NOTICE OF HASTINGS CLOSURE

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Dave Israel

BAGELS & COFFEE FREE AT CLUBHOUSE

Dave Israel

UCO BUDGET BUILD IN PROGRESS - REQUEST FOR INPUT

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Attn. all,
The UCO budget build is in progress. The UCO budget must be presented to the Delegate Assembly at the October meeting for approval.
If you have any input relevant to the UCO Budget please provide it to UCO as soon as possible.
You may send your input by Email to ucopresident@gmail.com, or treasurerone@unitedcivic.org

 or bring in written requests.

Dave Israel
UCO President

SECURITY COMMITTEE MEETING - AUGUST 5, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

 

DELEGATE ASSEMBLY - AUGUST 5, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

 

UCO WEEKLY LCAM REPORT - AUGUST 8, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

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Follow this link for the UCO Weekly LCAM Report by, Donald Foster - LCAM

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https://bit.ly/3P1f0dn

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Dave Israel

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THE ENCORE PLAYERS - FRENCH REVIEW

 Dave Israel

UNPERMITTED WORK - LOAD BEARING WALLS - INSURANCE

 UNPERMITTED WORK: ONE SWING OF A SLEDGHAMMER CAN EXPOSE AN ASSOCIATION TO MONTHS OF LITIGATION AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. 

By Phil Masi, CIRMS, President, Assured Partners Insurance Agency

When a unit owner performs unpermitted and unauthorized construction to the structural components of their individual units it can have grave consequences to the condominium association’s ability to obtain future property insurance coverage for the association.  If an owner removes a load-bearing wall through unpermitted and unapproved construction work and it causes structural instability to the building this is usually going to be noticed either through obvious visual changes to the building (sagging, cracking, etc…) or by someone reporting the work to the building code department.  The building department may condemn the building until the structure is reinforced, and they may apply fines, liens, etc...  When the condo association comes up for their next property insurance renewal the property insurance carriers will ask basic underwriting questions that almost certainly would point out the building’s structural issues.  After the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, there is no property insurance carrier appetite to insure any building with structural integrity issues especially buildings of the age, size, construction type, etc… of the ones at Century Village West Palm Beach.  No underwriter is going to get that approved in this current market environment.  What then ends up happening is that the association has to go bare (without property insurance coverage) until they can show proof of structural repairs so the carriers will consider providing property coverage.  The Catch-22 these boards can find themselves in is that the cost of making these structural repairs often exceed the funds the association has on hand and the association then needs to obtain loans to pay for the repairs.  The lenders will likely not provide the loans without the proof of property insurance on the buildings which the association cannot get until the repairs are made.  We have several associations throughout the State that find themselves in situations like this for various reasons including a few due to the exact issue of owners performing unlicensed & unpermitted structural work to their units.  It is basically the worst possible situation a condo association can find itself in. 

The biggest impact post-Surfside to the insurance market has been the additional underwriting questions and materials the underwriters are now asking for in order to provide a property quote on a condo association building.  With recently passed State Laws requiring structural inspections and structural reserve studies statewide this will only create more documents the underwriters can ask to review that could potentially show structural issues that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.  Our advice to all of our condo associations, especially the 25+ yr old 3 story or taller condos, is to get a handle on the structural condition of the building, do NOT put off any needed structural repairs as the damage and repair costs rise exponentially the longer you wait, keep great records of all structural work and repairs along with photos, invoices, etc… In this current environment (bad insurance market, post surfside scrutiny, supply chain disruption, inflation, lack of qualified vendors, changing lender requirements, changing real-estate sale disclosures, etc…) it is really bad for a condo association to get stuck behind the eight ball on these structural issues.  It is like quicksand.  You need to be proactive to avoid the worst-case outcomes and the very minimum an association can do is make sure condo unit owners aren’t self-creating structural issues through unapproved unpermitted work in their units. 

posted by Richard Handelsman. Assured Partners provides Insurance for WPRF properties and, through UCO, more than 280 Century Village Associations.

