of association operations;

-Owner requests to inspect the books and other requests or inquiries may be ignored or made more difficult than necessary;

-Architectural control guidelines may be applied selectively depending on the whims of the board or a particular member of the board;

-The annual corporate report is not timely filled out and the corporate entity has been dissolved at some point which not only exposes the association members to potential individual liability but requires costly reinstatement fees;

-Contracts requiring payments in excess of 5% of the total annual budget (including reserves) for condominiums and in excess of 10% of the total annual budget (including reserves) for HOA's are entered into and signed without first complying with the competitive bid requirements of Section 718.3026(1) and Section 720.3055 (1) respectively;

-Contracts are given to companies with whom board members may be connected either directly or indirectly and these contracts are not reviewed by counsel prior to execution. Typically, these contracts are written for the benefit of the contractor/vendor and, among other problems, fail to provide any protection to the association in the form of payment and performance bonds or the use of liquidated damages to discourage lengthy delays. Sufficient warranty language may be missing altogether. Some contracts are signed unilaterally by only one board member without a board resolution and occasionally without the knowledge of the full board;

-Maintenance assessments are not collected in accordance with the provisions of the Declaration (either on a square footage or pro-rata basis) and delinquencies are allowed to go beyond the three month or two quarter mark with no attempts to collect;

-The Board (if it is a condominium association) does not pass a budget with full reserves each year. If reserves are in place, the board (either a condominium or HOA) uses reserve money for purposes other than that for which it was collected without a membership vote;

-Important decisions regarding new tenant or potential purchaser approvals, disability accommodations and covenant enforcement violations are made without regard to the board's statutory and documentary authority and without legal consultation as to the association's ability to obtain a successful outcome; and/or

-This Board may have no idea what amendments to the governing documents have been passed over the years and may be using an unrecorded set of documents which provide little or no guidance.

Now that we've seen where a board can go very wrong, our next blog will discuss those functioning boards who get the job done but aren't scoring A's on anyone's report card.

Donna DiMaggio Berger

Katzman, Garfinkel & Berger 

http://www.kgblawfirm.com 
954-486-7774  

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks again to Donna. Don't forget to ask your friends to look at your Blog --

www.Southpoint-Condo.Blogspot.com  

Let me know what you think--Pro or Con-- we encourage open discussion.

Michael E Katz    954-563-0959  Katz8356@comcast.net

Southpoint

Director 

  

Responses from the Owners

Well, I’ve had a couple of interesting emails today.  

An Owner wrote in regard to the Beach problem with some very good and well thought out ideas. 

 Another wrote about the railings. A few wrote about the balcony problem.  
 

We’ve been asking for participation by the Owners and we’ve had plenty of ideas since the blog went up six days ago.
 

One writer didn’t like my idea of umbrellas being set up on a daily basis. She had several thoughts about handling the problem: I edited slightly, mainly to save space. But each of her ideas are here:

•    Check out if there is something in our condo-docs in regard to cabanas.  {Yes, but not helpful.  M.E.K.}

•    Check out if some of the cabanas were illegally transferred when an apartment."  No transfer of cabana space is permitted.  Cabana space cannot be included in the sale of an apartment.”       

•    Ask the people who own chaise lounges and cabanas that are an eye sore to remove them.

•     Offer all remaining owners a fair price for their still in perfect condition cabanas.

•    Line up all usable cabanas in one straight line at the back of the beach (near the bushes), for first come, first served use. 

•    Put two stacks of maybe 30 stacking chaise lounges each on the South side and on the North side of the entrance to the beach.

•    No umbrellas. We are not a hotel. We are a condominium. It would be a very bad idea to get umbrellas. In fact it would be a headache of gigantic proportions.

•    There would still be enough cabanas lined up in the back if one wants to sit under one.
 

•     The main problem with people not wanting to give up their cabanas is because of their easy access to the chase lounges stored in them.

•     The main problem with people not wanting to give up their cabanas is because of the easy access to the chase lounges stored in them.

•    I can see the beach from my terrace. If there are 2 or 3 cabanas open at any given day, it is a lot.

These are several wonderful ideas about the beach. They come from an owner. Obviously she has given serious thought about the beach. Open discussion leads to good decisions. Notice that there was no name calling and pointed fingers.  There is only a possible solution.  I don’t agree with all of her points but to me the important thing is the discussion. Cooperation and collaboration will follow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many people have written whom I don’t know by name. Please introduce yourselves when you see me.
 
Let me know what you think.

