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HAMMOCK BEACH
ESTATES HOME OWNER’S ASSOCIATION, INC. P.O. Box 350668 Palm Coast ,
FL 32135 Thursday, May 3,
2007, Beginning at 3:00PM Hammock Community
Center, Malacompra Road The Board meeting commenced at 3:00 PM. The following Board members were present: President: Paul Zacharias, Vice President, Debbie Clark, Secretary, Peggy Steele, Treasurer, Fred Black, and Operations Manager, Joe Bowen. The following members, 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: Bob Hamby, Frank Carelli, John Bonner, John Pavlov, Susan Fairley, Bob Rohr, Karen Joyce, and Harold Clark. Paul said that there was a membership meeting scheduled for 7 PM, May 3, 2007 for a discussion and vote on pool beautification, therefore he requested that we dispense with the normal members’ expression of concerns and issues at the start of this meeting. As we go through the agenda, he will recognize members for questions.. Frank Carelli asked that we include in the minutes the notice that there will be a picnic over Memorial Day weekend, scheduled for Saturday, May26, 2007 with a rain date of Monday, May 28. With no other announcement, Paul called the meeting to order. 1. Discussion and Adoption of agenda: Paul asked if there were any additions to the proposed agenda. He asked that the preparation for tonights meeting be added under item 12. Peggy asked to have a request from Joe & Robin Cotie be added under under item 4. With no other items to be placed on the agenda, the agenda was adopted. 2. Approval of minutes of March 8, 2007: Paul said that the minutes were sent as a hard copy to all homeowners. There being no changes or additions the minutes were approved and adopted. 3. Status of litigation: Joyce vs. Weiss and HBEHOA: Paul said that things have been quiet since our March meeting. All legal filing has been posted on the website and bulletin board. Paul said that there has been correspondence that has been circulated from the Joyce’s and from Weiss’ attorney to the residents on the west side of Ocean Dune Circle. This correspondence was not posted because they were private correspondence. Paul said that the attorney for HBEHOA has filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs complaint and we have not heard whether the court has responded to this motion. A copy of this motion is on the website. There is a mediation scheduled for May 18 at 1:30 PM at the office of Atty. Jeff Greene. Paul will attend this mediation meeting and board members can be present. If the matter is not resolved at mediation at that time, Paul has been scheduled to give a deposition on Thursday, June 14, 2007 at 1:30 PM at which point the Rosenbaums and the Weiss’ will also give their depositions. We have received an invoice from Robyn Braun for her services from Jan 31, 2007 to Feb. 26, 2007 in the amount of $2345. A second invoice for $87. Peggy called Paul’s attention to the second invoice as the date for the service noted on the bill was incorrect and should read Feb. instead of March. Debbie will check her calendar to find out exactly what date she met with the attorney to deliver the documents requested. Paul said the bill will not be paid until a correct invoice is received. The attorney’s services were suspended when the attorney for the insurance company took over the litigation. Paul advised Fred that the first invoice can be paid as time spent was correct with our records. Mr. Traster, the attorney handling the litigation for our insurance company has advised Paul that prior to mediation, we should seek advice from our attorney , Robyn Braun to protect HBE in case of a settlement. Paul emphasized that Mr. Traster is the attorney for the insurance company, not HBE. He is not thinking about future problems that may come up in the future and HBE needs to be protected before signing off with any settlement. Paul asked for comments from board members. Paul is in favor of having Robyn available to review any mediation settlement before signing off, which will not be as costly as if she attended the mediation and no settlement was reached. Fred said that the attorney for the insurance company should be watching out for us too, but Paul said his primary concern was saving money for the insurance company who he represents. Joe said that an attorney is only concerned about the client who he is representing. Joe feels that a representative should be present for mediation. Paul will be present for the meeting. After discussing the issue with board members it was decided that Paul will contact Mr. Traster for advice on whether Robyn should attend the mediation hearing or whether she should be consulted if a settlement is agreed upon before signing off on the settlement. Paul asked if anyone had any comments about the litigation. Frank Carelli said that this mediation will not settle the problem of the 40 foot limit incurred on buildings on the east side of Ocean Dune Circle. Paul said that depending on terms of mediation it might not and we will still have issues about that. Bob Rohr asked where the money for attorneys fees is coming from. Paul said that this will be discussed when the Treasurer’s report is given. Karen Joyce said that if the board admitted that they made a
mistake by approving the Weiss’s structure that this lawsuit would not have
happened. She said that she and Mike” never wanted to make any money off of
the HOA. Their only purpose in bringing a lawsuit was to have the HOA board rescind
their approval, which was a mistake” 4. Architectural
review: Paul said that on April 25
a letter was sent to the Nelson’s who have started to build their home on 3
Cottonwood Trail, approving the house plans.