 

Posted by Old Nassau '67 

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING - AUGUST 2, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

 

UCO WEEKLY LCAM REPORT - AUGUST 1, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

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Follow this link for the UCO Weekly LCAM Report by, Donald Foster - LCAM:

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https://bit.ly/3bnbMU0

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Dave Israel

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UCO REPORTER AUGUST EDITION - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

 

UCO Reporter 2022, August Edition, July 28, 2022 by ucopresident on Scribd

AFFORDABLE CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM

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Affordable Connectivity Program.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program is now the Affordable Connectivity Program.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program was launched by the FCC in late February last year in response to the pandemic to offer affordable Internet to qualifying households. This program acknowledged that work from home, remote learning, and critical telehealth should be available to all Americans. As a result of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Care Act (IIJCA), the EBB program became the Affordable Connectivity Program as of last December. The ACP focuses on affordable connectivity issues in the long-term over the next 5 years, not just as a response to the pandemic.

Converged Services is working diligently with participating providers to bring the greatest value of the Affordable Connectivity Program to communities and their residents. If you would like to learn how to sign-up, please send an email to info@convergedservicesinc.com.

Dave Israel

NOTICE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING CANCELLED

 

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Finance Committee meeting - Wednesday, July 27 at 1:00pm.

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CANCELLED

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Ed Grossman - UCO Treasurer

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UCO OPEN MEETINGS - AUGUST 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

 Dave Israel

WEEKLY LCAM REPORT - JULY 25, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

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Follow this link for the UCO Weekly LCAM Report by, Donald Foster - LCAM:

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https://bit.ly/3zvsw4L

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Dave Israel

PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION VOTED BY COUNTY COMMISSION

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Property taxes

Board votes to reduce property tax rate Because of rising property values and new construction, the Board of County Commissioners is able to present a balanced budget at public hearings that are scheduled for Sept. 13 and 20. In addition, the board voted during a meeting on July 12 to lower the property tax rate from 4.7815 to 4.715 per $1000 taxable value. The last time the board reduced the property tax rate was 15 years ago. By lowering the proposed millage the typical homeowner is expected to save around $30 per year compared to not lowering the rate. Most homestead property taxpayers will see a slight increase in their tax bill because the value of their properties has risen. “I want to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars,” said Vice Mayor Weiss, “so if we can give people back some of their money after balancing our budget without cutting services, I’m in favor of that.”

PALM BEACH COUNTY BRIEFING WITH PLANNING, ZONING AND BUILDING OFFICIALS

 

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING - JUNE 24, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

 

UCO WEEKLY LCAM REPORT - JULY 18, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

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Follow this link for the UCO Weekly LCAM Report by, Donald Foster - LCAM.

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https://bit.ly/3aO0ckr

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Dave Israel

KOLTER LAND DEVELOPERS PURCHASE ERSTWHILE GOLF COURSE FOR $37 MILLION - HERE WE GO AGAIN

 

By Brian Bandell  –  Senior Reporter, South Florida Business Journal

Jul 14, 2022

A former golf course on the outskirts of Century Village near West Palm Beach sold to homebuilders for $36.92 million.

Fairways LLC, owned by Andrew Waldman and Ana Waldman in Deerfield Beach, sold the 57.3-acre site at the southwest corner of Century Boulevard and Haverhill Road to KL Reflection Bay LLC, an affiliate of Delray Beach-based Kolter Land, the residential land development arm of Kolter Group. Arlington, Texas-based D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) provided an $8 million mortgage to the buyer.

The property last sold for $2.3 million in 2004, when it was purchased from the Turtle Bay Country Club.

Kolter Land President Jim Harvey said his company will develop the lots and D.R. Horton will be the homebuilder. It will take about six months to complete the planning and engineering for the project, he added. It will be called Reflection Bay. The home sizes haven’t been finalized, he added.

They are seeking to build 707 homes there. D.R. Horton filed the application to rezone the former golf course in 2021.

Many golf courses in South Florida have been redeveloped as the cost to maintain golf courses has increased while home values have soared, making these properties more valuable as residential communities.

NOTICE OF SPECIAL PALM BEACH COUNTY MEETING

ATTENTION ALL CV UNIT OWNERS:

PLEASE ATTEND A SPECIAL MEETING,

HOSTED BY REPRESENTATIVES FROM

PALM BEACH COUNTY

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, ZONING AND BUILDING.

FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022, 10:00 AM

MAIN CLUBHOUSE, THEATER

THE SUBJECT OF THIS MEETING WILL BE

THE GROWING PROBLEM OF

UNPERMITTED CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION

AT CENTURY VILLAGE ASSOCIATIONS. 

THIS MEETING WILL BE CHAIRED BY

PBC BUILDING DIVISION DIRECTOR DOUG WISE.

THERE WILL BE PRESENTATIONS BY

CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS,

BUILDING INSPECTORS,

AND CONTRACTOR CERTIFICATION OFFICERS. 

