New Law Regarding Process Servers

While we await the Governor’s approval of House Bill 1195, which covers the majority of changes to the Condominium laws, there are other House Bills which have already been signed into law that effect condominium associations.

One such new law, which was House Bill 59, becomes effective July 1, 2011, as Section 48.031(7), Florida Statutes. This new law provides that a gated residential community, including a condominium, must grant unannounced entry into the community, including the common areas and common elements, to a person attempting to serve process on a defendant or witness who resides within or is known to be within the community.

Therefore, after July 1, 2011, the guards at the gates can no longer deny access or announce a process server who is attempting to serve a Summons and Complaint on a condominium association or an individual living at Century Village.

Mark D. Friedman is a senior attorney at the West Palm Beach office of Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. You may contact Mr. Friedman at CondoLaw@becker-poliakoff.com.

Not Much Summer Posting

The 80 Blog authors (members) must be too busy to post because they are reading through Dave's Info Project pdf's I received 21 pdf's so far! Another reflection of the astonishing amount of work that goes into UCO.

Dave, is the Information Forward Initiative (IFI) just for Delegates, or also for anyone who wants to be more involved? How about a post on the IFI? Is that the best acronym! Do villagers know they can look in on all kinds of meetings?

Lightning Strike?

Something going on WNW of village, N of Vista ctr.?

Drought

This is the Water Co. ex pond at the corner of Sussex. Nice crop of hay but not a drop of water. They are giving us all the reclaimed water they can. How annoying is it to see the forecasts of rain every day for 2 weeks. We need another rain dance Lanny. Rainy season coming soon, Aha Aha!

Welcome Back

Mr & Mrs Sandhill Crane and little Dune. Hanging out in Canterbury shade. They want you to know they are omnivorous.

THE KNITTING CHANNEL? - BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR

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at CV Medical Center

Something happening next to Walgreens and Vitas, still locked up.
Click to read enlarged photo. What a generic title over the door!

Are you one of the 600 Board members who are Certified? If not an on-line class is now available!

After three lectures at the Century Village Theater, more than 600 Century Village Board members have been certified through Becker and Poliakoff’s Board Certification Course titled, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Condominium Law but Were Afraid to Ask.” However, with 309 condominiums in Century Village we have definitely not certified everyone. This blog post is designed to help you understand the significance of this class and to give those Board members who are out of State a one-time opportunity to take the course on-line (click on the title of this article to be taken to a registration page).

In 2010, Section 718.112, Florida Statutes, was amended and now requires that within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the Board, each newly elected director has the following options:

1. certify in writing to the secretary of the association that he or she has read the association’s declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written policies; that he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members; or

2. in lieu of the foregoing written certification, the newly elected or appointed director may submit a certificate of satisfactory completion of the educational curriculum administered by a division-approved condominium education provider. (Becker and Poliakoff is a division-approved condominium education provider and the substantive materials in our presentations have been pre-approved by the Division for use in this program.)

A copy of the certification, whether it is the affidavit described in number 1, above, or the certificate from a Division-approved class, must be kept as part of the official records of the Association for 5 years after a director’s election.

If you were unable to attend one of the three lectures given at Century Village and would like to take the course on-line, on Thursday, June 30, 2011, please click on the title of this article, which is a link to the registration page.

For those who attended the class on Friday, June 10, 2011, at the Century Village Theater, your certificates should be in the mail to you by the end of next week.

Mark D. Friedman is a senior attorney at the West Palm Beach office of the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. You may contact Mr. Friedman at CondoLaw@becker-poliakoff.com.

Whassup Golf

Ok President and CEO of the Golf Cmte, where is:

5/13 Further information will be forthcoming soon.

4/16 More information will be forthcoming.

I do think a crowded development with no apparent pool is a really bad idea next to us and our 14 pools.

New Condo Laws on Governor's Desk

House Bill 1195, the community association bill that passed during the Legislative session, was sent to Governor Scott today. The Governor has until Tuesday, June 28, 2011 to act on the bill. I will let you know as soon as Governor Scott acts on this bill. If he signs it I will post blogs to explain the changes in the law. Stay tuned.

HASTINGS POOL AREA TO CLOSE FOR REPAIRS

Hi all,
In order to effect emergency deck repairs, the Hastings pool area will be closed until further notice.

The Hastings Clubhouse will remain open, barring complications.

Dave Israel

Revolt By Clubhouse Pool People Likely.

