|
HAMMOCK BEACH ESTATES HOME OWNER’S ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. Box 350668
Palm Coast, FL 32135
Thursday January 11, 2007, Beginning at 7:00PM
Hammock Community Center, Malacompra Road
The Board meeting commenced at 7:00PM. The following Board members were present: President, Paul Zacharias, Secretary, Peggy Steele, Treasurer, Fred Black and Operations Coordinator, Joe Bowen.
The following homeowners, all invited by an e mail message, by notice enclosed with the minutes and by posting of a notice on the community bulletin board were present: George and Hana Vrany, John and Betty Bonner, Sara and Harold Clark, Gary and Susan Fairley, Frank Carelli, Bob Rohr, Alicia Stobbe, John Henley, Dennis Clark, Bill Martindale, Lawrence and Alicia Anderson, Robin Cotie and Albert DiCroce.
Before calling the meeting to order, Paul called upon those present to voice any concerns or to have any item placed on the agenda.
George Vrany wished the new board success in their endeavors in 2007. He said that there are projects that need to be completed, as the pool beautification project. He wished the board luck in proceeding with plans to make this project a success.
Frank Carelli said that in reviewing the treasurer’s report from the annual meeting (Dec. 7, 2006) he thought that money that was budgeted for an operating expense purpose and was not used should be returned to homeowners. The money that was budgeted for taxes on common grounds and are no longer required, should be used to reduce the dues paid by homeowners. Paul asked Frank what process he would use to fund the reserve accounts. Frank said that he didn’t know about reserve accounts but that the bylaws state money in excess of operating expenses should be used to reduce the assessment of dues for this year. Paul said that Fred will explain the budget when the treasurer’s report is reviewed and that Frank can ask questions at that time if necessary.
Bob Rohr said that too much time was used at the annual meeting by the president’s remarks and recognition of association members, the voting process, and useless discussions of ballot issues after voting had already taken place. Bob said that all of these items left little time for discussion of other items such as the motion he made to set a $ amount above which the Board must have a membership vote before the expenditure is made. Bob felt the motion was not out of order as ruled by the chair. Paul said that the minutes of the annual meeting will be amended to note Bob’s disagreement with the Chair’s ruling.
(Minutes from the annual meeting , Dec.7, 2006 have been amended to reflect Bob’s opinion ).Bob said that the motion should have been considered at the meeting as the next membership meeting is not scheduled until next Dec. (2007) Bob feels that there is a need to schedule more membership meetings during the year rather than have only 1 for voting on any motions that may arise during the year. Paul said that a schedule for meetings is on the agenda and the value of more frequent membership meetings has been recognized and will be discussed .
Bob also handed the Board a letter he had written to Gary Poliakoff,a writer for the Daytona Beach News-journal, asking for suggestions as to what action homeowners can take to stop and/or reconsider the unwarranted expenditure of community funds. This letter was published in the paper several months after the Board decided to reconsider the building of a pavilion, tiki huts or any other structure which would require obtaining a building permit. Mr Poliakoff, in response to Bob’s letter, said that the statute of limitations for misrepresentation by the developer is 4 years and for breach of contract is 5 years and suggested that there still may be time to take action. He also said that as long as no contract has been signed, a voice from members should be sufficient to put any projects on hold. The Board has taken no steps for improving the pool area, but this was decided before the article was published in the paper. Bob suggested that the Board take action against the developer as there is still time under the statute of limitations.
Alicia Stobbe said that she owns a lot on Armand Beach Drive which is across from Lot 70 which is being considered by Flagler County to be released from the Conservation easement. She announced that there is going to be a hearing on Tuesday, Jan 16, 2007 at 9:30 AM for interested parties. John Henley, on behalf of the owner of Lot 70 said that he has been investigating the status of Lots 70 and 71 and feels that decisions should not be made until all facts are considered. Paul noted that at the annual meeting Jean Sherwin, owner of lots 68 and 69, had expressed his view that building homes on lots 70 and/or 71 would likely affect our communities floodwater drainage. Paul shared with the Board an email from John Henley objecting to this assertion because there is nothing on record stating that the conservation easement has anything to do with flood water management. (Paul asked Peggy to amend the annual meeting minutes to note Jean Sherwin was giving his personal opinion). (Annual meeting minutes were amended Jan 11, 2007, stating that the statements made were Jean’s personal opinion). Paul said that the Corp of Engineers has released lot 70 from the permit dealing with the lands in question. The county now has to make a decision as to whether or not to remove lot 70 from the conservation easement. Paul has an electronic file of the Corp permit documents that John Henley had acquired through his research. Paul asked for e mail addresses from any member attending the meeting who would like the information concerning lot 70. Fred asked John Henley if he was aware of the C&R requirements for any home that he might build and John said he was aware of the requirements. Alicia Stobbe asked if the easement covered the entire lot or just part of it. John said that the conservation easement does cover the entire area. Paul said that Lots 70 and 71 went for taxes, and eventually were sold at auction by the County. Bob Rohr said that he feels that if the release of lot 70 is not permitted by the County, then the board should take some kind of action as the owner has been paying yearly association dues .
