The room was as full as I've seen it for a BOD meeting. One year ago there were approximately 10 residents in attendance. This year there were closer to 50. Manny Solomon moderated, the candidates pontificated, the residents laughed, murmured, glared, and applauded.
I took notes and was there just a little over two hours. The following is what I saw and heard, to the best of my ability to represent it. Please feel free to email or comment any corrections that you may have.
Augusta Alvarez~ She speaks Spanish and emphasized the importance of including non-English speaking owners through improved multi-lingual communication. She spoke for some time and with great passion about financial hardships, I believe, but because of the room's acoustics, my position at the back of the room, and her heavy accent I was unable to understand most of what she said. It was clear, though, that she was expressing concern over the financial hardships of TAJ owners. Augusta lives in building 29.
Valerie DeRoy~ She stated that building refurbishments is her top priority, with emphasis on long-term maintenance to avoid future problems like those currently faced. She also noted the need for planning for landscaping. Improvements in communication within the office and within the community are also an area that she sees as needing improvement. She expressed concern over the financial health of the TAJ Association and owners, and noted the recent implementation by the BOD of a long-term loan option for unit owners who are unable to pay their Special Assessments otherwise. She expressed the need for increased vigilance in the oversight of financial matters. She reported that she has been involved in committees and has attended BOD meetings over the past several years. Valerie lives in building 20.
Yvonne Fabozzi~ She stated a strong imperative to make changes in the BOD, the management office, and the maintenance staff. She expressed the belief that only a small portion of the TAJ budget goes to insurance, and was vehement in her insistence that most of TAJ budget (the budget is what is funded through Monthly Maintenance payments) goes to overly high payroll expenses for maintenance staff and office staff, and suggested that maybe some positions should be eliminated. She expressed concern over the vetting and quality control of contractors and roofers. She stated that 38% of TAJ owners are behind in their payments to the budget and that there are currently 28 foreclosures at TAJ (the source of her figures was not stated), and suggested that the reason for the non-payments is the overly high financial burden to those owners. Her speech crescendoed with an insistence to "start from scratch" in rebuilding the TAJ management/construction/BOD apparatus. She ended by calling on unit owners to be more involved, and admitting that she herself has not been involved and has not participated on committees or attended BOD meetings. She stated that this is her time to "step up and get involved." She also speaks Spanish and hopes to involve the Spanish speaking non-English speaking owners more. Yvonne lives in building 28.
Wendi Hill~ She made the following points: there is a need for a hurricane preparedness committee rather than waiting until the storm is upon us; community relations like Barbeque parties, etc, are a necessary component to making the TAJ neighborhood successful; she has been attending meetings and donating her time toward the SBA Loan initiative; she thinks that there may be some common-sense solution to owners' financial burdens such as off-setting Special Assessments with lower contribution requirement by those owners to the TAJ budget; she feels strongly that construction companies need to be bonded; communication needs to be improved; she'll learn on the job and apply common sense and promote a spirit of working for our common good. Wendi lives in building 1.
Prentis Johnson~ He is currently the BOD Treasurer. He pointed out that owners' contribution to the TAJ budget decreased this year and it includes money for the playground, the small pool, and for the FPL lighting project (he mentioned something about having obtained a 7% loan but the details were vague). He told of the purchase of two units by the TAJ BOD and stated that one remains vacant and one is being rented to cover the cost of mortgage payments and monthly maintenance fees. He alluded to a possible Hurricane Wilma insurance settlement payment that would benefit unit owners, and stated that TAJ has already received payments of $120,000. He also reported that according to the legal counsel that the BOD has received, it is possible for the Association to borrow from its own reserve funds those funds needed to do something, although he was vague about the specifics of that point. He graciously noted that while not all BOD members agree or even like each other, all BOD members have tried to provide some service to the community. He welcomed the input of ideas from the community, but suggested that more than just ideas are needed. He called for owners' to be willing to donate some time as well as their ideas. Prentis lives in building 32.
Esther Leacock~ Esther said "I haven't been involved, I don't know what's going on" and "there is a nightmare going on!" She recalled that when she originally moved in that 75% of the TAJ community was in foreclosure, including the unit she purchased, and she is concerned that the neighborhood may be heading in that same direction at this time. She verbalized questions about the procedures for the bidding process and made general references to wanting to ensure good business practices. She acknowledged the hardship of being on the BOD and stated "I don't really want to get involved, but I feel like I need to even though it is draining." Esther lives in building 37.
Victor Singh~ Victor showed some good humor as he shared that he grew up without wealth and that he currently has five children. Consequently, he said, he is financially conservative and wants there to be greater oversight of the TAJ money matters. He also suggested that the TAJ management and BOD should complete one project at a time. Which specific projects he was referring to was left vague. He shared that he is active in his church's ministry and that he uses a management style there that he would use here, of calling for those he identify problems to be part of the solution to the problems. He emphasized the need for unit owners to be more involved. Victor lives in building 14.
Paulette Watson~ Paulette began her speech with a joke (I can't recall it now, but it got some good laughs). She shared that she is an executive director of a non-profit international organization. She feels strongly that communication needs to be improved and that that effort would greatly improve the TAJ experience. She suggested that a newsletter should be printed in both English and Spanish. She noted the need for building captains to represent the interests of each building and also to help facilitate communication. She explained that her building is currently under renovations and that she is experiencing complications that are likely to cost her and her neighbors some unnecessary expenses. Because of that experience she feels that she can be a better advocate for TAJ residents. She expressed the need for more townhall meetings to allow unit owners to have greater input and advanced warning over upcoming events, such as Special Assessments. She sited several problems with the current management, such as weak negotiating over mistakes made on the timing of the roofing of her building, and a lack of response to messages she has left for the Property Manager. She recognized that being a BOD member is time consuming and she stated that she now has the time to devote to the job that she did not have before. Paulette lives in building 14.
