Showing posts with label W2ndi H1ll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label W2ndi H1ll. Show all posts

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Let Your Light Shine...

The President of the BOD had promised that the light would be fixed. Years of disappointment had convinced me that it would never happen. But now I want to say THANK YOU to both W2ndi H1ll and the TAJ management and maintenance crew for fixing the light between buildings 35 & 36. It has been since Hurricane Wilma, in October of 2005, that our street looked like the picture below left. But this past week the maintenance crew did the hard manual labor necessary to bring the illumination, below right.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

2009-2010 Board of Director Members

[Wendi Hill, picture removed upon request]

W2ndy H1ll and John Lovell


Carol Hazen and Paulette Watson


Phyllis Fabara and Ben Odebralski


Mark Morgenstern

Saturday, June 28, 2008

BOD In-Fighting Goes Public

I had previously promised to scan and post the papers that were handed out at the June 2, 2008 BOD meeting (see here). The following nine pages were stapled together and distributed to the public audience at that meeting. The first page is the meeting Agenda and the subsequent eight pages are email correspondences that Dan Vermut had with Milton Friedman and Anthony Titone. It appears as though the purpose of the material was to bring some public pressure to bear on H1ll as she is the subject of some of the content of the letters.

Pages 1,2,3 below:

Pages 4,5,6 below:

Pages 7,8,9 below:

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

BOD President W2ndi H1ll said...

This story was first published in the TAJ Newsletter
Una traducción española está disponible en Web site: www.TAJWatchSpanish.blogspot.com
BOD President W2ndi H1ll said, “The new BOD has researched and discovered a failure in monitoring the finances resulting in a shortage of nearly $300,000.00 ….. which up to date was not reported by the property manager or treasurer…”

Wendi had little further information about the reported shortage, other than to say that the information was coming from the accountant.

Shortages can come from lack of payments of Monthly Maintenance by unit owners, lack of payment of Special Assessments by unit owners, or by unfunded spending (like in the case of Hurricane Wilma clean-up, which was an expense that was not budgeted for ahead of time).

All checks written by the Association have to be initiated by the accountant (they are in possession of the TAJ checkbook) and signed by two BOD members. Unlike the past when TAJ money was stolen by a single unscrupulous man, nothing less than a full-blown conspiracy involving an insured accounting agency could result in wholesale theft of Association monies.

Reports of deficits are never good news. But it is better to know than to not know the truth. Our thanks to the BOD for their continued efforts. Steve Frahm

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Letter From Unit Owner To President and Board

Una traducción española está disponible en Web site: www.TAJWatchSpanish.blogspot.com

Editor's note: The following letter was sent by Jay/Bldg 35 to WH and the Board, and is being posted with his permission. Personal information was edited out.


Tue, 25 Mar 2008

Wendi:

After last night, I gained a lot of respect for you, especially for your Board. At no time did you let this meeting get out of hand and I am the first to apologize for the emails which I sent out on Sunday. They were sent at the heat of the moment with no regard to hearing the other side of the story. Now that I've heard both sides and have spoken to other people, I'm more inclined to believe what I heard last night. I feel it's now time to move on and forget yesterday as we move forward to tomorrow. If you noticed last night, at about 9, I was asked to come out to speak with a member of the old Board. I never got up from my chair. The way I feel right now, the old Board is yesterday and you and your Board are our tomorrow and we'll leave it at that and move on.

Just as a footnote, though, the comment was made last night about how many people showed up for the meeting. I guess I should take full credit for that. Controversy always brings people out. Now, of course if you want a crowd at the next Board meeting......I could always send out more emails........just kidding....ain't gonna happen again, unless it's just a reminder to be at the Board meeting for our unit owners' own benefit.

Seriously though, the reason I'm emailing you has to do with our short discussion about the website. After thinking it over, I have decided to resume my position as the TAJ webmaster. All that I ask of the Board and our office staff, whoever they may be, is that I receive information for posting on the website. As you know, the reason I gave it up in the first place is because the original website had become stagnant from lack of input. I would expect all minutes to come to me in a timely fashion via email in word (.doc) format, as well as meeting agendas emailed to me in the same format. for posting and a list of all upcoming meetings, all in word format. I plan on converting all present, posted information in .pdf format back to html so that when someone clicks on an item, it will immediately come up on their screen, rather than booting up Adobe Acrobat first. The Table of Contents will be upgraded to reflect a more realistic approach to the needs of our community and many of the topics that are there now will be eliminated. Most importantly, I will need access to the online program presently being used for the website. I need info on how to access those rights and obviously, the passwords needed, which I will change once I access the website. You will also know what codes I'm going to use, but I will have the sole authority to make any physical changes to the website with the Board's approval. The website needs a lot of work and I'm willing to undertake it. I just wish that the previous Board had not taken the measure of changing the web to a new format. I really knew the program that I was using at the time....Microsoft FrontPage. Oh well, that again, was yeaterday.