Albert DiCroce, owner of Lot 71, also involved in the conservation easement said that he also has been paying association dues and is concerned with the outcome of the decision to be made by the County.
Susan Fairley thanked the Board for the work they have done. She feels that her annual dues of $175 has been used wisely by board members through the years and hopes that the beautification of the pool area will proceed. Frank Carelli said that he feels that by attending board meetings he can participate in decision making, referring to the amendment that was voted upon at the annual meeting regarding the elimination of the betterment clause in the C&Rs. Susan said she has talked with a lot of homeowners who were not aware of how the wording would affect association operations if the betterment clause was eliminated. She feels that the outcome would have been different if there had been a discussion beforehand. She said that there was a lot of disrespect shown at the annual meeting and she feels that the Board does not deserve the disrespect being shown as members are all volunteers and spend a lot of time and energy trying to make the right decisions for the entire community. All members do not have to agree with decisions but the antagonism shown has been very visible. She, for one, has not attended board meeting because of the atmosphere created by some attending members.
Larry Anderson said that this is a non profit corporation that has to abide by relevant Florida law including the use of parliamentary procedures at meetings. Larry said that he is aware that many attendees at the annual meeting considered his conduct to be very rude but he felt that as an association procedures required by law need to be followed. Paul said that Florida Law Chapter 720 is not for profit corporation statutes applicable to homeowners associations. Paul said that he agrees with Larry that the association needs to be sure it is following the law and is aware of areas where we have to modify our procedures to ensure compliance, such as the area of recordkeeping which is on the Board’s agenda tonight. Paul said that he probably could have done a better job administering parliamentary procedures at the annual meeting and every effort will be made to proceed correctly in future meetings.
With no more discussion, Paul called the meeting to order.
1. Adoption of agenda: Paul asked if there were any items to be placed on the proposed agenda. Paul asked that corrections to the dates shown on the agenda for the minutes of Nov. 16, 2005 Board of Directors meeting be changed to 2006 and the Dec. 7, 2005 to be changed to 2006 Board of Directors meeting. He also asked to add the communication between the Post Office and Board about non delivery of mail in November, 2006. Under " Operations", the date for activity schedule for 2006 should be corrected to 2007. Under "Treasurers report" Paul noted that bank authorizations must be signed. Please make sure signatures are made at the close of the meeting. Paul asked if there were any other items to be placed on the agenda, there being none, the agenda was adopted.
2. Approval of minutes: Paul asked if there were any changes or additions to the minutes of Nov. 16, 2006. There being no changes, the minutes were adopted. Paul asked if there were any changes or additions to the minutes of the Board meeting of Dec. 7. Paul asked that the minutes be amended for the annual membership meeting to show that Bob Rohr disagreed with the ruling of the chair stating that the motion he proposed saying that all expenditures in excess of $2500 require a membership vote of approval, was out of order.
Paul asked to include an e mail from John Henley regarding lots 70 and 71 into the minutes of Jan 2007 .He also asked that the minutes from the annual meeting be amended to say "Jean Sherwin expressed his personal opinion that the ability of our flood water drainage system to protect us from flooding could be affected by an upcoming potential decision by Flagler County to remove lots 70 and 71 from a current conservation easement and enable homes to be built on these sites." The change being made as requested. The following is John Henley’s e mail stating the rational behind amending Mr. Sherwin’s statement in the minutes from the annual membership meeting.
jkhenley@bellsouth.net wrote:
Paul,
In the minutes from the December 7th meeting we noticed that it stated "our flood water drainage area could be affected by an upcoming potential decision by Flager county" The comments or opinions are of the neighbor next door to the lot who would like to purchase the lot at a discounted price. I'm not sure if he had this researched by a professional in this area, but unless they can be backed up by facts should be left out of the minutes. We are due paying members of the association and also paying property taxes on these lots.
Thanks,
John K. Henley
Paul asked if there were any other changes to the minutes from the annual meeting. There being none the minutes were approved. NOTE: The Corp of Engineers permitting documents related to the conservation easement on Lots 70 and 71 are now on the website and can be viewed by going to HBEHOA.COM. and locating "HBE Corporation Documents" under "what’s new."