Q & A Session
Q ~ Janet from building 13 asked Wendi if she thought that there was a potential problem of self-interest if there were three BOD members from building #1. (If Wendi is elected she would be the third from her building, as John Lovell and Teresa Levy are also from building #1)
A ~ Wendi replied that she is for the community first and pointed out the donation of her time to the SBA Loan initiative as evidence of that. Wendi also stated the belief that Teresa Levy should resign since she does not attend the BOD meetings. She promised that she will take the time to be at the meetings, and said that she has already attended many meetings as a unit owner.
Q ~ Jay from building 36 asked all candidates if they would be willing to make a commitment of their time to the BOD. He suggested that BOD is more than just the meetings, but also the screenings, committee meetings, and other events.
A ~ All answered, individually, that yes they would devote their time.
Then three residents were given the floor, in succession, to ask questions and they did not ask questions but rather went on rants. Dan in building 12 touted his own construction woes, his displeasure regarding Monthly Maintenance issues, and his intention to finally run for the BOD next year.
He reluctantly gave up the floor to another man (unidentified by this author) who humorously stated that living at TAJ has turned his hair white. He asked if the candidates would be open to having advisory committees, but he did not direct the question to anyone in particular and did not wait for an answer. He went on to suggest that no BOD member should be on any committee, that they should be staffed by unit owners not on the BOD. (That statement got a rousing round of applause) He concluded his speech with the thought that the BOD and unit owners should get along as friends and not see each other as adversaries.
The next man was a building 21 resident and he told a story of being unfairly targeted for a satellite dish infraction by a current BOD member. Before he was done the room was loud with a fair amount of anger toward that BOD member and finger pointing at Valerie DeRoy, pointing out that they are married. She acknowledged their relationship and explained that her last name is her legal married name, even though it is different than his. Wendi Hill offered that if she was involved in the satellite dish controversy that she would take pictures and consult the other BOD members and involve the unit owner in the process.
Q ~ Another man from building 21 asked Valerie DeRoy where she got the information about Prentis in the flyer that she sent out, and why it was sent out without a "by line."
A ~ She said that the lack of a signature line was an oversight and that the flyer was the cumulative effort of several members of the community. She then explained that the information about Prentis was garnered from BOD meetings and she emphasized that she was not claiming that Prentis stole or did anything illegal, but that he misapplied finances.
A ~ Prentis explained that the insurance money had been given to the proper buildings, but to their reserve accounts rather than their operating accounts and that the mistake will be easily corrected but hasn't been yet because of more pressing matters.
Q ~ After a rousing round of crowd-speak during which there was almost nothing that could be heard with any comprehension, Esther Leacock chimed in loudly, without being called upon by the moderator, and asked the question to Prentis for all to hear, "Why to you want to be treasurer so badly?!" There was no response to that question.
Q ~ An owner from building 39 asked if all BOD members would commit to not profit from inside information. He prefaced his question by referring to the acquisitions of two properties by the BOD within the past year.
A ~ All candidates, except Prentis, answered without hesitation in the affirmative, that they agreed to not profit from inside information. Before agreeing, Prentis called for the clarification that information gained from public records is fair game to use in profiting. The gentleman who had asked the question agreed that acting on knowledge gained by public records is okay.
Q ~ A gentleman (unidentified by this author) asked a question of Prentis about the afore-mentioned acquisition of the two TAJ properties by the Association as directed by the BOD. He asked how the windfall from those transactions were distributed.
A ~ Prentis responded that one property was currently being rented for a price that covers the mortgage and the monthly maintenance fees that must be paid by the TAJ Association. The other property, we were left to infer, is costing the Association every month the amount of the mortgage fee and the monthly maintenance fees. How that expense is shared among unit owners was not clarified.
A ~ At the time Manny (BOD President and that evenings moderator) rose and defended the purchase of the two units by saying that it was done in an attempt to protect property values in the neighborhood because those two units were being sold for lower than the expected value. He also alluded to a similar purchase in the past that had resulted in a substantial profit for the Association. He acknowledged that, in retrospect, he wished the purchases had not been made.
Q ~ A building 15 resident asked Valerie DeRoy how her building's (#20) Special Assessment could have been only $13,000 (as stated in her husband's letter posted on this blog, dated February 27, 2008) when other Special Assessments to buildings were closer to $30,000.
A ~ Valerie explained that the $13,000 payment they had made was for only a portion of their building, and that the previous owner had also paid some of the Special Assessment prior to the sale. She estimated that the total amount of Special Assessments to individual owners in her building was close to $30,000.
Q ~ An owner asked a question about why certain roofing contractors were selected and why others were not. That question incited loud replies and comments from the audience and candidates alike. At one point Esther stood and raised her voice and told the audience that the owners of any individual building have the legal right to obtain their own contractors and take their own three bids to the BODs for approval. Yvonne found the opportunity to stand and proclaim that the change from stucco to hardi-panel as a building material was an illegal change.
At that point there was no opportunity for anyone to make a reasonable response to either of the candidates' proclamations and the general atmosphere of the room was rapidly disintegrating in to crowd-noise and angry utterances. It had been a little more than two hours since the meeting had begun and this author had business elsewhere.
[Again, this is an account from this author's perspective. It is not meant to be verbatim but rather to capture to essential points and mood of that portion of the meeting that he was able to attend. Feel free to email suggestions, corrections, or supplemental information -- or put it in a "comment."]
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