The pool plans were not approved until the final plans are received.
There is a question about the proposed chain link fence because of the location
and it would be highly visible from the front of the property and our C&Rs
prohibit a chain link fence in the front yard. If anyone has any issues with the building on this property, they should contact either Paul or Debbie Clark to have the issue resolved. Susan Fairley said that a silt fence needs to be put on the property as sand is blowing around.( Note: A silt fence has been placed around the construction site) The next issue on architectural review is the approval concern for Pavlov’s pool deck which extends beyond the 40 foot limit. Because of the sensitivity of this issue we have submitted the plans to our attorney. She did not get back to us until an hour or so before the meeting and the board members have not had a chance to review her response. Whether or not this may have an impact on the on going litigation Paul feels that we need to review the options given in the attorney’s response. Paul said that we have to make a decision within 45 days from the time something was submitted or it’s an automatic approval. Our time frame is May 10, 2007 to make a decision. Susan Fairley asked how the ARAC handled the plans for the Pavlov pool. Paul said that the ARC reviewed the plans and deferred them to the board because of the pending litigation. There is no screening involved in this proposal, only a ground level extension of the deck. Peggy said that Joe and Robin Coty asked for approval for painting the trim on their house white. The house color will remain the same color. The Board gave their approval and Peggy will contact the Cotys to let them know that they have approval and can proceed. 5. Treasurers report: ( At this time Paul handed the gavel to Debbie to make a phone call) Fred distributed a copy of the budget report. (see attachment) All but 4 lot owners dues have been paid A second letter will go out to these lot owners for uncollected dues and a decision will then be made as to what legal action will be taken if they are not paid within a certain date. Our income is $25095 and we have an ending balance of $34879.72 as of the 30 April 2007. We have spent $6528 operating expense which is 32% of the yearly expenditures. From reserves there was $454 spent for the survey completed on the common grounds at the pool. To date a total of $6982 which is 21% of what has been budgeted for the year. Fred said that the additional legal money could come out of betterment fund or it could come from money not spent on the options, depending on which proposal is voted in. Fred pointed out the information given on the budget report explaining what the reserve account can be used for. (Paul returned and resumed as chair of the meeting.) Paul asked the Board for approval for up to $250 to purchase a file cabinet and files folders to consolidate our official records. After discussion, the board agreed. Since this is a capital expense, Fred was asked to determine the reserve account that it should be assigned to. Looking over the budget, Paul noted the areas that may go over budget as time goes on. If more member meetings are needed, that will increase Board Member Expenses above the budgeted amount. Required mailings require postage. The mailing of the last minutes which needed special mailing envelopes came to almost $400. Peggy said that usually we have about half the membership receiving the information through mailing and the other half receiving through e mail, but there are some members who have requested that they receive both. Paul said that the more people who will use e mail instead of postal mail will cut down the mailing bill considerably. He recognizes the fact that certain information must be sent to all members through postal mail but most could be handled through e mail. Paul now has the ability to put things on the web site, so any time that Joe Sermarini, who maintains the website, is not available, the information can still be put on the HBE website. The March mailing needed to be done while Joe was away, and also, we needed to give all members a picture of the proposals for the pool property, thus causing the mailing to go to all members. It was also a heavy mailing, needing extra stamps. Paul said that we may eventually be able to recover some legal costs. 