ZONING COMMISSION HEARING ON REFLECTION BAY - AGENDA POSTED

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Hi all,
The Zoning Commission hearing on the Golf Course proposed development, Reflection Bay, is scheduled for December 2, 2011 at 9:00am. This hearing is to be at the Vista Center at 2300 Jog Road, just off Okeechobee Blvd. (West on Okee., right at Jog Road)

The agenda has been published by PBC, follow the link:

http://www.pbcgov.com/pzb/Zoning/zc/2011/dec/agenda120211.pdf

All concerned residents of CV should make every effort to attend.

Dave Israel
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BETTER THEATER SEATING

It is probably too late to be suggesting this, because I understand the Operations Committee is going to be taking up tomorrow the subject of reserving seats for shows. But for what it is worth late in the game…..

If the Committee cannot come to agreement on giving residents who pay and reserve in advance for the shows some say on where they sit—which I think they should have and is the best solution—PERHAPS WPRF CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF DECIDING WHAT ARE THE PREFERRED SEATS.

For starters, the first few rows of seats on the extreme left and right are not as good as seats farther back and nearer the middle of the theater. I would suggest too that any seats in the first 3-4 rows are not as desirable as those from say, row 5 back. Also, that seats in the center-front of the balcony are better than many seats on the extreme ends. A lot of people like those center-front balcony seats.

I would recommend that a small committee be formed to hash this out and come up what they consider the “A” seats, the “B” seats, and so forth. Then, if using the random lottery system, assign the seating by first selling the “A” seats, then the “B” seats, etc. This is what WPRF does now, I believe, but I think their determination of how seats rank with the people has been off the mark.

Something Else To Think About

I note with interest that the illustrious Executive Board Member, Gerald Karpf, simply couldn’t resist tarnishing the first issue of the new Reporter by putting pen to paper with libelous gossip. Working from his own agenda, presumably in retaliation to Reporter references regarding his involvement with the 1^st Priority fiasco, Mr. K attempts to convince Reporter readers that I, Sue Cohen, am not an investigative journalist, but a hypocrite who breaks the law. Now, had Jerry been of a genuine literary persuasion himself, he may have realized that it is somewhat foolhardy to rely on the information gathered from unreliable sources.  According to Mr. Karpf, I stand accused of installing tankless water heaters in our building's eight laundries to the detriment of the residents. Mr. K further accuses that in doing so, I broke the law,  which will cost thousands of dollars to rectify. Now this would have been rather difficult since I wasn’t even in the country at the time of the installations. In my absence, the condominium washers, dryers and water heaters were in fact, installed, under contract, by an allegedly reputable laundry company.

Unrelated at the time, and at the request and expense of the association, a well-known electrical firm carried out an inspection of the building's wiring several months later. It was then discovered that one of Florida’s best-known laundry companies had installed the heaters in clear violation of the law. The issue was immediately turned over to our lawyers. With the knowledge, consent, and support of the condominium board the resulting code violations were reported to the Department of Planning, Zoning & Building.

Because of the circumstances, no daily fine was ever imposed, and our law firm has been dealing with this legal matter ever since. As our more informed residents are well aware, liability for these unlawfully installed water heaters has been accepted and will not cost our residents the thousands that Mr. K implied was the case. Our attorneys are presently negotiating with the laundry company's insurance agents for an amicable resolution, hopefully in the very near future.

One would have hoped that Mr. K, an elected representative of UCO, would have had a modicum of sense not to allow his wounded ego to get the better of him. Publishing allegations without a substantial evidence file is not a wise, but potentially a highly expensive move.  As every investigative journalist knows, to publicly libel someone of breaking the law, without a single shred of evidence, is likely to place such people and those they purportedly represent firmly at defendant's table of the nearest courtroom.

Genealogy Club beginning

There is a new club getting together to start in Century Village West Palm Beach. It is a chance for people that are interested in genealogy. We can share ideas and information on how we can trace our families. Also stories of reunions of families that have been separated for decades and how the same techniques were used to create these reunions.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this club please contact me with your name, contact information and what times work for you for meetings.

Happy Thanksgiving Century Village

On behalf of myself and the entire Becker & Poliakoff family, I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Mark D. Friedman, Esq.

UCO REPORTER - DECEMBER 2011 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

Hi all,
UCO is pleased to announce the publication of the new look UCO Reporter under the leadership of Myron Silverman, Editor in Chief.

Thanks Myron and the new crew for an excellent issue; we look forward to many more, as the Village has indeed found a new voice.

Follow this link: http://goo.gl/YFwLW

or, as usual you may access the Reporter by way of the link in the sidebar.

Dave Israel

I am thankful

I am thankful for family and health and CV friends, and many other fine blessings.