Resentment of Snowbirds not having to endure the Clubhouse Pool closure is at a boiling point . Poolers were heard saying WPRF & UCO officials should be carted off to Duck Island and placed in stocks, for a week or so. Other Poolers were planning simultaneous Marches on UCO and WPRF to stone officials. If it wasn't for the cool head of Marvin G, Poolers would have been in marauding bands looking for officials today. I tell ya folks, there's trouble in River City .

From today's Palm Beach Post

Once again, seniors are targets of scams. Click on this link to find out:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/medical-alert-firm-distress-calls-to-wire-money-1532592.html?cxtype=ynews_rss

a/c /common element drain

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Has anyone else experienced this issue: once again, my a/c shut off. I had ECM out on 5/31 and the tech said the common element drain not draining - I am on ground level/corner. The a/c unit totally replace 2 yrs ago. Did not experience issues initially but much too often of late - ECM told me it was prop mgr issue since it's the common element drain ---so, two shut offs ago/ prop mgr comes out - says there was very little in the drain - all ok. And of course, it always happens on the wkend ----I am caring for my 88 yr old mother who is basically in a wheelchair and I depend on the CV busses for my transport so it's not easy around here and this constant a/c issue has now flipped me over the edge ---Has anyone else had the same prob w/common element drain or know of anyone who has? of course, the tech says these bldgs are 40 yrs old etc but none of my assn neighbors are battling this prob----any input appreciated. Thank God it's only 80 in here now and I have ceiling fans -----once again thank you anyone and everyone with input.
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A VERY WORTHWHILE CLASS

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I am just back from attending the 3-hour class on condo rules and regulations given by Mark Friedman, attorney for Becker & Poliakoff, and it was excellent. Using the projector and movie screen, he taught us so much and made it interesting. Instead of answering questions as we went along, he had us jot down our questions during the lecture. These were collected at the end, and then he answered them. I was surprised how fast the time went. Those who attended will get a certificate, fulfilling the requirement
that as condo association officers they be familiar with condo laws.
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WATER - HERE WE GO AGAIN

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Hi all,
Much discussion about water, the drought season brings out all sorts of "information" about things that lack one essential element; facts!!!

In case you all have not noticed, we are in the midst of a very significant drought which has persisted for some time. Believe it or not, one of our Associations has actually engaged an Attorney to threaten UCO, for "not providing adequate water in a canal" to allow for proper irrigation.

I have examined all UCO documentation, and nowhere does it say that UCO can make it rain!!!
Now for some facts;  below you will see the latest Reclaimed Water flow for Century Village; as you can see, we have been receiving a 30 day average flow in excess of 900 thousand gallons per day. We are fortunate to receive that, because our contract only allows for 750 thousand gallons per day.

UCO is doing the best we can, but my best advice is to pray for rain.

Dave Israel

1-day a week watering in City of West Palm Beach

"Critical condition." That's the status the city says its water levels are in, and now they are ordering one day a week water restrictions.

The new water restriction will go into affect Monday, June 13th.

The city is hoping the restrictions will conserve what water is left until rain comes.

Across the city, homeowners are using their own method of keeping their lawns green.

"It's a serious situation when the lake levels are so low and that we depend on them for our water supply system," says city spokesperson Chase Scott.

The rain deficit has affected all area communities, including our primary water supplies at Grassy Preserve Waters, Lake Mangonia and Clear Lake. The city says the water level at Clear Lake has dropped four feet.

Homeowner Larry Lester has been through a Florida drought before and says news of one day irrigation restriction isn't what he wants to hear.

"Once before when we were one day I almost lost it then and I managed because it didn't last for too long," he states.

But Lester says the water restrictions should depend on where your source of water comes from.

"People with wells, like myself, should have an exemption," says Lester.

Unfortunately though, they don't.

Customers with odd number residences may only water using irrigation systems on Wednesday's from 4:00 a.m to 8:00 a.m. Even number addresses, which include common areas and multi-family dwellings, may only use irrigation systems on Thursday's from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

If you are hand watering, you can do that on Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for ten minutes only.

"We are all in this together so we're asking everyone to conserve due to the drought," says Scott.

The city says they will issue warnings to those breaking rules. They say if the conditions worsen, they will began to issue citations.