.mike
Michael E Katz
Southpoint
Director
954-563-0959

                                         Katz8356@comcast.net


                           Please email your friends about your blog  

                             www.Southpoint-Condo.Blogspot.Com

Amending Southpoint's Documents

Snowbirds – I don’t like to rub it in, but yesterday was a wonderful day at Southpoint. The pool was about 85 F - 29C.   The ocean was a little cooler, but very clear and fairly calm. By the way, did you know that the pool holds 77,000 gallons of water?

*

I am not sure about glass replacing the steel railings.  I think that Vinny has written off the idea—but in any event, there is a problem with changing to glass. It might be considered a material alteration, and the Southpoint documents would have to be changed. This would require a vote by all the owners. It’s a two step process:

·          First, the Board must approve the material alteration (the railings to be changed to glass.)

·         Second, the Owners must ratify the Board’s vote by a 2/3 majority.

The good news is that it is possible to make the change provided that 2/3 of us want it.  Getting the two-thirds vote will be troublesome, but there are a few other changes that may be wanted at the same time. A committee could collect votes here, on the property, and then a mailing could be done with telephone follow-up by the committee. 

Someone wrote to me asking about the condition of the beach. Our beach is an eyesore. The cabanas are in disarray, and are positioned willy-nilly on the beach. There are many different colors, some cabanas are in good shape, others should be tossed. 

So? Why don’t we reorganize them and get rid of the ones in bad shape? Reason: The cabanas do not belong to us. Each one is privately owned. Perhaps the next Board, can get some legal advice on the matter.

The hotels on Fort Lauderdale’s main beach have adopted a very beautiful plan. Umbrellas are set up for guests every morning and taken down every afternoon. Lounge chairs could be stacked by the gate and carried to the umbrellas by owners who want to spend time on the beach. If you haven’t seen this set up, drive South on A1A until you see the hotel beach area.

Let me know what you think.

