Condo docs

March 6, 2025

 Meeting called to order at 5:05 PM 

 Attendees included:  Alex Rosner, Lee Seligman, Deborah Lerer, Jerry Ness, Nella Mangiafico, Eva Rosner , Sharon Ness 

1.  Minutes of previous Board Meeting will be reviewed in the future, perhaps at the next meeting.

2.  Lawsuit settlement reviewed.  Settlement of $10,000 payment of Section One to Section Two was declared, in addition to a maintenance agreement in order to avoid issues in the future regarding the common area of the pool.  Alternative was to go to Court, which we try to avoid. Settlement papers are impending. Alex has not been able to contact Section One's lawyer to get the money due to Section Two.  January 31 was the official deadline! In the future, there is no way to settle future disputes because there is no "tie breaker" when decisions have to be made involving both Sections One and Two. 

We have an insurance policy that gives us legal help.  We are considering suing Jill, our former Property Manager, who was aware of Section One's negligence but did nothing.  We need to find an attorney who is willing to take the case on a contingency basis. Section Two lost significant money in the current lawsuit plus the legal fees we have paid. Section One's payment covers a small coverage of what they really owe. Statute of limitations reduced their payment to Section Two. Beyond previous years, Section One hasn't paid insurance for the pool since 2022.

Tree Removal discussed. There is a tremendous, rotting, termite infested oak tree in the common area in between Villa 25 and 26. Two professional arborists stated that the tree is a risk to the nearby villas, is dangerous and must be removed.  The cost would be around $5200 plus a $300 fee for a professional certification.  The vote was unanimously passed and the tree will be removed shortly.

Plumbing Issues.  The problem goes back to when we did significant common area plumbing repairs a few years ago, but the plumber did not do the best, most effective work. To rectify the situation for 2 of our Section Two villas, the cost would be $13,800 and $7,000, a total of $21,600. Hopefully,we have money in the Reserves to cover that needed work. We will get other estimates for "digging up" or "relining" our common area pipes underground. The need for this work is vital. It is important for the Board to check if our Insurance might cover this cost.  

Roof Cleaning-Fines.  We have a few villa residents in violation of  section 2's roof cleaning policy. It's the condominium's responsibility to ensure that this policy is followed by all residents. However, we are considering changing the document so that every villa is responsible for cleaning its roof.

Electrical Boxes must be updated.  We have 2 villas that have not yet updated their outdoor electrical boxes, villas 27 and 30. We have no recourse but will speak to the residents. Jerry will speak to a lawyer about changing certain rules obligatory actions so that every villa is responsible for following the rules.

No new business was brought to the table.  Meeting adjourned at 6:00 PM.        

January 2, 2025

 Attendees: Alex Rosner                Ruby Allman

                  Jerry Ness                   Barry Alter

                  Lee Seligman              Sam and Audrey Meline

                  Joyce BenEzra            Mark Rubin

                  Debbie Lerer               Sharon Ness

                  Joe Barone                  Solomon Lerer     

                                                      Judy Pelman

Alex welcomed everyone and stated the "litigation of Section 1" is the primary reason for this meeting.  The following statements were made:

1.Section 1 has been partners (40%/60%) with Section 2 since 1974, covering common area fees.

2.We share common areas and Section 1 has paid all fees from 1974-2014.

3.Section 1 stopped paying insurance coverage for the pool, their 40%, since 2014 but the Management Co. did not notify Section 2 about the missing money.

4.In 2021, Jerry Ness, our Treasurer, noticed the missing money since 2014.

5.The Property Manager attended a Section 1 Board Meeting on June 21, 2021, at which time Section 1 voted to repay by making an assessment of $1500 per each of their 12 units to cover the cost of the $18,000 due Section 2, including the rule of statute of limitations.

6.No money was paid to Section 2 and so we continue to pay for both Sections.

7.In 2022, Section 1 paid for one year, not including previous years of default payments.

8.In 2023-2024, bills were sent to Section 1. Gina, President of Section 1, disregarded the bills.

9.Section1 insisted that they were not covered by the insurance policy, even though it covered the "common areas" of both sections. They claimed since the insurance was billed to Section 2, they were not covered.  Ironically, in 2022, a claim was made and covered, admitting that despite their lack of payment, they were covered by Section 2!

10.Section 1 continues to claim that they are not insured.  In 2021, Section 2 said a lawsuit would be our solution.

11.2022-2024 insurance fees increased and Section 1 continues not to pay for coverage of common areas pool insurance.

12.Alex and Debbie met with Gina and Anne in June of 2024.  Gine seemed very amenable to our statements re payments but requested additional paperwork from Jerry.  She received all that she requested but still no payments.

13.Section 1 wanted to wait for Arbitration.  Currently, Section 1 took out a policy for $1M for their liability. We, Section 2, have a $10M policy(liability and umbrella) covering both sections.  Policy is $24,000. $411x18 is premium for liability Section 2. See attached insurance information.  

Arbitration:

1.We are entitled to collect insurance for the last 4 years, including the statute of limitations if Section 1 is receiving a benefit, the coverage. Their coverage is the benefit!

2.January 6 is the deadline.  If Section 2 does not pursue the issue, Section 2 might have to pay for Section 1's legal costs.  Should we go to trial?

3.Trial would cost $3750 for legal fees.  At this point, the charge has accumulated to $10,000 for our legal fees. We, Section 2, will still have time to negotiate with Section 1 until trial date.

             Options:

                1.Combine Section 1 and 2 to create one section.