I have many ideas for the website, just as I had for the former website. Maybe this time we can get it right.

Jay

Friday, March 21, 2008

Submitted By a Unit Owner Re Recent Events

Una traducción española está disponible en Web site: www.TAJWatchSpanish.blogspot.com

All:

I don’t know about you but I am incensed over the actions of our new BOD!

First, they didn’t pass an assessment for Building 1 that has been lingering for months, so all of us have paid for Building 1’s Wilma repairs. Even if they were overcharged, BY LAW, they still must repay the money to our operating account and dispute the charges afterward. The Association, YOU & ME, have already paid this bill! Further, they want Jim Miles to give a credit back, but this would have to be reported to our insurance company and COULD jeopardize a million dollar claim. Their answer??? “Let the chips fall where they may!”…all for the sake of one building (where 3 BOD members reside) and to the detriment of the entire community.

IS THIS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU???

Next, they fired Bette Ann today…but that isn’t so much the issue but how it was handled! First, upon Lue’s call, John, Wendi and Yvonne came racing to the office (I was almost run over) with the police and demanded that Charlotte and Bette Ann leave. No transition, no new property manager in place, outstanding assessments that need to be billed…What’s more, someone accused Charlotte of having an affair with a BOD member…and now I’ve learned that they are accusing Charlotte of receiving kickbacks from Jim Miles! What other vicious lies and rumors are they spreading? Where’s the proof? They are opening us up to an unbelievable lawsuit.

IS THIS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU???

And now, certain BOD members (John, Yvonne, and Augusta) asked Manny to resign. An individual who has served this association selflessly and who was elected by the unit owners. An individual who could provide stability and ease the transition for a new property manager.

IS THIS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU???

Our new BOD, some of whom ran on a platform of inclusion of homeowners, has told unit owners that they “are not allowed in the office”, cannot voice an opinion, cannot speak at BOD meetings.

IS THIS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU??? IS THIS WHAT WE VOTED FOR???

We must rally the homeowners to attend meetings, to participate, and to be vigilant with this new board. Who is willing to step up to let this BOD know that their actions are UNACCEPTABLE!

Submitted by Valerie DeRoy, posted without changes.

A Spanish translation is available on website: www.TAJWatchSpanish.blogspot.com
Una traducción española está disponible en Web site: www.TAJWatchSpanish.blogspot.com

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

New TAJ BOD Officers

I was unable to attend the Monday evening BOD meeting, but a reliable TAJ unit owner has reported the following results in the election of officers:

President is Manny Solomon, who defeated John Lovell 4-3.
Vice President is W. Hill, who defeated John Lovell 4-3.
Treasurer is John Lovell, who was unopposed for the position.
Secretary is Ben Odebralski, who was unopposed for the position.

It was reportedly a rare event in which all seven BOD members were in attendance for a meeting. But shortly after the election of officers*, Teresa Levy (who has attended less than a handful of BOD meetings over the past year) departed and left the work to the remaining BOD members.

It was told to this author that two of the newly elected BOD members, Yvonne and Augusta, both declined the suggestion that they serve as officers.

Also, the BOD has apparently decided to not take on the burden of taking and typing the meeting minutes. They have decided to continue to delegate that task to the already busy Property Manager, as they have for the past several years without much success. What a great disappointment that the BOD is missing this opportunity to improve communications with the community.**

*In a previous version of this post I had reported that Levy had voted for Lovell. I have become aware, now, that the voting was held by secret ballot and therefore it is not possible to determine who voted for which officers.
**Correction: I have been corrected by a unit owner who attended the meeting that the BOD has at least expressed an interest in hiring an outside company to handle the taking of minutes.

No podía assistir a la reunión del TÍO de la tarde de lunes, pero un dueño confiable de la unidad de TAJ ha divulgado los resultados siguientes en la elección de oficiales:

El presidente es Manny Solomon, que derrotó a Juan Lovell 4-3.
El vice presidente es W. Hill, que derrotó a Juan Lovell 4-3.
El tesorero es Juan Lovell, que era sin oposición para la posición.
La secretaria es Ben Odebralski, que era sin oposición para la posición.

Era según se informa un acontecimiento raro en el cual los siete miembros del TÍO estaban allí para una reunión. Pero poco después de la elección del officers*, la recaudación de Teresa (quién ha atendido menos que un puñado de reuniones del TÍO durante el último año) salió y dejó el trabajo a los miembros restantes del TÍO.