6. Status of actions on canal Drainage concerns and Lots 70 & 71: Paul said that according to Jean Sherwin, information has not been forthcoming concerning the status of both lot 70 and 71. No action has been taken by the county. Frank Carelli has talked to the commissioners about cleaning the canal. He said that Melissa Holland is having a meeting on May 16 to meet the people and maybe he will have more information . Our north-south canal is not working and hopefully something will be done about it! 7. Potential for future action by board related to ownership of dry pond: Paul said that lots 88 and 89 have been sold by Sherwins to Rosenbaums. Currently HBEHOA owns a portion of these two lots as the dry pond and has an easement between the two lots to access the dry pond. As owners we are responsible for the cost of maintaining the pond. However, our ownership of the dry pond reduces the size of the lots and may affect whether (or the size of) homes that can be built on them. Stan would like to convert our ownership of the dry pond to an easement so that the land can be counted as part of the lots. Under this arrangement the owner of the lots (currently the Rosenbaums) would take over the expense to maintain the ponds and HBE would have the easement to enter onto the dry pond if need be to maintain the functionality of the dry pond. Paul said that Stan would like to have his attorney draw up the transfer proposal with the input of the Association’s attorney. Stan will pay all costs including our attorney’s costs. After a proposal is received, the board will review the proposal and discuss the proposal with the membership. Paul said that he has reviewed the C&Rs and believes the Board can decide this issue without a member vote but our attorney would need to opine on this before any action was taken. Paul noted that the tax assessor values the land on the dry pond at 340. Bob Hamby suggested that Stan should put in money for improvement of the pool area as part of the proposal. Frank said that Stan took lots on Armand Beach Dr. out of the Association and Black’s lot was added. Paul said that those changes included the whole lot. This transfer is for a portion of the lot. John Bonner asked why HBE is responsible for the dry pond on lots 88 and 89. Paul said that he understands that the operation of the ponds and drainage system is part of the developers improvements transferred from the developer to the association and we have responsibility to maintain them. Frank asked if any building was planned for the lots. Paul does not know if both lots are buildable. Joe asked if lots 70 and 71 would be affected. Paul said that a change in ownership should not affect the issue. Frank said that the dry pond must meet code and whether it does should be confirmed before the transfer is made. . Susan suggests that the board have their own lawyer, not use Stan’s lawyer. The Board agreed that since there is no cost to the Board, Robyn Braun could represent our interests in developing the proposal. 8. Status of by law amendment and C&R review project: Fred is chairman of the committee to review the by laws and C&Rs. On April 24, his committee, Frank Carelli, Larry Anderson and Sara Clarke agreed to work on the bylaws, especially on setting a limit for betterment expenditures without a member vote. . Fred gave the Board the proposed amendment and asked that it be included in the minutes. (See attachment) The attachment also contains a change to the C&Rs to match the proposed change to the bylaws. Fred explained the proposed by-law and C&R amendments that his committee submitted, saying that the crossed out sentences will be deleted and replaced with new wording to clarify the intent. Paul asked about the inability to place liens on delinquent property owners and instead say that legal options will be taken. Paul also said that we might also want to give the board the flexibility to offer an incentive to property owners for early payment of the total amount. Fred asked how the budget for income would be handled. Paul said it has been done in the past—we budgeted as if everyone paid in one payment and received the discount. Paying the total amount for the year saves time and money for the association. Paul agreed that if the dues get into big numbers, the opportunity to make partial payments should be allowed. Frank said the by law should say that the board of directors has the discretion to give a discount if paid in full. Bob Rohr suggested that we keep figures out of the by laws because other boards may make changes. Fred reminded board members that the purpose of the proposed amendment is only to identify when assessments were due and has no impact on the board’s flexibility of offering discounts for early full payments. Paul said board members should communicate with Fred any thoughts that they might have within the next couple of weeks. Paul asked that we have a final proposal by the 4th of July and a member meeting will be scheduled on the evening of August 2, after the board meeting in the afternoon.
Bob Rohr
asked about having a committee meeting for C&R review, that he is a member
of this committee. Fred said that he is
not ready to work on the C&Rs while the litigation is pending. Fred said there are other issues to be
considered while reviewing the C&Rs.