                2.Pool belongs to Section 2 only and Section 1 cannot use it should                        they continue to not pay their portion.

                3.Offer Section 1 to create their own Insurance Policy covering 1                              and 2 for common elements, only.

Motion passed to go to trial.  Alex will notify the lawyer immediately that we, Section 2,  are ready to go to court.  

Lee reminded the group that our board previously approved sending a letter to unit owners of Section 1, making them all aware of the situation re insurance and litigation.

Meeting adjourned at 6:05 PM

                               Submitted by Secretary of Section 2

                                                       Deborah Lerer

August 26, 2024

 Board meeting called to order at 5:08 PM. Board members attending included Alex Rosner, Lee Seligman, Jerry Ness, Debbie Lerer, Joyce BenEzra and Nella Mangiafico and Elizabeth Sachs(Elite Co.)  Non Board members attending were: Eva Rosner, Sharon Ness, Ruby Allman, Nanci Scholnik, Lou Scholnik.

Reading of past minutes from the last Board meeting was waived.  Lee made the motion and it was approved.

Legal updates on "summary judgement" involving Section 1 and the common area pool payment for insurance was first on the agenda.  Unfortunately, we discovered that after filing a complaint, 40 days must pass before any judgement is made. We presented our documents on August 14 and, therefore, 40 days must pass before we are made aware of any decisions from the court. Lou requested a new strategy for our filing. He said we must get a summary judgement to settle this case since the court must decide this case.  Lou said we are not aggressive enough.    
Our unpaid legal costs exceed $11,000(including a few items beyond the legal fees in our lawsuit with Section 1) and we currently do not have a budget for that.  


Alex spoke about quotes for Electric Panels  which must be updated in some of the villas in order for us to get insurance. Lee was offered multiple bids, the best being a bid of $1900 per villa which would include permits, surge protectors, a bridge for other electrical items, and 2 ground rods. This bid also includes a few other electric items that are necessary. The update must be completed by January 1, 2025 since our current insurance ends December 31, 2024 and we may be forced to go with Citizens. We must move quickly because there are shortages of panels and clearly a short time frame considering all that has to be done.  The board approved of conducting a special assessment meeting (14 days prior notice) for residents of Section 2, to inform everyone of the impending assessment. A motion was passed to upgrade the panels on the 10 villas which have not yet been updated.  We must investigate whether it is permitted to only assess the villas that need updating or must all the villas be assessed and, within a reasonable time, a return of the assessment fee would be given to those who already had updated electric panels.
In addition, a motion was passed for an up to $300 assessment to cover the cost per unit for roof cleaning for those who need that done. That will happen after hurricane season, Nov. 30. Both assessments will be covered at the special assessment meeting to be held after the 14 day notice is delivered to all unit owners or their representatives.    


Pool issues:  Gina, president of Section 1, told Nella that she does not want to repair the broken pool furniture but wants to replace it with new chairs, umbrellas, etc.  The issue is that we cannot trust Section 1 to pay for their part of the costs for common area, based on our current financial issues with them.  


Elizabeth said that we must immediately remove the broken chairs because they are a liability.  Carlos must stack them and put them out of the pool area. It was suggested that they be chained to the fence so as to prevent their use and any potential liability. 
Jerry mentioned that Gloria should not ok any new villa buyers until our Board interviews them and vets them. 


It was stated at the meeting that Section 2 should send a monthly bill to every resident of Section 1, stating "PAST DUE'' on every common area cost that they have not paid!


Debris removal:  Alex said that our insurance covers debris removal up $50,000.  The City, following a hurricane, will clear the garbage but beyond that, FEMA addresses the issue. We must pay what FEMA doesn't cover, which is approximately 2 1/2% of the entire bill.


Alex, the arborist, is coming tomorrow.  His proposal was accepted and he will begin the tree trimming.  
We also mentioned that Section 2 should consider adding new plants/bushes to our section to enhance its beauty. 


We must ask Carlos, the maintenance man, to clean the light globes, remove and lock up the broken chairs at the fence, skim the pool regularly, and if we decide to keep the fountain,replace the motor. It was slso decided that we should develop a schedule for Carlos to more efficiently utilize his time that we are paying for.  


We will call for a wet check to test our sprinklers.  Should we need a new Irrigation Co., Elizabeth knows of one.



Ruby submitted the $144 annual bill for our new website, EMERALDGREENSECTION2.COM.  Our board meeting minutes, condominium docs and other areas of interest to our homeowners will be posted regularly.  


Alex reminded us all that by June 2025, all Board members must take an online class in order to be certified properly and legitimately.  


Elizabeth said we are in a flood zone now so this is a very vital issue.  We must, however, verify this statement. If we truly are in a flood zone now, this is a vital issue.    
Lee discussed the House Bill 1029. It offers free inspections for hardening of the villas in order for us to potentially secure better insurance rates. It also offers financial assistance from the state should we qualify for it.  
At one point, in the past, we prepared amendments and revisions to the Condo docs and paid for a revision to make owners responsible for outside of their homes.  Unfortunately, it was never submitted. We can amend the rules and regulations to say that exteriors of homes are the responsibility of homeowners. This addition would be beneficial because it would remove the cost of maintenance on the units from the Condo 
Association and place it upon the unit owners. An attorney should be consulted for the proper verbiage and to verify the legality of this possible change.    

Meeting adjourned at 6:40.  Motion to adjourn passed.  Next meeting is scheduled for September 19, 2024, 5:00PM.