I am thankful for the reduction in our very prudent association budget $15 per unit per month - Due to all UCO workers and the Insurance Committee efforts. You really have to watch those insurance companies. I also switched my house to the UCO recommended company and saved a bunch. Constant competition is the key and mine will all be redone for next year.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Something to think about

November 19, 2011

Just an interesting thought.
I am currently reading “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson and I am reading about the ipad development and the apps that they wanted to provide.

Steve rejected an app for porn and someone took him to task for censorship. Steve’s reply is that one might care more about porn when they have kids, and it’s not about censorship or freedom, it’s about Apple trying to do the right thing for its users.

Then he said: By the way, what have you done that’s so great? Do you create anything or just criticize others’ work and belittle their motivations?

I think the above is so applicable to life here in the village. Are we working to divide and destroy or to do the RIGHT thing for the village. I believe that David is working much harder than a volunteer can be expected to work and his goal is doing “THE RIGHT THING” for all of us.

Theater Tickets

I am one of the minority who purchased season tickets to the shows. When you purchase a subscription WPRF has your money in August and tickets are distributed in October. I have been told that seats are assigned with use of a computer. My problem is that people buying tickets a few days before the performance have ended up with better seats than the ones I received. I think this is terribly unfair and unless a new system is used I will no longer buy tickets ahead of time. Very few shows sell out and my friend bought a ticket on Thursday for Freddy Roman and will be sitting in Section B, Row 5 while I will be against the wall in Section C! Don't you think there is something wrong with that?

Open Accounting?

I must applaud the members of the current Reporter Editorial Committee for their openness and honesty in supplying copies of their recent minutes to residents. However, even people like myself who deplore censorship may consider publishing the password to the Reporter accounts (Quick Books) a step too far- especially since it’s phraseology is that of wishful thinking not fact. This remarkable display of competency astounds me!

DRIVER’S LICENSE RENEWAL WENT WELL (WHEW!)

For those of you who feel edgy about renewing their Florida driver’s licenses under the new system, I thought I’d let you know I had a good experience.

About two months ago, I was notified that it was time to renew my driver’s license. The notice explained that this couldn’t be done by mail or online, but that I had to go into one of the Tax Collector’s offices with proof of my identity and address.

About three weeks ago, I went online and found out what documents I needed. This can differ depending on your situation. Through their interactive form, I was able to print out the specifics that applied to me. I had the choice of making an appointment online or by calling a toll-free Tallahassee phone number. For no particular reason I called the Tallahassee number. A very helpful man answered and made an appointment for me to go to the Tax Collector’s office in Royal Palm Beach this past Wed. at 3:00 p.m. I got a reminder phone call about the appointment the day before.

On Wednesday I got to the Tax Collector’s office at 2:50. Outside the office I “registered” at a booth. The clerk there (one of two) took my documentation, placed a clip on it, and gave it back to me with a slip of paper saying “R-117.” I went inside and sat down among SCORES of people waiting, They were there for different things, and some had been waiting a long time. I have waited there in the past.

Within TWO MINUTES “R-117” was posted on the information board and it was announced: “R-117 go to Desk Four.” The woman at Desk Four was very nice. Despite the fact I was turning 75 on the expiration date of my old license, all I had to take was a vision test, which I passed easily. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I knew they would be taking my photo and had said to myself before going in: “Now don’t get feeling angry about ANYTHING, Lanny, or it will be showing on your mug shot for the next several years.” This worked out fine. There was nothing to be angry about. The mug shot even has a slight smile.

The renewal cost $54 and my new license is good for 8 years.

FROM OUR INSURANCE CHAIR

These seems to be some misunderstandings regarding the renewal process—please let me try and make it clearer.

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We currently have three Agent’s bidding the renewal for the whole of Century Village for 2012. They are Barbara Addeo, with Corporate Insurance Advisors, Bob Lopker, with Insurance Office of America, and our incumbent Ty Beba, with Brown & Brown.

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They will be making presentations to the Insurance Committee the week of December 5th. The bids will be reviewed by the Bid Committee on Monday, December 12th and there will be a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, December the 15th in the Clubhouse at 9:30am, so individual Associations can review their individual premiums for the year.

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If after reviewing the UCO insurance program you want to opt out, a form will be provided for you. But, please before you opt out make sure you have another Agency who will write your insurance coverage. If you opt out of the UCO program, you will not have insurance with us.

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I have had 2 Associations and 1 management company asking permission to seek quotes outside UCO. You don’t need permission to seek quotes outside; we feel that the program we provide will be comprehensive and cost effective. We only ask that you compare apples to apples. Make sure that what you’re buying is what you think it is and not a watered down version at a bargain price.