Postal delivery problem related to Annual Meeting: On Dec. 19, 2006 Paul initiated a correspondence with the post master in Palm Coast explaining that about 30 residents did not get postal delivery of the ballots mailed out on Nov. 20, 2006. Paul asked for a refund for postage and the cost of reprinting the ballot information ($39.60). He said that we are asking for the refund because services were not provided. The postmaster asked for more information which was provided and the last e mail sent to him was not answered. Paul will give him the opportunity to respond and if the response is negative all the information will be forwarded to our Congressional representatives.
3. Discussion and board vote on proposed bylaw amendment to eliminate the betterment account: Under our bylaws, it states that amendments must be approved by 2/3 of the membership and 2/3 of the Board. At the Annual Meeting, the membership, either by absentee vote or in person, approved the amendment to eliminate the betterment clause. The amendment as written, would eliminate any expenditures to common areas. It would also eliminate additional improvements for betterment of common areas as a category of expenditures of funds as part of the normal budgeting process. Paul opened the discussion by asking the views of each board member. Joe said that he feels that most homeowners want to have improvements for common grounds but would prefer putting a "cap" on the amount. Joe asked that more membership meetings be held throughout the year so homeowners would be able to participate in decisions that are made. Paul asked Joe if he approved or disapproved the amendment. Joe does not approve the amendment as written. Paul asked Peggy for her opinion of the amendment. Peggy said that she will not approve the amendment as written, that a cap should have been put on it before the vote went out to the membership. Fred does not approve the amendment as written. He also feels that a cap should have been put on the amendment as written. Fred said that he thinks that the vote was approved because the membership wanted some kind of control in decisions being made without approval from all homeowners. Paul said he will also vote "no" on the amendment. According to the C&Rs, one of the powers of the Association is to improve and beautify its common areas and all powers of the association will be exercised by the Board of Directors. The current budget and account structure allows the Board to budget for such improvements under the "betterment" account. If the betterment account is eliminated, the board would not be able to carry out a basic power of the association to make improvements to common grounds. Paul also said that we can have a discussion about how to implement a "cap" on the size of betterment projects that can be implemented without a membership vote, and what amount that "cap" should be. However, Paul said that there currently is a process in the bylaws where members can challenge what the board is doing with respect to any funding expenditures. The board has to propose budgets and the budgets have to be distributed with an allowance of a significant amount of time for the membership to react before the vote. If 10% of Lot owners say they do not want an item included in the budget ,a meeting can be called to propose an alternative budget. If that alternative budget is approved by 51% of the membership, then that budget would replace the original budget. In light of the opposition, the Board can also propose a revised budget for consideration by the membership at its meeting.
Paul then asked for a vote from board members on the proposed bylaw amendment to eliminate the betterment account. All members voted "no" on the amendment as written. The by law amendment is not implemented.
Fred asked that a committee be formed to develop an amendment to require membership approval for certain betterment expenditures. Frank Carelli, Sara Clarke and Larry Anderson volunteered to help Fred to write an amendment to bring to the Board for a vote.
4. Treasurers report: Fred handed out the "HBEHOA actual 2006 expenditures vs. budget and the approved year 2007 budget" plus a financial summary for 2006 and a summary of dues paid up to Jan. 10, 2007. Fred explained the summary sheet. The carryover from 2006 into 2007 is $16,767. So far 42% of the membership has paid their dues for 2007, bringing the account balance to $27,151.26. The actual operating expense for 2006 were $2327 less than budgeted, as a result the Board has reduced the 2007 operating expense budget by $2100. Fred said that Steve Steele, the bookkeeper has done a great job and has given Fred a copy of the software so Fred can work with the budget on his own computer. Fred said that he has gone over the books for 2006 and every item has been accounted for. Paul will ask Karen to sign off on the books for 2006 as she was treasurer, and Fred will also sign off as having reviewed the books. Paul also said that we are not required to do an audit on the account. For the past two years the incoming treasurer has reviewed the books for the previous year and has found everything to be in order, so an audit hasn’t been done. Paul asked Fred to call for an independent review if there were any questions pertaining to the books. Fred said that he has gone over the books, line by line and has found nothing that requires attention. Paul said that the budget report and summary will be sent out to all members along with minutes and will also posted on the website. Paul said that he and Fred are the two board members who can sign checks and the signatures are on file at the bank. Paul said that other Board members are authorized to review the association’s bank records.