Fue dicho a este autor que dos de los miembros, de la Yvonne y de la Augusta nuevamente elegidos del TÍO, ambos disminuyeron la sugerencia que sirven como oficiales.


También, el TÍO ha decidido al parecer a no adquirir la carga de tardar y de mecanografiar los minutos de reunión. Han decidido continuar delegando esa tarea al encargado de característica ya ocupado, como tienen por los últimos años sin mucho éxito. Una qué gran decepción que el TÍO está perdiendo esta oportunidad de mejorar comunicaciones con la comunidad.

*In una versión previa de este poste había divulgado que la recaudación había votado por Lovell. He sido enterado, ahora, que la votación fue celebrada mediante voto secreto y por lo tanto no es posible determinar quién votó por qué oficiales.
** Corrección: A un dueño de la unidad me he corregido que assistió a la reunión que el TÍO por lo menos ha expresado un interés en contratar a una compañía exterior para manejar tomar de minutos.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Official TAJ BOD Election Results


(Left to right: W*ndi Hill - photo removed at her request, Augusta Alvarez, Yvonne Fabozzi)

The final results were announced at 10:50pm and are as follows:
  1. 157 (75%) = W*ndi Hill
  2. 141 (67%) = Yvonne Fabozzi
  3. 117 (56%) = Augusta Alvarez
  4. 61 (29%) = Esther Leacock
  5. 60 (29%) = Paulette Watson
  6. 34 (16%) = Victor Singh
  7. 25 (12%) = Prentis Johnson
  8. 17 (8%) = Valerie DeRoy
It was reported that 210 ballots were cast. That is approximately 62% of the possible 340 total possible votes, which is roughly twice the turn-out of the 2007 election. As you can see, the winners won by a wide margin. The difference between the lowest winner and the highest non-winner was 56 votes.

The vote-counting process was accomplished by Tom Decker and his assistant Ian (of the TAJ Association's accounting firm, Management Assist) along with Beth Lindie (the TAJ Association's attorney) and Bette Ann DiSalvo (the property manager). They labored long to make sure that the tallying was proper. They spent two hours sorting and checking unit owner names and numbers before they opened any envelopes. Then the outer envelops were set aside and the anonymous inner ballots were individually entered into a computer. Tom read the selected names on each ballot and Ian entered them into the computer. Bette Ann double checked Tom and Beth double checked Ian. A crowd of approximately 20 owners observed from a reasonable distance and there was no doubt to anyone there that the results that were announced were an accurate reflection of the ballots.

After reading the election results, President Manny Solomon announced that the next BOD meeting will be on Monday, March 10th at 7:30pm. At that meeting will be the electing of officers.

Fue divulgado que 210 balotas fueron echadas. El es el aproximadamente 62% de los 340 votos posibles totales posibles, que es áspero dos veces el séquito de la elección 2007. Como puedes ver, los ganadores ganaron por una margen amplio. La diferencia entre el ganador más bajo y el no-ganador más alto era 56 votos.

El proceso de voto-cuenta fue logrado por Tom Decker y su Ian auxiliar (de la empresa de contabilidad de la asociación de TAJ, de la ayuda de la gerencia) junto con Beth Lindie (el abogado de la asociación de TAJ) y Bette Ana DiSalvo (el encargado de característica). Trabajaron de largo para cerciorarse de que la correspondencia era apropiada. Pasaron dos horas que clasificaban y los números de dueño de la unidad de comprobación los nombres y antes de que abrieran cualquier sobre. Entonces el externo envuelve fue puesto a un lado y las balotas internas anónimas fueron incorporadas individualmente en una computadora. Tom leyó los nombres seleccionados en cada balota e Ian los incorporó en la computadora. Bette Tom y Beth comprobados con minuciosidad Ana comprobó a Ian con minuciosidad. Una muchedumbre de aproximadamente 20 dueños observados de una distancia razonable y allí no era ninguna duda a cualquier persona allí que los resultados que fueron anunciados eran una reflexión exacta de las balotas.

Después de leer los resultados de elección, presidente Manny Solomon anunció que la reunión siguiente del TÍO estará el lunes 10 de marzo en el 7:30 P.M. En esa reunión ser la elección de oficiales.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

BOD Member's Response To A Campaign Flyer

There is a flyer circulating from WH claiming some items as “facts” which are not true. If Ms. Hill is not going to check her facts for the election, can we trust her when she is on the Board? And who is deceptive here –

Did Ms. Hill tell any of you that she was from Building 1? And that 2 other Board Members are from Building 1 – including one who never shows up? Isn’t that deceptive not to tell you?