FREE OOMA Home Phone Service - Almost- (just buy the box)

(Copied from an e-mail requesting info on the free OOMA phone service at the Delegates' Meeting June 3, 2011)

Hi Elaine,

In response to your question about the OOMA phone service, I have to tell you, OOMA is one of the best-kept secrets out there right now. I was paying $50-$60 for regular phone service like everyone else for years. I then went to Vonage about five years ago and used it for three years, paying 24.99 + tax for a total of about $30/month. It was much cheaper and quality was just as good as regular land line. Then, about two years ago, my wife Sharon found OOMA on a website somewhere. We knew that nothing is free in this world, so we were skeptical and dubious at best. Because it was unknown and untried by anyone we knew, we decided to purchase the OOMA box that allows the service to be used while leaving Vonage running until we were sure that OOMA was a viable option. We used both systems for about a month to compare them against each other. OOMA turned out to be even better than Vonage was, not only with excellent voice clarity but with features and cost.

I just read the latest Consumer Reports survey on internet, TV, and phone services and bundled Internet/Telephone/TV packages from the different phone companies. It rated OOMA first out of the 25 different services rated for telephone services. I'll scan the article and send it to you.


You needn't be on a computer to use OOMA except for only about 15 minutes to initially set up the OOMA and get your phone number. Once it is set up you never need a computer again. And as long as you have power to the OOMA box and the router or modem, you will have service as long as the ISP (Internet Service Provider) is up. If you're concerned about losing electrical service, you simply purchase a small UPS (uninterruptible power supply). As I said in the delegates meeting, I've been using Internet VoIP telephone service for five years now and the service has gone down only once for approximately 3 hours. The problem was on a server at the main headquarters.

Not bad for FREE phone service that you can use all over the country! The only limitation is 5000 minutes (over 83 hrs!) per month. I work full time, travel all over the country for work, call home all the time, and have never come close to that.

Service to any other country in the world is only 1-2 cents a minute. You can call Germany, Australia, Egypt, etc., and talk for an hour for only .60! There is a mention on the website about paying taxes of $3.50 per month, but I don't know what that's about. If you aren't paying a monthly fee, how can they charge tax on something that's free? We don't pay any fees at all. It may have to do with paying monthly for additional lines and features, but that's optional and not required.

I contacted them to see if they provide service to businesses such as UCO. Unfortunately, they only provide residential service.

If you would like to hear the sound and quality of the OOMA, feel free to stop by. If you call me you will hear the sound quality from a recipient's standpoint.

By the way, I'm going to post this e-mail to the blog for others to take advantage of the service if they desire. If anyone reading this is interested in trying out OOMA, please call me first so you can hear the quality of the phone calls. This will give you an idea of the call quality. I can also answer any questions you may have.

Again, the installation is extremely simple:

1. If you have Internet service already then you will probably have a modem and/or a router.
(If you need to purchase a router, which is not necessary unless your modem has only one port, they're very inexpensive-around $20-$30.)

2. Simply plug the cable from the OOMA box into one of the router's ports.

3. Plug the electrical cord into an outlet.

4. Plug any standard household phone into the OOMA port.

5. Go to the OOMA website and register the phone and obtain a telephone number. THAT'S IT!

If any of our non-tech savvy folks decide they want the free phone service and need help with setting it up, I'll be happy to do it for you. Just call me before you purchase and I'll help you with it. No charge, no strings... just the neighborly thing to do to help others save money like we did.

Best regards,

Lee

Lee Hunt
President, Sheffield D COA
561-202-8460 Home
858-922-8743 Cell

Golf Course Development

Click Header

Not anytime soon, even if owner gets zoning approvals ,which is in doubt.

ROAD REPAIR MEETING - CONTRACTORS -ENGINEERS

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Hi all,

There will be a meeting with Paving Contractors involved in the Road Repair Project:

DAY:.......... Thursday

DATE:........ June 09, 2011

TIME:......... 9:00 A.M.

PLACE:...... UCO Conference Room

ALL WELCOME

Dave Israel

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Wildlife Photos

Watch all of this, better than a nap.

Click on title or this http://www.flickr.com/photos/31012926@N03/show/

Abandoned Units Becoming a Nuisance?

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Abandoned Unit Becoming a Nuisance?

Restoring Power to Mitigate Further Harm

By Mark D. Friedman, Esq.

Foreclosures are at an unprecedented level in Florida resulting in many units standing vacant for extended periods, often without electricity to run the air conditioner. In Florida’s generally hot and humid climate, a closed unit without air circulation may lead to the proliferation of mold. Condominium Association Boards often ask if they may restore the power to the unit.