Michael E Katz

Southpoint

Director

954-563-0959

Katz8356@comcast.net

Please email your friends about your blog  www.Southpoint-Condo.Blogspot.Com

"Can't we all get along?"

~~~Peace and Harmony~~~

Most of us are more comfortable in a condo where peace and harmony reign.  We could have that again. Our problem has been the inability of some of us to understand that disagreement doesn’t have to lead to rancor.  Perhaps we need training.  If Red Sox and Yankee fans can get along why can't we?

 For instance, why can’t those of us who want glass railings on the balconies understand and appreciate that there are other Owners who are happy to leave them as is?  This is one issue that can be addressed by polling all of the Owners, who, after all, will be paying for the change.  

Perfection may come for us in heaven, but on earth Perfection is the Enemy of the Good.  Waiting for the Perfect Answer is not productive. If we wait nothing happens; nothing gets done. Demanding Perfection causes Procrastination.

Compromise is really the answer. Everything isn’t black or white. There are many colors between. Usually, open minded people can arrive at compromise or consensus. When we close our minds we become obstacles to progress.   Sometimes inability to compromise or even to understand another person’s point of view leads to the hatefulness we see and feel at Southpoint.  

Most people look for and remember facts that confirm their biases, while they simultaneously avoid and forget facts that contradict those dearly held biases. We turn off our ears when a different point of view is expressed.

Let’s try to find a place of consensus…there always is a wide circle of possible answers to problems
for people with good hearts.  

I’ve received a few emails regarding the balconies.  I’m not surprised that people are upset.  But I know that Vinnie has been looking at the bids of three contractors. Soon we’ll hear the results and the work can proceed. 

Three people wrote to me  in favor of glass railings for the balconies. They both felt that upgrading the appearance of the buildings would add to the value of your apartment.  Two were vehemently opposed. They didn’t want to spend the money. I think that we should have a poll of all the owners—after all, the glass railings will add a substantial number to the assessment for the balconies.  The engineer should be asked whether we can begin work now and put in the glass later.  We could have a separate assessment for the glass railings.

Tell your friends about the Blog:  www.Southpoint-Condo.Blogspot.com

Write to me. You can be critical—that’s how we learn…

.mike 

Michael E Katz

Southpoint
Director
954-563-0959

Katz8356@comcast.net 

More on Construction Contracts

Hello Southpointers!

 By coincidence, Gary Poliakoff, one of South Florida’s leading Condo Attorneys wrote the piece quoted below for the Sun-Sentinel Condo Blog yesterday. Add his points to the 21 point check off list for contracts that I wrote about yesterday,  and you can feel pretty confident about engaging a contractor.

But: after a final agreement has been written be sure that our attorneys give the final approval.

Avoid paying twice for construction costs

by: Gary Poliakoff February 22nd, 2012 | 9:24 AM

Did you know you may have to pay a subcontractor, material supplier or someone else working on your job site, even if you already paid the contractor?  Did you know that subcontractors and others are entitled to place a lien on the property for non-payment?  Those liens can impact closings and financing needs.

Although construction contracting is not something most board members are familiar with, the State of Florida requires them to follow very detailed procedures when making payments to the contractors hired to do work on the condominium property. 

The first step to take when commencing a construction project is to record a Notice of Commencement. Florida Statutes require you to record a Notice of Commencement in the public records identifying the legal title of the property being improved, and the names and addresses of the owner (or association as the agent of the owners), contractor, lender, bond surety (if any), and any other individuals who should receive copies of documents associated with the Florida Construction Lien Law. 

This Notice of Commencement is an important document.  Please review the Notice with an attorney and do not rely on your manager or the contractor to fill out the information.  A mistake on the Notice of Commencement can come back to harm the association as well as the individual owners.

As your construction progresses, you will receive documents called Notice to Owner. Sometimes these documents are called Notice to Owner/Preliminary Notice and are usually served upon you via Certified Mail. If you included your fax number in the Notice of Commencement, the Notice to Owner may also be faxed to you. They may also hand-deliver it to you and, in some instances, it may just be posted on your job site. It is very important that you keep track of everybody who has served a Notice to Owner on you. The Notice to Owner is not a cloud on title; rather, it is a document from those entities, hired by your contractor, that you must ensure get paid to avoid liens on your property.

Every time you pay your contractor, it is vital that you ensure that all subcontractors and suppliers that have served you with a Notice to Owner have been paid in full. Before you make payments to your contractors, you should call everybody who served a Notice to Owner on you and find out how much they are owed.

When you make your next payment to your contractor, it is critical that you make sure that you get a Release from everybody who served a Notice to Owner in the amounts which you learned are due. If you do not get a Release in the company will look to you later for payment or lien your job.

The Florida Construction Lien Law also gives you the right to require a list of money owed to subcontractors from your contractor every time you make a payment. This Affidavit should be given to you by your contractor, but the law does not allow you to legally rely on whatever the contractor tells you. Rather, you have an affirmative duty to make sure everyone who serves a Notice to Owner is paid in full.

Do not, under any circumstances, make your final payment to your contractor until you receive final Releases of Lien from every entity who served a Notice to Owner. If there is a problem getting these releases, you must make sure that everyone serving a Notice to Owner gets paid before you issue that last check to the contractor.