5.. Operations:
Joe said that he has monitored the ponds and says that growth in the ponds should be taken care of by a spray treatment in early spring. He continues to try to get the grass-eating fish to replace those that have died.
The beach walkover is in fairly good shape but the railings are going to need work and Joe will ask for volunteers to complete the project as we did last year in conjunction with the refreshing of the mulch on the pathway leading to the walkover.
The palm trees on the pool grounds will need trimming when the fruit comes out and he will call the tree trimmer when that time approaches (June or July).
The pool fence needs repairs. The screening on the gates needs to be replaced and work is needed on some fence posts and privacy screening. Harold suggested that the repairs be done by a professional fence company. Joe will get estimates from fencing companies and proceed to have the fence and gates repaired. Paul said this project should be a priority because it is something that has been needed for some time.
Paul asked Joe if there were any problems with the pool. Joe said that he does not anticipate any major problem but said that bleach should not be used on the pool deck to rid the stains from the deck surface. Paul asked if there were any other concerns about the pool area. George Vrany asked if new pool furniture could be purchased. Paul said that this is a low budget operation but that new pool furniture could perhaps be considered if funds are available in the pool area beautification project.
Paul asked about the vegetation growth in the NS canal. The conservation easement covers 7 ½ feet on each side of the canal but the canal itself is part of flood water drainage system affecting everyone in the area. Joe said some spraying was done last year but clearing the canal of vegetation as Frank and Harold have done in their section will take some volunteers or we will have to hire someone to do it. Harold said that some areas in the canal are so overgrown that no water can be seen, particularly on either side of Armand Beach Drive. Paul noted that the Association has responsibilities for the canal south of Armand Beach drive and that we would need to get the Olivets involved to deal with the canal north of Armand beach drive. Harold said that he believes the N-S canal is not flowing because it flows into the County-maintained east-west canal alongside Malacompra road and this canal is not properly sloped. Paul asked Harold if he had any suggestions as to who should be contacted again as the condition of the canal has been a problem for several years and so far nothing has been accomplished Harold said that the people he had been in contact with are no longer working for Flagler County. Frank said that contact should again be made with the County Commissioners. He suggested contacting Melissa Holland, a newly elected Flagler County Commissioner who is concerned with the flooding in Marineland Acres, an area north of Sea Colony, which has had serious flooding problems. At Paul’s request, Frank and Harold indicated that they would be willing to take some leadership in determining which County official(s) that the board should contact to pursue this issue.
Volunteers are needed to help on the planned projects. Please contact Joe at 446 4477.
6. Planning for major projects for 2007:
*Pool Area Beautification. Joe said that the survey has been done and we are waiting for the warranty deed to record. The cost is $525 to combine the 2 lots into 1. Paul suggested that perhaps pavers should be used for paths and as a base for umbrella tables as no permit is required. Paul asked Joe to get some prices using brick pavers. Paul asked Joe and Debbie Clark to update the approved beautification plan with cost estimates and more specific details ( including brick pavers, concrete tables and landscaping) to present to the board and membership. Hana Vrany offered to help in this effort. Joe said that the membership should be included in planning the improvement and suggested having a membership meeting in the spring to present the plan for an open discussion.
Harold said that he hopes this project will be completed before too many more years and Sara Clarke said that the project has been stalled for too long and now is the time to complete the beautification of the pool area.
Paul asked about a target date to complete the research for the beautification plan. It was decided that the cost estimate work be completed by February 1, 2007 . When the plan has been reviewed a decision will be made as to maintaining the landscape (sprinklers, etc) The specific plan will be shared with the membership when the research has been completed. If a sufficient number of members (say 15 lot owners) have questions or issues with the plan, a membership meeting will be called, otherwise, the project will move forward.
*C&R Review: Fred volunteered to tackle the C&R review and will put together the documents to present to the membership. Fred said that he will attempt to show what the document was, its intent, and what is now proposed.. After it is presented to the board for review, it should then be put it to the membership for a vote. Paul said that this is too much to present at the annual membership meeting and a special meeting should be held for voting on the C&R changes. Fred said that he felt that one special purpose meeting should be held to discuss the proposed C&R changes and the second meeting be called to present the C&Rs to membership for a vote. Fred said that he will try to accomplish the task so the membership can vote on changes this year. Bob Rohr suggested that legal aid should be obtained before recording the amended C&Rs. Paul agreed and said that after the C&R review committee has completed their task the documents should be given to an attorney for legal advise. Then the Board and membership can vote on the proposed changes. We have to be in accordance with existing federal, state, and county laws. Paul said that in the past, there were amendments made with no participation from the membership and he wants to make sure that all revisions are presented to all members before the final vote is held to accept the revisions. Paul said that the biggest risk to our budget is for legal expenses particularly related to C&R enforcement. That is why he wants to make sure that the C&Rs are clearly written and reflect the will of the membership. Bob Rohr said that all documents have to be explicit in how they are worded so the intent is very clear.