Isn’t it interesting she chose to attack my wife – who has done nothing to her – through me? I am not running – why is she attacking me?

Isn’t it interesting she doesn’t dispute the items – like a typical politician she deflects, instead of answering – be careful when asking her a question, you won’t get a straight answer.

Just for the record, no I do not want Theresa Levy to be on the Board. John Lovell did tell me after the January meeting in front of his house while discussing the FPL lights that he was going to have her resign after the election, when he could appoint her replacement.

The only time Theresa has voted has been when John Lovell calls her on his cell phone regarding a Building 1 issue (see board meeting 2007 board meeting minutes to verify – they are online).

Just for the record, I have no interest on being on the board – as someone much more famous than I said: if nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve….but I do support my wife, as I would hope everyone here in the community would support their spouses or significant others. And like everyone else in the community, I hope you feel the same sense of outrage when someone attacks your spouse or significant other in the manner Ms. Hill, Ms. Johnson and Mr. Lovell have.

Ms Hill, the “facts” about delinquencies and foreclosures are scare tactics and unfortunately not true - you are misreading the reports, and as a real estate agent you should be ashamed of yourself. Are you making a profit by selling homes in here? Are you trying to get us to sell out faster and at lower prices for a reason? The last time a real estate agent worked here in the office they were getting sweetheart deals and owners felt obligated to use them – is that what we can expect too?

The wording and typos in the flyer indicate this was not written by Ms. Hill – the spelling of Valerie’s name as “Valery” has been previously done by a current Board Member also from Building 1. The unique capitalization of words is that person’s trademark style in all of his hyperbole and lies he spreads. By the way, Valerie DeRoy is both her maiden and married name – you can check her passport, our deed, her driver’s license. Valerie has never been known as Mrs. Bryan Sklar – and that is her preference, and I respect her for it. It is like saying you did not know Nicole Kidman was married to Tom Cruise – or Angelina Jolie with Brad Pitt – I mean, can you get any more petty Ms. Hill, Ms. Johnson and Mr. Lovell?

Just like WH is both your maiden and married name, even though you are married to Mr. Marlon Dunlop – are you Mrs. Dunlop or Ms. Hill???

Ms. Hill you are claiming assessments should be $10,000 - $15,000 per unit, similar to what your building paid back in 2001/2002. However, the assessments for Buildings 16, 20 and 26 were about $10,000 per unit owner (my building was $13,000 per owner including termite damage) – and only for the back of the building. Building 2 was about $10,000 per unit in 2001, and they had to have almost all of the work redone in 2007 that John Lovell approved, plus all the sun decks and most of the front done for about $20,000 per unit. Buildings 16 and 26 were about $10,000 per unit for just the back of the building, and all that material rotted because Mr. Lovell’s contractor never sealed the HardiePanel properly. Buildings 12, 13 and 18 were about $13,000 per unit to start, and by the time they were done they were at $25- $30.000 each.

If half a building costs $10,000 - $15,000 per unit then how much does a full building cost per unit? And if half a building cost that to do it wrong 5-7 years ago, what should it cost to do it right with a state licensed contractor on a sealed bid process, instead of a no-bid contract with an unlicensed contractor Mr. Lovell hired?

Tell us Ms. Hill, where are we bleeding cash? Perhaps if you look at Building 1 – which spent and extra $11,000 by their own choice that was unnecessary on their roof with three engineering firms, false statement made to the City of Plantation on forged Association letterhead by John Lovell which nearly cost one engineer his license – every person in this association knew your roof had to be replaced, and even your own roofing company (who only used subcontractors and never did the work himself) said our prices from Needham and Bange were better than he could give you.

Tell us Ms. Hill…if you are spending an extra $11,000+ on your roof unnecessarily, when you fought for two years NOT to replace a leaky roof that every other owner in the community knew had to be replaced (your building had the worst roof here - 43 sheets of bad plywood compared to 5-10 for every other building and an eyesore on University Drive), when your roofing bill is $7,000 per unit and everyone else is $5,000 – how are YOU, Theresa and John going to stop the bleeding?

The claim that I received the lowest number of votes “in the history of the Association.” Is not true either. In 2003 John Lovell received the lowest number of votes that year (42), Prentis Johnson received 48 and I received 56. In 2004 Carol Hazan received 16 votes, Esther Leacock 19 votes – I received the 2nd highest at 66 votes. I am not sure where Ms. Hill comes up with her facts, but these are numbers on the web page for the Association. While I may not have received the most votes in 2006 when I ran (those minutes are missing from the web page) it was not the lowest ever. Again, these were the same comments used by a Board Member from Building 1 on the records last year, which is on tape. If you can’t be honest, at least be original.

