Dick Titus called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Clay High School Cafeteria.

Transcription

1 Magnolia Point Community Association, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting Clay High School Cafeteria October 15th, 2018 Minutes Dick Titus called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Clay High School Cafeteria. Committee Members present: John Lochner, John Bastress, John Weidner, Susan Mitchell, Gary Dake and Joe Boyd. Also, present: Karen Gowen, CAM Lifestyles Realty. Michael Lee and Helen Atter representing Liles Gavin, PA were also in attendance. Liles Gavin provides legal counsel for the Association and Turnover activities. Michael is our legal counsel for a significant part of the Association business. Helen is a Business transactional specialist with significant experience in HOA turnovers. Quorum was met with Dick Titus, Wally Bransford and Bill Nisley in attendance. Karen Gowen our new CAM, replacing Darren Decker, was introduced. Karen summarized her background and experience. Karen is a local Magnolia Point resident and understands the community and was given a warm welcome. Michael Lee addressed the letter sent to the Board by a small group of homeowners represented by William Blackwell, which questioned the applicability of FL Statute 720 to the Association. Michael summarized his response to the letter and his continued willingness to discuss any issues despite the response from the letter s author. Michael indicated that he had advised the Board that Chapter 720, which was enacted after the formation of the Association and subsequent to the establishment of its various declarations and other governing documents, cannot replace those vested rights. The declaration of a community is its constitution and strictly governs the relationships among the homeowners and the homeowners association. The contracts clause of the Florida Constitution establishes that the legislature is prohibited from enacting any law that impairs rights under a declaration. If a newly enacted (or amended) statute impairs a vested right guaranteed by a declaration, the contracts clause prevents it from being applied to the declaration. The Association s declarations, bylaws and other organizational documents, and their expressed terms, govern the rights and liabilities of the parties. It is only when they are silent as to the rights or liabilities that Chapter 720 has application. The letter specifically identified that Association s Board take note of the provisions of section , Florida Statutes, and use them to compel Dream Finders to perform 1

2 their responsibilities under these statutes. In addition to Florida constitutional and case law discussed previously, section (5) expressly provides that the referenced section does not apply to a homeowners association in existence on the effective date of the act [1995]. Regardless of this, the Board, with the assistance of this firm, is currently in communications and negotiations with Dream Finders, via its counsel, to obtain Dream Finders compliance and completion of outstanding obligations as part of the turnover process. We are also reviewing the Association s finances for operational deficits during Dream Finders tenure as developer regarding claims for reimbursement to be made upon Dream Finders. And we continue to evaluate other issues and potential claims as well. Michael concluded by suggesting a better and more productive use of time and the group s money (as well as the Association s time and money) would be to call and discuss specifically what the group really want for the Community and Association. He also indicated that he had requested that the Board and CAM refer all requests and communication to his office for resolution. Approval of Previous Board Meeting Minutes (August) The minutes for the August Board meeting were approved unanimously. (Bransford motion/nisley second) Financial Statement Review (July & August) Chairman John Lochner was in attendance and provided a summary of the financial statements for July and August. Operational income and expenditures remain as expected and within budget with no major issues. The Reserve expenditures for drainage continue to cause concerns. Dick indicated the Association was working hard on the Association s accounts receivables issues. He identified that there were three accounts that were ready to be foreclosed. The paperwork has been supplied to the Board and reviewed. Dick made the motion to proceed with the foreclosure actions against these accounts. It was seconded by Bransford and approved unanimously. Committee Reports Access Control Chairman Jon Bastress was in attendance. Jon provided a short report on gate activities and issues. These included several gate arms requiring replacement, replacing and repairing damaged cameras and communication electronics caused by a lightning strike, as well as establishing a community group to replace damaged gate arms. He also reported on activities to solicit and review multiple (7) bids for the gate security contract which will conclude in February