Volunteers are needed to work with Fred on reviewing and rewriting the C&Rs: Please contact Fred at 447 0016.
*Records management: Paul said that developing records management policy and procedures and then organizing our existing association records accordingly is going to be a huge effort. Paul and Peggy will work on pulling together existing records and are asking for one or more volunteers who are records management professionals to volunteer their expertise and time to help structure our policies and procedures. Decisions have to be made as to how to handle electronic records, paper records, legal records, etc. Once we find out how to catalog existing documents, we can proceed with sorting and filing to keep appropriate records for the Association.
*Website enhancement: Paul will work with Debbie Clark to enhance the HBE website. (Note: At this point, Larry Anderson gave Paul a letter requesting a roster showing lot owners, lot numbers and e mail addresses. Peggy will forward the information requested by e mail). Getting back to the business at hand, Paul and Debbie will work with Joe Sermarini, who maintains the website to make sure that useful information is clearly evident, such as how to do architectural review, what specifically is required if selling your house or for new buyers in HBEHOA. This last category would include whom to contact to determine if the seller has paid association fees. C&Rs are supposed to be given to prospective buyers. Paul asked Bob Rohr if he could supply an example of a disclosure that buyers sign saying that they have received the C&Rs. Bob said he would (and the next day he did). Bob said that he doubts that all homeowners have a complete copy of the existing C&Rs,
7. Establishing the calendar for social activities and meetings for 2007: Paul asked for the dates of last year’s meetings. Working accordingly, tentative dates were set for the meeting subject to meeting room availability. After confirming availability, the following dates have been set for this year’s Board meeting and for the Annual Member’s meeting at which new officers are elected.
Thursday, March 8, 2007,
Thursday, May 3, 2007,
Thursday, August 2, 2007,
Wednesday, October 3, 2007,
Thursday November 8, 2007,
Thursday, December 6, 2007 for the annual membership meeting.
Dates for special purpose Board or membership meetings will be determined as needed.
Paul said that we can hold meeting in the daytime if desired. Fred would like to see a change of meeting times to afternoons. It was decided to have the March meeting from 3 to 5 PM instead of in the evening. Other times will be determined. Paul reminded the board that it costs $50 each time we rent the community center. Joe suggested that perhaps we could schedule an afternoon meeting and a special purpose meeting in the evening the same day to save renting the center another day. Paul said we can call an informal meeting for discussion purposes a "Member forums", as the C&Rs require only one annual membership meeting. Paul said that if a vote is needed on an issue it will be a formal meeting and specified as a ‘Member Meeting." Joe asked if minutes should be recorded at forums, and Paul said he felt that minutes should be recorded but that this would have to be checked out.
Paul suggested that we dispense with the Holiday party, thus saving money in the budget. Attendance was low and there has been less interest shown in an Association Holiday party. It is getting harder and harder to find an open date that is satisfactory for most people. Dates for gatherings at the pool have not been scheduled pending completion of the pool project.
Volunteers are needed to serve on the social committee. If interested, call Peggy Steele, 446 9094.
8. Discussion of any need to contact members regarding C&R compliance: Paul asked the board members about violations to C&Rs that need to be addressed. Peggy said that she has had several complaints from members in our association as well as homeowners who do not belong to our association about a resident who is driving too fast and has come close to causing an accident involving children in the area. Fred said he will try to resolve the problem as he is friendly with the family. Peggy has also received complaints from homeowners living on Armand Beach Drive and also association members, about 2 dogs from Laurel Drive, who are allowed to run loose rather than being leashed. This is a violation of county law as is the fact that the dogs’ excrement is not being picked up by the owners. The Board recommended that Debbie Clark provide a reminder to the owners/renters. The Board discussed the status of several lawns in the area but decided not to recommend any immediate action since the lawns were not significantly worse than the de facto standard set by the association—the lawn on the Association-owned property at the pool. The Board received a complaint about a house on Mahoe and Paul will discuss the issues with the owner. Fred noted that he observed other homes with excessive weeds and the need for painting but did not believe that any warranted immediate action.
9. With no other items to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM. The next Board meeting is Thursday, March 8, 2007 at 3pm at the community center on Malacompra Road.
Respectfully submitted,
Peggy Steele, Sec.
Janboardmeet2007pzps
|