GARY POLIAKOFF is a founding principal of Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. He has devoted a significant part of his career to the practice of Community Association law. Author of New Neighborhoods: The Consumer's Guide to Condominium, Co-op and HOA Living.

 _________________________________________________________________ 

Thanks for your comments, even the negative ones. My point has always been that we can get along without agreeing on every issue. Open discussion among intelligent, reasonable people always leads to better decisions. 

Michael E Katz

Director

Southpoint

Katz8356@Comcast.net

954-563-0959

Outsourcing at Southpoint

The  Cleaning Service

Lenny Champagne hired an outside cleaning service after the Board asked him to wait while we looked into other vendors. Lenny went ahead, on his own, brought in National Cleaning Systems.  Lenny asserts that the outside cleaning service will save us $100,000 per year. 

The company he picked currently has a warrant from the Florida Department of Revenue because they owe over 15 thousand dollars in sales tax.  In addition, they lost a court case in October where they had to pay a 23 thousand dollar judgment.  A federal tax lien that was placed on them in December 2010 was just removed this past December.

 Does this sound like a reputable firm? The contract, that was given to us and signed by Vinnie, calls for payment within three days—a sign of the lack of capital of the firm. We have no idea whether the staff now working in Southpoint has been checked. Had Lenny been in communication with Lisa and myself we would have checked the firm before allowing people on the property.

I had given the office a twenty point checklist for contracts. Obviously the checklist wasn’t consulted. Had we been in communication and working together I could have read the contract and seen the many flaws in it. Instead, it was sent to our attorneys, where for a fee, an addendum was written. The addendum was sent over to the office, but Lenny ignored it, and never got National Cleaning Service to sign it. Considering National Cleaning Service’s background and the lack of a proper contract, we should drop them immediately.

The same thing happened a few months ago, when Lisa Lamarca and Elaine Jaffe discovered that Best Bet, was (1) unlicensed; (2) uncertified and unqualified to do some of the work they did on balconies; and (3) improperly insured.  Best Bet received almost $400,000, of Southpoint’s money without a license or proper insurance. Some of the work that we paid them for will be re-done.

We need to be more careful, more professional, in regard to contracts.

Previously, I had refered to a contract checklist that I had written for Southpoint, based on my experieince in business and, more importantly, on one of the condominium classes that I attended.  I continue to attend them.

Here it is.

Southpoint    Checklist  for Contracts  

Michael E Katz

Down payment:  Zero or as little as can be negotiated.

 Rationale: if a contractor can’t afford to start a job, then he won’t be able to finish.

Bond: Performance bond should be required. On the other hand, there will be exclusions and we must be aware of them.

Subs: Each sub must meet the same standards as the General Contractor.

Start Date – Finish Date  Bonus? Penalty?

Substantial Completion:  To be defined in contract.

Liquidated Damages:   To be defined in contract by our attorneys.

Progress Payments:  must never exceed work done. We or an impartial party (our engineer) will sign off on each progress payment.

Releases for Progress Payments:  Must be obtained by contractor from Suppliers and Subs.

Notice of Commencement:   To be placed on Public Record—and signed off at completion of Job.

Named Insured:  Southpoint to be named with address, on every insurance policy including those written for subs.

Liability Limits:   To be determined by attorneys. Very important.

Certificates of Insurance:  including Worker’s Compensation. Delivered to Southpoint by GC to include Sub’s insurances.

Property Damage: GC is responsible for any damage to common areas, or unit owner’s property, whether caused by sub-contractor or GC.

Remedies:  What are remedies in the event of breach?  To be determined by our attorneys.

Work Schedules:   5 days, 6 days, hours  8 AM until 6PM. Set up times out of regular hours in order  to speed work.  Deviations only with Southpoint’s consent.

Proof of Payments:  As work is paid for any payments to subs or suppliers should be copied to Southpoint. At  Job’s final payment to GC will not be paid unless all proofs have been delivered.

Warranties:   Discuss with attorneys prior to awarding contract.

Damages for Delays in Performance:  Discuss with  attorneys.

Indemnification:  language to be supplied by Southpoint Attorneys.

Final Payment:   A very delicate and important matter.  It should be large (at least 10%)  and should be at least thirty days after completion of job to Southpoint’s satisfaction and all Permits have been closed.

Note: Relying on the City of Ft. Lauderdale to sign off Job, will not protect the Association. The City is not an expert, and cannot be held liable for mistaken approvals.

Concomitant Service Contracts:  During the Job, or at completion, the GC may request ongoing service contracts.  Each contract must be examined and priced with competitors. 

Michael E. Katz

Southpoint

November 2009

Using this check list for every contract would save us a lot of money and heartache.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Yesterday three Southpointers identified the source of the quote, and one of them was under forty!

The source of "Let's Look at the Record" was Governer Al Smith of New York who was the first Catholic to run for president in the 1920's. 

+---------Why the Police were Called --------+

"Let's Look at the Record"

On several occasions, including a Board Meeting, Vinnie and a resident declared that the previous administrations (Marty Glazer’s and mine) had received many requests for repair of the 305S balcony from the owners—and that those requests were ignored. 

When I was President I had all “Work Requests” by owners and employees listed on a spreadsheet.  A loose-leaf binder containing about thirty-five pages of “Work Slips” was left on the counter,although no new work slips had been added after I was no longer President. 

I didn’t recall a single request regarding balconies, and I knew nothing about the balconies in question. I wanted to look through the binder and find out whether there were any “work slips” or requests for repair on that unit.   "Let's look at the Record."  (A Florida orange to the first one to identify the source of that quote.)