It would be the rare set of condominium documents which specifically addresses this issue. However, in a condominium setting, Section 718.111(5), Florida Statutes, permits the Association the irrevocable right of access to a unit for “maintenance, repair, or replacement of any common elements or of any portion of a unit to be maintained by the association pursuant to the declaration or as necessary to prevent damage to the common elements or to a unit or units.”


If mold proliferates in a unit damage could result not only to that unit, but to adjoining units and the common elements. The statutory right of entry does not specifically deal with restoring electricity to keep the air circulating. However, it allows the association the ability to enter a unit and take the actions necessary to prevent damage to the condominium property. As one of the simplest ways to prevent mold is to remove the moisture from the air by restoring electricity and running the air conditioner the condominium association board may arguably take this step.


The problem has been the restoration of power. Becker & Poliakoff has worked with Florida Power and Light to determine a standard operating procedure for such restoration of power. The basic steps are: 1) setting up a master account in the Association’s name; 2) when the power is disconnected the Association must contact Florida Power and Light to restore the power in the Association’s name using the funds in the master account; and 3) contact FP&L to expedite the restoration of power. Your community association attorney can assist you with contact numbers and further details to ensure the most current information.


Please note that the foregoing is only for Florida Power and Light customers and may not apply to customers of other power companies throughout the State of Florida.


We are often asked whether the Association can recover the cost of restoring power to the unit. It is unlikely that these costs can be recovered from the foreclosed unit owner, especially if the property is worth less than the amount of the first mortgage on the unit. There is a possibility (not a guarantee) of recovering these costs if the bank or other third party has received Certificate of Title to the unit and refuses to turn on the power. This is something that must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with your community association attorney. However, the Board has a fiduciary duty to the remaining unit owners and it is less expensive to pay a small electric bill to keep the air circulating and protect the condominium property than it is to pay thousands of dollars to remediate a unit once it turns black with mold and threatens the rest of the property.


Mark D. Friedman, Esq. is a senior attorney at the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. This article originally appeared in the Firm’s Community Update magazine. Mr. Friedman may be contacted at CondoLaw@becker-poliakoff.com.
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PRESIDENT - RESIDENT COUNCIL MEETING CANCELED

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ALERT - ALERT - ALERT

THE PRESIDENTS COUNCIL MEETING FOR JUNE 8, 2011 IS CANCELLED DUE TO THE JEWISH HOLIDAY AND THE ROOFING SEMINAR AT CYPRESS LAKES.

PHYLLIS AND RODGER WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL

OF YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND ATTENDANCE. WE

WILL RESUME IN THE FALL. FIRST MEETING WILL BE

OCTOBER 12, 2011 AT 9:30 A.M. AS USUAL COFFEE

WILL BE SERVED.

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!

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Emails To Association

Once again Kudos to Dave Israel, President of UCO, for sending out 3 Emails to Associations who have left their Email addresses with UCO. What a great idea to get information to the Boards. Thanks Dave.

Request to Assoc Boards

Recently I tried to deliver Board material to various associations. It is quite difficult when the Board does not post their names and unit numbers on the Bulletin board (although you do meet some very nice people).

Dear Boards - please post your names and unit numbers for the benefit of all delivery people. Perhaps this request could be repeated at the Prez/Rez Council and the Del Assy. Of course it does not apply to blog readers who are the wisest souls in cyberspace ;-)

Meeting Manners

At UCO committee meetings the Chairperson sits at the head of the table, there is a reason for this, so they can see everyone who wishes to speak. Grabbing their seat and other interruptions can only reflect badly on the offender.

Clubhouse Outdoor Pools

Rumor has it , the Clubhouse will be closed for a month to rewire and bring it up to code or something . Will the guest and residents pools remain open while the work is being done? I hope so.
Mike

DELEGATE ASSEMBLY OF JUNE 03, 2011 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

Hi all,
Thanks to Ed Black of the Channel 63 Team, the video of the June 03, 2011 Delegate Assembly is available for viewing in Cyberspace. Please see the following URL for the video:

http://goo.gl/eznAe

Also see in the sidebar under Delegate Assembly.

Thanks Ed!

Dave Israel
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Village Report Investigations on Ch63

Congratulations to David Saxon on his succinct summary of the improvements in the UCO Investigations Dept. and the part played by the Interactive Investigation Forms on our sidebar. "Service and a Smile." Just another of the many projects now moving forward under the UCO administration.

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CONDO LAW - By Mark D. Friedman, Esq.

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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.

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.

[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:

CondoLaw@becker-poliakoff.com

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