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With this Post we introduce a new feature on the BLOG, Mark D. Friedman, a Senior Attorney with the Firm of Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. has consented to provide monthly articles on Condominium Law. As always, questions and comments may be entered in the Comment stream.
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Dave Israel
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Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Condo Law But Were Afraid To Ask
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As many of you are aware, Becker & Poliakoff has been providing the Century Village community with Board Certification classes over the past few months. This blog is designed to expand upon the concepts covered during the three-hour Certification class and answer some of your additional questions.
I will attempt to pick topics which I believe are relevant to your community and to keep the explanations “user-friendly.” For those who enjoy knowing the statutory citations I will provide that information at the end of the article.
I will attempt to pick topics which I believe are relevant to your community and to keep the explanations “user-friendly.” For those who enjoy knowing the statutory citations I will provide that information at the end of the article.
In addition to elaborating upon the topics from the recent Board Certification classes, I will also explain the new laws once the governor signs the bills presented to him. I will explain the impact, if any, of the new laws on your condominiums.
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Today’s topic: Board Meetings and the Snowbird
Many individuals come to South Florida from November through April and return to their northern homes for the summer and fall. These individuals, known as “snowbirds,” make up a large percentage of the condominium unit owners and condominium Boards of Directors in Palm Beach County, including in Century Village.
Florida law provides no residency requirement for seasonal residents. Therefore, even a “snowbird” can be a Board member. During the off-season, when many unit owners and Board members are away, the business of the condominium association must continue. The Condominium Act (Chapter 718, Florida Statutes), permits Board members who are unable to be physically present at the Board meeting, to attend the meeting by telephone conference. Board members attending by telephone conference may be counted toward obtaining a quorum and may vote by telephone.
The procedure for handling such a meeting is simple. A telephone speaker must be used so that the conversation of those board members attending by telephone may be heard by the board members attending in person as well as by any unit owners present at a meeting.
Even if all of the Board members are attending by speakerphone the meeting may be held by speakerphone. Notice of such a meeting must still be posted on a conspicuous location on the condominium property and there must be a location where interested unit owners may attend and listen to the meeting and participate.
Usually the property manager will set up the meeting and speaker phones in the absence of any Board members. The minutes of the meeting may reflect who is present in person and who is attending by telephone, although that designation is not entirely necessary as there is no difference in the vote.
The only reason that you might wish to reflect that information is to demonstrate that a quorum was present even though a quorum of the Board was not in Florida at the time the meeting was held.
The procedure for handling such a meeting is simple. A telephone speaker must be used so that the conversation of those board members attending by telephone may be heard by the board members attending in person as well as by any unit owners present at a meeting.
Even if all of the Board members are attending by speakerphone the meeting may be held by speakerphone. Notice of such a meeting must still be posted on a conspicuous location on the condominium property and there must be a location where interested unit owners may attend and listen to the meeting and participate.
Usually the property manager will set up the meeting and speaker phones in the absence of any Board members. The minutes of the meeting may reflect who is present in person and who is attending by telephone, although that designation is not entirely necessary as there is no difference in the vote.
The only reason that you might wish to reflect that information is to demonstrate that a quorum was present even though a quorum of the Board was not in Florida at the time the meeting was held.
[Section 718.112(2)(b)(5), Florida Statutes]
Mark D. Friedman, Esq. is a member of the Florida Bar and a Senior Attorney at the West Palm Beach office of Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.
You may e-mail Mr. Friedman at:
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David, excellent idea to help individuals and boards make intelligent decisions.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your efforts to get this kind of information to our unit owners. We (they) do not need more rumors from the buses or the pools. They need just this kind of information to help them operate their associations to the best of their abilities.
Great work--keep up the flow of information.
Why not put this or a variation of it in the newspaper?
Florida law has differant notice requirments depending on the type of meeting it is. A simple posting may not be adequate under some circumstances. I'm a unit owner who also is a LCAM :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Attorney Friedman, for your blog posting, which seemed just right to me: one subject, succinct, and in language a layperson can understand.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave for this new blog and Mark Friedman for your knowledge.
ReplyDeletethank you David for helping the delegates to understand more easily the truth..and what it takes to run a "neighborhood".
ReplyDeleteI appreciate having the opportunity to provide relevant information regarding condominium law to the Century Village Community.
ReplyDelete