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If after reviewing our program, coverage’s and prices, you feel that you can get both better coverage and price with another agency, than opt out. You will have until December 23rd to return your selection sheets or you’re opt out sheet.

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We hope our selection will meet with your approval and that this letter makes it easier for you to understand the process. But, if you have any questions, I’m at UCO most days, please call

683-9189.

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Toni Salometo

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WILL SALISBURY I PLEASE EXPLAIN

Hi all

The flyer seen above appeared unsolicited on my doorknob, as President of UCO, I must confess that I do not understand it's purpose!

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The Agenda suggests that attendees will receive "Association Legal Updates".

UCO has provided Association Legal Updates for many years, UCO has done this by bringing in Attorneys from Becker & Poliakoff, and other firms. UCO has also had the Condominium Ombudsman speak to town hall meetings. Between these two sources and others, we have provided timely advice and updates to thousands of our unit owners, and we will continue to do so.

So, what will The Salisbury I guest speaker have to say in this regard?

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The Agenda also states that attendees will receive "Association Insurance Updates" Wow!, it turns out that our UCO-Association Bi-Lateral Agreement, which you may link to in the Sidebar, and which most of our Associations have signed and all of our Associations have benefited from since 1999, provides that UCO shall place policies of Insurance by way of competitive bidding, which UCO did - and will do again, and which resulted in a reduction in our premiums of Two Million dollars! Oh yes, since the current Administration took office, we have presented Town Hall meetings with Complete Association Insurance Updates

So, what will The Salisbury I guest speaker have to say in this regard?

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The final Agenda item is "Century Village Newspaper Update"

Ok! Our UCO Bylaws, which also may be accessed by a link in the sidebar states that UCO shall publish a newspaper, called the UCO Reporter, which UCO has done consistently since 1982.

So, what will The Salisbury I Association have to say in this regard?

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Please, will someone from Salisbury I answer these questions on this BLOG?

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Finally, is this luncheon about Village unity, or if not, what is it about??

Dave Israel

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Brain Activity

That was a different kind of show at the Clubhouse last night. There was more brain activity than the theater had ever seen before ;-)as people tried to out-figure mentalist Jon Stetson.

Some say he is a mind reader, some a comedian, certainly super skilful. He did amaze and entertain us. If you want to practice his magic square see Utube http://youtu.be/NVx9xfOl10o (its long) and the similar sites. Lots of “mentalist Jon Stetson” links. 

I think I prefer to stay in ignorance of how tricks are done.

More Shredding

How was the Shredding Event yesterday? 

If you missed it you can still shred a modest (small) amount at Bank Atlantic just outside the village, next to the library. You do not need an account but it helps if you say the magic words “Century Village”. Thank you to your community banker Jason Kennedy.

Board elections

Can an owner who is in arrears in their maintenance payments run for a position of the condo board of directors?
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FS 718.112 among other things provides:

"A person who has been suspended or removed by the division under this chapter, or who is delinquent in the payment of any fee, fine, or special or regular assessment as provided in paragraph (n), is not eligible for board membership......"

Dave Israel
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What Key!

Does everyone have keys to their meter rooms, or does the management co.? For 12 years my Association did not think about this. Until today - FP&L locked the meter room door and then phoned at night for help to unlock it.

Embarrassing... tomorrow we will track down the key business, if it is ever locked the irrigation workers, etc. could have a continual problem.

Insurance Safeguards or Opt Out

Clarification of question at the insurance buffet.

In 1999 Century Village associations agreed that UCO would select the Village building insurance, using proper bid procedures (that was part of the Bilateral Agreement).

If you do not want the UCO insurance choice you need to opt out because you are, by having signed the Bilaterial agreement, included. In the same way, if you don't return any instructions or sign up, you are automatically included. Last year, we didn't hear from many Associations and they were automatically included for UCO coverage. Without the Bilaterial, they would have had no insurance if we didn't automatically include them.

Simply put, you're in unless you opt out. This is the reason UCO asks those Associations who want to place their insurance outside of UCO, to advise us by letter each December. Being double insured is bad, having no insurance is much worse.

Everyone should be informed on the Bilateral Agreement (see Core Docs in sidebar) also the Condominium Act, and Bylaws or Declaration of the Association. 

From Toni Salometo

Honoring Veterans

35 Freebies for Veterans Day - Veterans Day deals and freebies that Veterans can take advantage of (in some cases, deals are available to all)!

