Minutes Aug 20, 2024

Notice of the meeting was given to owners by email and posted in the laundry rooms and on the website.

President Rick Pekar called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM EDT. A quorum of board members was present in person or by Zoom with five board members present at 6:30 and the 2 remaining Board members joining shortly after 6:30. Fourteen owners were present in person at the clubhouse or via Zoom. Nicole Reinhardt, present on Zoom, will be introduced later during the meeting.

A motion to waive reading of minutes of the July 16, 2024 meeting and adopting them without corrections was made by Russ Frank and seconded by Howard Sands. It was passed unanimously.

President opened the meeting by commenting on the mild Hurricane Debby damage and thanked the residents and Board members who prepared for the storm and assisted with cleanup afterwards. A large branch fell behind D Building blocking several parking spaces. The Board is seeking bids to cut up the branches, as the City of Lakeland will not pick up larger pieces. A screen at C-1 blew out and is currently under repair. Ponding of water on               walkways and shuffleboard court will be discussed later in the meeting.

A previously adopted practice of allowing non-board members to discuss issues on the agenda at the beginning of the meeting will be modified for this meeting to allow updating members regarding topics on the agenda prior to any comments. Non-Board members will be allowed up to 3 minutes per speaker per item following the board discussion for each topic on the agenda.

Rick Pekar read the current bank balances. He added that hopefully a 2025 budget would be proposed in October or early November.

Bank Balances:

Wells Fargo Operating                                          End of July $19,363.27

To Date $26,812.35

Climate First Operating                                                       $5000.00

Climate First Operating Reserve                                           53,404.71

Climate First Capital Deferred Maintenance                        162.729.27

The board approved the following bills to be paid on a motion by Russ and seconded by Howard Sands.

Childers Lawn Care                                           $1350

James Pool Service                                           $625 May; $625 August

Tidy Terry’s Cleaning (Power Washing D Building) $852

($200 higher than bid due to power washing screens)

Paradise View Tree Trimming                             $1,100

Pilka Law                                                                       $193.14

There were no directors’ opening comments at this time.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. A discussion regarding Doorbell Cameras and other Camera installations concluded that because they are attached to community property, they are a material change and therefore are a violation of the community Declarations. An amendment to the Declarations would be required to permit them. Currently 3 units are in violation and need to be removed.

No Board Members had discussion, however several owners commented. Helen Sanders asked that those having cameras be allowed time to comply with this matter. Vilma Hernandez’s concern was translated by Iradia O’Neill who stated that the cameras were a security matter and urged the Board to reconsider this matter.

President Rick Pekar read the amendment to the Declarations that was passed in 2016 which states that a meeting by appearance or proxy of at least 32 owners would be needed to consider an amendment to permit cameras and doorbell cameras (prepared by an attorney), and that 17 of the persons at that meeting would need to vote yes to the amendment and have the vote notarized. The matter was referred to the Building and Grounds committee and the Governance committee for review.

2. Rick Pekar stated that several months after the board’s previous approval of the Spectrum contract on January 30, 2024, the Spectrum Representative Eva Robinson notified him that the contract could not be honored as originally proposed. After consulting with each board member, Rick confirmed the amended conditions, however after three weeks Rick has had no further confirmation from Eva Robinson. As it is the Association’s second largest expense, the Board is eager to settle this issue. Discussion regarding other options with a conclusion that the services provided in the bulk contract would cost each owner at least twice the amount to purchase television and internet without the group discount. The matter is still pending.

3. On a motion by Rick Pekar, seconded by Russ Frank, the Board voted unanimously to terminate our relationship with Mastermind Association Management due to poor accounting skills and lack of communication.

Mastermind has submitted a bill for August management services and $95.10 for postage. Rick proposed a motion to pay the $95.10 for postage, but to delay the $500 management payment for August until September’s meeting pending information transfer to PMI Tampa. Russ Frank seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Discussion regarding hiring a new management company encompassed several issues. Lela Frank and Kathy Parrish did an extensive search of management companies for our area. Most providers stated we were not large enough for their services. Lela and Kathy set up Zoom interviews with the two most promising providers. One provider, with many services would charge $1850 per month. PMI Tampa offered similar services at about $744 per month.

Marge Wardlow voiced concerns that when a unit is sold, the contract provides $250 to PMI Tampa for an estoppel certificate plus $330 to HomeWise.doc for additional services. Rick Pekar added that this charge by HomeWise.docs seemed excessive as the documents were available for free elsewhere. Nicole Reinhart, Owner and President of PMI Tampa stated that this clause in the contract was non-negotiable. After much additional discussion, a motion to hire PMI Tampa beginning September 1, 2024 was proposed by Rick Pekar and seconded by Lester Parrish. The vote was 6-0 with Marge Wardlow abstaining.

In summary, PMI Tampa will send a welcome letter to each unit and provide information for each unit to have their own access to their assessment account and other documents. It also has a place to request repairs. Assessments will be made with a variety of options when the transfer is completely made.

On a motion by Rick Pekar, seconded by Russ Frank, a payment to PMI Tampa

for a start-up funding of either $744 or $806 and September payment of $806 was voted on with unanimous approval.

PMI Tampa also requested opening an operating (checkbook) account at South State Bank and initially funding it with $14,000 to cover electronic bill paying while the changeover is being made. The motion was made by Rick Pekar and seconded by Russ Frank and passed unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

1 Drainage issues have always been a problem on campus. After Hurricane Debby, drains were clogged and overwhelmed. This matter is referred to Building and Grounds to explore possible long range solutions.

2. Rick Pekar thanked Philomena Parker for her work on cleaning paving tiles. Additional work will be needed and when more volunteers are available in the coming months, cleaning the tiles and possibly seal-coating them will be easier to accomplish.

3. We have had at least two cases of intruders using our pool. In the short term, a lock will be put on the gates. The code will be distributed to owners as soon as it’s available. Ideally, we need something that locks automatically, perhaps with a keycard. This will be investigated.

Russ Frank made a motion to adjourn. Howard Sands seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:57PM