AFTER THESE PRESENTATIONS,

THERE WILL BE A Q&A SESSION FOR CV UNIT OWNERS.

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Dave Israel

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DELEGATE ASSEMBLY - JULY 1, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

 

UCO WEEKLY LCAM REPORT - JULY 11, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

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Follow this link for the UCO Weekly LCAM Report by, Donald Foster - LCAM :

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https://bit.ly/3aqvv4K

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Dave Israel

NOTICE OF UCO CLOSING FOR DEEP CLEANING

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UCO OFFICE CLOSED

Due to a number of positive COVID-19 cases at UCO, the UCO Office will be closed on Thursday, 7/7 and Friday, 7/8, for special cleaning.

The UCO Office will tentatively reopen on Monday, 7/11, at 9:00 AM. Please check the CV BLOG for further updates:

 www.village-blog-and-chat.blogspot.com

Dave Israel

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING - JULY 5, 2022 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

 

NOTICE OF BOOK DRIVE

 Dave Israel

UCO WEEKLY LCAM REPORT - JULY 3, 2022

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Follow this link for the UCO Weekly LCAM Report by, Donald Foster - LCAM:

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https://bit.ly/3OJf7uM

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Dave Israel

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NOTICE OF PILL DROP EVENT

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Poster by Ken Graff

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Dave Israel

 

4th on Flagler

 

The most anticipated event of the summer season is 4th on Flagler, the City of West Palm Beach’s annual Fourth of July celebration. The event is South Florida’s largest free outdoor Independence Day celebration, featuring an 18-minute fireworks show over the Intracoastal Waterway.

The event is Monday, July 4 on the Waterfront from 6 – 10 p.m. (along Flagler Drive between Banyan Blvd. and Fern St.). Activities include live entertainment with Reverend Barry and the Funk on the NewDay USA Stage, two jammin' DJ's, The Bill Bone 5K, Palm Beach Health Network's Family Chill Zone featuring a hands-on kids’ area, Military Honor Salute, and food and beverages for purchase. Fireworks ignite around 9 p.m. 

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Dave Israel

UCO TREASURERS LATEST SCHEME - T-BILLS

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Of course, we all remember Mr. Grossman, our current UCO Treasurer, before he became UCO Treasurer.  He, along with his friends Mr. Solomon and Mr. Karpf (may they rest in peace);  used to get great joy in attempting to incite the Delegates to near riot conditions. They endlessly criticized  UCO at every opportunity. Now Mr. Grossman is Treasurer and he comes to us with a proposal to RISK $5,000,000.00 of our money in the purchase of T-bills. Following are some of the risks involved in such a scheme:

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Risks and Disadvantages of T-bills

Even though most investors consider those assets risk-free, this is not entirely true. There are always risks when we talk about investing. What are the main risks and disadvantages of T-bill?

In 1979, The U.S. Treasury was forced to delay payments (default) to individual investors redeeming about $122 million of Treasury bills maturing on April 26, May 3 and May 10, 1979. The Treasury blamed the delay on an unprecedented volume of participation by small investors and the unanticipated failure of word-processing equipment used to prepare schedules needed to cut them individual paper checks.

• Interest rate risk

Bonds are closely correlated with the movement in interest rates. The relation is not as strong as between corporate bonds and interest rates, but it can have an impact. Usually, when rates go up, bonds decline.

• Low yields

Even though these investment tools are quite safe and risk-free, their returns are relatively lower compared to other assets.

• Inflation risk

The returns on T-bills cannot reach the level of inflation. As of 2022, the inflation rate pace is much higher compared to the T-bills yield.

• Opportunity risk

Because of their maturity, you might miss out on other, more lucrative, opportunities in the market. The term of treasury bills is relatively short (up to a year), yet for a year it might cost you tens if not hundreds of missed chances.

 

Bottom Line

Overall, investing in T-bills may be a nice way to diversify and strengthen your portfolio. The fact that the US government backs them up and issues them makes those assets almost free of risk and very attractive. On the downside, they offer a relatively low yield.

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UCO is not chartered to enter into risky market investments of any sort. What you or I do with our money is one thing, what UCO does with the peoples money is quite another. UCO's handling of our money must entail ZERO RISK, there is no alternative.

I entreat all our Delegates to reject this plan when it is presented for vote at the upcoming Delegate Assembly meeting.

Dave Israel