Just keep in mind that most restaurants and companies will require some form of military identification to allow you to take advantage of savings and deals. Also, you'll want to call establishments ahead of time to make sure that the location you're heading to is participating.

http://blog.couponsherpa.com/35-veterans-day-freebies/http://blog.couponsherpa.com/35-veterans-day-freebies/

Health Fair on Friday

Blood Drive on Friday

UCO Emails

Dear Admins, thank you for putting the UCO Emails on the sidebar, at lower end, now I do not have to remember who is VP 1, 2, 3,

Dave Israel ucopresident@gmail.com

Robert Marshall vicepresident3@gmail.com

Dom Guarnagia vicepresidentvp1@gmail.com

Frank Cornish vicepresidenttwo@gmail.com

Phyllis Richland vicepresident4@gmail.com

Ed Black treasurerone@gmail.com

Community Association Manager (CAM):
Rodger Carver ucocam1@gmail.com

UCO also unitedcivicorg@gmail.com

Would be good in the UCO Reporter too.

DELEGATE ASSEMBLY NOVEMBER 4, 2011 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

Hi All,
The Delegate Assembly of November 4, 2011 is now live in Cyberspace. Follow the link:

http://goo.gl/jUXLq

The video may also be accessed via the sidebar under the heading; Delegate Assembly.

Thanks to the channel 63 team.

Dave Israel

400 METER DIAMETER NEAR EARTH ASTEROID WILL BE A CLOSE SHAVE!

Hi all,
2005 YU55 will pass closer to the Earth, than the  Moon, about .85 of the distance.

This event will occur in the timeframe November 8 - 9, 2011. Follow the link for an animation view of this event:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/2005_YU55_approach_movie.gif

Dave Israel

UCO BYLAWS - AS AMENDED NOVEMBER 04, 2011

Hi all,
The UCO Bylaws as amended on November 04, 2011 are now live in Cyberspace.
They may be viewed at the following URL:

http://goo.gl/uorTr

They may also be accessed via the sidebar under the heading Core Documents"

Dave Israel

end of Daylight Savings Time

With the end of Daylight Savings Time this Sunday, it is time to turn clocks back an hour when you go to bed tonight. As well as change the batteries in smoke detectors. Unless you have the 10yr smoke detectors like:

First Alert SA305CN Smoke Alarm with Long Life Lithium Battery

Kidde 0910 10-Year Sealed Lithium Battery-Operated Smoke Alarm with Memory and Smart Hush – I have this one and the National Fire Protection Association recommends that I replace the whole thing every 10 years. 

Good prices online.

Festival of Chocolate

Ultimate All-Chocolate Shopping, Interactive and Educational Event, Nov 19 and 20, 2011, Palm Beach County Convention Center

http://westpalm.festivalofchocolate.com/

It's $12 but you may get a BOGO on Groupon for 2 more days.

Truffles, Cakes, Cookies, Cupcakes, Crepes, Waffles, Ice Creams, Brownies, Chocolate Drinks and much more! No pictures I do not want you to lose control

REAL ID TOWN MEETING

Smile

If you need a smile try the following -
(don't ping on me it was written by retired teachers.)
http://screanews.us/SeniorHumor/RetirementFlorida.htm has sound too.

The link to all senior humor is nifty http://screanews.us/SeniorHumor/SeniorHumorIndex.html
I had not seen some of 'life's stages' before.

If you like it milder don't miss Music & Nostalgia.

More http://www.savageresearch.com/humor/retirement.html

UCO REPORTER - NOVEMBER 2011 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

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Hi all,
The UCO Reporter for November 2011 is now live in Cyberspace, it may be viewed by following this link:

http://goo.gl/fzYWG

As always, the Reporter may be accessed by way of the links in the Sidebar where three years of the UCO Reporter may be accessed.

In due course, links will be provided to The Reporter reaching back to 1982, so stay tuned to this channel.

Dave Israel
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A NICE MEETING, BUT . . .

I don’t know whose idea it was to start the “President’s meetings,” but I think it was a good one. The idea, as I understood it, was for UCO president Dave Israel to meet every so often with a handful of association presidents, giving them an opportunity in an informal setting to ask questions and voice their opinions. I had the picture of this being almost like a “fireside chat” time with the boss, especially geared for the less active association representatives who knew little of the ropes.

A couple of weeks ago, Avis Blank called me and said time had been set aside for me and several others to meet with Dave on Friday, October 28. (Who can refuse Avis? She is a charmer.) We met, and it was a good time, informative, with a number of questions asked and answered.

It wasn’t quite what I expected, though. I expected a time with the several of us alone with Dave. Instead, there were other UCO personnel in attendance, including all the vice presidents, and they did a lot of the talking. It may have been helpful to have “answers from the whole staff” available to the small group of us, but I felt something more important was lost: the sense of an intimate session with the UCO president. If I had been a new association president struggling with my duties, I would have found the session intimidating. It was the difference between having a friendly chat with the C.E.O. and appearing before the whole board of directors.

I appreciate the vice presidents and others taking time out to attend, but I think the better format would be “just with the UCO president” for these sessions.