Anyone who spoke to me in 2006 when I ran knew I was running to keep one person OFF the board, and I did not campaign. This worked, and John Lovell – who had spent over 6 years on the Board in the past 10 years – was kept off the board. At least for a year. Good thing the State is imposing term limits on Board Members – why would anyone want to be running every single year like John did unless he has something to hide…or steal?

When the vacancy became open on the Board in 2006, two members of the Board asked me to fill the vacancy. I informed the Board that they had to put it out to the entire Association, and if no one else wanted to run I would, otherwise give it to someone else. No one else even put their name in for the post vacated by Darcy Williams. This can be verified with Janet Rickenbacker, Prentis Johnson, Steve Frahm and Ben Oderbralsky – there was even a meeting at Prentis Johnson’s house with Prentis, Steve and Janet who asked me to fill the vacancy.

HardiePanel was first used in 2001/2002 and was approved for us by John Lovell of Building 1 when he was in his 3rd term in office as Vice President on the Board – specifically on Buildings 16, 19, 20 and 26. I would have hoped the Mr. Lovell – when he did a no-bid contract in violation of the Florida Statutes (see August 2002 meeting minutes) with a firm that was not licensed by the state – did his due diligence as other boards since have done. Two engineering firms and our association attorney gave their professional opinions to the Board that HardiePanel – while looking like T1-11 or stucco – was the better choice of material for our buildings. Ms. Hill needs to know her history better and get her “facts” right, especially when being coached by the puppet master who originally approved the product in the Association!!.

In Sterling Village Condominium, Inc. v. Breitenbach, 251 So. 2d 685, 687 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971), the court stated that "the term `material alteration or addition' means to palpably or perceptively vary or change the form, shape, elements or specifications of a building from its original design or plan, or existing condition, in such a manner as to appreciably affect or influence its function, use, or appearance." In addition, Ms. Hill as a Real Estate agent selling condos and looking for a seat on the board should be well aware the material changes are permitted, such as the change to brick pavers in 2001 by the Board. Actions taken by the board within the scope of its authority are presumptively correct, and a court generally will not substitute its judgment for that of the directors, absent a showing of mismanagement, fraud, or breach of trust. 8 Fla. Jur. 2d Business Relationship, Sections 290, 363; Lake Region Packing Association, Inc. v. Furze, 327 So. 2d 212 (Fla. 1976); International Insurance Co. v. Johns, 874 F. 2d 1447 (11th Cir. 1989); Yarnell Warehouse & Transfer, Inc. v. Three Ivory Bros. Moving Co., 226 So. 2d 887 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969). This deference given to the board is known as the “business judgment rule”.

Ms. Hill - I have put in financial controls to stop the bleeding of money. In fact, Building 1 had to have a special audit (August/Sept 2002 minutes) because Mr. Lovell had the unlicensed contractors perform work on his units…..which he billed back to the building! He had to repay $5,000 to the Association (September 2002 meeting minutes). In 2002 we were assessed $1,000 each because the Association was bankrupt – I put in the controls to reduce our delinquencies from almost $200,000 to under $100,000. I was the one who put in place two signatures on the checks, and other financial controls. In fact Ms. Hill, it was I who found your funds for your gutters from several, years ago, and insured that each building has the proper reserve funds in it.

Regards,

Bryan Sklar

********************************************

Editor's note: the initials WH were substituted by the editor as a measure to respond to certain reasonable requests.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Election Flyers

The flyer pictured below was recently distributed to the TAJ neighborhood. I have no first-hand knowledge about the financial details listed in the flyer, but I have heard them reported by reliable sources of the community.

I am personally aware of some of the rest of the contents that the flyer presents. BOD member Levy has been absent to almost all meetings (see the left hand of this blog for a BOD attendance report). Wendi Hill is also from building 1 and having three members from one building can create an unfair situation, especially if the members are overly self-interested.


As for the authorship of the flyer, it is not me. Readers of this blog and my newsletter know that I do not do anonymous comments, posts, or articles.

***************************************

Another flyer was sent out by Wendi Hill. At the bottom of her flyer can be found the web address of this blog: http://tajwatch.blogspot.com. To be clear, this blog and its administrator had nothing to do with the authorship of that flyer, either. I also have no first-hand knowledge of many of the facts that she claims in that flyer, although there is no denying that Special Assessments represent a hardship for community members. A response to this flyer by a BOD member can be found in a Feb 27th post.