3 Architectural Review Chairman John Weidner was in attendance. John provided an ARC summary indicating 31 ARC review and approval actions were accomplished in August (16) and September (15). Summaries of the both month s actions were provided to the Board. Communications Chairman Susan Mitchell was in attendance. Susan indicated there was no report. Community Liaison Chairman Gary Dake was in attendance. He committee has not had a meeting since his committee members have not been approved. Gary has submitted six names to the Board for approval. These volunteers will complete his committee. Dick moved that Ron Bratz, Stuart Ambrose, Gene Callahan, Kevin & Erin Smith and Cindy Bates be appointed as additional Community Liaison Committee members. It was seconded by Wally and approved unanimously. Landscape/Irrigation Chairman Joe Boyd was in attendance. Joe had no report. Roads/Drainage/Waterways Repair Chairman (Open) There was no Roads committee report although drainage issues were discussed in the unfinished business topic below. It was noted that a volunteer for this position was still needed. Rules Enforcement Chairman Larry Hanline was not in attendance. Larry provided the summary of REC activities included below and provided at the meeting. There are currently 76 active violations. This total is down from the 112 active violations in July when the new committee was formed. The committee closed 31 violations over the last 40 days. There are 24 homeowners being monitored to ensure that correction plans and improvements are completed to resolve their violations. There were 13 new violations this month. Following the October 1 st hearings, eight fine letters were sent. A special hearing for Brinks Construction was held to allow them to explain and outline a plan to correct the unfinished lots on Olympic. They failed to show or provide any representation. The next steps of the process, leading to fines, property liens and lot restoration, are being executed. Unfinished Business A. Drainage Status Dick presented an overview of the status of authorized drainage repair efforts. 34 drainage issues have been identified or worked in 3

4 2018. Many of these where identified in 2017 but repaired in Sixteen of these have been completed although not all have been billed and paid. The actuals paid to date for these repairs is $408,950 with another $126,569 remaining to be billed. This provides the expected expenditure of $535,519 for drainage in These actuals are less ($37,100) than previously estimated. The total expected repairs costs for the 34 drainage issues identified in 2018 is now $821,474. With the present situation, the Board put the two additional projects previously identified to be completed in 2018 on hold. This hold will force these two projects to be completed in 2019 due to repair constraints and timing. The total expected cost for the remaining 18 drainage repairs in 2019 is $285,955. There were many community questions answered by the Board regarding the drainage issues, repairs, contracting and costs. B. Reserve funding discussion Dick indicated drainage repairs are funded by the Association Reserve accounts. The Covenants require that the drainage system be maintained and repaired and SJRWMD has the authority to enforce this requirement and approve all drainage changes. The reserve funds are established by reserve studies conducted every two to three years by qualified licensed firms who examine the community assets and predict failures and repairs required for the next thirty years on a year to year basis. MPCA uses a reserve study based on pooled assets to establish its reserve funding. FL Statute 720 requires reserve studies for pooled assets maintain the balance on hand at the beginning of each budget period plus the projected annual reserve contributions over the remaining estimated useful life of all the pooled assets be positive after projected annual cash expenditures for the remaining 30- year study period based on the current reserve analysis. Dick pointed out, in our case, this requirement means we need to fund the reserves sufficiently to ensure the balance for the years 2019, 2032 and 2038 to have projected positive balances to be compliant with the requirement. Creating an assessment providing funding equal to the actual 2018 expenditures ($535,519) meets this requirement and provides some safety factor for future failures. It is not the only option available. Dick indicated the Board has looked at alternate methods, combinations and approaches to generate the funds to pay for the repairs while meeting statute constraints. Unfortunately, each approach has issues associated with them. The Board is committed to listening to community concerns and easing the impact on individual homeowners by adjusting the timing and form of the assessment. The Board plans on soliciting opinions by using a survey identifying possible approaches and timing options. The results of this survey will be used as 4

5 a factor into establishing the final assessment approach to generate the required reserve funds. C. Turnover Discussion Helen provided a status of turnover activities and plans. Helen reiterated that she is currently in communication and negotiation with Dream Finders to obtain Dream Finders compliance and completion of outstanding obligations as part of the turnover process. These activities include reviewing the Association s finances and records other issues and potential claims for reimbursement. These turnover activities are proceeding with about 90% of the data being identified and assembled. Helen summarized some of the data gathered and the issues associated with this effort. Helen also summarized the approach taken to resolve several areas that have been highlighted in previous discussions and meetings. The last major problem is the set of conservation area properties presently owned by Floribec. This issue is in work. Helen stated the turnover process would be completed by the Annual meeting in March or sooner but cautioned that the results might not produce all the required data due to the problems associated with the extended development period and time frame. New Business A. Approve new ARC form and fee All new homes and major additions within the community must have an architectural design review to ensure Covenant design requirements are met. The cost of this professional review is paid for by the design fee collected with each application. This fee is presently $300. The company has indicated that this review will cost $350. The review fee is reasonable. Dick made the motion to increase the design review fees to $350 to cover the expense. It was seconded by Bill and approved unanimously. Adjournment With no further business to discuss, Dick made a motion to adjourn which Wally seconded. The motion passed unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned. The next regular Board meeting is scheduled on Monday November 19 th at 7:00 pm. The location will be at Clay Highschool (Tentative). 229 people attended including board and staff. 5