Each of the thirty-five or so pages of the work request spread sheet has about thirty lines; so after reading a few pages I thought it would be better just to copy all the pages at Fed Ex. Then I could read it at my leisure at home.  I took the book, brought it to Fed Ex, copied all the pages, and returned it within an hour or two.

  

After I left with the binder Marie Abbott and Vinnie, called the police and alleged that I “stole” the book. It was one of four or five calls that they made to the police regarding Owners and Directors for various imagined or exaggerated infractions.  Police had never before been called to Southpoint by a President or an office worker.

Thus, at candidates’ night you heard Vinnie call me a “thief.”

Needless to say, there wasn’t a single item in the spreadsheets about those balconies. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few people have suggested topics for me to discuss or explain.  I want to thank them, and will get to each over the next few days.

.mike

Michael E Katz

Southpoint

Director 

954-563-0959

Katz8356@comcast.net

--Let's Talk Balconies--

Let's Talk Balconies

The Executive Committee, composed of Vinnie and Lenny Champagne, decided to have all our balconies inspected after problems were discovered in a few units. They brought in an engineer who inspected the balconies of the South Building, and took the tiles off 160+ balconies. This occurred several months ago.

The engineer had intended that  his own construction company bid on the repair of each balcony that he declared unsafe or in need of repair.

Vinnie and Lenny Champagne did not understand the conflict of interest in this arrangement.

I was skeptical by the number of balconies (160+) that the engineer claimed needed immediate repair and wrote to Vinnie and the engineer about it. I was ignored by Vinnie. A few days later the engineer offered to pay for a peer review or second opinion. Inexplicably, Vinnie ignored that offer. 

At the last meeting of the Board, owners from Canada, who are in the concrete restoration business expressed doubt about the project and the manner in which specs were written.  But the specs had already been sent out, and so we received several bids which were not comparable to each other. A second engineer was brought in, who re-wrote the bidding documents. At this time we are waiting for the contractors to send new bids.

In the meantime, a third engineer was brought in and paid directly by two owners and myself. He inspected several balconies in the South Building and declared that there was no question of safety and that most of the balconies were good for another five, ten or even fifteen years. He wrote a memo that I am attaching below. 

We may want to discuss using a different standard when we check the North Building.

Here’s the independent engineer’s memo:

"It was a pleasure meeting with you and members of the Southpoint Condo Board during our site visit of February 15, 2012.  Both I and my associate agree that the reinforcing steel corrosion-related spalls observed at select balconies does not reflect conditions that are unsafe.  (underlining mine.)

We observed the following:

• some small areas of spalled concrete exposed by the removal of tile flooring that was caused by insufficient concrete coverage (<3/4").
• no cracks at the balcony perimeters suggestive of corrosion-related spalls.
• no corrosion stains on the balcony perimeters or undersides.
• embedded door thresholds which could be another cause of spalled concrete."

My opinion is that a state of panic, engendered by one resident, came about due to the two or three balconies that actually needed repairs. There was no need to remove the tile from so many balconies at this time, and a great expense could have been avoided. Now, with the tiles removed we have no choice, except to bring each balcony to usable standards.

The next Board should discuss with an engineer the standards by which he will declare a balcony in need of repair.

As usual, feel free to write or call.  I am pleased (astounded!) by the number of Southpointers who have called or written.

Michael E Katz

Director

954-563-0959

Katz8356@Comcast.net

Welcome to Southpoint-Condo

Hello Southpointers!  

Well,  most of you must have received the email or seen the post from Vinnie and his lawyer prohibiting me from addressing you directly. Instead, I am going to use this Blog to communicate with you. It will be a little work for you--you'll have to remember the address --

  www.Southpoint-Condo.blogspot.com

or, to make it easy you can make it one of your favorites.

I will try to be an honest, objective commentator. I'll write short notes--always keeping in mind my father's dictum--"Brevity is the Soul of Wit," -- so I'll be brief in each post.    When I first mentioned my father's dictum at a Board meeting, I realized that it might have been Shakespeare who said it. Someone in the audience called out, "Shakespeare stole it from your father!"  Anyway, whether Shakespeare or Dad, I am going to work to keep my remarks brief.

Southpoint needs a Board that works together. All Board members should be informed, familiar with our Documents, and the State regulations regarding Condominiums.  Having a Board familiar with, and willing to abide by the DOCs, Rules, and Regulations, will avoid most of the problems that we have had this year.  No one comes to the Board fully educated, but by this time I would expect that officers  would have learned how to run a Board and how to run Board meetings.

Lisa,  Elaine,  and I have worked to understand the DOCs.  Lisa and I have gone to many sessions to learn the State Regulations:   Those who heard Tony Peccia at Candidate's night can tell that he will be a great asset to the Southpoint Board  and to Southpoint.  Elaine Jaffe is very familiar with state regulations and it was she who fought harder than anyone for transparency--even against me when I was President.   What is transparency?  It means that any Owner should be able to get information about their investment easily, without a fuss.  Remember, Owners are entitled to all information regarding their investment with a very few exceptions. I was impressed by Michele Biberman's presentation, and especially the fact that she has been a Director of two different Boards, and was relected to each several times.

Yes, Elaine fought my Board for transparency, as well as this Board.  But I learned from her-- Open minds learn easily.

This is all for tonight. More tomorrow.  If you're  in Florida , enjoy the beautiful weather--if you're not here--come on down...

Mike
Michael E.Katz
Katz8356@comcast.net.