Fred said that Bob Rohr is the only volunteer so far for C&R review
and asked for more volunteers. Bob
Hamby volunteered. Paul said that changes that were suggested by previous
groups will be passed on to the committee 9. Discussion of need to contact members regarding C&R compliance+concerns about barking dogs. Paul said that we have changed the method in which we report violations of the C&Rs so that names are not disclosed. The Board members, who were all asked to tour the neighborhood, circulated among them a list of homes where attention might be warranted and Board members initialed the list if they agreed. This list was given to Debbie Clark for action on those residences where at least 3 board members concurred. Paul asked Debbie Clark to report on the dog issue. She has researched the county codes regarding animals. The county has no ordinance regarding barking dogs. This was confirmed by Ed Rodriquez, County code Enforcement Supervisor. There is a “nuisance” law which is a state law and a violation is classified as a misdemeanor with $500 fine. Debbie had a meeting with Lt. Grady Prather who is in charge of the Hammock substation. He does not know how barking dogs are handled. He called in a deputy and he the deputy had only Palm Coast code in his computer. He did not have Flagler County code. Any call to the sheriff’s department where an officer responds is a judgment call on the part of the officer. There are no rules. Debbie has logged 2 phone calls about barking dogs. The first call was a temporary situation and is no longer a problem and the second call was a mistaken dog identity and occurred over the weekend when the blimp was flying over during the Ginn Golf Tournament. Our C&Rs say that the complaining party should contact the alleged violator and try to reach an agreement. Debbie asked what the level of proof would be if a fine was levied on a violator. Debbie said that what bothers one person necessarily does not bother another, so it’s a pretty difficult situation to know when a fine should be levied on a violator. The only rules that can be imposed are our rules, the county has none. Paul asked when the county was contacted if they came out. Debbie went on to say that there is a county leash law. The animal control officer also works at the shelter and will respond to a call about a dog running loose. Paul asked if the leash law was also in effect for dogs running on the beach. Debbie said it does cover the beach. Paul asked about the committee working on the C&Rs looking over the complaints about barking dogs and make some recommendations about how to handle the situation. Debbie said that she wants to know at what point do we take action on a violation. 10. Operations: Joe said that he will be calling the have the two ponds checked. He will try to purchase some replacement fish. He has a street sign that needs t be replaced. Harold suggested having a pvc pipe to cover the post and replace the sign on it. Frank said that the signs are still Stan’s responsibility. Joe will contact Stan about this. Paul asked about improving the walk over. Joe said that there a couple of boards to tighten up. He will ask Lou about the need to replace the mulch on the path this year. Paul asked if there were any questions for Joe. Bob Rohr asked about replacing the wooden curbing in parking area at the pool as the present ones have rotted out. Joe has examples for different types of curbing that can be used 11. Status: Records Management & website enhancement: Paul asked for authorization to purchase a file cabinet for all the records that are in peoples homes at the moment. He requested an amount of $250 for the purchase of the file cabinet and file folders and supplies. Joe made the motion to purchase these items for an amount up to $250. The motion was seconded and carried and Paul will arrange the purchase and delivery of the file cabinet. Paul said that he now has the ability to put things on the website. The legal documents are posted in an orderly fashion. He said that Dennis Clark has done a great job putting a “welcome” on the website for newcomers. 12. Any other items added at start of meeting: Regarding the member meeting tonight, Paul asked Peggy if she had everything ready for the meeting. As a proxy is delivered a ballot will be stapled to the proxy as a member signs in. Dorothy Drexler will help Peggy sign members in. The only ballots collected as members sign in are absentee ballots. Attendees will be given a ballot and will vote after the presentations for Options 1 and 2 and questions and discussion. Paul asked whowill present Option 2. Frank and Harold said they would do the presentation and in response to Paul’s question, said that they would take charge of implementing Option 2 if it wins the vote. With no other items to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned at 5 PM. The next scheduled Board meeting is for Thursday August 2, 2007 at 3:00 pm. As noted above, there may also be a members meeting that evening if the bylaw and C&R changes discussed in item 8 are ready to be voted upon. Respectfully submitted: Peggy Steele, Sec. maybodmeetpzps |